Quarter 1

Learning Leadership (6 q.h.)

Exercising leadership is challenging. Exercising leadership to effect real change is even more challenging. Exercising leadership while learning to adapt to changing circumstances is more challenging still. This participatory, experiential class will challenge your ideas about leadership and challenge how you view the exercise of leadership, including your own. Additionally, the distinctions between leadership and authority; power and influence; and technical and adaptive challenges that call forth different qualities of leadership or management will be explored. Students will develop a personal developmental plan to help understand, advance, and expand skills; explore and enhance strengths; and learn to diagnose and address weaknesses.

Writing for the Professions (6 q.h.)

This course introduces the vocabulary and philosophy of business communications. Students practice planning, writing, and analyzing effective business letters and memoranda. Students learn the methods and principles of research and documentation of semi-technical analyses and business reports. The course allows practice in organizing and writing complex forms of business communications.

Quarter 2

Assessing and Building Leadership Capacity (6 q.h.)

Organizations are only as effective as the individuals who work in them. This course focuses on enhancing students’ individual awareness, reflection, and effectiveness as leaders. Through a self-assessment, students will learn to appreciate the differences between themselves and others and deepen their understanding of what motivates people in the work environment. The nature of leadership is explored through various perspectives to deepen and enrich the appreciation of its complexity. The activity-rich experience of this course will provide students with ongoing feedback from peers and opportunities for growth and development.

Professional Speaking and Presentations (6 q.h.)

Leaders frequently make presentations to influence those around them. Through this course students will hone their skills in developing and making compelling and persuasive presentations. Additionally, students will have the chance to explore the uses and misuses of audio-visual support and learn techniques to complement presentations.

Evidence-Based Leadership and Decision Making (3 q.h.)

Designed to increase a leader’s information literacy for decision making. Leadership is not an exact science; decisions cannot be prescribed with absolute certainty. How, then, does a leader know when to act? By what criteria do we make decisions when our access to information may be incomplete? Offers students an opportunity to obtain the tools to identify and translate knowledge needs into clear, focused, answerable questions; match information needs with the most effective information resources and retrieve the best available evidence; appraise the new information for its validity and relevance; and apply the new information when making leadership decisions.

Quarter 3

Organizational Behavior and Leadership (6 q.h.)

What is needed to become an effective organization? What is the role of leadership in that process? This course examines individual learning and motivation as well as interpersonal communications and team dynamics. The course will allow students to explore how leaders analyze and assess their organizations and circumstances, apply knowledge, and develop personal insights to enhance organizational performance.

 Leadership Themes in World and American History (6 q.h.)

Through time and across the globe, leaders have both emerged from and helped shape their eras and social contexts. This course examines the relationship between leaders and their settings, exploring the diversity and complexity of leadership.

Your Leadership Challenge (2 q.h.)

During this course students will identify an important personal challenge that compromises their ability to effectively exercise leadership. This course will cover the adaptations (changes in approach, style, thinking, feeling, or acting) that are required to overcome that challenge. Working both individually and in teams, students will have the opportunity to design and carry out experiments to help overcome barriers and enhance their leadership capacity.

Quarter 4

Managing Cross Cultural Communication (6 q.h.)

Organizations in the twenty-first century undergo rapid and unpredictable change. A significant part of this change involves managing in increasingly diverse global and domestic environments. In this course, students will examine historic changes in workforce composition and the impact of such issues as globalization, gender disparity, and technological change. The course focuses on increasing personal awareness, understanding and skills to function effectively as leaders with members of different ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds.

Basic Financial Analysis for Managers (6 q.h.)

You cannot lead or manage effectively without understanding the numbers. The purpose of this course is to provide nonfinancial managers with the rudiments of financial problem solving. Students will be introduced to and develop basic analytical tools and concepts. Topics covered include financial statement analysis, budgeting forecasting and planning, project planning and management, and risk management.

Your Leadership Team (2 q.h.)

How do you develop a change culture on a team or in an organization, particularly in a group or organization, where multiple loyalties and powerful traditions make real change difficult? This interactive course uses the cohort team to explore barriers to team cooperation, coordination, and change. The team will identify challenges and, through a shared process and mutual coaching, develop a strategy and methodology for overcoming them.

Quarter 5

Organizational Communication and Leadership Issues (6 q.h.)

Why is communication important for organizations and how do individuals within organizations become effective communicators? This course provides the foundation in the study of organizational communication and introduces students to other relevant topics, such as meeting dynamics, crisis communication, and measurement and assessment of the quality of organizational communications.

Ethical Issues in Science, Technology, and Society (6 q.h.)

This course encourages students to consider the relationship between scientific inquiry, technological advances, and changes in society. Through readings, class discussion, and independent research, students will gain a broad perspective on the role of science and technology in history, with a particular focus on leadership themes in the interactions of science, technology, and society.

Quarter 6

Negotiation Skills and Conflict Management (4 q.h.)

This course introduces students to the techniques of dispute resolution. The curriculum focuses on the process of mediation, facilitation, and negotiation. Through readings, class activities, and individual projects, students will have the opportunity to explore applying these skills in professional settings.

International Relations and Organizations (6 q.h.)

Nations interact and are interdependent as never before. Today, no study of leadership is complete without an exploration of international relations and organizations. How can and should leaders behave in this complex, integrated world? This course explores the development of international organizations as well as topics in world politics, war and peaceful coexistence, the global economy, and other issues for today’s leaders.

Leadership Practicum (3 q.h.)

This capstone practicum is an opportunity for students to integrate theory and practice in a real world setting. Through experience, students will demonstrate competence in the areas of leadership knowledge and skills. With the guidance of faculty, students will define an appropriate project and undertake their own action research.