MB661 Stand Alone, discussions and activities

DISCUSSION QUESTION 4-1

Lesson 4: Vision and Strategy

Discussion Question 1
Describe the elements of charismatic leadership. What are the cultural constraints on the development of charismatic leadership?

 

DISCUSSION QUESTION 6-1

Lesson 6: Leading Change and Leader Development

Discussion Question 1
What are the elements of an organizational culture that support change, and what role do leaders play in developing that culture?

 

Discussion Question 6-2

Describe the areas that are typically addressed in developing leaders. What are specific issues to consider when developing women and members of minority groups?

 

 

DISCUSSION QUESTION 4-2

Lesson 4: Vision and Strategy
Compare and contrast value-based, authentic, and positive leadership concepts. Why do these approaches have so much appeal?

 

 

ACTIVITY 1

Lesson 1: Leadership, Management, and Culture


Activity 1: Case Study

This Activity is comprised of three (3) parts. Your Activity responses should be both grammatically and mechanically correct, and formatted in the same fashion as the Activity itself. If there is a Part A, your response should identify a Part A, etc. In addition, you must appropriately cite all resources used in your response and document in a bibliography using APA style. (100 points) (A 4-page response is required for the combination of Parts A, B, and C.)

Read "David Neeleman Reinvents Airlines," on page 26 of your text. After reading this case and conducting additional research (at least two (2) journal articles), discuss the following.

Part A Do you think that David Neeleman best meets the definition of a manager or a leader? List and discuss three (3) reasons for your answer and provide three (3) examples of how David Neeleman does not fit the alternate definition.

Part B What are the key elements of JetBlue's culture?

Part C What role does the leader play in the development and maintenance of the culture?

 

ACTIVITY 5
Lesson 5: Teams and Leadership

Activity 5: Team Essay
Identify a team in which you have had many opportunities to participate, observe, and interact. This team does not necessarily need to be from industry; however, please review the concepts below that you will be required to discuss prior to selecting the team you wish to cover. The list of concepts may help you select or eliminate certain teams. The team you choose should have been in existence over a reasonable period in order for you to discuss team development and to have specific examples to support your conclusions.

If you have never personally participated in a team suited for this activity, you may select a team in which you were not a member and interview two (2) or more team members. In your interviews, you should focus on each of the concepts below that will then be developed into an essay. You should not simply ask, "What type of team is this?" because many people are not familiar with the terms you have learned in this course. Rather, you should ask more general questions such as, "Are each of the team members in the same department, or are they in different departments? Are all members in one location? Do team members meet in person, or is their communication only via e-mail, voicemail, or teleconferencing?"

After identifying a team, write an essay describing that team with the concepts presented in the text. The objective of your essay is to demonstrate that you understand the concepts and that you can apply them to a real-world situation; therefore, you should discuss/explain each of the following five (5) concepts and then relate your team to each concept using examples. Provide two (2) or three (3) examples for each concept.

1. Type of Team: functional team, cross-functional team, self-managed team, virtual team, or global team


2. Team members' characteristics, including expertise and functional experience

3. Team culture and how it affects their ability to implement employee participation


4. Team challenges: developing groupthink, presence of free-riders, negativity, and lack of trust


5. Team leadership and how it affects employee participation



Your Activity responses should be both grammatically and mechanically correct, and formatted in the same fashion as the Activity itself. If there is a Part A, your response should identify a Part A, etc. In addition, you must appropriately cite all resources used in your response and document in a bibliography using APA style. (100 points) (A 4-page response is required.)

 

MB661 Stand-Alone Project- CEO Analysis

Stand-Alone Project: CEO Analysis (200 points)

 

 

You should begin working on the Stand-Alone Project early in the course.  Each lesson provides a benchmark for completing the Stand-Alone Project in a timely manner while working through the course.  You will find this information in the "Stand-Alone Project Benchmark" section of each lesson. (200 points) (A 10-page response is required for the combination of Parts A, B, and C.)

 

Instructions:  For the Stand Alone Project, you will use the concepts you have learned to analyze a CEO's leadership abilities.  Select a current or former CEO of your choosing.  The CEO you choose does not necessarily have to be a successful or popular CEO.  The person you choose may be, or have been, very unsuccessful or unpopular.  However, you should find him or her to be interesting and a good example of many of the concepts you have studied in this course.  You will want to choose someone fairly well known or, more specifically, someone well documented in order to have ample material for your analysis.  You are required to review a minimum of (6) sources of information about the CEO in order to form your own conclusions and to obtain significant data relating to all the required concepts.

 

Part A        Introduction:  Provide a 1-2 paragraph synopsis of your entire paper, similar to the abstract of a journal article.  In the introduction, you should summarize the topic and your conclusions.  

 

Part B        Career Overview:  This portion of your paper should provide a comprehensive overview of the CEO's career, highlights, achievements, and significant events.  You must have a minimum of six (6) sources.  These sources may be newspaper or magazine articles, books, or corporate press releases.  The Ashworth College Proquest library also may provide articles for your review.

 

In your search, do not focus simply on articles about the CEO.  You should also attempt to find articles and/or books about the organization during the time the CEO was in charge.  In addition, you should search for any written works by the CEO, which may provide excellent insight into him or her.  Review as many sources as necessary to develop an in-depth understanding of the leader and his or her style of leadership.

 

 

Part C        Conclusions and Examples:  In this section, draw conclusions regarding the CEO's leadership, focusing on the topics covered in the text.  In addition to drawing conclusions, you must support your evaluation with specific behavioral examples drawn from your research.  For example, if you were to state that Mr. Smith was clearly a highly extroverted individual; you would need to provide some evidence for that conclusion.  You might state, "It is clear that Mr. Smith was highly extroverted based on numerous examples of his desire to be in the limelight.  At an early age,

 

Mr. Smith joined drama and debate teams and ran for class offices.  Once he joined the corporate arena, Mr. Smith's colleagues consistently described him as 'the life of the party.'"  You must address the following concepts, or topics, in your Conclusions section. 

 

1.   Personality and Leadership Style

 

2.   Courage and Moral Leadership

 

3.   Culture and Values

 

4.   Communication

 

5.   Motivation and Empowerment

 

6.   Power and Influence

 

7.   Vision and Strategic Direction

 

Please keep in mind that the objective of this section is to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the required concepts, or topics.  These topics are fairly broad and require a significant amount of discussion to demonstrate full knowledge.  As a rule of thumb, you should cover no fewer than two (2) subtopics to sufficiently cover any given topic.  For example, to discuss personality and leadership style fully, I might choose to discuss the Big-Five model: locus of control, authoritarianism, Theory X and Y, and charisma.  I would choose these concepts both because they give a good overview of the topic I am required to cover and because the information I have gathered on the CEO I have chosen includes several examples I can use to illustrate these concepts.  As I mentioned above, the CEO you choose does not necessarily need to demonstrate superior performance or glowing examples of the concepts.  You may cite examples that demonstrate a lack of charisma.