Leadership Symposium I

Executive MBA in Leadership

LDR 600

Breyer State University
Instructor: Linda Michelle Council, MBA, BS

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to LDR 600 Leadership Symposium I! Although the definition of leadership eludes us even today, we do have some clear theories of the basic characteristics of leadership. Still, we do not have concrete answers on how an individual becomes a leader or the specific psychology behind it. Warren Bennis offered the following statement that is as true today as it was in 1959, "Always, it seems the concept of leadership eludes us or turns up in another form to taunt us again with its slipperiness and complexity. So we have invented an endless proliferation of terms to deal with it... and still the concept is not sufficiently defined."

A comprehensive review of the various models of leadership will be provided utilizing contemporary and classical theory on leadership, relevant research, and case studies. The acquisition and development of critical thinking skills will be emphasized and its importance to exceptional leadership will be stressed. Team building, leading groups, styles of leadership and multicultural issues related to leadership will be introduced. The centrality of ethics to leadership will be underscored.

The course content will open with the development of critical thinking skills, and the task of learning to create effective arguments. We will examine the nature of leadership, leadership behavior, the mechanics of leadership, and specific psychological traits of ordinary individuals in extraordinary leadership roles.

We will also identify and analyze some of the unique ethical demands of leadership. My hope is that in so doing, learners will become equipped to meet the many ethical challenges of leadership in our contemporary world. I hope you will find the course material not only exciting and challenging, but also very meaningful given the exigencies of leadership in the modern world. Enjoy the course!

TIME FRAME: This is a five-semester hour course. This course is allotted ten weeks of time. You must complete all of the requirements for the course successfully by the end of the ten-week period. The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for the course, or the day which you notify me that your textbook has arrived and you are ready to begin your studies. Please be cognizant of the time frame. It is rare that extensions of time are permitted, unless you have good justification. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be awarded five-semester hours of credit.

TEXTBOOK: There are three (3) required textbooks for this course. Please purchase your books as soon as possible.

Book 1: Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking.
Diane F. Halpern. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 2003: ISBN # 805839666.

Book 2: Leadership. By Peter Guy Northouse -Editor. 2nd ed.; Sage Publications, Incorporated: 2001. ISBN # 0761919260.

Book 3: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association-5th ed. American Psychological Association. ISBN # 1557987912.

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EXAMINATIONS: There is one final examination for this course, which covers the material in all the required text readings.

The final examination must be taken by the end of the tenth week in the course.

The examination is located in the classroom for this course, but will be unavailable to you until you are ready to take the exam. The examination is an integrative essay exam in which you will use your textbooks to develop your responses. You will have three days to complete your exam, once you access it from the classroom.

To access the exam, you must send me an e-mail and request access to the exam. Upon registration, you will receive my e-mail address. Remember, as noted above, you should ALWAYS type the initials BSU in the beginning of the subject heading of your e-mails to me. This alerts me when I look at my list of e-mails that yours is not SPAM and I won't accidentally delete your e-mail without reading it. Once I get your e-mail, I will then provide you with access to the exam. You will receive a return e-mail from me telling you that you are authorized to access your exam.

To access, you will go to the classroom, click on testing, and click on the exam you are taking. You will need your User ID and Password to access the exam. The exam will appear on your screen.

Once you access and review the exam, you have seventy-two hours to prepare and submit your answers. The program provides me with the exact date and time that you accessed the exam. The program also notifies me of the exact date and time that you submitted your answers. Thus, the program is timing you. When you are ready, go back into the classroom and click in your responses and then click submit. I will check for your completed exam at the end of seventy-two hours.

GRADING: The grading scale for this course is as follows:

90-100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70-79%      = C
Below 70% = Fail

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: Welcome, my name is Linda Michelle Council. I go by Michelle. For all purposes in our class I like to be called Prof Council. I hope that is ok with you.

I received my BS degree in Psychology in 1992 from the University of Southern Mississippi.  I got my MBA in 2001 from Baker College. I am working on a PhD in Higher Education Leadership from Touro University.

I live in a small town in South Mississippi. I have been married since 1996. I have a 8-year-old daughter, a 4-year-old son and a 16 month old daughter. My family is my life.

I will be available to my students to help them in anyway I can (within reason of course). I hope you will enjoy my class.

Please visit my personal web page http://lindacouncil.tripod.com/

INSTRUCTOR AVAILABILITY: Upon registration, you will be given my e-mail address. You will normally receive a response from me within twenty-four hours. If during your time in this course you change your e-mail address, please be sure to notify me right away. Please note that since my e-mail inbox is like nearly everyone else's, I often find loads of SPAM in it. Before reading my e-mail, I delete everything that looks like SPAM. You should ALWAYS type the initials BSU in the beginning of the subject heading of your e-mails to me. This alerts me when I look at my list of e-mails that yours is not SPAM and I won't accidentally delete your e-mail without reading it. If, however, you would prefer an online chat on the BSU course site, please contact me via e-mail to arrange an appointment.

COURSE ACCELERATION: It is permissible for you to accelerate in this course. You may chose to submit the paper prior to the ninth week of the course and to take the final examination prior to the tenth week of the course. You will need to notify me if you wish to accelerate the course and whenever you are ready to take your exam. Upon my notification, you will be given access to the exam. There is no mandate to accelerate. This is an individual choice that I will honor.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

1). Relate the theories and research in cognitive psychology to the development of critical thinking skills.
2). Develop expertise in asking questions as a means of understanding complex information.
3). Access information in problem solving, decision-making and argument analysis.
4). Examine the major contemporary and classical research and the theoretical basis of leadership.
5). Analyze how these principles inform scholars about the dynamics of leaders in various groups and settings.
6). Apply to professional problems and issues the recent findings in leadership.
7). Become informed consumers of the scientific literature in the field.
8). Examine the psychological implications of being a leader.
9). Examine how the learner's profession relates to and is influenced by leaders.
10). Analyze current theories of ethical leadership.

INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this program, you may address them to adm@breyerstate.com. An administrative faculty member will respond to all questions.

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