**Disclaimer**

This syllabus is to be used as a guideline only. The information provided is a summary of topics to be covered in the class.
Information contained in this document such as assignments, grading scales, due dates, office hours, required books and materials may be from
a previous semester and are subject to change. Please refer to your instructor for the most recent version of the syllabus.

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

Syllabus – MGT 411, Leading Organizations
David Waldman, Ph.D.
Fall 2020 (Tempe)
BA257
F 10:45 am – 12:00 pm (SLN 73571) and F 12:15 -- 1:30 pm (SLN 77806)

Administrative Information

Instructor: David Waldman, Ph.D.

Office: BA352b
Office hour: 2 -3 pm (Fridays), and by appointment
E-mail: waldman@asu.edu
Telephone: 602-550-7195 (cell)

Course Description, Purpose, and Learning Outcomes

Leadership has been mentioned frequently by various writers and executives as the key to
sustained competitive advantage on the part of organizations – both here in the U.S., as well as
internationally. On the other hand, in very recent times, many people have grown cynical about
existing people in leadership positions in both public and private sectors. They are often seen as
unethical, irresponsible, unable to handle crisis situations (e.g., COVID-19), and even “laissez faire”.
Nevertheless, it is clear from research that increasingly, the possession of leadership qualities and the
display of effective leader behaviors are requirements for individuals attempting to progress in
leadership positions in their careers. As such, it is important for aspiring managers to learn about the
nature of effective leadership practices and how they can develop their own competencies in this area.
In short, leadership qualities represent a source of competitive advantage for both you and the
organizations in which you will be associated. But what is effective leadership all about?

This course attempts to answer that question with three primary types of activities for students.
First, students will learn about the various ways to demonstrate leadership effectively. Through online
lectures and class discussions, we will focus on ways of thinking about how effective leadership is
shown toward individuals, small groups, and strategically at the upper echelons of organizations.
Traditional approaches to understanding effective leadership will be highlighted, as well more recent
or emerging approaches, such as servant, transformational, and socially responsible leadership.
Moreover, we will consider leadership in a global context, including how effective leadership practices
can differ across cultures.

Second, aside from simply learning about leadership, a special feature of this course will
involve active student participation in leadership development activities. Specifically, we will practice
leadership by engaging in class exercises, simulations, and case discussions. Leadership concepts will
also be applied to how students operate in teams.

Third, students will conduct a term project based largely on the principle of role modeling. The
project will involve analyses of role models (both positive and negative) based on cinematic and
business literature sources.

Specific learning objectives for the course include the following:

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1. gain an understanding of traditional (e.g., situational) and newer, effective leadership practices
(e.g., ethical and responsible leadership), and how such practices can be applied;

2. enhance one’s motivation to lead and identification with the leadership role;

3. develop leadership skills and perspective by observing, analyzing, and role-modeling people who
show effective behavior in leadership positions; or alternatively, avoiding ineffective behaviors or
qualities shown by individuals in such positions;

4. build critical thinking and reasoning skills by informing one’s analysis of leadership issues
through comparisons with relevant readings and other sources of information (e.g., cinema); and

5. build communication skills through class discussions, writing, and presentations.

The Undergraduate Program of the W. P. Carey School of Business has established the following
learning goals for its graduates:

Critical Thinking
Communication
Discipline Specific Knowledge
Ethical Awareness and Reasoning
Global Awareness

Above items in bold have significant coverage in this course.

Learning Approach

This course uses an online, hybrid format. The online portion consists of two parts. First, online
lectures for particular weeks of the course will be made available on Canvas and are labelled by week
of the course (see below course Schedule). The lectures focus on especially difficult, controversial, or
particularly important concepts from your textbook readings. They will also be used to introduce some
material that goes beyond the readings. At the beginning of a respective week, the relevant lecture will
be posted, and it will remain viewable throughout the semester.

Second, students can participate in an online Discussion that pertains to the week’s lecture
material. Participation can come in the form of responding to questions posed by the instructor, or
further responding to comments by your classmates. These questions will be focused largely on how
the topic for a given week pertain to: (1) effective leadership in the current COVID-19 crisis, and/or
(2) informal leadership in student teams. At the beginning of a respective week, Discussion topics or
questions will be posted on Canvas by the instructor, and students will have the opportunity to post
their comments through 11:59 pm of the 6th day of that week (i.e., Thursdays). All postings will remain
viewable throughout the semester. Note that the instructor’s role is to facilitate and add comments
occasionally, although he will not be responding to every comment that is posted.

On the 7th day of a respective week, students should come to face-to-face classes well-prepared,
which means having viewed the online lecture and discussion for that respective week, as well as
having read assigned readings and cases. In addition, significant class time will be devoted to

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experiential activities in the form of exercises, simulations, and case discussions. There will also be
extensive use of videos, largely featuring case stories of leadership challenges that are told by some
real-life leaders. Story-telling is an excellent way to both learn leadership and practice it. These
particular videos were produced by the Stanford Business School, and the textbook for this course was
designed with these videos in mind. You will be able to view the Stanford videos on your own after
they are shown in class. This procedure will be described in more detail in class.

To help facilitate in-class discussions, you will be provided with a name tent at the beginning
of the semester. Until notified by the instructor, you should remember to bring this name tent to class
every day. If you lose it, you are responsible for replacing it. Please note that attendance at these
face-to-face classes is absolutely mandatory. If you foresee the need to miss classes extensively,
you should consider dropping this particular section of MGT411, and instead, registering for a
section that is 100 percent online.

In addition to lecture and discussion postings, Canvas will be used as courseware in order to
facilitate communication and deposit assignments. It is your responsibility to examine Canvas on a
regular basis in order to keep up with announcements. In addition, please try to check your personal e-
mail on a regular basis because this is the only practical method for communication from the instructor
to a particular student. If you must miss a face-to-face class, it is your responsibility to check with
classmates and the study guide as quickly as possible to see what material you missed.

Required Textbook and Cases

Waldman, D. A., & O’Reilly, C. (2020). Leadership for organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publishing. (Note: There are multiple e-book versions available on the internet, but the only valid
one for this course has the following ISBN number: ISBN 9781544360522. More information
about obtaining the ebook through Canvas is shown below.)

Case #1: Managing up (A): Grace (#W15269). London, ON: Ivey Business School.

Case #2: A day in the life of Alex Sander: Driving in the fast lane at Landon Care Products (#2177).
Boston, MA: Harvard Business Publishing.

Case #3: Nike: Ethics vs. reputation in the #Metoo era (#W18614). London, ON: Ivey Business
School.

Case #4: Ricardo Semler: A revolutionary model of leadership. Fontainebleau, France: INSEAD.

Case #5: WestJet: Building a high-engagement culture. London, ON: Ivey Business School.

Materials for several extra exercises and cases will also be handed out in class. Note that all of
these materials are fair game in terms of potential exam questions.

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Optional Case

There is an optional case (and case write-up placed on Canvas for the purpose of illustrating
case writeups). The case is: Pinto fires case. In Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2007). Managing
business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right (4th ed). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Instructions for Obtaining the Textbook through Canvas

Step 1: Log into Canvas & click on “Redshelf eBooks”

Step 2: This opens the Follett BryteWave site (hosted by RedShelf). Select “Log In”.

Step 3: Log in to BryteWave.

Existing BryteWave / RedShelf users log in with your email and password

For* NEW* users, an account has been created for you on brytewave.redshelf.com. The
TEMPORARY PASSWORD has been emailed to you.

Please find the email and the password to assist you in creating the account and linking it to Canvas.

Step 4: Enjoy using your eBook for 180 Days.

The eBook will be available on your RedShelf bookshelf which you can access from within Canvas.

If you have any questions, contact the SAGE Publishing representative Cyndi.keen@sagepub.com.
You can also contact Christopher Hanks at the ASU bookstore: 480-965-0495.

Case Analyses and Role-Model Project

Team-based work is a reality of life in organizations these days. As shown by the below
grading scheme, a total of 35 percent of your overall grade will be determined by performance in a
team. This percentage is reflective of how much emphasis is oftentimes placed on teamwork in the
evaluation of individuals in organizations. Specifically, working in teams, there are 5 case analysis
write-ups and a term project required for this course. To complete these assignments, you are required
to form teams (size of teams to be determined during the first few weeks of the course). If you do not
form such teams on your own by the 2nd week of classes, the instructor will place you in a team.

Please note two things that are relevant to your effective participation and evaluation in your
team. First, once you are in a team, it is possible to be dismissed from that team. The instructor will
support such an action if a majority of all team members (other than the individual in question) elect to
do so, as long as the action is taken prior to project activities (described below). We will have a mid-
term evaluation of team processes to determine if members think that such an action is warranted.
Second, after completion of the case analyses and project (i.e., at the end of the course), you will be
evaluated according to a peer evaluation system that will help assess your individual performance on
both case analyses and the project. Grades across the team-based cases and the term project could be
modified accordingly by as much as one letter grade. The bottom line is that you should demonstrate a

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high degree of respect and responsibility toward your team efforts and teammates. It is your
responsibility to inform the instructor if at some point during the semester you feel that you cannot get
along with your teammates, or you in some way feel mistreated.

Case write-ups. As noted above, as a team, you will be responsible for 5 case write-ups in this
course. In other words, you should submit just one case write-up per team for each of the 5 cases. Each
of these write-ups should be brief and to-the-point, that is, no more than 2-3 double-spaced pages each.

The purpose of the write-ups is to succinctly identify the key problems or leadership issues
(either positive or negative) raised in the respective case, as well as the potential causes or
circumstances surrounding those problems or leadership matters. Relevant issues are shown below.
These causes/circumstances can potentially reside in the leader(s) or follower(s) suggested in the case,
as well as the greater context in which they work. Do not devote space in your write-up toward
summarizing case information or a required reading. Instead, you should focus your attention on the
key player(s) in the cases, especially with regard to how their qualities or behaviors are relevant to
leadership or followership concepts that are described in the assigned readings below. Accordingly, the
primary requirement of these write-ups is that you provide specific linkages to certain topics (as
shown below) in assigned chapters in your textbook. Especially focus on the following question:
how exactly does the reading help you to make sense of what is going on in the case with regard to
leadership (or in case #1, followership) issues? In addition, you should attempt to devote more
attention to analyses of the issues that you identify, rather than what you consider to be potential
solutions to those issues. The consideration of alternative solutions, or what leader(s) in the case
should have done, will largely be the focus of class discussions of respective cases. A model case
analysis will be posted on Canvas. As mentioned above, it pertains to an optional case reading, the
Pinto Fires case.

Case #s, assigned readings for respective cases, due dates, and relevant topics are as follows:

1. Case #1 (chapters 3 and 4) – Sept. 4: leader-member exchange (LMX); types of followers;

effective vs. ineffective “managing up” behavior
2. Case #2 (chapter 7) – Oct. 2: seeking, receiving, and giving feedback; effective vs. ineffective
coaching; 360-degree feedback processes (especially as a mechanism for receiving feedback
and a tool for providing coaching)
3. Case #3 (chapters 6 and 9) – Oct. 16: principles of ethical/moral leadership; moral courage on
the part of a leader; glass cliff and glass ceiling; inclusive mindset
4. Case #4 (chapter 11) – Nov. 6: hard vs. soft power and associated influence tactics;
inspirational/visionary leadership; leader stakeholder values
5. Case #5 (chapter 12) – Nov. 20: how/why organizational culture can be used as a source of
competitive advantage; dimensions of organizational culture; mechanisms for leading cultures

Again, note that there are particular readings associated with particular cases. In your analysis of a
case, use only the reading(s) that is designated above, and focus only on the topics/issues that are
mentioned above. You may also refer to the lecture video for that particular week(s). These
topics/issues are described in the assigned readings, and they are also evident in the respective cases.
For example, to analyse case #1, use only chapters 3 and 4 from the textbook and the lecture video for
that week. Do not use other chapters to analyse that particular case. In addition, when you view
chapters 3 and 4, focus on how the LMX concept is relevant to the leader and follower in this case, the

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type of followership that is exhibited, and how/whether the follower demonstrates effective managing
up behavior. At any point in time when you are working on a case write-up, if you are confused
regarding how to analyse or write up that case, feel free to contact the instructor for clarification.

Case write-ups will be due at the beginning of the above classes. You should deposit your
write-up as a Word file using the assignments feature of Canvas. Name your Word file by case and
team number. For example, when you deposit case #1 on Sept. 4, and if you are team #2, name your
file: “Case1Team2”. Please make sure that you follow the guidelines that are listed above, as well
as in Appendix A because, to some extent, you will be graded on whether you adhere to these
guidelines. Note that you will be able to drop your lowest case write-up grade, unless you have been
dismissed from your team based on peer evaluation.

Project. There is an old saying that “you can’t be what you can’t see or envision”. One of the
best ways to develop leadership abilities is to find and emulate positive role models, while not
emulating negative role models. Accordingly, the project will involve applications of course topics and
learning through role-modeling. Specifically, it will involve people who you can observe, or about
whom you can read, in leadership positions who emulate the type of effective leadership behaviors that
are emphasized in this course. It can also be largely about identifying behaviors or qualities that we
might not want to role model.

Two sources of role models will be used in this project. First, cinematic (or movie) material
can provide both entertaining and educational sources of role models. For the project, you may choose
one of the following movies (or series):

• The Office [Netflix]

• Billions [Showtime]
• Moneyball
• The Company Men
• We Bought a Zoo
• Coach Carter
• The Wolf of Wall Street
• The Devil Wears Prada
• Remember the Titans
• Steve Jobs
• Hidden Figures
• Only the Brave

Some of these movies depict real-life leaders, while others are more fictional in nature. But they all
highlight leadership in various types of teams and organizations, largely in business sectors.
Individuals who are featured in these movies illustrate various leadership qualities (or the lack thereof),
including individualized consideration, charismatic or inspirational leadership, shared leadership,
servant leadership, ethical/socially responsible leadership, leader courage, leadership oriented toward
change, and so forth. With the permission of the instructor, you can choose a movie not mentioned
above. But it must feature one of more leaders of a team or an organization, preferably in a business
sector.

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Second, you should review some limited (i.e., 2-5 articles or books) external literature that is
not already assigned in the course, which describes an individual (i.e., focus on just one individual)
who you believe to be a leader role model – either positive or negative. At least some of that literature
should not be an autobiography. In addition, this role model should not be based in athletics,
government, or be a societal or social movement leader. Instead, this role model should specifically
come from the business world. CEOs are prime examples. Written material that you find on business
leaders might focus to some extent on their organizations or business strategies. However, you should
attempt to find and report material that is reflective of course concepts pertaining to leadership. Note
that this individual does not need to show the same type of emulated behavior as what you observe
from your cinematic role model(s), although you should look for any commonalities, and make
comparisons.

The project will culminate in two products. During week #13, you will make a presentation
(length to be determined and announced) on your cinematic role model. Note that this presentation can
either be made: (1) online, or at the face-to-face class. We will discuss the parameters of an online
presentation in class. For face-to-face presentations, see Appendix B of this syllabus for additional
guidelines. For face-to-face presentations, the instructor will need to receive your Powerpoint file prior
to the presentation by e-mail, or just show up prior to class and load your file on the classroom
desktop.

Then, you will prepare a 5-7 pages, double-spaced paper (excluding cover page, endnotes, or
Appendices). When writing up your paper, be sure to integrate your thoughts regarding the 2 sources
of role models that you have identified. In other words, point out any commonalities that appear to
exist. Also, while analyzing their leadership behaviors and qualities, you should discuss whether these
are behaviors and qualities that you personally would want to role model. In other words, explain why
you would or would not want to role model these individuals as leaders. It is possible that there is a
difference of opinion in your team, in which case you should say so and explain why. It is possible,
and even probable, that one or both of the potential role models might end up displaying some
problematic, as well as appropriate, leadership behavior/qualities. After all, like humans in general, no
leader is perfect. You should maintain an open mind with regard to such possibilities. In other words,
take a critical, open-minded approach to your analysis, rather than biasing your report to be overly-
favorable toward the targeted role models. Overall, both your presentation and paper should emphasize
how your chosen role models reflect course material and learning. Also, please provide citation for
your external reading material appropriately (see Appendix A of this syllabus for more details).

The paper will be due at the beginning of class on Dec. 4. You should deposit your paper as an
assignment in Canvas. Again, please note that guidelines for writing the paper portion of the project
are displayed in Appendix A of this syllabus. To some extent, you will be graded on whether you
adhere to these guidelines. Here are several additional points to keep in mind regarding the
presentation and paper:

• It is not necessary, and perhaps not even desirable, for each person on the team to be part of the
presentation. You only have a short amount of time to present (i.e., either online or face-to-
face), so it might get disjointed or unorganized to have too many presenters. Remember that
based on the principle of “division of labor”, non-presenters can spend more time on other
things, such as the research that goes into the project or paper writing.

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• Although the paper is due a few weeks after the presentation, it is a good idea to begin to
develop a working draft as early as possible to avoid the last-minute rush.
• To make things more interesting for the class, you might focus exclusively in the presentation
on your cinematic role model, or optionally, a combination of your cinematic and literature-
based role models.
• All cinematic and literature-based role models need to be approved ahead of time by the
instructor. To avoid duplication between teams, you should tell the instructor by Oct. 23 as
to who your proposed cinematic and literature-based role models are.

Class Involvement: “Be Here Now”

Class involvement is multi-dimensional in nature. That means that it includes several facets,
such as participation in face-to-face classes. Attendance is the fundamental building block of class
participation and involvement, and accordingly, class attendance will be taken toward the end of each
face-to-face class. But the most effective participation includes more than just showing up, asking
questions, and contributing to discussions. It also includes ‘informed’ input based on your readings, as
well as the display of positive enthusiasm for course material.

In addition, class involvement includes what can be termed ‘respectful conduct’. Accordingly,
students are expected to avoid any activities that might disturb other students or distract the instructor.
These activities include (but are not limited to) disrespectful or hostile Discussion board entries. For
face-to-face classes, these activities include arriving late, getting up and leaving early, unnecessary
chit-chat, playing video games, sending text messages or emails, and monitoring or updating your
social networking accounts, such as Facebook. For non-course activities, you are expected to turn off
your cell phones and electronics during class. The only exceptions are if you are viewing the course’s
Canvas page, other web links relevant to the course, or the textbook. If on a given day, you are not
sufficiently interested in a topic to act in a respectful and alert manner, then please don’t bother
attending. Nevertheless, you should realize that it is your responsibility as a student to stay current with
the course. The instructor reserves the right to subject you to the mercy of your fellow classmates for
class notes and will not engage in remedial coverage during office hours (or through email) for
students who do not attend face-to-face classes.

In sum, effective class involvement can be demonstrated by:

1. showing up to face-to-face classes (note that excuses for missing class due to work, job interviews,
etc. are not acceptable and should be kept to a minimum);
2. showing that you are keeping up with the assigned readings (e.g., by asking questions or making
comments about the readings – either during online discussions, or during face-to-face class times);
3. showing enthusiasm for course material (e.g., contributing to discussions pertaining to assigned
cases, listening attentively to the instructor and classmates, constructive critique; etc.);
4. showing courtesy and respect to fellow classmates and the instructor through avoidance of cell
phone, text-messaging, or distracting computer activities (e.g., e-mail, internet browsing unrelated
to class material, etc.) during class; and
5. showing courtesy and respect to fellow classmates and the instructor through: (a) arriving to class
on time, (b) avoiding chit-chat during class, (c) not leaving the classroom prior to the end of class,
and (d) raising one’s hand during class discussions and waiting to be recognized prior to speaking.
Especially note that if I see a pattern of a student showing up late to class, the student will be

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confronted, which is not pleasant for either me (the instructor) or the student. So if you want to
be a member of this class, please adjust your schedule accordingly.

The specific breakdown of the grading of class involvement is shown on the next page, and
example profiles can be found in Appendix C. Note that for face-to-face sessions, case discussion days
are especially important. At the end of a respective class session that involves a case discussion, you
are responsible for depositing a self-evaluation of your participation using the case discussion self-
evaluation form that can be found on Canvas.

Scoring for case discussions will range from 0 to 2. A “0” will be recorded if no self-evaluation
is turned in immediately following the case discussion, or if responses on the self-evaluation are
unsatisfactory. A score of “0” equates to 0 out of 100 points. A “1” will be recorded if a self-evaluation
is turned in, but you did not actually participate in the discussion, although you can reasonably report
what you might have added to the discussion based on your knowledge of case material, lecture
material for the respective week, and especially the reading(s) assigned to the case. A score of “1”
equates to 85 out of 100 points. A score of “2” will be recorded if you participated, and you can make
it very clear about how your contribution to the discussion significantly reflected your knowledge of
case material, lecture material for the respective week, and especially the reading(s) assigned to the
case. Note that because of the class size, it may not be feasible for all students to participate in each
discussion. Nevertheless, it is still possible to get a score of “2” even without participating if your
response on the self-evaluation seems insightful, and clearly based on case material, lecture material
for the respective week, and the assigned reading(s).A score of “2” equates to 100 out of 100 points.
Occasionally, a grade of “.5” will be recorded if you attended the discussion, but what you report is
pretty meager or not very persuasive/informative. This score will equate to 80 out of 100 points. In
addition, a score of “1.5” might be recorded, which would equate to 92 out of 100 points. The lowest
of your case discussion scores will be dropped when determining this portion of your class
involvement grade.

Exams and Grading Policy

Sample exam questions for this course can be found in Canvas. Three exams will be
administered. Each will involve multiple-choice questions and an essay question, and each will be
based upon lecture, discussion, video, case, and reading materials. The exams are closed-book and
closed-notes. For essay questions, you will have a choice of one of two possible questions to answer,
and for the 2nd and 3rd exams, one of these questions will be cumulative (i.e., will involve integrating
material from earlier in the course). Note that you should read and study based more on concepts,
rather than rote memorization.

You should notify the instructor in advance if due to health, family, or religious reasons, you
cannot take an exam at the scheduled time. Accommodations will be made for students with religious
holidays, or for students who need to miss class because of university-sanctioned activities according
to ACD 304-02. It is your responsibility to notify the instructor in advance if such accommodations
need to be made. In addition, for accommodations to be granted or allowed by the instructor, it is the
responsibility of the student to provide corroboration (typically written) from an appropriate official
(e.g., doctor) who is familiar with your circumstances. The scheduling of a make-up exam is the
responsibility of the student. Except in extreme cases, the scheduling and taking of a make-up exam

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must be completed within one week of the original exam date. In addition, you are encouraged to make
an appointment to see the instructor if you have any questions or concerns regarding graded materials.

The grading scheme for this course is as follows:

% of Grade

Exam 1 15
Exam 2 15
Exam 3 15
Class Involvement 20
-- 5 (Online [Canvas] discussion participation)
-- 5 (Face-to-face class attendance)
-- 5 (Case discussions during face-to-face sessions)
-- 2.5 (Project presentation peer evaluation)
-- 2.5 (Miscellaneous)
Case Write-ups 20
Project 15

Total 100

Note: Canvas is used simply as a mechanism to post grades for individual items listed above. Do not
pay attention to how Canvas calculates overall grades. Canvas-recorded scores will be exported
to an Excel spreadsheet, and overall grades will be calculated based on the above weightings.

Academic Dishonesty & Honor Code

Faculty members of the W. P. Carey School of Business follow the guidelines in the Student
Academic Integrity Policy on academic dishonesty. A copy of the policy may be obtained in the
undergraduate programs office, BA 109 in Tempe.

Especially note that plagiarism or other academic dishonesty (i.e., cheating) will result in a
failing grade for the assignment and possibly for the course, and referral to the appropriate academic
standards bodies on campus. Plagiarism is the use of material from someone else’s written work
without acknowledging the source. This includes turning in papers written by someone else or copying
passages verbatim from someone else’s work without properly citing it. Understand that plagiarism can
include copying or using material from web sites and materials written by other students, as well as
copying or using material from books, newspapers, or journal articles without proper citation. A full
statement of ASU policies and resources for these issues are provided via external links in the Course
Information section of the course site. You are responsible for the information contained therein. A
useful web site that defines different aspects of plagiarism is: http://ori.hhs.gov/avoiding-plagiarism-
self-plagiarism-and-other-questionable-writing-practices-guide-ethical-writing.
https://my.wpcarey.asu.edu/academic-integrity/upload/Undergraduate-Honor-Code.pdf

Also see the link: http://provost.asu.edu/academicintegrity, which will take you to the web page
on academic integrity at the university level. It contains more detailed definitions, processes, sanctions
and possible outcomes. The bottom line is that he W. P. Carey School takes academic integrity very

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seriously. Therefore, unless otherwise specified, it is imperative that you do your own work. Any
suspected violations of academic integrity will be taken seriously and result in the following sanctions:

• A minimum of zero on the assignment/exam OR

• A reduced grade in the course OR
• A failure in the course OR
• An XE which denotes failure due to academic dishonesty on the transcript OR
• Removal from the W. P. Carey School of Business
Additional University-based Issues

Threatening behavior is taken very seriously in the school and in this class. For a
statement/policy regarding threatening behavior, see the Student Services Manual SSM 104-2
“Handling Disruptive, Threatening, or Violent Individuals on Campus”,
http://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/ssm/ssm104-02.html.

Disability Resource Center (DRC)

Title IX is a federal law that provides that no person be excluded on the basis of sex from
participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program
or activity. Both Title IX and university policy make clear that sexual violence and harassment based
on sex is prohibited. An individual who believes they have been subjected to sexual violence or
harassed on the basis of sex can seek support, including counseling and academic support, from the
university. If you or someone you know has been harassed on the basis of sex or sexually assaulted,
you can find information and resources at https://sexualviolenceprevention.asu.edu/faqs/students. As a
mandated reporter, the instructor is obligated to report any information that s/he becomes aware of
regarding alleged acts of sexual discrimination, including sexual violence and dating violence. ASU
Counseling Services, https://eoss.asu.edu/counseling, is available if you wish to discuss any concerns
confidentially and privately.

When requesting accommodations for a disability, students must:

(a) be registered with the Disability Resource Center (DRC), and

(b) submit appropriate documentation from the DRC. Per SSM 700 “Disability Resources”,
http://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/ssm/ssm701-01.html.

Summary of important links:

Academic Integrity
· https://provost.asu.edu/academic-integrity (Provost); and/or
· https://students.wpcarey.asu.edu/resources/academic-integrity (WPC)

Honor Code and Professionalism Policy

· https://students.wpcarey.asu.edu/resources/honor-code
· https://gradstudents.wpcarey.asu.edu/sites/default/files/honor-code.pdf (Graduate)

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Disability Resource Center (DRC)

· https://eoss.asu.edu/drc

Religious Accommodations
· http://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd304-04.html or
· ACD 304–04 (policy);
· https://eoss.asu.edu/cora/holidays (calendar)

Threatening Behavior Policy

· http://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/ssm/ssm104-02.html or
· SSM 104–02

University-Sanctioned Activities
· http://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd304-02.html or
· ACD 304–02

Tutoring Support
· https://students.wpcarey.asu.edu/resources/student-success-centers or
· https://studentsuccess.asu.edu/ (writing center included)

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SCHEDULE

Week/Date Reading(s) Topic/Activity

1 (Aug. 21) Ch. 1 Course introduction and overview of leadership

2 (Aug. 28) Ch. 2 Personal characteristics of leaders; behavioral

approaches; “leading with love”

3 (Sept. 4) Ch. 3 and 4; Case #1 Leader-member exchange; followership

4 (Sept. 11) Ch. 5 Contingency and situational leadership

5 (Sept. 18) ------- online review; EXAM 1

6 (Sept. 25) Ch. 6 Ethical, moral, and responsible leadership

7 (Oct. 2) Ch. 7; Case #2 Seeking, giving, and receiving feedback

8 (Oct. 9) Ch. 8 Team and shared leadership

9 (Oct. 16) Ch. 9; Case #3 Men and women in leadership

10 (Oct. 23) Ch. 10 Global leadership; “team time”

11 (Oct. 30) ------- online review; EXAM 2

12 (Nov. 6) Ch. 11; Case #4 Inspirational/visionary leadership

13 (Nov. 13) ------- Project presentations

14 (Nov. 20) Ch. 12; Case #5 Strategic leadership and shaping organizational culture
https://www.thestar.com/calgary/2018/05/14/westjets-pilot-troubles-might-be-just-the-beginning-of-a-
very-bumpy-ride.html

15 (Dec. 4) Ch. 13 Generating organizational change through strategic

leadership; project papers due

Dec 7th – 12th (TBD) online review; EXAM 3

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APPENDIX A: Guide to Writing Papers for MGT 411

1. Start off by introducing your report, and briefly state the points that you will be discussing. At the end of
the report, provide a summary statement or conclusions.

2. Organize your writing into logical sections or categories that can be used as section headings. Try to
make section headings relatively short, but informative in terms of signaling or summarizing what is
actually in the section that follows. Be creative or “catchy” in your labeling. For case write-ups, don’t
simply lift or copy sections headings from required readings or the top of page 5 of this syllabus.

3. Do not mix together too many unrelated or disparate thoughts in one paragraph. Make sure that you do
not make dramatic shifts as you move from one section or paragraph to the next. You might include
transition statements as you move from one paragraph or section to the next. In addition, try to write
without being overly-repetitive.

4. Ideal paragraph length is typically between 3 and 8 sentences. One exception to this rule is if the
beginning sentence of a longer paragraph has the same (or highly similar) theme as the ending sentence.
Sentence length is typically no more than 3 or 4 lines. As a rule of thumb, if a sentence cannot be said in
a meaningful way as part of an oral speech, then it probably does not make sense to put it in a paper.

5. Write using double-spacing, 12-point font, and 1-inch margins (sides, top, and bottom). Also, number
the pages of your report, especially if it goes beyond two pages.

6. Write mostly in the active tense and avoid the passive tense. For example, “our group believes that …”
is good, while “it is believed by our group that …” is not so good.

7. Write using appropriate grammar and punctuation. You may receive constructive feedback with
suggested corrections for minor grammatical issues, but no reduction of points. Examples include the
use (or non-use) of commas, ending sentences with prepositions, and not using “that” appropriately. But
more major problems (e.g., incomplete sentences, improper verbs, etc.) will lead to lower scores.

8. Avoid using too many quotations. I would rather see what you have to say, rather than what other
writers have to say. If necessary, you can paraphrase, as long as a citation is provided.

9. A listing of bullets can be useful. But like quotations, bullets should not dominate your paper.

10. Provide citations through the use of endnotes in the project paper, specifically when considering your
literature-based role model. Employ an endnoting style that is similar to the one that is used by your
textbook. Examples of when to provide a citation include: (a) quotations, (b) strong evaluative or
conclusive statement, e.g., “This leader was notorious for for being secretive ...”, (c) when you are
referring to prior research or studies, e.g., “prior research has shown that ...”, (d) when you are
paraphrasing another writer, and (e) when your statements are not common knowledge. As a general
rule, when in doubt, provide a citation. Providing citations helps avoid any possibility of plagiarism.

11. As part of the final process for proofing a paper, read the paper aloud, and for each sentence, ask
yourself “does this sound clear, reasonable, and appropriate?”

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APPENDIX B: Guide to Making Presentations in MGT 411

1. *Do not read your presentation as if it was a speech. If need be, use notes, but do not read.

2. *Avoid standing behind the podium. Get closer to, and even approach, the people to whom you are
presenting, especially when answering a question.

3. At the beginning, make an attempt to grab the attention of the listener. One of the more common ways
to do so is to overview the presentation and make a brief statement about why the presentation is
important or what the listener/viewer will learn.

4. The main focus of a presentation should be the presenter, not the slides. So use Powerpoint slides
sparingly. As a rule of thumb, include no more than about 1 slide (or at most 2 slides) for every 2
minutes of presentation time.

5. *Try to avoid too much staring at the slides, rather than at your audience. In other words, as much as
possible, attempt to make eye contact frequently with various members of your audience. But do not
focus your eye contact on any one person, such as the instructor.

6. Avoid using any one word or term too much. For example, avoid saying “also” repeatedly.

7. *Make sure that everything on a Powerpoint slide can be viewed from the back of the room in which
you are presenting.

8. *Feel free to include one or more internet links in your slides, but remember that if you go to the web,
it may take time to download. So plan accordingly, and make sure ahead of time that the link works.
Also feel free to include short video inserts, which can be effective at grabbing the viewer’s attention.

9. Conclude your presentation with a summary statement.

10. *Allow some time at the end of the presentation for some questions.

11. It is not necessary, and it may not be desirable (because of time constraints), to have each member of
your team involved in making the actual presentation. Team members who do not present can be more
heavily involved in other activities, such as research, writing the paper, and so forth. In addition,
perhaps such members can answer questions in the Q&A session at the end.

12. Remember that the best way to ensure an effective presentation is to “practice, practice, practice”
ahead of time. The more that you practice, the easier many of the above guidelines will be.

13. Here is a video that may be helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5c1susCPAE

*specifically, for face-to-face presentations

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APPENDIX C: Class Involvement Grading Profiles*

Example profile for A range:

• Participates regularly in Canvas discussions beyond short statements, such as “I agree”

• Rarely if ever misses a face-to-face class, arrives late, or leaves early
• Consistently refrains from using electronic devices while in class; the only exception is device
use that is directly related to classroom activities
• Contributes consistently and constructively, or listens attentively, to class discussions, although
you do not “hog” the air time
• Contributes on a consistent basis to discussions pertaining to assigned cases, during which you
draw on actual material from a respective case or other readings that day – and you make sure
to deposit a hard copy of your self-evaluation of case participation prior to leaving a respective
class session
• Completes the peer evaluation of project presentations with detailed and specific comments

Example profile for B range:

• Participates in Canvas discussions, but sometimes with short statements, such as “I agree”
• Sometimes misses a face-to-face class, arrives late, or leaves early
• Generally, but not always, refrains from using electronic devices that are unrelated to
classroom activities while in class
• Sometimes contributes constructively to class discussions, although you are not consistently
and positively engaged in classroom activities
• Occasionally contributes to discussions pertaining to assigned cases, but those contributions
may be somewhat “spotty” or not always based on actual case material or other readings that
day. If you don’t actually participate, you still generally make sure to adequately complete the
self-evaluation form for case discussion activity, and you deposit it prior to leaving a respective
class session.
• Completes the peer evaluation of project presentations with limited or non-specific comments

Example profile for C range (or below)*:

• Rarely, if ever, participates in Canvas discussions

• Oftentimes misses a face-to-face class, arrives late, or leaves early
• Generally does not refrain from using electronic devices that are unrelated to the class
• Rarely contributes to class discussions in a constructive manner, and you are often not engaged
in classroom activities (or even disruptive)
• Rarely, if ever, contributes to discussions pertaining to assigned cases, or does not adequately
complete the self-evaluation form
• Does not complete the peer evaluation of project presentations

*Although it’s not expected, it is possible to get below the C range for class involvement due to such
things as excessive absence.

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