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PRST 5310/6310/7310 Syllabus

Course Syllabus

PRST 5310/6310/7310 - Leadership in Organization

3 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:

Organizational leadership is a course designed to inform the individual about the structure and behavior of actors at all levels of the organization. Through various exercises such as written assignments and discussion, the student will be able to understand "why" and "how" organizations operate and function under dynamic leadership. 

Course Outcomes:

At the end of this course the student will be able to:

1) Establish a theoretical foundation about the development and perpetual sustainability of all organizations that the student may apply in various academic and practical endeavors throughout their professional career. 

2) Discuss current and future trends that are emerging in the field of organization theory in an effort to assist in preparing the student for problem solving in an organizational setting. 

3) Use analytical reasoning skills for making decisions and solving problems in organizations.

Prerequisites & Co-requisites:

Admission to the Master of Professional Studies program or departmental approval.

Course Topics:

1. Classical Organization Theory

2. Neoclassical Organization Theory

3. Modern Structural Organization Theory

4. Systems Theory, Population Ecology, and Organizational Economics

5. Power and Politics Organization Theory

6. Organizational Culture and Reform Movements

7. Postmodernism and the Information Age

8. Human Relations School of thought

9. Management and the Behavioral Sciences

10. Individual Behavioral and Motivation

11. Leadership and Power

12. Organizational Change and Development

Specific Course Requirements:

There are no specific requirements for this course.

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course. Move your cursor over the "Books" link in the navigation bar and select "Textbooks & Course Materials." Select your Program, Term, Department, and Course; then select "Submit."

Supplementary Materials:
Hardware and Software Requirements:

Minimum hardware requirements can be found here.

Minimum software requirements can be found here.

Common applications you might need:

Web Resources:

Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab (for APA, MLA, or Chicago style)

The Writing Center Online Writer's Handbook

Student Resources:
  • Technical support information can be found on the TN eCampus Help Desk page.
  • Smarthinking virtual tutoring is available FREE of charge. to access Smarthinking, visit the course homepage and select Smarthinking under Course Resources. You also view sample sessions to see what Smarthinking offers and how it works.
  • Information on other student issues or concerns can be located on the TN eCampus Student Resources page.

Instructor Information

Please see "Instructor Information" in the Getting Started Module for instructor contact information, virtual office hours, and other communication information. You can expect to receive a response from the instructor within 24-48 hours unless notified of extenuating circumstances.

Participation, Assessments, & Grading

Testing Procedures:

The following avenues will be used as testing procedures for this class: an annotated bibliography, regular written assignments and discussion board sessions, and a midterm and final exam. 

Grading Procedures:

A rubric will be developed for each assignment with the total number of points available. Different assignments may carry different weights. These weights will be defined with each assignment.

Grading Scale:

Annotated Bibliography 100 points

Written Assignments 100 points

Discussions Assignments 100 points

Final Exam 200 points

Total 500 points

Final Grades will be premised on cumulative points as follows: A = 500- 450; B = 449 - 390; C = 389 - 320; D = 319 - 260 (Grade may not be offered at some institutions); F = below 260. 

Individual Assignment Grading Scale: A = 100 – 90; B = 89 – 80; C = 79 – 70; D = 69 – 60(Grade may not be offered at some institutions); F = below 60.

Assignments and Projects:

Exams:

Each student will be required to complete a final exam. The student will be required to answer in short essay form, questions about organizational theory topics discussed throughout the semester. The final will cover material from the whole semester. The student will submit the exams via the dropbox labeled Final Exam. Late exams will not be accepted, period.

Written Assignments:

Regularly the student will be required to submit an answer to a proposed question over the readings assigned for the module. The written assignment question(s) will be found under the course content module. Each student must answer the question in a three to five page essay and submit the written assignment by 4 pm on the due date. The instructor will grade each written assignment and submit the grade via the grade link. Late assignments will not be accepted, period. There will be ten written assignments scheduled throughout the semester so every time the student fails to complete the assignment on time, ten points will be deducted from their weekly assignment grade. 

In addition to the written assignments you will have discussions where you must post an answer to a question, stated by the instructor, for the module. The discussion for any one module is worth up to twenty points. All students will post a response to each of the discussion questions. In addition each student will respond to the comments left by at least one of the other students. You may only respond once to any particular student and that student must respond to your comments. You may however respond to as many students as you like, and they may respond once to you.

General criteria used to assess class discussions include:

(1) Content Mastery: Students must evidence an understanding of the fact, concepts, and theories presented in the assigned readings and lectures. This ability is the basis for all higher-level skills and must be made evident by comments and/or response to questions.

(2) Communication Skills: Students must be able to inform others in an intelligent manner what he/she knows. Ideas must be communicated clearly and persuasively. Communication skills include listening to others and understanding what they have said, responding appropriately, asking questions in a clear manner, avoiding rambling discourses or class domination, using proper vocabulary pertinent to the discussion, building on the ideas of others, etc.

(3) Synthesis/Integration: Students must be able to illuminate the connections between the material under consideration and other bodies of knowledge. For example, one could take several ideas from the reading or class discussions and combine them to produce a new perspective on an issue, or one could take outside materials (from other classes, personal experiences, etc.) and combine them to create novel insights. Students who probe the interdisciplinary roots of the theories presented or who are able to view the author or the materials from several viewpoints demonstrate this skill.

(4) Creativity: Students must demonstrate that they have mastered the basic materials and have gone on to produce their own insights. A simple repetition of ideas from the articles will not suffice, nor will simply commenting on what others have said. Students must go beyond the obvious by bringing their own beliefs and imagination to bear. Creativity may be displayed by showing further implications of the material, by applying it to a new field, or by finding new ways of articulating the materials, which produce significant insights.

(5) Valuing: Students should be able to identify the value inherent in the material studied. Furthermore, students should be able to articulate their own positions by reference to basic underlying values. Students must not simply feel something is wrong or incorrect; she or he must be able to state why, based on some hierarchy of values. In either accepting or rejecting a position, the operative values must be explicit.

(6) General Enthusiasm and Interest in the Class: This can be shown by regularity of discussion and bringing in outside, ancillary materials that you read or have passed along to you. The more substance that you bring to the discussion, the higher your grade.

Annotated Bibliography:

Annotated bibliographies train the research-oriented student on the systematic process of formulating literature reviews that are used in theses and dissertations. This is a good exercise for the student who is planning on continuing their graduate education at the doctoral level or for the student planning on writing a master’s thesis. Additionally, this exercise is a writing and research exercise intended to train the student in such skills that are necessary at the graduate level of training.

Annotated Bibliography

The format (headings for all sections) of each article analyzed in the annotated bibliography should be as follows:

  •  Citation of the Journal Article 
  • The stated Problem addressed by the article
  • The Purpose of the article
  • The Methods used to gather the data in the Article (this may not be applicable in all cases since most of the articles are theoretical arguments)
  • The Findings and Conclusions of the Article
  • Your Opinion of the validity of the Article in helping us understand organizations and why you tend to believe this way

The overall structure of the Annotated Bibliography should be as follows:

  • Title Page
  • Table of Contents of sections with each article alphabetized
  • The summarized articles in alphabetical order
  • An analysis of the articles relating them to one another

--- Address the literature gap that warrants further research on your topic

--- An automatic letter grade will be deducted from your grade if this question is not addressed

  • Conclusion stating what we have learned from the articles
  • Bibliography
  • Citation Style: APA

Minimum Requirements for the Annotated Bibliography

  •  At least 15 pages in length, not counting the title page but no more than 20 pages.
  • No less than 10 sources, which can only be from referred journal articles.
  • ** The student will submit the annotated bibliography via the drop box link on the RODP course module.

Technical Format:

All papers should use the following technical format: Microsoft Word, Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1” margins from left to right and top to bottom, and double space each line in the paper. Furthermore, number all the pages in your paper. However, if direct quotes used in the paper are the equivalent of three lines or more, single space and separate them from the main text. Late annotated bibliographies will automatically be reduced one letter grade for each day they are late. If the annotated bibliographies are more than three days late they will not be accepted, period!

Grading Criteria:

The following information outlines the grading criteria for the module assignments, exams, and annotated bibliography:

1) Analysis: A sufficient number of leadership concepts are used to analyze the situation discussed in the paper;

2) References: A variety of pertinent and timely references were sought and obtained in preparing the paper;

3) Organization: The main points are stated clearly and arranged in a logical sequence;

4) Coherence: The development of ideas, arguments and discussion shows consistency and logical connection;

5) Clarity: The ideas, arguments and discussion shows consistency and logical connection;

6) Conciseness: The language is direct and to the point, using sufficient space to say exactly what is intended and be readily understood by the reader;

7) Grammar: The written is in standard American English, with proper sentence structure, syntax, punctuation and spelling;

8) Drafting: The writing shows evidence of being drafted and revised before submission of the final copy

Additional Readings:

Additional readings may be assigned throughout the semester to accompany chapters in the required texts for this class. The instructor will provide these additional articles to the students approximately one week before the readings are due in class

Class Participation:

Students must participate in all interactive aspects of the course. Students must use discussion threads and e-mail to communicate with the instructor and other students. Students are expected to communicate with the instructor as a learning resource, students must check the course bulletin board frequently for announcements, and students must actively participate in threaded discussion events.

Late Policy:

Course Ground Rules

The following two statements (1., 2.) were derived from the TBR System-wide Student Rules document, released January 2012:

RULES OF THE TENNESSEE BOARD OF REGENTS STATE UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM OF TENNESSEE SYSTEMWIDE STUDENT RULES CHAPTER 0240-02-03 STUDENT CONDUCT AND DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS

Read the document in its entirety here.

1. Standards of Conduct:

  • Students are required to adhere to the same professional, legal and ethical standards of conduct online as on campus. In addition, students should conform to generally accepted standards of "netiquette" while sending e-mail, posting comments to the discussion board, and while participating in other means of communicating online. Specifically, students should refrain from inappropriate and/or offensive language, comments and actions.

2. Review the TN eCampus Academic Integrity/Academic Honesty Policy:

  • In their academic activities, students are expected to maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. Academic dishonesty is prohibited.

Such conduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • an attempt by one or more students to use unauthorized information in the taking of an exam
  • to submit as one's own work, themes, reports, drawings, laboratory notes, computer programs, or other products prepared by another person,
  • or to knowingly assist another student in obtaining or using unauthorized materials.

Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited.

Students guilty of academic misconduct, either directly or indirectly through participation or assistance, are subject to disciplinary action through the regular procedures of the student’s home institution.  Refer to the student handbook provided by your home institution to review the student conduct policy.

In addition to other possible disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed, the instructor has the authority to assign an "F" or zero for an activity or to assign an "F" for the course.

Other Course Rules:

Students are expected to:

  • Participate in all aspects of the course
  • Communicate with other students
  • Learn how to navigate in Brightspace
  • Keep abreast of course announcements
  • Use the assigned course management (Brightspace) email address rather than a personal email address
  • Address technical problems immediately:
  • Observe course netiquette at all times.

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members

Discussions:

  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
  • Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in TN eCampus programs and courses. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading will be included within the course modules. To access the Virtual Library, go to the course homepage and select the Virtual Library link under Course Resources.

Students with Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this syllabus is for general information purposes only. While we endeavor to keep this information up-to-date and accurate, there may be some discrepancies between this syllabus and the one found in your online course. The syllabus of record is the one found in your online course. Please make sure you read the syllabus in your course at the beginning of the semester. Questions regarding course content should be directed to your instructor.


Last Revised on May 16, 2017