BMGT 365 ENTIRE COURSE MARYLAND
Learning Activity #1:
Using your reading material and experience as a platform, create a list of five characteristics a leader must possess to be called a good leader in the 21 Century.
Make sure to select the traits or characteristics keeping in mind what will likely be important throughout the 21 Century. Explain why your five characteristics were selected.
Learning Activity #2
John Kotter, in his article, “What Leaders Really Do,” makes the following statement: “Managers promote stability, while leaders press for change, and only organizations that embrace both sides of the contradiction can thrive in turbulent times.”
Read the fact pattern of Studier International at the end of the chapter in Richard Daft’s book The Leadership Experience, found here:
Daft, Chapter One
Explain what you think Dean Adams should do in light of Kotter’s quote. Should he think like a manager or leader in making this decision, and why? Be sure to elucidate the ramifications of this decision by taking the different perspectives. Also, include in your comments the different solutions that may result from a leader’s perspective and that of the manager’s perspective.
(The more thoughtfully you consider this question, and answer it thoroughly, the better served you will be in future Learning Activities.)
Learning Activity #3
Click on the link below and fill out the chart to include the individual characteristics of a leader and manager in the categories named.
Leader v. Manager Chart
BMGT365 Week 2 Maryland
Organizational Structure
Preface:
A leader’s job is to create a direction for the company to move forward. After setting the vision and mission for the company the leader must establish an organizational structure that promotes the vision. Various factors must be looked at in creating the structure. First and foremost is the purpose of the company or organization. What type of structure will best accomplish that goal? Certainly a company like UPS needs a somewhat rigid structure that is set up to focus on procedure and time sensitivity. Since UPS has as its goal to get the correct parcels to the right customers in the fastest way possible, variance in procedures or ways of accomplishing the tasks would never work. A tight, delineated structure is imperative.
Along with the purpose the leader must look at the vision of the organization. Where does the leader want the organization to go? How best can the structure provide for the future? Will the vision call for expansion into other countries or simply call for product development changes? Should a leader plan a structure that can easily grow in size without harming its integrity or one that focuses on the best way to make new products? Vision must be built into the organizational structure.
Last but not least budget considerations and external environments may want to be considered in developing the structure. These factors are something that would have to be evaluated on a case by case basis.
Learning Activity #1
It is time now to try your hand at creating a structure to fit an organization. Here are the facts
Justin Hickey has created the Mountain Mug Cafe. It is known for its special blend coffee, fresh sandwiches and hearty salads at moderate prices and fast service to skiers in the bustling town of Park City, Utah. The cafe has a cozy ambiance, with a Western décor, a huge fireplace surrounded by comfy couches and chairs for people to sit and a huge picture window that overlooks the Rocky Mountains.
Catering to skiers, the cafe serves fresh meals in a hurry to people taking a break from the slopes and is located 10 minutes from a popular ski lift. The cafe’s major attraction, however, is a high-quality coffee bar that specializes in superior custom blend coffees made unique to each customer. Business has grown steadily in the last seven years and its future looks bright. Justin Hickey feels that he has other business interests that he wishes to explore and cannot address the cafe full-time. He wants to set in place a structure that will continue to grow the business while maintaining its quality and reputation.
Some additional facts that may help: Hickey currently employs a chef and two line cooks. The chef has been anxious to change menu items to take on seasonal fare and take a larger role in purchasing. Hickey has a wait staff of six people but is about to lose one to marriage. He currently is open from 8:00 am and closes with the ski lift at 5pm. These hours are seven days a week in season and six days a week off season with closing time on Saturday at 3pm. He is being encouraged by customers to stay open for dinner year round. This would mean an additional set of wait staff and cooks, etc. Also, Hickey is concerned about rising food prices.
Instructions:
- Create a vision and mission statement for Hickey.
- Create an organization structure which will further Hickey’s organization.
BMGT365 Week 3 Maryland
Justin Hickey has created the Mountain Mug Cafe. It is known for its special blend coffee, fresh sandwiches and hearty salads at moderate prices and fast service to skiers in the bustling town of Park City, Utah. The cafe has a cozy ambiance, with a Western décor, a huge fireplace surrounded by comfy couches and chairs for people to sit and a huge picture window that overlooks the Rocky Mountains.
Catering to skiers, the cafe serves fresh meals in a hurry to people taking a break from the slopes and is located 10 minutes from a popular ski lift. The cafe’s major attraction, however, is a high-quality coffee bar that specializes in superior custom blend coffees made unique to each customer. Business has grown steadily in the last seven years and its future looks bright. Justin Hickey feels that he has other business interests that he wishes to explore and cannot address the cafe full-time. He wants to set in place a structure that will continue to grow the business while maintaining its quality and reputation.
Some additional facts that may help: Hickey currently employs a chef and two-line cooks. The chef has been anxious to change menu items to take on seasonal fare and take a larger role in purchasing. Hickey has a wait staff of six people but is about to lose one to marriage. He currently is open from 8:00 am and closes with the ski lift at 5pm. These hours are seven days a week in season and six days a week off season with closing time on Saturday at 3pm. He is being encouraged by customers to stay open for dinner year round. This would mean an additional set of wait staff and cooks, etc. Also, Hickey is concerned about rising food prices. Hickey is being encouraged by customers to stay open for dinner year round. This would mean an additional set of wait staff and cooks etc. Also, Hickey is concerned about rising food prices.
Learning Activity #1
Establish a culture that will enhance Hickey’s vision and the structure you have created for Hickey last week. Make sure the culture is in alignment with the flow and work towards the vision. Here you want to look at the OCIA assessment, values and mission when deciding what culture is best for Hickey and his company.
BMGT365 Week 4 Maryland
Learning Activity #1
Authenticity, Mood, and Empathy and Leadership Experiences
Read the articles below. The, think about your own experience in the workplace or in any other organizations and discuss any experiences you personally may have had that proved the authors ideas true.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_53.htm
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_75.htm
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_67.htm
Learning Activity #2
Part One
Richard Daft’s Book, The Leadership Experience, has a case study entitled the USS Florida located at the end of the chapter. Leadership: Mind and Heart. Using the link find and read the case.
The powers that be have decided to give him a second chance to lead his own ship. The captain has come to you to help him come up with a plan of action to accomplish his goal of a radical leadership makeover. Analyze how the Captain might go about changing his leadership style if given a new ship and crew. Take into consideration his personality traits, the organizational values, emotional intelligence and social leadership aspects of his role as leader. Be specific. Think of specific practical ways that will help him to self- educate the change. In short make him a new man so that his men will follow. FOR THOSE OF YOU IN THE MILITARY OR EX-MILITARY BE CAREFUL NOT TO BE REALITY DRIVEN IN YOUR RESPONSES. Do not focus on the reality of the situation as you have experienced things, but rather focus on the readings for the week and the course-to-date. Divorce yourself from military thinking for this exercise and think like a business leader.
Part Two
Take one of short personality and emotional IQ tests located in the toolbox or in the weekly schedule. Comment to the class areas you may need to improve upon or can use to help you in creating followers. Support your comments with the reading.
Learning Activity #3
In the article “Primal Leadership” (from the readings), page 45 has a short side note, “Those Wicked Bosses Who Win.” In the blurb the author suggests that Bill Gates’s personality was an exception to his theory that being in a good mood is very important to social success in a leader. Yet later he goes on to say that the exception actually wasn’t because Gates challenged his highly motivated employees. In short he was a situational exception.
After reading the article and the short side note, do you think situational exceptions exist or do you think that they just use emotions to make their situation work for them?
BMGT365 Week 5 Maryland
Learning Activities #1
Building a Diverse Team:
In the article “Ten Tips On Leading A Diverse Team,” the author, Simon Mitchell a Managing Director in the UK, defines ten ways to lead a successful “diverse” team. Joanne Sujansky in her article “The Five Traps in Leading a Diverse Team” explains some major traps that a group leader can encounter when leading a diverse group. Compare the tips and traps identified in these articles with those you might perceive are different for non-diverse teams; determine where they differ and then apply the information to the fact pattern that follows:
You are the vice-president of a growing candy company located in an area of town that is home to many Hindu and Muslim people. There are a growing number of local women being employed on the manufacturing floor of the business. Recently health and safety concerns have been raised by the company’s health and safety committee asking that women wearing bangles, Sari’s or veils and long covering clothes be asked to remove them and change into “safety attire” when entering the floor. The Hindu women do not want to remove their bangles as it is a mark of their marriage and the esteem for which their husbands hold them. The greater the quantity and value of bangles, the higher the esteem. The bangles however, can easily get caught in mixing machines causing injury to the wearer as evidenced by a recent accident. Veils and long clothing have similar problems with getting caught in the machines, as well as carrying dirt and food particles around the floor. In the case of clothing however, there are religious reasons for their being worn. As the company thus far has had no diversity issues arise they have asked you to set up a team to handle all diversity issues in the company now and in the future. Who would you select to be on the team and how would you structure the team members to solve the present issue and those that may arise in the future? Be sure to explain why you selected a particular person supporting your reasoning with the two articles and reading. Remember you are not limited to the selection of people from the company alone. Outside help can be considered as well in your selection process. Also, think about the decision making aspect of this situation. Does the team make any decisions or is this a team that reports and recommends? Is the team temporary or permanent and why?
Learning Activities #2
Research one of the remaining topics on your reading list of 21st century leadership skills from the reading this week. Ladies, you are to choose from change/adaptability or sustainability, and gentlemen you take innovation or knowledge management. Be sure all the topics are covered. When you have completed your research you should be able to offer to the class five reasons why a 21st century leader must include these among his/her leadership expertise. Be specific and detailed in your explanation as to why each of your reasons is valid. If you wish to give a leader that exemplifies your reason(s) feel free to do so.
BMGT365 Week 6 Maryland
Learning Activity #1
Debate the following question:
“A good leader creates an organizational culture where the employees are so engaged in the work that the organization fades into the background.”
To make sure that both sides of the argument is covered Ladies you have the Pro side while Gentlemen you have the Con side. You must explain in your main post the difference between passionate and empowered employees. Here is an article to add to your reading that suggest some negative as well as positive ideas of passionate employees vs empowered employees.
Don’t ask employees to passionate about the company Into the realm of passionmotivation=empowermentmotivation equals empowerment
Learning Activity #2
Answer the following questions and support your answers with the weekly reading:
If a leader’s job is to develop the future of the organization, how does motivation and empowerment fit in to this role? Be sure to explain the difference between the two ideas and ways that both motivation and empowerment should be used in the job the leader does.
- Why is it important for the leader to empower? Why can’t the manager do the job? OR do they both do the job?
- What is meant by structural empowerment? Why is it important to the leader?
Learning Activity #3
Research telecommuting and flat organizational structures and how they serve to encourage or discourage employee satisfaction.
Bring your supported observation
BMGT365 Week 7 Maryland
Learning Activity #1
Learning Activity #2
Learning Activity #3
BMGT365 Week 8 Maryland
Final Learning Activity
Compare the vision you had of a “Good Leader” when you started the course and the vision you have today. Be detailed in your description. Address the role of social architect in the 21st century, characteristics, and perspective of the leader as you have come to understand them from the class reading and ideas. What are the major differences between the two visions and therefore the major ideas you will take away from this course?
Paper #1: The Role of the Leader
Instructions
In the past weeks, students have learned about leaders and leadership. Leaders are social architects who design an organizational environment that encourages a desired range of social behaviors in an effort to meet the organizational goals set forth. Social architects create vision and strategic direction, shape culture and values and lead change.
This assessment is designed in a way that students can demonstrate knowledge of the material covered in weeks 1 – 4 and apply leadership concepts and ideas to a real-world situation. Students will delve into the details of the case study and the course readings but must also look at the situation from a strategic point of view since Dunn wants a sustainable business.
Required Elements to include in Paper #1:
In this assessment, you will act as Joseph Dunn, the leader of Dunn’s Ski Emporium. You want to purchase The Deli, so there is a lot of work to do before entering into the possible addition of a business you know nothing about. As Dunn, you will develop a leadership plan (not a business plan) writing from a leader’s perspective. So, you ask, what it means to write from a leader’s perspective?
Writing from the leader’s perspective means you will approach Dunn’s vision through the people centric viewpoint of the leader. You are focused on how the two businesses will meet the vision through the decision making flow and grouping of people within the organizations. How do you best use the people to meet your vision? Even though it is tempting to write in the first person, a plan is written in the third person in which a story will unfold. Dunn is essentially telling a story of how he is going to purchase the Deli and bring George and the business in as part of the Dunn Ski Emporium. Dunn will need to figure out how he is going to combine these two businesses and use his leadership skills to do so. Remember, you are writing from the leader’s perspective and are not solving problems but literally creating and developing an environment in which problems will be resolved by those who make the business run.
Dunn plans on designing an organizational structure that fulfills his vision, one that he believes George has for The Deli, and one that will fulfill its mission. The organization must be open to change and possess a culture that empowers its employees to follow the vision created. Like all good social architects, the building must start with a design that suites the purpose of the business and seeks to make it the best building for the job. The entire paper is the plan. Students are expected to be creative but realistic in developing pieces of the plan. For example, feel free to assign names and roles to the people in the business. In being creative students may not change the facts in the plan. Dunn will provide the plan to George Atkins once Dunn sits down with him to begin negotiations, so the plan must be polished. Also to make sure questions can easily be addressed, Dunn is going to write in the active voice and support the reasoning behind his ideas. Dunn wants to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the leadership material, so a wide range of the readings will appear in the plan.
Dunn has created an outline for the plan and has determined the following headings or steps to use:
1) Introduction paragraph in which purpose of the plan is explained and How Dunn’s approach to designing the plan is appropriate to his role as a social architect in the organization
2) Evaluate the organization’s purpose and goals. For example, what does the business do to make money? what is required in terms of the type of people who need to run the day-to-day operations? Discuss the critical elements that must be in place for Dunn to be successful in this new venture.
3) Develop vision and mission statements;
4) Design an organizational structure including an organizational chart that compliments the business purpose and its purpose when the merger takes place. Evaluate the key people like George Aitkin’s role in Dunn’s plan and how the decision making and placement of people would make the business flow;
5) Design an organizational culture that complements the organizational structure, business (es) purpose, and supports Dunn’s vision (use the OCAI to help in your selection);
6) Assess the environment for change in your plan. For example, is there a mechanism built in to the organizational structure and culture to facilitate change? Joseph Dunn as a change agent for the business environment? What steps should Dunn take for short-term change? For long-term change?
Within the steps of the plan, Dunn will analyze the following elements of leadership. In covering these steps, it is necessary to perform an analysis in terms of how and why steps are taken. Students are not covering the topics superficially but are required to use the course readings to explain the detail:
1) Joseph Dunn as a social architect
2) Joseph Dunn as an individual – be sure to include what Dunn can do to enhance his role as leader?
3) Joseph Dunn as a change agent for the business environment? What steps should Dunn take for short-term change? For long-term change?
4) George Aitkin’s role in Dunn’s plan;
5) Based on your leadership plan, discuss how Dunn might integrate the role managers have to strengthen his vision.
6) Discuss the critical elements that must be in place for Dunn to be successful in this new venture.
Required Formatting of The Plan:
- Since this is a plan, students are able to write single, spaced with a double space between paragraphs.
- Use 12-point font, and three -five pages in length including diagrams.
- Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and instructor’s name;
- Use headings as indicated;
- Reference page;
- Summary that provides the key points of Dunn’s plan;
- Writing is expected to be clear and concise;
- Write in the third person;
- Use APA formatting for in-text citations and reference page. You are expected to paraphrase and not use direct quotes. Deductions will be taken when direct quotes are used and found to be unnecessary;
- Outside resources may be used but the majority of the support will come from the course readings with a wide array of readings used;
Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.
Paper #2 Lots of Fun
Instructions
In this assessment, students will read the case study provided. Students will then write a paper analyzing the situation with the daughter and father in terms of the following required elements: The expectation is that the analysis is thorough and detailed yet concise. Be sure to make connections between the facts presented in the case study and the information on leadership in the course readings. Students are expected to effectively use a wide range of the course readings in completing the paper, which means the course readings are used to support ideas and reasoning rather than stand-alone statements. In writing this paper, it is necessary to perform an analysis in terms of how and why the daughter or father take a certain course of action. Students are not covering the topics superficially but are required to use the course readings to explain the detail:
- Leadership role
- Leader as individual
- Social architect
- Change agent
- Ø Include father as a manager with short-term goal orientation
- Ø Include daughter as a leader with long-term goal orientation
- Relationship builder
- How can the daughter and father use the concept of moral compass to give direction to the implementation of a vision and contribute to the success and sustainability of the company?
Required Formatting of the Paper #2:
- This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and five to seven pages in length excluding the title page and reference page;
- Include an introduction and a summary paragraph;
- Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and instructor’s name;
- Use headings;
- Writing should be clear and concise;
- Write in the third person;
- Use APA formatting for in-text citations and reference page. You are expected to paraphrase and not use direct quotes. Deductions will be taken when direct quotes are used and found to be unnecessary;
- Outside resources may be used but the majority of the support will come from the course readings with a wide array of readings used;
Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.
