Business Management Leadership

Course Syllabus for "BUSM101: Management Leadership"

All managers are leaders.  All leaders are managers.  Which of these statements is true?  Neither.  The words are often confused, even in academic settings, because we think that both leaders and managers are in charge of a specific task or group of people.  However, there are many differences between the two.  One such distinction is that a manager may not be in charge of people at all.  For example, a manager may be in charge of data, including its acquisition, analysis, and dissemination.  Or consider the fact that a leader may have no formal power; many of history’s greatest leaders only had power “earned” from their peers instead of power granted by another individual or group.  Think of our country’s founding fathers, like Thomas Jefferson, who went against the British government to draft the Declaration of Independence—the situation created the “team,” and from that the recognized leaders emerged.  All of these distinctions will be explored in this course.

Not only will this course distinguish between managers and leaders, but it will provide you with some of the resources to be both a competent manager and a good leader.  Whether you want to run a doctor’s office or a company with thousands of employees, management and leadership skills are the keys that open those doors.  Many believe that the highest positions are given to those that know the most about the business, but in reality those positions are reserved for leaders whose leadership skills transcend business acumen.  These skills are difficult to teach in any setting, so it is important to study them carefully and look for real world situations in which to practice them.

The structure of this course focuses mostly on leadership, because a good portion of management skills are reserved for technical knowledge in a position.  This course will begin with an introduction that will help further the distinction between leadership and management, and then you will be introduced to major theories and models of leadership and of leadership development from a variety of perspectives.  Next, you will be introduced to the process of decision-making in a variety of leadership settings.  You will then study the processes of leading independently, or without direct authority.  The final unit will focus on managing groups and teams.  

You may not be a leader after concluding this course, but you certainly will have a better understanding of the qualities of leadership.  Perhaps you will discover there is a leader right at your fingertips. Since April 29th, 2013, students have been able experience portions of this course through the interactive problem based learning pedagogy from Sunstone Business SchoolMOOC.

Saylor.org has partnered with Sunstone Business School to have select content pieces and sections of this courses delivered in an instructor led, problem based short course, titledBeing an Effective New Leader. 

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

• -Distinguish the concept of leadership from the concept of management.
• -Compare and contrast the major theories of leadership.
• -Analyze the decision-making process and change management.
• -Assess the skills necessary to exert power and influence in a non-authoritative leadership role.
• -Evaluate the qualities necessary to effectively manage or lead in a team/group environment.

Course Requirements

In order to take this course, you must:

√    Have access to a computer

√    Have continuous broadband internet access

√    Have the ability/permission to install plug-ins or software (e.g. Adobe Reader or Flash)

√    Have the ability to download and save files and documents to a computer

√    Have the ability to open Microsoft files and documents (.doc, .ppt, .xls, etc.)

√    Have competency in the English language

Course Information

Below, please find some general information on the course and its requirements.
 
Course Designers: Phillip Whitley and Spyridon Patton
 
Primary Resources: This course is comprised of a range of different onlinematerials, as the subject is extensive and lends itself to both written and visual formats.  While many different materials are used, the following is a list of primary sources:

• Time magazine’s  “The Time 100: Leaders and Revolutionaries”
• Legacee.com Murray Johannsen’s Leadership and Management series
• Mindtools.com series on Leadership Skills
• Free Management Library’s articles on Leadership by Carter McNamara
• Zainbooks’ Lesson in Leadership and Team Management

Requirements for Completion: You are expected to complete the readings and video assignments for each unit.  At the end of each unit, there is a set of reading questions which will enable you to properly frame the assigned material within the overall objectives for the unit and for the course.  At the end of the final unit, there is a Final Exam that must be completed.  Please note that you will only receive an official grade on your Final Exam.  In order to “pass” this course, you will need to earn a 70% or higher on the Final Exam.  Your score on the exam will be tabulated as soon as you complete it.  If you do not pass the exam, you may take it again.
 
Time Commitment: This course should take you approximately 96.5hours to complete.  Each unit includes a “time advisory” that lists the amount of time you are expected to spend on each subunit.  These should help you plan your time accordingly.  It may be useful to take a look at these time advisories and to determine how much time you have over the next few weeks to complete each unit, and then to set goals for yourself.  For example, Unit 1 should take you 12.75 hours.  Perhaps you can sit down with your calendar and decide to complete subunit 1.1 (a total of 3 hours) on Monday night; sub-subunits1.2.1 through 1.2.3(a total of 4.5hours) on Tuesday night; etc.
 
Tips/Suggestions: Remember that the time advisories are simply estimates.  You should dedicate time to reviewing resources and studying the content of the materials presented in this course.  It will be helpful to take comprehensive notes on the resources in this course.  These notes will serve as a useful study guide as you prepare for your Final Exam. 

Please note: This course can be adopted, adapted, and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. The course can originally be found at the following link: https://learn.saylor.org/course/view.php?id=70&section=0#section-14