Course Syllabus
Course Number：80515891
Course Name (EN)：Responsible Global Leadership
Credits：1
Prerequisites：None
Teaching Language：□CH □CH+EN（EN ≥50%） ■EN
Courseware Language：□CH ■EN
2011 Semester：■spring □autumn □summer
Course Category：■core course □elective course
Target Students：□undergraduates ■master students □doctoral students
□MBA
□EMBA
Instructors：
Dr. Baiyin YANG (杨百寅)
Office：
327G Shunde Building
E-mail：
yangby@sem.tsinghua.edu.cn
Office Phone： (86-10) 6279 6314
Office Hours： By appointment
Discussion Board：http://learning.sem.tsinghua.edu.cn
TAs：
TBA
TA E-mail:
TBA
Class time:
8:30-12:00, 14:00-17:30 April 25, 26
Classroom:
TBA
Course Description：
The Tsinghua MiM program is designed to prepare students as international business leaders.
This course is a study of leadership in organizations, and has a particular focus on leadership in
China and global context. The course is designed to help students assess and understand their
strengths and improvement opportunities in leadership. Students not only learn leadership concepts
and theories, but learn how to apply them through practice inside and outside the classroom. Students
are provided an opportunity to refine their skills, receive feedback, and make improvement a
personal habit.
Responsible global leadership is the global exercise of ethical, values-based leadership in the
pursuit of economic and societal progress and sustainable development. It requires the vision and
courage to place decision making and management practice in a global context. Globally responsible
leaders at all organizational levels all over the world face ever-changing challenges and they are
embedding global responsibility in their business to deal with these challenges. Topics in the course
include understanding the global business environment, responsible leadership behaviors, corporate
global responsibility and sustainable global business practices.
The goal of this seminar is to foster responsible leadership and work on the relational
capacity needed to forge the human and cultural connections so central to today's global business.
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Your ultimate goal is to build impactful responsible leadership with humility and the capacity to
engage and inspire others. This seminar will hence grow your capacity of savoir-relier in a
cross-cultural environment, i.e. building sustainable relationships between different areas of
knowledge, people, culture, rational and intuitive mindsets.
Course Objectives
At the School of Economics and Management, we are committed to the idea that learning to
become a leader requires a combination of theoretical knowledge, applied skills, and a ‘shared
vision.’ The curriculum is structured to deliver an innovative, invigorating and challenging mixture
of knowledge, self-assessment, skill-building, and reflection. The primary focus of this course is on
effective leadership—both theory and practical application. The instructors emphasize the value of
experience in leadership development. Discussion will return repeatedly to the question of what
makes a person a responsible leader in the context of globalization. The responsible leaders are those
who learn from these experiences, by reflecting on and analyzing them to help solve larger future
challenges. In this vein, each student will be expected to demonstrate effective leadership behaviors
in the classroom. You are expected to ‘walk the talk’ for the duration of the course, and long
afterwards in your business career.
Learning Objectives:
1. To understand your strengths and weaknesses as leaders.
2. To learn how leaders can create responsible corporations.
3. To learn about, and be able to apply the concepts, theories, skills and behaviors necessary for
responsible leadership.
4. To become cognizant of the importance of ethical principles, personal and organizational
values, and socially responsible management practices.
5. To acquire knowledge and skills that will be of lasting value throughout your career.
6. To develop the ability to assess a leader’s actions (and your own actions) objectively and
through the multiple lenses that these theories provide.
7. To describe decision making frameworks for making responsible and ethical decisions as
leaders face these challenges.
8. To improve you own ability to make responsible leadership decisions and, simultaneously,
develop a better understanding of the ways that various constituents might interpret and judge
these decisions and their outcomes.
Textbook：Bob Vanourek & Gregg Vanourek (2012). Triple Crown Leadership: Building Excellent,
Ethical, and Enduring Organizations. McGraw-Hill Professional. (ISBN-10: 0071791507; ISBN-13:
978-0071791502)
Course Requirements and Grading：
1. Classroom Participation. Given that classes will often involve a variety of experiential
activities, student participation is an important component of the class. Each student is expected
to be an active participant and to make meaningful comments. Your class participation grade is
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something to be earned through consistent contributions to class discussions. Attending class is
necessary but not sufficient to earn a good participation grade. Failure to attend two or more
sessions will have a severe negative effect on your grade. If you must miss a class, find out what
you have missed by consulting with classmates. Class participation is more than attendance—you
are required to actively participate in the class discussions, case studies, and other activities.
There is no need to use your laptop computer during the class.
Your participation grade is determined by your behaviors, such as attending class, meeting
deadlines, taking proactive actions, participating, and respecting the values of others. Behavior
that is not encouraged includes talking when others are speaking, surfing the internet, texting on
your mobile phone, doing other course work during class, etc. Students are encouraged to step
outside of their comfort zones, to willingly make mistakes in front of others, and to creatively
apply learned concepts.
The willingness to make mistakes and to be open minded about others as well as opening
yourself to others are behaviors/traits found in effective leaders. Therefore, students are
encouraged to volunteer to lead in-class exercises and discussions. Students are encouraged to
take an active interest in getting to know each other and working with different students in each
class session.
To contrast how leadership in the West is different from that in China, students are
encouraged to share examples of Chinese leadership. Since there is very little that has been
written in English about Chinese leadership styles (compared to the vast amount that has been
written about leaders outside of China), we will be creating ‘new knowledge’ as we go along this
semester.
2. Case Study: The case method is one of the most effective means of management education. It is
widely used in business schools throughout the world, and this use is predicated upon the belief
that tackling real business problems is the best way to develop practitioners. Real problems are
messy, complex, and very interesting. Unlike other pedagogical techniques, many of which make
you the recipient of large amounts of information but do not require its use, the case method
requires you to be an active participant in the closest thing to the real situation. It is a way of
gaining a great deal of experience without spending a lot of time. It is also a way to learn a great
deal about how certain businesses operate, and how managers manage. There are few
programmable, textbook solutions to the kinds of problems faced by real general managers.
When a problem becomes programmable, the general manager gives it to someone else to solve
on a repeated basis using the guidelines he or she has set down. Thus the case situations that you
will face will require the use of analytical tools and the application of your personal judgment.
There is only one secret to good case teaching and that is good preparation on the part of the
participants. Since the course has been designed to “build” as it progresses, regular class
attendance and active participation are essential. The instructor’s role in the class discussion is to
help you develop your ideas through questioning. The instructor’s primary role is to manage the
class process and to insure that the class achieves an understanding of the case situation. There is
no single correct solution to any of these problems. There are, however, a lot of wrong solutions.
Therefore, my role will be to point out the faulty logic and assumptions and steer us toward
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identifying several possible scenarios that would deal effectively with the problems presented in
the case. Throughout the semester, we will explore several cases and you should select one (1) of
them and write a maximum two-page, single-spaced paper on the case. The case report should be
submitted by the end of April 30 via the Blackboard using “SafeAssign,” a software program that
searches for matching text on the internet, in other submissions, etc. Please name your files as:
your last name, student ID, and name of assignment (e.g., wang2011555555case).
3. Reflection Paper: The main focus of your reflection paper is on who you perceive as a
‘responsible leader’ and what constitute responsible leadership. Responsible leadership is about
making business decisions that, next to the interests of the shareholders, also takes into account all
the other stakeholders, such as workers, clients, suppliers, the environment, the community and
future generations.
In your reflection paper, please provide the answers to the following questions:
1. Name 1-2 ‘responsible leaders’ from your readings (could be materials from outside our
class).
2. Please explain why you believe these individuals are responsible leaders. Because evidence
is important and critical, you are expected to describe what leadership traits and leadership
behaviors you have observed from the people that you selected. Then, please explain why
you believe these traits and behaviors are critical for responsible leaders.
3. Please analyze what leadership theories can be used to explain that situation.
4. What is the distance from you to the individual that you identified as the best leader in the
class? Justify your answer. (Tip: You can analyze the differences from the following
aspects: individual traits, behaviors, styles, interpersonal relationships, and abilities to
motivate and empower people, etc.)
5. Please try to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of being a responsible leader.
6. Do you want to become a responsible leader? Why or why not?
The reflection paper should be about 5-8 pages in length. This is an individual assignment;
therefore, there is no need to consult with your classmates about your paper. The reflection paper
should be submitted within ten (10) days after the class (before May 6) via the Blackboard using
“SafeAssign,” a software program that searches for matching text on the internet, in other
submissions, etc. Please name your files as: your last name, student ID, and name of assignment
(e.g., wang2011555555reflection).
Grading Structure
1. Class Participation
2. Case Study
3. Reflection Paper
Total
20%
30%
50%
100%
Note: Due dates for assignments are firm; points will be deducted for lateness. All assignments are to
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be submitted on Blackboard using “SafeAssign” – software which searches for matching text on the
internet, in other submissions, etc.
Teaching Schedule:
Week
Date
April 25 AM
(Saturday)
April 25 PM
(Saturday)
April 26 AM
(Sunday)
April 26 PM
(Sunday)
Theme
 Syllabus and course overview.
 Class overview
 Theoretical Foundations of Leadership
 Head and Heart – How to combine
brilliant strategy with the human touch?
 The Colors – How to always race on a
track with a firm foundation of values,
vision, and purpose?
 Steel and Velvet – Gaining that rare
combination of firmness when needed
coupled with deep care for people.
 Stewards – How to empower others to
lead?
 Alignment – Creating a culture where all
individuals are going in the same
direction on the track.
 Chinese leadership styles –how Chinese
leadership will develop in the foreseeable
future?
Case Studies
Assessments/Exercises
Self-Assessment: Leadership
Potential
Case Study 1: Li Ka-Shing
Case Study 2: REN Zhengfei and
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
Case Study 3: A Late Bloomer:
ZPMC CEO GUAN Tongxian
One week after last class: Reflection paper due via Blackboard
Other requirements and information：
Academic Honesty
The instructors expect that all course work you turn in as your own will be your own,
including your weekly journals and your reflection paper. Your team project should be completed by
you and your team members. There is no need to use materials from the internet in your weekly
journals or your reflection paper. Every student is equally and collectively responsible for
maintaining a good learning environment in the classroom and in study teams. Academic dishonesty
in any portion of the academic work for a course shall be grounds for receiving a grade of F or N for
the course.
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Grading Philosophy
In grading your presentations and written assignments, we will look for originality,
presentation style, ability to generate class discussion, enthusiasm, and the demonstration of a clear
understanding of the subject. The mean score for assignments will be about 80%. To earn more than
that, a significant amount of time needs to be devoted to your assignments.
Additional Notes
 All cell phones should be turned off and put away during class.
 Students who come late to class or who leave class early tend to interrupt the lectures, class
exercises and general train of thought for other students and for the instructor. Students are,
therefore, strongly urged to avoid coming late to class or leaving class early. If you do come in
late due to a circumstance beyond your control, please do so quietly and sit in seats nearest the
side of the room. If you must leave early, please try to inform the instructor at the beginning of
the class and sit near the side of the room. These guidelines should help minimize the
interruptions.
 No eating in class. Water and soft drinks are fine.
 Bring your textbook and readings for the week with you to class.
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