Course Feature: BUS 552 Leadership
BUS 552 Leadership explores leadership from four different perspectives: the leader, the follower, the situation, and leadership skills. The main themes discussed in the course include: setting a vision, establishing culture, working through change, ethics and leadership, team building and empowering people, principles of leadership, leading a culturally diverse team of people, leading through difficulty, and performance management.
It is essential that leaders understand themselves and their teams—their strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and goals—because leadership is context-specific, says Scott Dolan, associate dean in the School of Graduate Studies. Students learn about leadership through scenario-based discussions and case studies. Dolan adds that students learn to understand their emotional intelligence and that of their teams to help individuals and organizations meet their goals.
Michele Paludi, senior faculty program for graduate business courses, notes that students in human resources, organizational behavior, and human performance would especially be interested in BUS 552. Dolan adds that it is particularly interesting for people “who are interested in becoming more productive or in helping their organizations become more productive and want to learn about setting a vision and motivating their team around strategies that help the team and the organization [toward] reaching their goals.” He adds that to be successful in this dynamic economy, leadership skills are essential to people at all levels of the organization.
Paludi says this course is important to students because they learn “how organizations function and how different leadership styles can empower employees or create employees who are disengaged.” Dolan adds that what makes an organization work comes down to its people. He says, “Ensuring that people within the organization are motivated, working towards the same future, coordinated, and acting with a great moral compass will ensure the success of teams and organizations over the long term.”
Instructors are excited to teach this course, says Paludi, who notes they enjoy talking with students about organizations and how they function while offering examples of highly functioning teams, organizations, and employees.
Students have also enjoyed BUS 552. One commented: “[The instructor] is an excellent mentor and teacher. [The] choice of the course materials really gets to the heart of what leaders should aspire to be. These attributes are backed up with leadership theories and help grow many who may be in lower stages of leadership development. The chosen textbook was excellent. I purchased it for personal business use.” Another student commented, “Yes, I enjoyed the subject matter of this course. It was clear that the instructor cared about his students and added thought-provoking comments to our discussion assignments…Overall, this was an excellent class with an excellent instructor and I would recommend both to someone looking to better understand business leadership/management.”
If you would also like to expand your knowledge of leadership in organizational settings, consider signing up for BUS 552 Leadership.
