| Unit name | Leadership, Strategy and Change |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EFIMM0150 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2D (weeks 19 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Sam Davies |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Management - Business School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Leadership is critical for organizations. Organizations must adapt to the internal and external pressures of a dynamic global economy. To adapt, requires change, and leaders drive this process of change. Thus, this unit enhances students’ understanding of leading change in the contemporary organisational context. Crucially, this unit will develop students’ own approach to leadership through the connection of current theories of leadership, strategy and change, with students’ engagement in intense active learning leadership scenarios. The unit will cover the role and purpose of leadership and diverse perspectives, frameworks and key debates concerning how different types of change can be led and managed. The unit will provide the opportunity for reflective enquiry and developing oneself as a responsible leader and global citizen and understanding and challenging your peer’s own leadership approaches through team-based active learning.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
As a Capstone of the Management MSc with a focus on Leadership, Strategy and Change, the unit examines the pervasive organisational context of complexity and change in the last few decades, and the application of contemporary theories of leadership and change, in the 21st century. The unit covers the role of leadership and diverse perspectives, frameworks, and key debates surrounding it, to enable Management MSc students to develop as a responsible, ethical leader and global citizen. Ultimately this unit will bring together students’ knowledge from other finished units on the Management MSc, to feed into their own approach to leading change in active learning contexts.
An overview of content
Students will study structural, systemic, and cultural influences to understand the complex dynamics of leadership and change. They will critically evaluate various topic areas such as the politics of leading change, diversity, authority and power; leading change in teams; leadership challenges; authentic and ethical leadership, corporate social responsibility (CSR & sustainability); leading large-scale change, strategy, creativity and enterprise. The unit will make extensive use of simulations and active learning to aid students’ consolidation of leadership theory and its practice.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
By engaging actively in this unit, students will transform into responsible leaders who can analyze organizational situations and develop an appropriate leadership style to drive change. They will gain familiarity with simulations and active learning strategies to compare their own leadership approaches vs effective and ineffective leadership approaches. Additionally, students will cultivate ethical leadership skills, learn strategies for implementing organizational change, and understand the role of leadership in crisis management. Lastly, experiencing leadership from diverse backgrounds and situations across cultural contexts will highlight the value of different perspectives in strategy and change within organizations.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this unit, a successful student will be able to:
Blended learning which will include a mix of lectures and seminars supported by Blackboard e-learning
Contact hours 45 hours (21, hours lectures, 24 hours tutorials)
The unit involves a mix of student-centred learning, research led teaching, reflective elements, interactive content (e.g. simulation), real-life organization cases, and assessment of problems from the perspective of leadership. These elements provide a mixture of theory-based and practice-based learning to grasp organizational challenges and how leaders can address them. It also allows for development of your own leadership approach for the future. The greater emphasis on an active learning approach is reflected in the number of seminar hours. The more intensive timetabling of the sessions is conducive to this active learning approach, and will allow greater immersion in this capstone unit.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Formative assessment will include analytical seminar group work relating to leadership and change, followed by small group presentations (ILOs 1,2,3,4). Formative feedback will be provided by a seminar leader on a regular basis. Students will also offer and receive constructive feedback from their peers.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
1) In class group presentation, questions, and supporting written proposal documents (summative group assessment – 30% of the total unit mark, 10 minutes max per presentation). This work will require group analysis of a leadership event. The objective of this form of assessment is to be able to relate empirical evidence and/or working practice to the concepts and experiences discussed within the unit (ILOs 1,2,3,4).
2) Essay of 3,000 words (summative individual assessment – 70% of the total unit mark) which will assess students’ critical understanding of the literature and their ability to apply the concepts and theories, explored in academic literature to a real-life case of leadership (ILOs 1,2,3,4).
When assessment does not go to plan
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, failed components will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis.
1) Original assessment Group work (30% of unit weighting) - reassessment is now an individual poster, proportionally adjusted for one person, of the same format uploaded to Blackboard, and students must choose a different case of change to analyse from the perspective of leadership. (ILOs 1,2,3,4)
2) Original assessment individual essay 3000 words (70% of unit weighting) – students must choose a different case and apply different major theories/constructs than their original assessment individual essay (to ensure it is a new piece of work). (ILOs 1,2,3,4)
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EFIMM0150).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
