Spring 2015 - 61275 - PA388L - Advanced Topics in Management

Principles and Practices of Effective Leadership

Graduates of the LBJ School and other programs at the University of Texas can expect to become leaders during their professional careers. This course combines knowledge and application, providing you an opportunity to add to your understanding of leadership and to develop your ability to lead others. You will be expected to participate actively in class to further your learning and to contribute to the learning of others. There is a significant team project. Through the use of lectures, films, discussions, exercises, case studies and assessments of themselves and others, students will examine the current state of theory and practice in the following areas.

Leader attributes and practices
Motivation, satisfaction, performance and contributions of followers
Task and organizational variations in situations

The course is designed and presented to help you accomplish the following outcomes by the end of the semester.

Have a clear sense of the purpose of leadership, the ethical dimensions of leadership, and the relationship between leaders and followers in a free society.
Be able to use multiple leadership concepts to understand leadership situations and enhance your effectiveness as a participant in the leadership process.
Understand the impact of individual differences and different situations on the practice of leadership.
Understand your current strengths and weaknesses as a leader and as a follower, and develop your own personal approach to the practice of leadership.
Enhance your ability to participate in and to lead a small group with an interdependent task
Enhance your ability to think critically, to analyze complex and diverse concepts, and to use your reasoning, judgment, and imagination to create new possibilities in leadership situations
Be able to communicate your ideas clearly and persuasively orally and in writing

Source material for the students will include the following works:

Richard L. Hughes, Robert C. Ginnett, and Gordon J. Curphy, Leadership:Enhancing the Lessons of Experience (7th ed.)
John W. Gardner, On Leadership
Barbara Kellerman, Bad Leadership