8001LEAD Management and Leadership
1. Short summative assessment
Task
Develop an understanding of your leadership style and of the importance of selfreflecti on in leadership development.
Learning outcomes
• Effectively communicate leadership principles through various mediums to addressdiverse stakeholders.
• Develop a critically reflective leadership model for your own development
Notes
Your first assessment task is designed to give you a starting point from which to reflect on your raw leadership style and perspectives on leadership, as they are now, as you commence your MBA journey. This will start you on the, oftentimes difficult, path of critically reflecting on your personal leadership style and behaviours – an important aspect of leadership development, even for the most seasoned of leaders.
Suggested procedure
There are two parts to this assessment:
1. After engaging with the content in Week 1, complete the following self-assessment questionnaires from the textbook in which you will examine and evaluate your own leadership traits, skills, and behaviours:
a. Leadership Traits Questionnaire
b. Leadership Skills Inventory
c. Leadership Behaviour Questionnaire
2. Reflecting on the results in the leadership questionnaires you have just completed, comprise a 750-word response considering what you have learned about yourself and your perspectives on leadership. Use the following questions as a guide.
a. What have I learned about myself as a leader?
b. What are the practical implications of these results on my leadership development?
c. Whatspecific development goals and concrete action plans would improve my leadership capabilities in the future?
2. Interim assessmentTask
Conduct a critical analysis of two peer-reviewed Leadership journal articles and apply the knowledge gained to practice.
Learning outcomes
• Demonstrate advanced understanding of leadership theories, concepts and practice, including both traditional and contemporary forms of leadership;
• Effectively communicate leadership principles through various mediums to address diverse stakeholders
Procedure
Your task is to critically analyse the two articles with an emphasis on the theories, values, and assumptions that underpin each article. Your critique will be based on criteria relating to the nature of leadership, the assumptions and values presented in each of the articles and the relationship to leadership practices.
Support your critical analysis using relevant literature and examples from your own work experience/s.
There are two parts to this assessment (A and B)
A. You are required to read two journal articles on leadership:
Stewart, JS, Oliver, EG, Cravens, KS & Oishi, S 2017, ‘Managing millennials: Embracing generational differences’, Business Horizons, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 45-54.
Ahmad, H & Ibrahim, B 2015, ‘Leadership and the characteristic of different generational cohort towards job satisfaction’, Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 204, pp. 14-18.
B. Then develop a 2000-word essay response to three questions using the following structure:
I. Introduction (approx. 200 words)
II. Critique (approx. 1600 words)
1. Provide a brief overview of each article by discussing the authors’ position in the two articles in your own words rather than the material you have read. In providing your overview of the articles, consider the followingquestions:
What arguments are the authors trying to raise? Compare and contrast the arguments raised.
What theoretical perspective are discussed?
What underlying assumptions and implicit arguments are evident?
What conclusions have been drawn by the authors?
2. Then, discuss what the authors’ stance means for leaders, followers, organisations, and society:
Do you agree with what the authors are saying?
What does this mean for current leadership practice? Provide practical examples of the theory in practice.
Identify a relevant leadership theory that exemplifies the ideas
raised in each of the articles and the relationship to leadership as a practice.
3. What has been the learning experience you can identify from each article?
Provide a practical example of how you could implement this learning as a leader and as a follower. That is, how would you use the theory/research/model in the role of leader to improve practical leadership for your specific workplace?
iii. Conclusion (approx. 200 words)
iv. References (minimum of six (6) excluding the two set articles).
3. Capstone assessmentTask
Develop a report on your leadership reflections in this subject, including a self-analysis and a leadership development plan.
Learning Outcomes
• Demonstrate advanced understanding of leadership theories, concepts and practice, including both traditional and contemporary forms of leadership.
• Critically evaluate modes of leadership with consideration of ethical and socially responsible practice.
• Effectively communicate leadership principles through various mediums to address diverse stakeholders.
• Develop a critically reflective leadership model for your own development.
Notes
The purpose of this assessment is to conduct an analysis of learning in the subject in the construction of a Leadership Development Plan.
There are two parts to this assessment.
Part A requires you to outline and discuss self-awareness insights about yourself as a leader that you have gained over the duration of the course.
Part B builds on your selfanalysis and should be viewed as a blueprint that assists you to advance your own selfdevelopment throughout your MBA and beyond.
Part A Self Analysis (1500 words)
You are required to reflect upon your learning over the course of the subject to conduct an analysis of your leadership style, traits, skills and behaviours and provide a critique of what type of leader you believe you are and how this relates to contemporary approaches to leadership. You need to considerthe leadership strengths and weaknessesinsightsthat have been provided when completing relevant self-assessment questionnaires in the textbook. It is expected that your discussion will go beyond what was discussed in Assessment Task 1 and include discussion of other reflective activitiesthat you have completed over the course of the subject. You may also choose to use specific life and workplace events or examples that have shaped your leadership style as a basis for analysis and reflection.
The emphasis must be on the analysis rather than on just describing the situation. It is critical that you show the thinking process (reflection) that led to your self-awareness insights. Linkages to course materials, theories, models and literature must be clear and extensive, and sources must be referenced.
To aid your self-analysis it is recommended that you keep a reflective journal. You may include excerpts of the journal in your response to demonstrate your self-analysis. Excerpts should be restricted to brief extracts and will not contribute to the overall word count.
Part B Leadership Development Plan (1500 words)
Building upon the insights about your leadership strengths and weaknesses identified in Part A, you are to develop a leadership plan that considers your career development, including your future leadership visions and aspirations. The Leadership Development Plan should be an action plan that considers the reality of your work and social life, as well as, personal predispositions and leadership style. These aspects are likely to support and/or obstruct your attempts and you will need to show understanding of these influences in how you will approach your development plan.
Your Leadership Development Plan should include:
• Your Vision and approach for your own personal leadership style;
• Short-term and Long-term leadership goals;
• A plan of ongoing specific actions that details the strategies (what you intend to do) to address your development sub-goals highlighted;
• Discussion of personal and environmental obstacles and an action plan of how to deal with them;
• Discussion of how you will measure your development and success as a leader. Describe the specific actions or outcome you will use to determine this.
To receive a high grade, the assessment needs to be well written and researched, analytical, critical of theories and concepts where appropriate and demonstrate linkages between leadership theories and models and its application to the real-world.
Procedure
1. Identify relevant self-assessment questionnaires that you have conducted over the course of the subject and evaluate which of these gives you a realistic picture of your approach to Leadership.
2. Drawing from the results of these self-assessment questionnaires, compose a 1500- word self-analysis of your Leadership approach, considering both your strengths and weaknesses. As well as any insights, you have gained over the duration of thecourse.
3. Based on your self-analysis then construct a 1500-word Leadership Development Plan. A template is provided to assist you in structuring this section.
4. After drafting your response, check it against the marking criteria for this task. Make sure it is free of errors and submit it for assessment by Thursday of Week 7.