Course Syllabus

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

SMO 875

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 875 Section A1

Edmonton Cohort EMBA Entering Class of 2010 of the Alberta Haskayne EMBA Program

January to April 2012

LEADERSHIP

Please Note: You are responsible for reading and following the instructions in this syllabus.

Instructor: Dr. Richard Field

Office: Business Building Room 4-30M

Telephone: 780-492–5921; Fax 780-492–3325

E-mail: Richard.Field@ualberta.ca

Class Times: January to April 2012

Office hours:  I am always available both before and after class. You may also call or e-mail for an appointment, or drop in at my office.

Web Address for Professor: www.bus.ualberta.ca/rfield

Course Resources: http://www.business.ualberta.ca/rfield/Resources.htm

SMO 875 Motto: "Nobody go back to where they were!"

Notes from General Faculties Council: 

1. “Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar.” Specifically, "At the beginning of each course, instructors are required by GFC to provide a course outline which must include the following: (1) a statement of the course objectives and general content; (2) a list of the required textbooks and other major course materials; (3) an indication of how and when students have access to the instructor; (4) the distribution of weight between term work and final examination; (5) identification of all course activities worth 10% or more of the overall course mark; (6) whether marks are given for class participation and other in-class activities as well as the weight of such participation; (7) dates of any examination and course assignments with a weight of 10% or more of the overall course mark; (8) the manner in which the official University grading system is to be implemented in that particular course or section, i.e., whether a particular distribution is to be used to determine grades, or whether there are absolute measures or marks which will determine them, or whether a combination of the two will be used. Instructors should refer to the University of Alberta Marking and Grading Guidelines.

2. From the University of Alberta Libraries website "Imagine that you were about to get surgery and just as you were going under, you discovered that your surgeon had cheated throughout his/her university career. Would you feel betrayed? What if it was your lawyer? Your accountant? Your child's teacher? All the above scenarios are reflective of a concept called academic integrity. As the above examples illustrate, academic integrity not only affects the climate at the university but it can also affect every other area of your life." http://www.library.ualberta.ca/guides/plagiarism/academic/index.cfm

The Centre for Academic Integrity at Duke University defines academic integrity "as a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. From these values flow principles of behaviour that enable academic communities to translate ideals into action." (See http://www.academicintegrity.org/)

From General Faculties Council: “The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/gfcpolicymanual/content.cfm?ID_page=37633) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.”

3. The University of Alberta Code of Student Behaviour (online at http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/gfcpolicymanual/content.cfm?ID_page=37633#38360) specifies in Section 30.3.4 Inappropriate Behaviour towards Members of the University Community, subsection 30.3.4(1) Disruption, paragraph 30.3.4(1)a that "No Student shall disrupt a Class in such a way that interferes with the normal process of the session or the learning of other Students." Under Section 30.4.3 Levels of Sanction, subsection 30.4.3(1) Minor Sanctions, paragraph 30.4.3(1)a "Instructors have the authority to dismiss a Student from Class for no more than 3 hours of Class time for Disruption of a Class. In cases where a single class meeting is longer than 3 hours the student may be excluded from that entire class."

University Policy on Recording: 

Recording is permitted only with the prior written consent of the professor or if recording is part of an approved accommodation plan.

In the School of Business course calendar the course is described as:

“Understanding the unique perspectives, tasks, and responsibilities of the executive in providing leadership to the organization; dynamic processes of organizations; and developing leadership skills. The purpose of the course is for students to develop an understanding of their current leadership strengths and weaknesses, and customize a personal development plan. Following this self-analysis, students will be asked to consider how to energize their organizations to go beyond their ‘call of duty’, to be ambitious about their own future and the futures of their organizations.”

This purpose will be achieved by peer discussion, case analysis, experiential exercises and role plays, and by a self-analysis and future oriented plan.

The course text is Level Three Leadership: Getting below the surface, 5th edition, by James G. Clawson, Prentice Hall, 2012. The text is available at the University of Alberta bookstore. It is also available online from a variety of online sellers. It may also become available from CourseSmart e-Textbooks, see www.coursesmart.com.

  Fifth Edition.

There may be copies of the Fourth and Fifth editions of the textbook either in the bookstore, Subtitles, or for sale by students. The chapter titles and order are the same between the fourth and fifth editions.

Fourth Edition.

The author's webpage is located at: http://faculty.darden.edu/clawsonj/

Course readings selected from the Fast Company magazine are available on the www.fastcompany.com website. The purpose of these articles is to supplement the discussion of leaders and leadership by examining examples from the popular management press. Think of these as leadership cases.

For readings from the Harvard Business Review or Sloan Management Review you will likely need to go through a university computer due to the permissions required. Go to http://www.library.ualberta.ca/index.cfm?searchtype=articles, type the article title in quotes into the "Articles Search" box, and hit "Return" to get the article link. There is also now an ezproxy login to allow permissioning from remote computers.

Course Requirements

This is an EMBA course that will be run as a seminar. The course components are designed to encourage you to come to class, to share your thoughts with others, and to learn from a variety of sources and methods. To achieve the maximum benefits from this course the student needs an open mind, the willingness to prepare seriously for class, to attend class and participate with the objective of learning as much as possible, and to work with the professor and other students in the class as colleagues. For the self-analysis and personal development plan (SAPDP) you will need to work on your SAPDP portfolio throughout the course.

My course activity goals are for you to: read all materials assigned before class; come to class and actively participate and discuss the topic under consideration; and to think, self-analyze, and write about what we’ve covered.

LEARNING GOALS

There are a number of learning goals for this course:

1. Communication Skills - Oral and Written -- the student will have the opportunity to speak to the rest of the class and participate with others. Assignments have a written component to allow the development of writing skills. The student will become more proficient in oral and written communications.

2. Critical Thinking -- Students will be exposed to issues and ideas from the business press. Students will be better able to analyze problems, situations and issues in a clear-minded, rigorous intellectual manner.

3. Ethical Awareness -- Students will develop a high degree of awareness of ethical concepts and issues in the world of business and will begin to learn to develop strategies to both recognize and deal with ethical problems.

4. Global Awareness -- Students will develop an awareness of the global community in which business operates and how management and business operations are likely to vary between countries and cultures.

5. Information Literacy -- Students will read articles from the business press and learn to extract the key lessons from those articles. They will therefore become better able to read and learn from materials available to the public.

6. Practical Experience -- Students will develop the ability to apply academic knowledge to their own real-world work situations.

7. Teamwork -- Students will have the opportunity to work in a team and apply group concepts and techniques of leadership and conflict resolution toward the effective functioning of the team. Students will therefore become better team members and leaders of teams.

8. Leadership Skills -- Students will be encouraged to develop an understanding of leadership roles and skills and how leadership methods may change depending on organizational circumstances. At the end of this course students will be ready to lead in organizational settings.

There are several components to the determination of the course grade in SMO 875.

1. Self-Analysis and Personal Development Plan (SAPDP) 40%. The back of the text has a number of exercises which can be done on an individual basis. Choose and complete at least one workbook exercise from each section of the text, as shown on page 341. The sections are: Introductory Concepts; Strategic Frames; Self-Leadership; Leading Others; Leading By Design; and Conclusion. I particularly suggest you look at the "Survey of Managerial Style", "Balancing Your Life", and "Leadership Steps Assessment".

These completed exercises will build a portfolio of self-analytic results that are done for your benefit. I suggest you complete them when you have the time to give them your full attention. You may wish to complete them as we move through the course material in order that you have some of the work completed before the plan due date.

By the due date hand in your minimum of six completed self-analysis exercises AND an accompanying personal development plan of a minimum of 2500 words of how you will energize yourself and your organization to be ambitious about the future. You may integrate your self-analysis exercise results into your report or include them as an appendix. There is no requirement to retype exercise from the text. Either point me to the page number of the text or include photocopies of the exercise and your results in your appendix. The appendix does not count towards the 2500 word requirement. The 2500 word SAPDP is expected to be in essay form though you may supplement it with tables and charts.

A grading sheet will be used and is available online.

2. Self-Analysis and Personal Development Plan (SAPDP) Presentation 10%. Presentation in the last class of your SAPDP.

3. Midterm Exam 25%. The midterm exam will consist of multiple choice and/or short answer questions that cover classes, articles, text chapters and videos. The date is to be announced.

4. Final Exam 25%. The final exam will consist of multiple choice and/or short answer questions that cover classes, articles, text chapters and videos. The date is to be announced.

Course Grading

There are no official recommendations for grading at the 800 level. However, the University of Alberta recommends for 600-level courses a mean grade of 3.33, or "B+". Your grade will be based partly on your absolute performance in the class and partly based on your performance relative to the other students in the class. The grades below C+ are failures at the Master's level and are given when there are significant problems with that student's performance in the class.

Re-Reading

It is important to re-read chapters and articles before the meeting in which they are discussed to both refresh your memory and also to have a chance to think again about the chapter and article concepts. This means that if you read the chapters and articles well ahead of classes you will need to review them before class so that the ideas are fresh in your mind.

Course Schedule 

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