MBA 828: Understanding and Enhancing Leadership Capability
Winter, 2006
Professor: Arnon E. Reichers
Office: 720 Fisher Hall
Phone: 292-0737
E-mail: Reichers_1@cob.osu.edu*
Hours: Monday and Wednesday, noon to 2:00 p.m. and by appointment
*E-mail is the best way to communicate with me. Phone calls and just dropping by don’t work
as well.
Textbook: The Leadership Experience by Daft (sic), Third Edition, 2005.
Other Materials: 1) a packet of handouts & cases available at Cop-Ez at Tuttle
2) a packet called The Campbell Leadership Descriptor available at the OSU
bookstore
3) a packet of Hartwick Cases for the Humanities materials available at the
OSU bookstore
Purpose: This course is designed to: 1) improve the student’s ability to lead and 2) improve the
student’s capacity to understand and apply leadership theory and research. These
goals will be accomplished using case analysis, self-analysis, behavioral applications,
lecture, discussion and feedback.
Grading: Grades will be determined by a curve derived from overall class performance. The
average grade will be set to a B+.
Case Write-ups: 5@25 points each
Hierarchy Inc. Paper:
Star Power Simulation Paper
Development Plan:
Teamwork:
Participation:
125
25
25
50
25
50
Total points possible
300
Participation is a combination deriving from attendance, speaking in relevant ways during class,
and serious rehearsal of behavioral skills during class.
More info on participation points: this grade is my subjective impression of what you added to
the class during the quarter. If you are always or almost always in attendance; if you do not
disrupt class with inappropriate remarks (jokes, irrelevant statements & questions); if you refrain
from side-bar conversations; if you are on time; if you can usually answer well when cold-called;
if you volunteer correct answers in every class; and if you can demonstrate behavioral skills
during practice sessions, you can be assured of all the points. However, you cannot get all the
points for passive “good behavior.” Showing up and being quiet is good for no more than 25
points. You must be making several meaningful comments in every class in order to be assured
of all 50 points.
Schedule
(Subject to Change if Needed)
Week #/Day/Date
Classroom Activity
Assignment
1: Tuesday: 1/3
Defining leadership and leadership skills
Daft: Chapter 1
1: Thursday: 1/5
Survey results and interpretation; lecture,
discussion
Daft: Chapter 5
2: Tuesday: 1/10
Case analysis, lecture, discussion on vision and
Charlotte Beers
2: Thursday: 1/12
Role play, lecture & discussion on leading change Daft: Chapter 16
3: Tuesday: 1/17
Hierarchy Inc. simulation
3: Thursday: 1/19
Debrief simulation
4: Tuesday: 1/24
Case analysis, lecture, discussion of Wall Street
4: Thursday: 1/26
Lecture, discussion, exercise on ethics
Daft: Chapter 6
5: Tuesday: 1/31
Lecture, discussion, role play on interpersonal
skills
Daft: Chapter 4
5: Thursday: 2/2
Lecture, discussion, role play on leadership style
6: Tuesday: 2/7
Case analysis, lecture, discussion on Hoosiers
Review Chapter 3
View movie
Daft: Chapter 10
turn in case writeup on Hoosiers
6: Thursday: 2/9
Lecture, discussion, exercise on communication
Daft: Chapter 9
Daft: Chapter 13
turn in Charlotte
Beers case write up
Daft: Chapter 2
Hierarchy, Inc.
paper due in
Daft: Chapter 3
view movie
turn in Wall Street
case write up
Week #/Day/Date
Classroom Activity
Assignment
7: Tuesday: 2/14
Lecture, discussion on followers and
empowerment
Daft: Chapter 7
7: Thursday: 2/16
Case analysis, lecture, discussion on Courage
Under Fire
8: Tuesday: 2/21
Lecture, discussion, role play on motivation
(Henderson account)
Daft: Chapter 8
8: Thursday: 2/23
Simulation on diversity and power (Star Power)
Daft: Chapter 11
9: Tuesday: 2/28
Lecture, discussion on leadership diversity
9: Thursday: 3/2
Lecture, discussion, role play on power and
influence
10: Tuesday: 3/7
Case analysis, lecture and discussion on Gandhi
10: Thursday: 3/9
Conclusions and take aways
Daft: Chapter 12
Paper on Star
Power Simulation
due
Packet: article by
Hill on exercising
influence
Daft: Chapter 14
view movie, turn in
case write-up on
Gandhi
team evaluations
due: Packet: article
by Drucker on self
management
view movie
turn in case writeup on Courage
Under Fire
The development plan paper is due by noon on Monday, 3/13. Bring it to my upstairs mailbox in
700 Fisher Hall. Turn in one regular copy and one copy sealed in an SASE. Bring upstairs…
don’t leave them in the downstairs mail room.