China - Syllabus

Instructor: Dr. Jifu Wang                                               

Phone Number: (281) 275-8871                                     E-mail: wangj@uhv.edu

Office: Room 324 Brazos Bldg., 14000 University Blvd, Sugar Land, TX 77479

A.     Course Overview

Leadership management is a specialized subject to make a theoretical research and applied research comprehensively and systematically in the leadership management process.  The purpose of this course is to integrate the traditional leadership study (the head) with conventional management (the body) and build leadership and management capabilities in students to become more valuable and competitive in the dynamic business world. 

 

Leadership resources and organizational capabilities or competencies are important both as a foundation for strategy formulation and the primary source of a firm’s profits. The resource-based approach to leadership management has been one of the most important theoretical streams of the new century and a major influence on strategic thinking and strategic planning among government departments and companies.  Hence, the primary task of leadership management in business strategy is creating and sustaining competitive advantage. Competitive advantage results from the favorable deployment of leadership and management resources and capabilities.

 

A distinguishing feature of this courseis the emphasis on resources and capabilities as the foundation for competitive advantage and the way it introduced the resource-based approach as a practical and useful tool of leadership management. This course is an application course that will build real managerial muscles because it offers a more integrated and systematic approach to the identification and appraisal of leadership resources and capabilities. The course will also draw upon recent contributions to the literature to discuss how leaders can create and develop organizational capabilities

 

The objectives of the course are not to teach theory, but to use theories to provide answers to the strategic decisions that business leaders face: What businesses should we be in? How to successfully handle institutional changes? How to serve customers from both the east and the west? And, above all, how are we to compete in order to establish and sustain a competitive advantage over rivals? Thus, while this course is rich in concepts and theoretical frameworks, its design is to offer insight into the leadership sources of superior performance and the ability to use that insight to make better strategic decisions.

 

This program offers a more systematic assessments and managerial tools of global leaders and benefits of local differentiation. It incorporates recent research findings on how leaders can reconcile the competitive advantages in matching the internal resources with external challenges.

B.     Course Learning Objectives

1. Comprehend and apply the concepts and framework of leadership and management skills and resources and organizational capabilities or competencies.
2. Evaluate, synthesize, and apply leadership and management skills to analysis of personal resources and organizational capabilities in the global business environment.
3. Evaluate, synthesize, and apply leadership and management skills to strategy formulation and implementation based on resources and organizational capabilities in the global business environment.
4. Explains how companies can fight and win against low-cost competition from Asian companies;
5. Shows how to transfer homegrown leadership and management skills and practices to China and vise versa.

 

C.     Required Course Materials:

1. Textbook: New Perspective on Leadership Management published by Chartridge Books Oxford (Provided by Author);
2. Reading materials, assessment surveys leadership tools will be provided at www2.uhv.edu/wang.

D.     Grading System:

 

            90-100: A         80-89: B       70-79: C         60-69: D          Below 60: F

Evaluation: Grades will be based on the following criteria and scale:

Attendance and Quiz                                        15%
Class Discussion                                                           15%
Peer Evaluation                                                 10%

Reading Digest                                                  15%

Learning Experiences in China 10%

Presentation                                                                  15%

Project                                                                          20%

Class Attendance /Quizzes: Attendance at ALL class sessions for the FULL CLASS PERIOD is expected.    Absence in class is not tolerated, and will result in your grade being lowered.  The quizzes will be multiple-choice questions and/or discussion questions. Textbooks and reading materials are the student’s responsibility and the inability of the student to secure materials is not a valid reason for late assignments or delay of a class.

Class Discussion: Every student is expected to take an active part in class discussion activities each week, which is the major feature of this class.  As a student, your responsibilities are not only learning but also contributing.  I expect you to share your thoughts and insights with your classmates for the topics given every week. You are required to participate in every topic of the week.  Food for discussions will come from three sources: the textbook, the readings and the cases.

 

Reading Digest:You need to write a two-page essay about what you have learned from the book of New Perspective on Leadership Management.  The due date is 11:59 pm August 6, 2014 (Wednesday).

 

Project: The instructor will assign a topic for the term project and the requirements will be given in details in class.  The due date is 11:59 pm August 6, 2014 (Wednesday).

 

Self-Assessment Project Guideline

Your self-assessment paper is due midnight July 26 (Saturday) and is intended to be an opportunity to summarize what you have discovered about yourself as a leader or potential leader.   Here’s what I would do if I were completing this assignment:

 

1)      I would keep a personal journal for this class, identifying key concepts and principles that I discovered about leadership that I did not previously understand or realize.

2)      I would complete a summary of my own Five Beliefs Model, articulating how I viewed each of the key perspectives in that model.

3)      I would complete several self-assessment inventories and think about the feedback provided.

4)      I would evaluate the implicit values and duties inherent in the leadership relationship.

5)      I would talk about what I am learning with significant others in my life.

6)      I would evaluate how class experiences gave me the opportunity to apply a principle or concept.

 

Now, here is what is required in this paper:

 

1)      Write a paper of minimum two pages (single-spaced, 12 font with margins of 1) that identifies what you have learned about yourself as a leader that is personally significant and powerful as a result of your self-assessment effort.

2)      Explain the tools, methods, and resources that you used in your self-assessment and comment on your personal evaluation of the value of each tool, method, or resource.

3)      Identify four key elements in this assessment:

i.                     Note the key discovery learned or insight developed – for example, “I realized that I had not really thought about the duties I owed others.”

ii.                   Tie the concept to a principle or idea contained in the class – for example, “Max DePree explains that leadership is a “covenantal relationship (1989: 54).”  I had not realized that the nature of the covenant was more than an exchange relationship.  I now understand that the duty owed is much more like a citizenship relationship (Manville and Ober, 2003).

iii.                  Explain how the assessment process allowed you to gain this insight – for example, “I used the Five Beliefs Model to identify six sets of duties that I owed others, and I realized that my citizenship responsibilities were far broader than I had previously conceived.”

iv.                 Tell how your behavior will change as a result of what you have learned, -- for example, “I need to reassess the personal nature of the leadership relationship to evaluate what others perceive regarding the duties that I owe them.  I now understand that being a leader carries with it a powerful set of obligations.  Ultimately, I realize that leadership is an intimate relationship built on trust.”

 

You will, of course, be expected to write an error free paper that does not contain spelling, grammatical, punctuation, or other errors.  If you are concerned about whether or not your paper is error free, please have the Academic Center review this assignment before you turn it in.

 

Presentation: Each group (3 or 4 people) will be responsible for leading one article discussion in class, and the time allocation for this activity will be 30 minutes.  Format of presentation will be up to the group to decide.    Creativeness is encouraged.

Peer Evaluation:The peer evaluations provide confidential feedback from your team members on your performance.  It is expected that everyone contribute equally to the project efforts.  However, if a group member does not pull his or her weight, his or her overall score will reflect this lack of effort. 

Because teamwork is important, there is a mandatory peer evaluation of "teamwork." If peer evaluations demonstrate that your work was not up to par, it will have a significant negative impact on your grade.  No one will receive credit for teamwork unless he or she submits the peer of teamwork.