BM303 - Contemporary Leadership

Credit Points: 15 credit points

Workload: 36 hours

Prerequisite: BB103 Management Principles or other introductory Management unit

Co-requisite: N/A

Aims & Objectives

This is a third-year Core Unit in the Bachelor of Business-Major in Management. The unit is also offered as an Elective Unit in the Bachelor of Business-Major in Accounting, Marketing/Digital Marketing. For Course Learning Outcomes and further information relating to Bachelor of Business programs please visit our website:  http://www.mit.edu.au/study-with-us/programs/bachelor-business. 
Leadership has been an integral part of civilisation since time immemorial and in the modern world, it is a part of almost all organisations. This unit provides students with an insight into the essence of leadership through an examination of both theory and practice. It analyses how leaders emerge and what their attributes are in terms of contemporary leadership models and paradigms. The unit also looks at the attitudes and values that leaders require in the modern business world, the skills leaders need to exhibit and the leadership practices to excel. 
This unit augments earlier units in the management sequence by presenting leadership as an essential quality and as a phenomenon distinct from management. 
Topics covered: 

  • The Nature of Leadership; 
  • Traits, Behaviours and Relationships 
  • Contingency Approaches to Leadership  
  • Leadership Mind and Emotion   
  • Courage and Moral Leadership
  • Followership
  • Leadership Communication
  • Leadership Diversity  
  • Leadership Power and Influence  
  • The Role of Leadership in Strategy, Vision, Culture & Values

Learning Outcomes

The Course learning outcomes applicable to this unit are listed on the Melbourne Institute of Technology’s website: www.mit.edu.au
At the completion of this unit students should be able to:
a. Describe the nature of leadership.
b. Analyse and interpret a range of widely accepted leadership theories. 
c.  Explain the characteristics and merits of  moral leadership. 
d. Discuss the concept of followership. 
e. Justify the merits of leadership diversity. 
f. Critically appraise the nature of power and influence in leadership. 
g. Evaluate the role of leadership in shaping organisational vision, strategy, culture & values.

Assessment

Assessment Task Due Date A B Unit Learning Outcomes
1. Formative Assessment Week 3 - 5% a,b
2. Contribution and Participation Week 1-12 - 5% c-f
3. Leadership in an organisation- 1500-word Case Study essay Week 7 20% - c-f
4 & 5. Leadership Case Study Group Oral Presentation 15-20 mins 1500 word group business proposal report Weeks 10 30% - c-f
6. Case Study Analysis [Individual] (3 hours) TBA - 40% c-f
TOTALS   50% 50% 100%

Task Type: Type A: unsupervised, Type B: supervised.

Contribution and Participation (5%)

This unit has class participation as an assessment. The assessment task and marking rubric will follow the Guidelines on Assessing Class Participation (https://www.mit.edu.au/about-us/governance/institute-rules-policies-and-plans/policies-procedures-and-guidelines/Guidelines_on_Assessing_Class_Participation). Further details will be provided in the assessment specification on the type of assessment tasks and the marking rubrics.

Teaching Methods

NOTE: All School of Business units 3-hour workshops Flipped Classroom Mode. 

Textbook and Reference Materials

Note: Students are required to purchase the prescribed text book and have it available each week in class.

Prescribed Text Book

  • Daft, Richard L. (2015) The Leadership Experience 6th ed. South Western, Cengage Learning.

Other recommended references

  • Badaracco, J (2006) Questions of Character: Illuminating the Heart of Leadership Through Literature, Harvard Business School Press Boston Mass. 
  • Bratton, J. Grint, K. & Nelson, D. (2005) Organizational Leadership, Thomson South Western Mason Ohio.
  • Denning, Stephen (2007) The Secret Language of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire Action Through Narrative, Jossey Bass San Francisco CA. 
  • Grout, Jeff and Fisher, Liz (2007) What Do Leaders Really Do? Getting Under The Skin of What Makes a Great Leader Tick, Capstone Publishing Chichester UK.
  • Mant, Alastair (1997) Intelligent Leadership, Allen & Unwin St Leonards NSW.
  • Nahavandi, A. (2008) Art and Science of Leadership 5th ed. Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest NSW.
  • Northouse, Peter G. (2013) Leadership: Theory and Practice 6th ed. Thousand Oaks Sage. 
  • O’Neill, Abi (2011) Manager to Leader: Skills and Insights for a Successful Transition, CCH Australia. 
  • Owen, Jo (2012) The Leadership Skills Handbook: 50 Essential Skills You Need to be a Leader, Kogan Page London.
  • Sarros, James C. (2009) Contemporary Perspectives on Leadership: Focus and Times, Tilde University Press, Prahran Vic. 
  • Yukl, Gary A. (2009) Leadership in Organisations 7th ed. Pearson Education Upper Saddle River NJ.

The Referencing style for this unit is APA: See the MIT Library Referencing webpage: https://library.mit.edu.au/referencing/APA and the Unit Moodle page for additional referencing support material and weblinks.

Graduate Attributes

MIT is committed to ensure the course is current, practical and relevant so that graduates are “work ready” and equipped for life-long learning. In order to accomplish this, the MIT Graduate Attributes identify the required knowledge, skills and attributes that prepare students for the industry.
The level to which Graduate Attributes covered in this unit are as follows:

Ability to communicate Independent and Lifelong Learning Ethics Analytical and Problem Solving Cultural and Global Awareness Team work Specialist knowledge of a field of study

Legend

Levels of attainment Extent covered
The attribute is covered by theory and practice, and addressed by assessed activities in which the students always play an active role, e.g. workshops, lab submissions, assignments, demonstrations, tests, examinations.
The attribute is covered by theory or practice, and addressed by assessed activities in which the students mostly play an active role, e.g. discussions, reading, intepreting documents, tests, examinations.
The attribute is discussed in theory or practice; it is addressed by assessed activities in which the students may play an active role, e.g. lectures and discussions, reading, interpretation, workshops, presentations.
The attribute is presented as a side issue in theory or practice; it is not specifically assessed, but it is addressed by activities such as lectures or tutorials.
The attribute is not considered, there is no theory or practice or activities associated with this attribute.