Course Syllabus
BUS328 Organizational Leadership
Fall 2015
Faculty:
Office:
Telephone:
Dr. Yonghong (Tracy) Liu
363 Bryan Building
336-334-9842
E-Mail:
y_liu24@uncg.edu
Course Web Site:
http://courses.uncg.edu
Office Hours:
Tue / Thu
10:15am – 12:15pm
Other days/times by appointment (please email to organize)
Class:
Section 02
Tue / Thu
12:30pm – 1:45pm (206 Bryan Building)
Required Textbook
Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice, 7th edition. Sage Publications, 2015.
ISBN: 9781483317533
Textbook Companion Website: edge.sagepub.com/northouse7e
Course Website
All students officially registered for the course can access the course Canvas website
(http://courses.uncg.edu). The Canvas website includes a course syllabus, class announcements,
assignments, PowerPoint slides, and other relevant course information.
Course Description
This course examines the theories and models of leadership and followership. Environmental factors,
organizational objectives, company culture, and individual and group ethical standards will be examined
to incorporate situational determinants of leadership effectiveness.
This course will provide a new framework on what “leadership” entails, along with developing an
understanding for the skills and knowledge to how best address leadership opportunities now and in the
future. Students’ ability to understand and apply diverse approaches to the leadership in organizations is
emphasized by readings, lecture, class discussion, and case analyses of pertinent management
materials. The emphasis is on building a sound grasp of good practice, and on developing the ability to
apply such knowledge to actual business problems.
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Learning Objectives
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Define leadership, describe the role of genetics and development on individual leadership
capability and be able to identify popular distinctions in the differences between leaders versus
managers.
Assess the state of current leadership capacity within organizations and suggest how a
leadership needs analysis can support and enhance organizational effectiveness.
Demonstrate leadership skills through participation in experiential exercises.
Assess personal values, beliefs and ethical standards to enhance self-awareness in regard to
personal leadership behaviors and reactions to leadership behaviors of others.
Identify how leading a team is different from leading a group of individuals.
Identify special challenges involved in leading geographically dispersed (virtual) teams.
Describe the role of culture in determining effective leadership perceptions and outcomes.
Understand leadership at the Personal, Interpersonal, Team and Organizational levels (PITO)
and the array of leader-follower-situation (LFS) variables that influence the leadership process.
Course Pedagogy
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Lecture/discussions lead by the instructor
Case discussions and submissions
Individual and team experiential exercises and assignments
Examinations
Important Course Policies

Academic Integrity: By the singular act of registering for this course, you are agreeing to abide
by the UNCG
Academic Integrity Policy. All written work submitted must be original and
produced by the student/team for this class only. If you are for any reason unfamiliar with the
contents
of
the
code,
please
review
it
on
the
school’s
website
link:
http://sa.uncg.edu/dean/academic-integrity/. Violations will be pursued. Academic Integrity
applies to all aspects of BUS328. Please be aware that the following also constitute Integrity
Violations in BUS328:
o You may not be in possession of any unauthorized exam or related materials, including
old exams.
o No electronic devices are allowed to be on or visible during an exam.
o Signing an attendance sheet for another student and/or failing to attend the entire class is
a falsification of your attendance and an academic integrity violation.
o Once an exam begins, you are not allowed to leave for any reason until you have
submitted the exam.
o Falsification of any material used in the preparation or development of assignments is a
code violation.
o The Bryan School of Business and Economics has recently developed and accepted
Faculty and Student Guidelines focusing on the expected performance of each. Since
these guidelines are new, please take the time to review them. They can be found at the
following link: http://bae.uncg.edu/assets/faculty_student_guidelines.pdf

Attendance: Your presence in class is essential to your ability to understand and apply the
material covered in this course. Treat this class as you would any other professional obligation.
By accepting a job you are making an implicit commitment to attend work regularly. By registering
for this class, you make a similar commitment. Note that you will not be able to do well on the
examinations without attending class regularly, since much additional material is presented during
the lectures and does not appear in the textbook(s). Accordingly, I do require attendance, and I
take roll at the very beginning of the class period. If you arrive late, it will be noted. If you arrive
late regularly, every two late arrivals will be equivalent to one absence. If you miss class, it is
your responsibility to contact classmates (not me) to obtain any materials/information from the
missed class session(s). After three absences, no participation credit will be earned.
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
General Behavior: Students are expected to conduct themselves with respect and
professionalism toward faculty, students, and others present in class, and will follow the rules
prescribed by the instructor for classroom behavior. Students who do not comport themselves
appropriately may be asked to leave the classroom (possibly with a grade penalty), or may be
dropped from the course by the instructor.

Communicating: For purposes of this course, I will request that you check your personal e-mail
(E-Spartan) daily as well as Canvas for messages and/or assignments.

Cell Phones and Laptops: Before you enter the classroom, please turn off and put away your
cell phone (and anything else that may ring/beep). Laptops, smartphones, PDAs, and other
electronic devices (such as recording equipment) may not be used during class without specific
approval from the instructor.

Extra Credit: There is no extra credit assignments scheduled for this course. If a situation
presents itself during the semester, all students will be given equal opportunity to participate.

Religious Observance: The University allows for 2 excused absences each academic year for
religious observances required by the faith of the student. Students requesting a religious
absence must notify the instructor of each absence 14 days in advance of the date of the
religious observance. The request must state in writing the nature of the religious observance and
the date(s). Student's participation must be confirmed in writing by an official of the religious
organization. The instructor will require the student to complete any test or assignment in
advance of the originally scheduled date of the test or assignment that is impacted by the
absence due to the religious observance. The requirement for students to make such requests
for excused absences applies only to days when the University is holding class.

UNCG Athletics & Performing Artists: It is up to each athlete or artist to identify future missed
classes at the start of the semester and notify me in writing (e-mail) by no later than the second
week of the semester. If your UNCG event interferes with an exam/assignment you are required
to submit the assignment/take the exam prior to the regularly scheduled date.

Students with Disabilities: UNCG seeks to comply fully with The Americans with Disabilities
Act and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Students requesting accommodations
based on a disability must be registered with the Office of Disability Services in 215 Elliott
University center, 334-5440, www.uncg.edu/ods.
Evaluation Criteria
The grades for this class will be determined based upon:
Midterm Examination .................................................................................. 100 points
Final Examination ........................................................................................ 150 points
Comprehension Quizzes (best 5/6; 10 points each) ................................... 50 points
Case Notes (6 at 5 points each) ................................................................. 30 points
Team Presentation/Project ......................................................................... 100 points
Participation ................................................................................................ 20 points
TOTAL ......................................................................................................... 450 points
The grades will be finalized in letter grade form, per the chart below:
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
98% - 100%
93% - 97%
90% - 92%
87% - 89%
83% - 86%
80% - 82%
77% - 79%
C
CD+
D
DF
73% - 76%
70% - 72%
67% - 69%
63% - 66%
60% - 62%
Below 60%
*decimals will be rounded
up/down
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Description of Evaluation Criteria:

Examinations: May include multiple choice, true/false, short-answer, and essay questions taken
from lecture, text material, readings, and cases. No make-up examinations will be allowed, except in
cases warranted by extraordinary circumstances and supported with documented evidence.
Students who do not provide documented evidence will receive zero points.

Quizzes: Periodically throughout the semester, six (6) short quizzes will be administered to ensure
that students are keeping up with assigned reading material. The best five grades will be recorded. If
you miss a quiz, it will be recorded as a zero (and will be used as the dropped score).

Case notes: All cases should be submitted online on Canvas under the “Assignments” Tab. Six
cases are assigned throughout the semester. It is important that you read and think about each case
to facilitate your understanding of the material. Accordingly, case notes will be collected. There is no
required format for case notes – they can include annotations, answers to the questions at the end of
the case, and/or additional issues you think are pertinent. These analyses should be approximately
1-2 typed pages. We will not always discuss these cases in class; these assignments are designed
to encourage you to keep up with the reading and to provide you with an excuse to practice applying
the concepts. If questions or confusion arise then they can be addressed prior to the exams. These
assignments are to be done individually and are allocated up to 5 points apiece. They are all due at
the beginning of class on the due date. Late cases are not accepted, and cannot be emailed in
the event of absence (students must be present to receive credit for case notes).

Team presentation/project: The next section describes the team project students will be
responsible for completing by the end of the term. Students are assigned to teams of between 5-6
individuals, and then choose an organizational leader to analyze. A 15-20 minute presentation will be
required to present an overview of the findings to the class – PowerPoint slides and written paper will
be turned in after the presentation. Each team member will be required to evaluate other team
members on their level of participation and overall contribution to the team’s success on this project.
Note that if any member fails to actively contribute to this assignment, their individual grade will be
lowered at the discretion of the instructor.

Participation points: To receive the 20 points allocated to this category, you will need to be
present/active in all classes. These points are not allocated for simply being present in the room, but
the student needs to be an active member of the class discussion and join class activities to receive
points (being present is required to do this!). Note that participation points are allocated SOLELY at
the discretion of the instructor, and are NOT NEGOTIABLE.
Team Project Guidelines

Overview: Think of your team as organizational consultants. Your goal is to improve organizational
performance through dealing with the leadership issues. Students will examine an actual
organizational leader of their choice, diagnose the problem(s), and recommend a solution(s).
The main objective of the project is to provide students with an opportunity to:
(1) Develop an in-depth understanding of an organizational leader through case research.
(2) Develop consultancy skills in data gathering, analysis, and communication.

Sources: The boundaries are those of imagination. The possibilities include personal work
experience, interviews with leaders and members of an organization, questionnaires, observations of
workplace behavior, analysis of organizational documents, trade journals, academic journals, local
newspapers, and the business press (e.g., Business Week, Forbes, Fortune, Wall Street Journal).
Do not, however, use a “pre-packaged” case (e.g., from a textbook or casebook). If there is a
concern about the confidentiality of the selected company, it is okay to use a fictitious name. Also,
sources must be cited carefully, since plagiarism could result in a failing grade for the course (for all
team members), in addition to possible disciplinary action by the School/University.

Paper/presentation structure: The paper should not exceed 10 double-spaced pages (although
appendices and references may be added), and should consist of the following sections presented
under sub-headings:
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1
Introduction (10%)
Briefly describe the leader.
Why was this particular leader selected?
What was the goal in doing so?
What were the anticipated findings in relation to the leadership issue?
2
Methodology (20%)
How did you obtain the information necessary for this project?
Why was this method chosen?
Did you use interviews (with whom)? Surveys (with whom)?
Where did you get the survey or interview questions from (a scholarly journal article maybe)?
Attach interview/surveys as appendix if used.
If you made observations, what did you look for? What days/times?
Ethical considerations? (e.g. Voluntary participation? Confidentiality? Anonymity?)
Note: there should be NO findings or results presented here in this section!
3
Analysis of Leadership Issues and Recommendations (60%)
This is where you present the findings/results, analyze them, and give recommendations.
Use course material – apply at least two models/theories/frameworks/approaches - to
describe any leadership issues/problems identified.
Alternative action steps that relate specifically to the problems/issues identified in the project
should be discussed and weighted.
Relative advantages / disadvantages for each course of action should also be discussed.
Finally, specific recommendations and/or implementation plan(s) must be described (use
course concepts and theories to justify choices).
4
Conclusion (5%)
Students should summarize what they learned about leadership issues from the project
(insights), and draw relevant conclusions. Also, did you learn anything about working together
in a team (as either a leader or a follower) for this project?
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Cite Sources (including the text book, plus journal articles ,etc) (5%)
Please use APA style. Refer to: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Examples of APA Style:
In the text of the written project:
According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time
learners……..
In the reference list at the end of the written project:
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical,
volume number(issue number), pages.
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location:
Publisher.
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Appendix
Please include copies of surveys, interview questions, interview transcripts, tables of survey
results (e.g. mean scores), etc…
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WEEK
ASSIGNMENT
T = Text
TOPIC
1
Aug
17-21
 Introduction
 Trait Approach
 T: Chapters 1 & 2
2
Aug
24-28
 Skills Approach
 T: Chapter 3; Quiz #1 (Aug 27)
3
Aug
31 –
Sep 4
 Behavioral Approach
 T: Chapter 4
 Case 4.1: A Drill Sergeant at First (Sep 3)
4
Sep
7-11
 Situational Approach
 Path-Goal Theory
6
Sep
21-25
 Leader-Member Exchange Theory
8
Oct
5-9
9
Oct
12-16
10
Oct
19-23
11
Oct
26-30
Team Project : First Meeting Minute
 T: Chapter 6
5
Sep
14-18
7
Sep
28 –
Oct 2
 T: Chapter 5; Quiz #2 (Sep 10)
 Transformational Leadership
 Case 6.2: Direction for Some, Support for Others
(Sep 17)
 T: Chapter 7; Quiz #3 (Sep 24)
 Case 7.3: Taking on Additional Responsibility (Sep
24)
 T: Chapter 8
 Case 8.3: Her Vision of a Model Research Center
(Oct 1)
Team Project : Roles and Responsibilities Due
 Authentic Leadership
 Mid-Term Examination (Oct 8)
 T: Chapter 9
 Fall Break (No Class on Tuesday!)
 Authentic Leadership
 T: Chapter 9
 Servant Leadership
 T: Chapter 10; Quiz #4 (Oct 22)
 Case 10.1: Everyone Loves Mrs. Noble (Oct 22)
Team Project : Introduction Due
 Leadership Ethics
 T: Chapter 13; Quiz #5 (Oct 29)
Team Project: Methodology Due
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12
Nov
2-6
13
Nov
9-13
14
Nov
16-20
15
Nov
23-27
 T: Chapter 14; Quiz #6 (Nov 5)
 Case 14.1: Can This Virtual Team Work? (Nov 5)
 Team Leadership
 T: Chapters 15 & 16
 Gender, Culture, and Leadership
Team Project: Analysis & Recommendations
Outline Due
 Presentations
Team Projects & Peer Evaluations Due
 Presentations
 Final Review
 Thanksgiving Holiday (No Class
on Thursday!)
Team Projects & Peer Evaluations Due
December 1: Reading Day
FINAL EXAMINATION
Section 02: Thursday, December 3 12:00pm – 3:00pm
(Students with more than two examinations within 24 hours may apply to the University
Registrar’s Office, 180 Mossman Building, for permission to change their exam schedules. The
usual policy is to change the middle examination in a sequence of three. Requests must be filed
by 5:00 P.M., November 30, 2015.)
The professor will notify students by email of any changes to the proposed topic outline.
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