The Lee Kong Chian School of Business Academic Year 2012 /13 Term 1

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1 The Lee Kong Chian School of Business Academic Year 2012 /13 Term 1 OBHR001 LEADERSHIP AND TEAM-BUILDING (Community Service Project) Instructor : Mr. Dickson Tang Title : Adjunct Faculty of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources Tel : TBA dstang@smu.edu.sg Office : LKCSB Level 5 COURSE DESCRIPTION All SMU students are required to take Leadership and Teambuilding (LTB) as part of the University core. This course provides students with knowledge and skills about effective leadership and team-building based on principles, concepts, application cases, exercises, and self-assessments that are designed to develop competencies around leadership and teamwork. Central to the course is a team-based Community Service Project. The project offers an opportunity for students to learn by doing in giving them hands-on experiences that facilitate the learning of leadership and team dynamics in real-life situations. After completing the course, students can apply to become team advisors (TAs) for the course, where they practice mentoring skills 1. TAs may then apply to become Head TAs, where they assist in curricular development, student assessment, and client management. The overall objective of LTB is to build students competency base that will help them to be more effective team members and leaders. LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this course, students will be able to: Define and illustrate with the help of relevant examples what makes effective leadership and team performance tick. Explain the rationale and action implications of key leadership and team-building principles and concepts for managers and (emerging) leaders. Apply various core LTB competencies such as visionary management, diplomacy, collaborative team management, feedback etc. through the team-based Community Service Project (CSP) and reflect about their evolving LTB competency base through self-awareness exercises and reflection essays. Effectively communicate action learning outcomes in the form of oral presentations and the Team Learning Portfolio. Demonstrate effective team collaboration and individual leadership on the basis of socially impactful CSP outcomes, class participation and project team presentations. PRE-REQUISITE/ CO-REQUISITE/ MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE COURSE(S) Please refer to the Course Catalogue on OASIS for the most updated list of pre-requisites / co-requisites for this particular course. 1 10e$s will be deducted from their accounts as TAs have to register and pay for the course. 10e$ is the minimum "cost" of a CU. Since LTM is a 0.5 course unit (CU), TAs have to "pay" 10e$ for the course so that they are registered and that participation will be taken into account for their academic progression. 1

2 Do note that if this course has a co-requisite, it means that the course has to be taken together with another course. Dropping one course during BOSS bidding would result in both courses being dropped at the same time. ASSESSMENT METHODS Students will be assessed based on the quantity and quality of contributions made to the team-based Community Service Project (CSP) outputs, Reflection Essay, Class Participation as well as Leadership/Teamwork Research. The group-based Community Service Project (CSP) is aimed at experiencing LTB as it happens through an action learning service (field) project that is of benefit for Singapore s community. The project progress and key results will be documented in form of a Team Learning Portfolio. On the basis of a Reflection Essay, students will have the opportunity to reflect about and document key learnings in the course, how they - as leaders, followers and team members - contributed to the successful outcomes of the CSP, the personal change they experienced and how they contributed to the leadership and development of their respective teams. Besides documenting their critical understanding of the practical application of LTB principles and concepts, they are required to specify possible actions (reasons) for personal change and development as a result of their systematic reflection and to present their projects in class. Another requirement is a Leadership/Teamwork Research and Presentation in which each team identifies and researches what they believe is an example of especially effective or ineffective leadership or teamwork from business, politics, military, or education examples and presents their findings to the class. The various key assessment components are as follows: Internalization and application of LTB competencies on the basis of Community Service Project (CSP) Report and Reflection Essay. Effective communication of learning outcomes in form of oral presentations, CSP Report and CSP Portfolio. Demonstration of team collaboration and individual contributions on the basis of project team presentations and class participation. No Final Exam! Cumulative assessment (CA) constitutes 100% of the final grade, consisting of: 1. Individual Assessment: 60% of total, consisting of - Class and CSP Participation (10% each) 20% - Reflection Essay 20% - Quiz 20% 2. Group Assessment: 40% of total, consisting of - Final Oral Presentation of Community Service Project 10% - Final Written Report of Community Service Project 20% - Leadership Research and Presentation 10% Academic Integrity All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, facilitation of acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of exam questions, or tampering with the academic work of other students) are serious offences. All work presented in class must be the student s own work. Any student caught violating this policy may result in the student receiving zero marks for the component assessment or a fail grade for the course. This policy applies to all works (whether oral or written) submitted for purposes of assessment. Where in doubt, students are encouraged to consult the instructors of the course. Details on the SMU Code of Academic Integrity may be accessed at INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS AND EXPECTATIONS 2

3 The course approach is based on both analytical rigor and the practical utilisation of LTB principles and concepts. During the course, a variety of teaching and learning techniques will be employed to enable students to think critically and imaginatively about the various implications of the topic. To realize the goal of a shared learning experience between students and instructor, the course is aimed at integrating real LTB challenges, practical LTB experiences, problem-based interaction with both clients and leaders in society, projects, presentations, experiential exercises, and critical reflection on the various course materials. A high level of student participation is required both in the classroom and in the context of community service (group) projects. Students are required to read intensively and to participate actively in projects, presentations, discussions etc. A key LTB assumption is that knowledge is constructed by learners and not merely absorbed from someone with more experience. In constructing their knowledge, learners draw on their previous knowledge, mental processes, and experiences in integrating knowledge with their mental model of that domain (e.g., teamwork, leadership). For that reason the LTB course is interactive and experiential. Students meet in class and in small groups; they work in project teams both in class and outside class; they participate in leadership and teambuilding exercises; individually and collectively they reflect on their experiences through class discussion, written reflection essays, and portfolios; and students present their projects and project experiences to classmates, clients, teaching assistants, and the professor. In short, LTB requires student participation as the foundation for learning. As part of the LTB course, students will have the opportunity to complete self-awareness exercises such as a personality-related survey about themselves and to get feedback on their LTB potential. This survey provides some general information about the student. There is no right or wrong answers to the questions. Instead, they will give students some ideas about their personalities and personal preferences in life. After completing the survey (details / the application URL will be announced in class), students will receive a feedback report with their assessment scores together with a very brief description of what each score means. Students are expected to print this feedback report out and to bring it to class for further discussions. This is part of what is called "assessment for development". It will help to raise students awareness of their personal styles and individual differences in personality and LTB orientation. CONSULTATIONS AND TEACHING ASSISTANTS (TAs) Consultations hours will be announced in class. Teaching Assistants (TAs) form a core pillar of the LTB course. They are responsible for facilitating group sessions and discussions, helping students to understand concepts, project-related issues etc. and to ensure that the projects are completed in a timely and professional manner. All TAs have been selected from the pool of students who have already successfully completed OBHR001. Besides their advisory and facilitative roles, they will also assist the instructor to evaluate students performance and outputs. Please note that TAs do NOT solve the team s problems; rather, they serve as team coaches with primary responsibility to the team s learning. SYLLABUS CHANGES Any change to the syllabus and /or course outline/schedule may be done at my discretion and students will be informed accordingly in class. CLASS TIMINGS The course is taught in one 3-hour session per week. RECOMMENDED TEXT AND READINGS Basic Textbook: Lussier, R N & Achua, C F, Effective Leadership, 4th Edition, South-Western Cengage Learning, 2010 [ISBN: ] 3

4 Supplementary Textbook: Daft, R N, The Leadership Experience, Harcourt College Publishing, [ISBN: ] Additional readings from OB/leadership journals etc. will be assigned from time to time. Students are expected to excel in self-leadership in terms of proactive library and internet research work. Useful Links

5 WEEKLY LESSON PLANS Week / Date of Topics Readings / Assignments Sessions 1 Introduction L&A 1 and 4 Overview & Philosophy of Course Who is a Leader? Assessment for Development Participants Introduction and Group Formation 2 Team Leadership and Self-Managed Teams L&A 8 Use of Teams in Organizations Types of Teams and Decision Making Team Challenges: Groupthink Phenomenon Self-Awareness Exercises and Discussion of Results 3 Leadership and Ethics L&A 2 Trait Approach Self-Awareness Exercises and Discussion of Results 4 Leadership Approaches Behavioral Approach Contingency Leadership Theories 5 CSP Poster Session : Presentation of Community Service Project Proposals: Scope & Objectives of Project L&A 3 L&A 5 6 The Leader as Relationship Builder Communication, Feedback & Coaching Conflict Management 7 Leader we have known Presentations (All groups) L&A 6 L&A 6 8 RECESS 9 Followership & Delegation L&A 7 MCQ/Short Answers to be done in class (TBA) 10 Charismatic and Transformational Leadership L&A 9 11 Strategic Leadership The CEO as Organizational Leader Strategic Leadership / Leading Change L&A Final CSP Group Presentations Submission of Project Portfolio / Reports 13 Final CSP Group Presentations (cont d) Review 5