Leadership, Business and Society

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

• 5. Gender equality
• 9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure
• 10. Reduced inequalities
• 11. Sustainable cities and communities
• 16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

Objectives

A practical and theoretical course that aims to improve the leadership skills of the students. The course starts by helping the students assess themselves and identify their starting points as potential leaders. The course analyses the most developed leadership theories and provides avenues for the students to work on their leadership skills. The course is also a platform to discuss the latest developments in society and to relate how the behaviour of certain leaders have and are shaping our society. With this course students are encouraged to take an active role in shaping communities and are provided with the tools to doing so successfully.

Course objectives:

• To develop team-building skills and experience their practical application in a group project.
• To develop management and leadership skills and their practical application in a personal project.
• To learn about topics such as management, leadership, efficiency, organisation, communication, and ethics.
• To develop analytical skills and creative skills to apply them in the projects.
• To identify the role of managers and leaders and their impact on society.

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course:

• Students should have a clear understanding of company organisation and their company role as future managers or leaders.
• Students will also be expected to have developed tools of critical analysis, communication and problem-solving.
• Students will learn about different models for making changes in their personal lives, and also in an organisation.
• Moreover, students will develop an insight into project management and different project management models.
• Students are also expected to learn about the main differences between Eastern and Western management styles.

Competencies

General skills

• Acquire an ethical commitment and a sense of social responsibility in professional actions.
• Show ability to adapt to contexts and changing business and social realities within a global environment.

Specific skills

• Lead an organisation and manage different operational units, identifying strengths and weaknesses in relation to the business strategy.

Basic skills

• Students can communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialists and non-specialists.
• Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their field of study) in order to make judgements that include reflection on relevant social, scientific and ethical issues.

Core skills

• Become the protagonist of one's own learning process in order to achieve personal and professional growth and acquire all-round training for living and learning in a context of respect for linguistic, social, cultural, gender and economic diversity.
• Interact in international and worldwide contexts to identify needs and and new contexts for knowledge transfer to current and emerging fields of professional development, with the ability to adapt to and independently manage professional and research processes.
• Use oral, written and audiovisual forms of communication, in one's own language and in foreign languages, with a high standard of use, form and content.

Content

1. Introduction to the different leadership theories
2. Leadership, management, and the 6 bases of power
3. Leadership approaches
   1. Traits approach
   2. Skills approach
   3. Behavioral approach
   4. Situational approach
   5. Path-goal theory
   6. Leader-member exchange theory
   7. Transformational theory
   8. Authentic leadership
   9. Servant leadership
4. Leadership in businesses
5. Leadership in the public sector
6. Leadership in NGOs
7. Leadership styles around the world

Evaluation

The final grade will be based on the work that students do throughout the course. There is no final exam. The breakdown is as follows:

• Active participation in class: 20%
  Students should be present at all classes in order to provide critical comments on the course materials and participate actively in the discussions. They are strongly encouraged to actively participate in class. This implies arriving on time, completing the reading before each class, and taking part in class discussions, debates, role plays etc.
• Written activities: 30%
  Students will be asked to write two individual essays.
• Mid-term exam: 30%
  The mid-term exam will be based on required course reading and activities done in class.
• Final group project: 20%
  This project will be conducted throughout the semester. Students will have to collectively discuss and analyse what changes they would like to instigate in the society and decide which one they will work on throughout the course. Details about this project will be given during the semester. This project will have to be presented at the end of the course.

Requirements to pass the course

Overall grade of, at least, 5 out of 10.

Retake policy

Only 30% of the course's grade can be retaken, which corresponds to the mid-term exam. Students who do not get a grade above or equal to 5 out 10 in the overall grade shall take the mid-term resit exam for another chance to meet the aforementioned requirements.

Methodology

The course is divided into thematic blocks and the methodology is interactive. Students will be required to read articles, case studies or books and watch videos, as well as to participate in class activities.

• Lectures and discussions: The lectures will introduce the various models that will be used during the course. Lecture sessions will be used as platforms for provoking open discussion.
• Class participation: The course is highly participative, and students will be encouraged to take on different roles in class activities.
• Oral presentations: Students are expected to present the results of their projects with visual support.
• Visiting lecturers: Visiting lecturers will be invited to several of the sessions, with the aim of sharing their experiences and insights with students. Visiting lecturers will be experts or professionals with specific experience in the field of the session concerned.

Bibliography

Key references

• Covey, Stephen R. (2013). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (6 ed.). RosettaBooks.
• Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations (6 ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
• Northouse, P. (2019). Leadership: Theory and Practice (8 ed.). SAGE Publications.

Further reading

Teachers will provide complementary bibliography and compulsory reading throughout the course via the Virtual Campus.