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Unit outline_

WORK3202: Leadership

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Leadership is increasingly seen to be a key factor affecting the performance of contemporary organisations and is an important area of study in the fields of management and organisational behaviour. While leadership principles are often associated with the work of senior management, they also have potential application to all members of organisations, including people at the beginning of their career. This unit explores conventional and alternative perspectives on leadership and provides a range of leadership case studies. Further, this unit of study challenges students to engage in self-reflection on their own leadership values, strengths and areas for development. Finally, this unit helps students to develop their skills in perspective-taking, problem-solving, decision-making and having influence, and to effectively leverage these skills at the outset of their career.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Work and Organisational Studies
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
Completion of at least 48 credit points
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
WORK2222
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator James Donald, james.donald@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s) Georg Tamm, georg.tamm@sydney.edu.au
Emma Devine, emma.devine@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Final exam Final exam
Written exam
40% Formal exam period 2 hours
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO3 LO2
Assignment Reflective essays
Written essay
30% Week 07
Due date: 10 Apr 2020 at 17:00

Closing date: 10 Jun 2020
1800 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3
Presentation group assignment Group assessment
Design and presentation
30% Weekly 25 minutes
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3
group assignment = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

  • Group assessment: This mark will be comprised of two components. You will be required to run a leadership facilitation activity during class time. You will also be assessed by your tutor on your attendance and engagement in your tutorials over the 10 tutorials in the semester. For each tutorial, half a mark will be allocated for attendance and half a mark will be allocated
    for participation.
  • Reflective essays: This assessment requires you to engage in self-reflection, and use key theories presented in the unit to make sense of a leadership case. The task requires you to reflect on a recent leadership decision reported in the media and analyse it using theories presented in the course. It also requires you to write about your own leadership values.
  • Final exam: The final exam will be in a take-home format and will cover issues and topics covered in the unit. See Canvas for more information about the details of the final exam.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school. 

Distinction

75 - 84

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Credit

65 - 74

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Pass

50 - 64

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school. 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Introduction to leadership in the 21st century Lecture (2 hr) LO2 LO3
Week 02 Self-leadership: leadership values and strengths Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 03 Classical approaches to leadership 1 Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 04 Classical approaches to leadership 2 Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 05 Contemporary approaches to leadership Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 06 Leadership and communication Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 07 Reading week - No lectures or tutorials Individual study (3 hr) LO1 LO3
Week 08 Leading high performing teams Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 09 Leadership and decision-making Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 10 Leadership and ethics Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 11 Leadership and diversity Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 12 Leadership, mental health and mindfulness Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 13 Review and exam primer Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO3

Attendance and class requirements

  • Lecture recordings: All lectures and seminars are recorded and will be available on Canvas for student use. Please note the Business School does not own the system and cannot guarantee that the system will operate or that every class will be recorded. Students should ensure they attend and participate in all classes.​
  • Attendance: Please note nearly every lecture will have an experiential component, in which students are expected to actively engage and apply the material presented. Students should come to lectures ready to actively engage with the content.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Northouse, P. G. (2016) Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

All readings for this unit can be accessed on the Library eReserve link available on Canvas.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. analyse and apply major theories underpinning the leadership strategies of organisations and individual leaders
  • LO2. develop skills in self-reflection, leadership communication, and problem-solving to engage with complex leadership challenges
  • LO3. apply a range of empirical examples to demonstrate the complexity of leadership in various organisational and cultural contexts.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered.

More information can be found on Canvas.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.