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THE HELLER SCHOOL AT BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY2.53 Leadership and Organizational Behavior
Instructor: Jon Chilingerian, Ph.D.Fall Semester: 2018Class time: Tuesday 9:00 AM – 11:50 PM G3Office Hours: Monday 2-5; Tuesday 12-2, Wednesday 9:00-12:00 PM and by appointmentPhone: (781) 736-3828 (W); (617) 965-8009 (H)MBA Coordinator: Norma DeMattos, (781) 736-3866 ([email protected])E-mail: [email protected] ________________________________________________________________________I. COURSE DESCRIPTION:OVERVIEW: This course has a dual focus: (1) leadership; and (2) managing organizations. The purpose is to increase your understanding of behavior within organizations and to improve your effectiveness in analyzing, diagnosing, and leading organizations. As a course in applied behavioral science or organizational theory, you will be building upon your understanding of how managers in organizations can improve performance and how leaders can become the instrument of fair process and justice. The course can become an opportunity for you to develop your leadership skills through group work and reflection.
Course Focus 1
Policy makers and leaders must take note—job pressures, “bosses” and toxic workplaces are a major source stress for people. While we ought to be very concerned about the physical environment, perhaps we should be even more concerned about the effect of work organizations on human beings. Moreover, a study recently reported that only 1 out of 4 people feel engaged, and 88% feel that they work for organizations that do not care about them.
A few years ago, the CEO of one global company employing 12,000 people said, “we became aware that all 12,000 employees who work for us are somebody’s precious child, and we know that the way we treat them will have a material impact on their life.”
To design organizations and cultures in which people care about each other, feel valued and offer their clients and customers outstanding value and experiences requires effective leadership. And we also need to be leaders who understand how to get all of these things done. Patty McCord once said that the job of a leader is to “create great teams that do amazing work on time…”
This is not a survey course on the history of theory or the landscape of organizational behavior. The aim (and goal) of this course is to prepare you to effectively lead and manage organizations that care about human well-being. This entails developing knowledge and skills to analyze key issues in organizational design, leadership, justice, power and influence, culture, change, and performance management. The course combines conceptual and experiential approaches. We draw on four sources of knowledge to accomplish the course objectives: (1) conceptual frameworks and research findings from organization
1. NOTE: EXTRA REQUIRED MATERIALS (IN CLASS AND PURCHASED FROM NORMA DEMATTOS):MBTI (SELF-SCORABLE FORM M)
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studies, sociology, political science, anthropology, and psychology; (2) business cases and media accounts; (3) simulations and exercises; and (4) your own work experiences. The class will be interactive, and active participation in discussions is expected.
II. Course Objectives The main objective of this course is to help you to understand: 1) yourself as a follower, a collaborative team player and a leader; 2) the way people in groups behave; and 3) how to lead and change organizations. This course takes a behavioral and humanistic point of view.
Working FrameworksYou will develop conceptual frameworks for analyzing organizational structures, power and politics, culture, and change, with a focus on the interplay of rules, resources, and relationships in managing interdependencies. By identifying critical sources of tension in organizations, you can learn to harness them to produce beneficial outcomes for you and your organization.
Course Outcomes (CO): CO1: Evaluate individual, group, and organizational issues from a behavioral science point
of view CO2: Apply strategic, political, and cultural perspectives to the analysis and redesign of
organizations and teams CO3: Reflect upon how to build, participate in, and lead collaborative teams more
effectively through the evaluation of the science of collective intelligence CO4: Examine the roles of a leader as a strategic thinker and instrument of justice to ensure
that decision makers diagnose micro situations and organizational systems prior to determining goals, alternatives, risks, and trade-offs
CO5: Assess your personal leadership style to increase personal growth and your effectiveness in contributing to high performance teams and organizations
CO6: Analyze the relationship between macro and micro leadership behaviors and models of leading change to the fit/congruence of an organization’s strategy, people, and structures and critical tasks
CO7: Apply tools and tactics for attaining organizational goals such as mapping the social networks, assessing power and politics, aligning stakeholders, and interpreting and managing cultures
Acquire Diagnostic SkillsYou will increase your skills in diagnosis that enable you to analyze the fit of an organization’s structure to its goals, to map out the networks of the organization, to assess the political landscape, and to interpret culture and identities.
Learn Key Concepts, Strategies, Tactics, and ToolsYou will begin to build a repertoire of strategies and tactics to increase your effectiveness in varied situations, induce and lead change initiatives, and use politics in pragmatic ways to get things done. You will learn and apply tools and tactics for attaining organizational goals effectively.
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III. Coursework and Grading
Grading (explained in detail in appendix 1)
1. Class Participation, On-Line Polls, Post-class discussions (see below) 35%
2. Three Reflective and Analytic Essays, each one is 2 single-spaced (S.S.) pages:
3. Team performance scores: 1 Class Presentation and Change Pro Key Lessons
30%
10%4. Group Mid-Term Case 15%5. Essay on a leader and leadership (3 S.S. pages) 10%
V. Explanation of Coursework Requirements:
1. Class Participation 35% (see Appendix 1 for more details)a. Reading to Prepare for Each Class. Students are expected to read materials assigned for
class, before each class, lead some discussions and to engage in thoughtful discussions.
a. One Group presentation: diagnosis of a case situation employing class readings and lectures. Select one of the cases on the date it is due and present your diagnosis of the case. You can’t know what to analyze until you know what you are trying to achieve. So, the presentation should start with a statement of what you believe are the most pressing performance problems and misalignments for the case and based on this, what the key goals are that the organization should try to achieve. Each group will get 15-20 minutes to present their diagnosis. Then the class will add to the analysis and recommendations. Each team can select one of the following cases: Black Caucus Groups at Xerox, Ideo-Human Centered Leadership, Taran Swan, Truly Human Leadership, Elizabeth Parker, Hidden Figures, and the Nestles Case.
b. 5 Polls: The polls (except speed ventures) should be no more than 1,300 characters with spaces. Use word count. Polls will not be graded, but they will count towards your class participation. Be ready to defend your positions in class. They are due 6 PM the evening before class. Submit via LATTE (for help ask Norma DeMattos - [email protected]).
2. Three Reflective and Analytic Essays 30% (10 points each). For each of these 2 single-spaced papers, you will be assessed based on thoughtful, convincing, insightful and exploratory writing and reflection, a strong connection between experience and insights, and use of detail and narrative account that reflect on the experiences framed and supported by course concepts and materials (readings, lectures, discussions).
a. Paper 1 due October 16. Reflection on yourself and your own behaviors. Since Class 1, what are you learning about yourself? Your strengths, your personality,
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as well as your biases, as a decision maker and collaborative team player. Any new information?
b. Paper 2 due November 13. Describe your team experience and a decision-making unit. Did your group progress? Why or why not. How has your group been influenced by individual and group “properties” and processes? What readings of concepts helped you understand and manage group dynamics and leading teams?
c. Paper 3 due November 27. What have you learned about leading and changing the culture of organizations? Demonstrate your ability to apply concepts and idea from the course to diagnose a real organizational culture in your areas of interest or from your experience, identify misalignments with mission, people, work, and formal architecture, and develop appropriate solutions to change a culture using what you have learned.
3. Group Mid-Term 15%. On October 30, your team will read, analyze, and write an analysis of a case. Submitted before noon, and graded as a team effort.
4. Leadership Analysis 10%. Each student will be required to write 2-3 (S.S.) page analysis on any one of the leadership cases (including the videos) we studied this semester. You are expected to utilize the ideas from class and the current readings. The paper is due December 4th. Analyze the leadership opportunity, problem or conflict that was confronted Describe and explain the behavior of the leader and what impact the leader seem
to have Be sure to introduce two or three analytical concepts/theories from class that help
us to make sense out of the leader’s behavior Propose in a summary key ideas about what you learned about the practice of
leading people based on your analysis that is consistent with theories you identified
VI. COURSE MATERIALS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
READINGS ON LATTE. LATTE CONTAINS required reading, cases, and other materials.
FOUR REQUIRED BOOKS: (SEE APPENDIX 4)
1. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivate US, (2009) By Daniel Pink, New York: Riverhead Hardcover
2. Crucial Accountability: Tools For Resolving Broken Promises, Violated Expectations and Bad Behavior. Second editon By Kerry Patterson, Joe Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. New York: McGraw Hill. 2013 *ISBN:* 0071446524
3. Schein, Edgar H. 2017. Organizational Culture and Leadership, fourth edition. ISBN: 978-1-119-21204-1, Jossey-Bass. Paper.
4. McCord, Patty. 2017. Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility. Silicon Guild.
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NOTE: EXTRA REQUIRED MATERIALS (IN CLASS AND PURCHASED FROM NORMA DEMATTOS): (SEE APPENDIX 3)
MBTI (SELF-SCORABLE FORM M), HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CASES (PURCHASED THROUGH THE COURSEPACK AT HBS PUBLISHING): HTTPS://HBSP.HARVARD.EDU/IMPORT/563645
1. Judgment in Crisis (simulation)2. The Balancing Act: Making Tough Decisons3. Black Caucus Groups at Xerox (A)4. IDEO: Human Centered Service Design 5. Elizabeth Parker (A) and (B).6. Taran Swan at Nickelodeon Latin America (A) 7. Reverend Jeffrey Brown: Cops, Kids, and Ministers 8. Truly Human Leadership at Barry Wehmiller
CommunicationAn important source of communication is the course web site. After each session, you will find there a summary of my slides with main learning points or annotated versions of each session’s slides. It will aid your learning if you briefly review the summary after class. Please talk with me in class or make an appointment to talk if anything is unclear.
Although there are office hours, I am happy to meet with individuals or small groups by appointment.
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Overview of Course Schedule: Assignments and Key Due Dates
Class and Date Topics and Sub-topics AssignmentSeptember 4
Class 1
Strategic Thinking, Decision Theories, and Decision-Making Units: Teaming Decisions
In-class Simulation
September 18
Class 2
Strategic Thinking, Decision Theories, and Decision-Making Units: The Underlying Science
Prepare: Judgment in Crisis Case: The Balancing act: Making Tough Decisions
October 2
Class 3
Strategic Thinking, Decision Theories, and Decision-Making Units: Organizational Decision Making
Case: Speed Ventures A, B & C
October 9 Class 4
Organizing Work and Managing People: Individual Differences and Motivation
Fill out the MBTI Read Drive
October 16
Class 5
Organizing Work and Managing People: Managing Workforce Diversity
Cases: Black Caucus Groups at Xerox Corporation & Hidden Figures
Paper 1 dueOctober 23
Class 6
Organizing Work: Designing Organizational Culture and Leadership
Read: Organizational Culture and Leadership Case: Ideo-Human Centered Design
October 30
Class 7
In-Class Group Mid-Term Case Given 1 week before
November 6
Class 8
Leadership Behaviors: Developing People & Having Difficult Conversations
Read: Crucial accountability Case: Baker A
November 13
Class 9
Leadership Behaviors and Effective Leaders: Adapting Your Leadership Style
Fill out LEAD InstrumentPaper 2 due
November 20
Class 10
Leadership Behaviors and Effective Leaders: Leading Teams, Exercising Power & Influence
Cases: Elizabeth Parker; Taran Swan
November 27
Class 11
Leadership Behaviors and Effective Leaders: Leading Teams Without Authority
Case: Nestles GlobePaper 3 due
December 4
Class 12
Leadership Behaviors and Effective Leaders: Leading Change
Change Pro Simulation
Leadership paper dueDecember 11
Class 13
Organizational Culture & Leadership: Solving Social Problems and Having Social Impact
Read: Powerful Case: Reverend Brown: Kids, Cops and Ministers
Case: Truly Human Leadership
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SESSION I TOPIC: September 4 Strategic Thinking, Decision Theories, and Decision-Making
Units: Teaming DecisionsOverview The first part of the session introduces the new science of collective intelligence, and the" new" basic work units in global organizations—virtual project teams. According to Katzenbach and Smith (2003), a team is a "small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable." How do we get people and technology to act intelligently when working together on a team?
The second part involves a demonstration of your group’s collective intelligence. You will experience a simulation first working alone as an individual and then in collectively in groups. In the subarctic simulation, you have survived a plane crash with your group. Your group must decide on a strategy. You have 15 items from the crash that you must rank in order of importance to the group’s survival. Your challenge is to rank the items based on their importance. Your group will receive an overall measure of their performance. Information is incomplete and ambiguous. You have time pressure and uncertainty. Can you make an effective group decision? We will have a plenary session to identify the main insights, with a summary.
No Assignment Sept 4 : Form your teams (sign-in sheet) Group Simulation: Sub-Artic Survival
Instructions for the simulation• When you meet as a team, there are four key roles and responsibilities to assign:
– Someone to facilitate or chair the process (helps with the rational & relational)– Someone to take minutes – Someone to keep time – Someone to harvest the learning
• Develop ground rules and a charter for your team (for example)– Agree to rotate the 4 roles so everyone plays each role– Be sure to have rules such as “No interrupting/no one dominates, etc.”– Agree to keep 10-15 minutes at end to do process checks today and whenever you
meet as a team– Agree to call a time-out or say “I am not getting it” when appropriate– Agree to discuss low scores to capture learnings– Agree to do a process check today and for every team meeting: answering the 7
questions using a 5-point scale to quantify your performance and Q. 8 to summarize
Not at all To a small extent Moderate Great Extent Very Great Extent1 2 3 4 5
Process Questions
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Q. 1 Did we achieve the objectives of the group today?1-5
Evaluate the rational process. 1-5Q2. Did we analyze the situation separating facts from assumptions? 1-5 Q3. Did we set clear, engaging objectives?1-5Q4. Did we discuss the full-set of consequences?1-5
Evaluate the relational process. 1-5Q5. How well did the team work together? Listening, deep engagement?1-5Q6. Did the group confront and challenge each other respectfully? 1-5Q7. How well did each individual participate in/contribute to the meeting?1-5Q8. How can we improve our performance as a team?(qualitative summary comments)
A diverse team brings many points of view, which sometimes creates conflict and misunderstanding. Listening to understand a person is not listening to refute or argue. Manage your team members by listening-to-understand each person’s feelings and perceptions. Once you analyze their perceptions, you can understand different assumptions that are being made. Listening to understand and connecting with people is fundamental to good leadership. Please discuss low scores to capture learnings
Post Class Discussion Assignment Debrief Sub-Arctic Exercise
Share your team summary (Q.8 of Process Questions: How can we improve our performance as a team?(qualitative summary comments)
NEXT CLASS SEPT 18 THERE IS ANOTHER SIMULATION—THIS IS AN IMPORTANT REMINDER
You must purchase the HBS reading package by September 10th to do the judgment in crisis simulation.
You must bring headphones and a laptop and power cord to the class! This simulation includes video and audio data. You will be making several important decisions. You may want to take notes to help you recall what influenced your decisions during
your class debriefing discussion.
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SESSION II. TOPIC:
September 18 Strategic Thinking and Decision Making: The Underlying Science of Decision Making
In Class Simulation: Judgment in CrisisCase: The Balancing Act: Making Tough Decisions
Overview
Here are some reminders:
You must purchase the HBS reading package to do the simulation. Don’t forget your headphones and Laptop and power! This simulation includes video and audio data. Take notes. You will be making several important decisions. You may want to take notes to help you recall what influenced your decisions during your
class debriefing discussion.
In this simulation you will play the role of a manager puts you in the shoes of a manager at Matterhorn Health, a medical device manufacturer. The firm has launched a new blood glucose-monitoring device. Patients have the ability to monitor their blood glucose levels at home using this product. Matterhorn has tested the product extensively before launch. Managers feel confident that the product will achieve very strong accuracy rates.
Soon after launch, however, the company begins to receive reports that inaccuracy rates exceed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines by a considerable amount. Your team must cope with this crisis and attempt to discover the causes of the problem. The problem may not be solved when the simulation ends in about 45 minutes.
The last 50 minutes of the session, we will discuss the Balancing Act: Making Tough Decisions. Chris Green, CEO of Family Care Canada is getting ready for a board meeting. For 24 years, they want o to reduce violence in Canadian communities. They hired an ad agency that proposed a new campaign; however, the largest local chapter was uncomfortable with the approach. What should Chris do to lead? You will watch a video on Chris Green to get a closer look at Chris as leader and to allow you to evaluate Chris Green.
Tasks:1. Read: The Balancing Act: Making Tough Decisions2. Watch the Video of Chris Green3. Please fill out the Qualtrics survey on Chris Green sent to you.4. Take 2 Pre-Tests: 10-15 minutes: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/selectatest.html5. What did your pre-test tell you? What do you learn from the data?
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Required Reading Read: “Evidence for a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human
Groups.” Woolley A.W. et al., Science 29 October 2010 Kaplan, Gimbel and Harris. 2016. Neural correlates of maintaining one’s beliefs in the face of
counterevidence. Nature: Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/srep39589 “Building the Emotional Intelligence of Groups, “ by Druskat and Wolff (HBR 2001) "The Discipline of Teams" Katzenbach and Smith (HBR March 1993)
Recommended Reading How to Manage Virtual Teams, Siebdrat, Hoegel, and Ernst. (Summer 2009) Sloan
Management Review Decisions 2.0: The Power of Collective Intelligence. Eric Bonabeau. Sloan Management
Review. Winter 2009
Questions during class: Judgment in Crisis What key decisions did you make? What was most challenging? How did you cope? What should the CEO tell the media? What advice do you have for managers in crisis situations?
Questions: Balancing Act: Making Tough Decisions As Chris Green, what approach would you take to involve the chapters, board members, and
staff in the decision? Describe the characteristics of your ideal leader –those whom you admire and respect. Is Chris Green an effective leader?
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SESSION III. TOPIC: October 2 Strategic Thinking and Decision Making: Individual & Group
Decision Making
OverviewWe will build on what we learned in sessions 1-2 . The objective of this session is to get you to think analytically about strategic decision making as a leadership competency. You should think about questions such as: What processes do you use to come to your decisions? How do you differentiate facts from assumptions? How do you challenge assumptions? How do you choose from among alternatives? How do you form your ideas about what will happen in the future?
How do you evaluate the consequences and likelihood of an outcome? And how do you form judgments about the value of a particular event?
The session will be in double reflection. We will use a trivial and simple decision—whether to put a car in a race and in doing so we will try to make a high quality decision. I want to draw your attention as leaders to two processes: (1) the rational process needed to reach a high quality decision; and (2) the interpersonal process—how we engage and interact with each other to build commitment to strategic goals and decisions.
The learning goals are on several levels. First, I want you to learn something about your self—how you think. Second, learning something about how groups make decisions under uncertainty and time pressure. This runs to the heart of what is the “truth.” The truth alone is never good enough—ideas have to be explained, and people have to be persuaded. What persuades you may not persuade others. And third, how good leadership practices, employing decision models, stakeholder analysis, and SWOT analysis, can improve decision processes.
Assignment : Fill out Speed Ventures Questionnaire—online poll Prepare Case: Speed Ventures (A), (B), and (C) Please pick up the MBTI instrument from Norma Demattos after the class [Please
fill out the Myers Briggs Indicator hand-out before the next class, and be sure to score it. Purchase from Norma
Study Questions for Speed Ventures:1. Analyze the Speed Ventures situation. What are the main problems? Is it “a strategically
designed organization”?2. Please be prepared to vote whether or not to run the race. Should Speed Ventures Race?3. Please fill out the questionnaire and hand in before class begins
Online Poll Question
Please fill out the questionnaire and hand in before class begins
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SESSION IV. TOPIC: October 9 Organizing Work and Managing People: Individual Differences
and Motivation
OverviewYou cannot effectively manage people without understanding what drives people. We will explore the tools organizations have at their disposal to employees’ needs and efforts congruent with the organization’s objectives.
Before you can manage and lead other people, you should understand your preferences for acquiring and processing information to make decisions. To help you to understand the human element and to help you to perceive people as more predictable, we will use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) - the most widely used psychological instrument in the world. The MBTI is based on the work of Swiss Psychoanalyst Carl Jung.
Study Questions1. According to Pink, what drives people? 2. Can we apply these ideas when designing organizations?
Assignment :1. Read: Drive , by Daniel Pink (Entire)2. Bring your MBTI to class (Self Scored)
Optional Reading “Managing Yourself” by Drucker “Introduction To Type” Myers-Briggs [Skim]
Study Questions What is your MBTI profile? Share the results with your team.
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SESSION V. TOPIC: October 16 Organizing Work and Managing People: Managing
Workforce Diversity (Paper 1 due)
OverviewThis session will delve into how gender and race played out in two organization’s histories: NASA and Xerox. Together they underscore a dark history of institutional racism and sexism that continue in organizations today. Hidden Figures is set in a NASA research center in Virginia about 1961-62. It chronicles the amazing story of three black women scientists and mathematicians and their critical roles in the US space program. On a daily basis, they are coping, confronting, and overcoming the overt discrimination and racism in the workplace.
In the late 1960s, Xerox leadership made a conscious choice to hire African-American employees. Because of its “liberal” reputation many African Americans came to Xerox, because it was a young organization with a culture of innovation. Moreover, as a sales organization it had clear quantifiable metrics not easily manipulated. Although the work conditions at Xerox appeared to have the potential for creating equal opportunity, African-American employees confronted obstacles, barriers and bigotry. They felt the HR policies were beyond inadequate and minorities were intentionally blocked in a predominately white organization. Consequently, they created a “Black Caucus” system.
Kearns, the CEO, has conflicting pressures. One the one hand, he personally supported the caucus’ goals and he trusts the caucus leaders. On the other hand, he must address the fears among the white executives that a national caucus was really a “union” in disguise.
In Class Video: Retired Brigadier General Rebecca S. Halstead
Assignment If you have any personal examples of bias (be it an act of harassment or a micro- or macro-
aggression) that you would like to share with the class, please briefly describe through the survey link below. Names are not collected with this survey to keep it fully anonymous. https://brandeis.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eQmxr6v2sZjPWsd
Read: Black Caucus Groups at Xerox (A) Please view the film on latte: Hidden Figures Read: Cheeks, M. 2018. How Black Women Describe Navigating Race and Gender
in the Workplace. HBR Read: Marshall, M. and Wingfield, T. 2016. Getting more Black Women in the C-
Suite. View “Creating a level playing field” by Stanford Professor Shelley Morrell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPoymWLNjVk
Study Questions1. What lessons can leaders learn from the film Hidden Figures?2. What was Retired Brigadier General Rebecca S. Halstead’s experience?3. Diagnose the problem and evaluate the idea of a “self help” group. 4. What lessons do you learn about incentives, motivation, performance measurement,
leadership, organizational structures and managerial practices in the Xerox case. 5. Are these cases relevant today? Have we fixed these problems?
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SESSION VI. TOPIC:
October 23 Organizing Work: Designing Organizational Culture
Overview How can we, as leaders, turn human creativity and innovation into organizational resources and capabilities? There are probably more definitions of culture than there are people studying it. Culture is an elusive concept, but one with tremendous face validity—everyone understands what culture is, but that understanding is often vague and fuzzy. In this session we will discuss one useful model of culture and see how it helps us understand how to change a culture.
The IDEO case describes a human-centered innovation culture and service design process at IDEO. In 2014 owing to competitive pressures, Cineplanet, the leading movie chain in Peru, hired IDEO to re-invent the movie-going experience for Peruvians. How do you re-align the operating model with the unmet needs and behaviors of its clients and customers?
We will analyze IDEO’s corporate culture and core values on which it is based. How do leaders embed values in a culture and where should a leader focus attention?
Assignment :1. Prepare Case: IDEO: Human Centered Service Design2. Prepare Group Presentations 3. Read: Schein, E.H. 2017. Organizational Culture and Leadership. 5th edition.
(especially chapters: 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 16
Study Questions1. How does IDEO define opportunities, developed hypotheses, and test hypotheses?2. How would you describe and define IDEO’s human-centered innovation culture, process,
and philosophy? 3. Watch the customer interview video. What do you learn from tis customer as it reimagines
movie-going experience? What are the most important features of the way the team interacts with the customer during the interview
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SESSION VII. TOPIC: OCTOBER 30 GROUP MID-TERM (CASE ANALYSIS)
SESSION VIII . TOPIC:
November 6 Effective Leadership Behaviors: Developing People and Having Difficult Conversations
Overview
This session will focus on difficult conversations, developing people, getting results and managing performance. The case is about a leader who wants to give some feedback to an employee. We will apply the ideas from Crucial Accountability, especially giving negative feedback, to the case.
Assignment 1. Read : Baker (A) 2. Read: Crucial Accountability [Entire]3. Read : Groysberg and Abraham. 2017. The whys and hows of feedback. HBS Press.4. Recommended : Weeks, H. Taking the stress out of stressful conversations.5. Recommended : Stone. Difficult Conversations : How to address what matters the most.
Study Questions
1. Should Baker give feedback to Rennals? Yes/No? Consider how you would play out your strategic choice above—what would you do and what would you say?
2. What are the stakes?3. Be prepared to use the tools from Crucial Accountability to demonstrate a crucial
confrontation between you and Rennals.4. Which of the following strategic alternatives would you select:
Meet with Rennals and discuss only his positive qualities with respect to his performance.
Meet with Rennals and discuss both the positive and negatives (pluses & minuses) with respect to his performance, bring up the problem you have observed with the expatriates versus Barracanians but avoid discussing his racial consciousness.
Meet with Rennals and discuss both the positive and negatives (pluses & minuses) with respect to his performance, bring up the problem you have observed with the expatriates versus Barracanians and bring your observations about the problem with his racial consciousness.
Just congratulate him, say “Good Bye and Good Luck” to Rennals and talk about your work in Canada
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SESSION IX. TOPIC:
November 13 Leader Behaviors and Effective Leaders: Adapting Your Leadership Style (Paper 2 due)
Overview
The first part of the session will focus on your leadership style and will introduce a situational leadership model that can help guide you to choose an effective leadership style. The Hersey Blanchard model is based on the idea that appropriate leader behavior depends on the readiness of the leader’s direct reports and followers. Readiness refers to the degree of motivation, competence, experience, commitment and confidence in accepting responsibility. As the readiness of followers improves, the leader’s behavior should also change. The learning objectives are: to understand what we mean by leadership style and its importance in developing people and to evaluate and assess your leadership style and to learn how to adapt your style depending on the situation.
Assignment:1. Fill out 12 item “Lead” Questionnaire in “So You Want to Know Your Leadership
Style” and Directions for self-score (purchased from Norma D.)2. Read: Fair Process: Managing in the Knowledge Economy. (Jan 2003) W. Chan
Kim & Renee Mauborgne. HBR
Study Questions What are your preferred and dominant leadership styles? Are you an adaptive leader? How can we connect fair process models of leading with the science of collective
intelligence? What do leaders do? What does the architect do in the film? Observe how the leader guides and motivates the group and adapts his style to deal
with the ability and willingness of the group in 12 Angry Men.
Optional Reading:
View “Twelve Angry Men” “Enhancing the Benefits and Overcoming the Pitfalls of Goal Setting” By Locke and
Latham “Leadership that Gets Results” by Goleman “Goal-Setting-A Motivational Technique That Works” by Latham and Locke
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SESSION X. TOPIC: November 20 Leader Behaviors and Effective Leaders: Leading Teams and
Exercising Power and Influence
OverviewToday we will study two leaders: Taran Swan and Elizabeth Parker. Taran Swan was the General Manager on Nickelodeon Latin America. She wrote a business plan and recruited a team to launch the channel. The case focuses on the role of the manager and the impact of her style on the team’s processes, culture, and outcomes.
We will study how Elizabeth Parker takes control in two very different situations. Her leadership teaches some key lessons about developing and exercising power and influence. The central theme of this session is understanding the nature of power, how to get it, and how to use it.
Pfeffer says power is essential to initiate and sustain goal-directed action. Yet, organizations with scarce resources and interdependent individuals will produce different opinions on the organizational goals and how those goals should be met. Consequently, building and wielding power, negotiating and forming alliances maybe essential for any manager to be effective.
Assignment :1. Prepare Case: Taran Swan at Nickelodeon Latin America (A)
2. Prepare Case: Elizabeth Parker (A) and (B)
Study Questions1. Describe the culture and explain how Taran Swan developed that culture.2. Describe Taran Swan’s leadership style. What are the challenges that Swan faces?3. In case A, Elizabeth Parker describes her background and what she did as she started a new
job and career. Elizabeth Parker believes that her organization should be accomplishing its mission. How does she take charge of her department? What were the key factors that led to her success at the end of the case?
4. In case B, Parker faces a new challenge. What plan of action do you recommend?
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SESSION XI. TOPIC:
November 27 Leader Behaviors and Effective Leaders: Leading Project & Global Teams without Authority (Paper 3 due)
Overview Organizing on a global scale is among the most difficult managerial challenges. Different multi-national designs will lead to wide variations in the distribution of power. In the past, the design choices were either a) country-subsidiary structures, or b) business-unit structures. Today a simple either-or organization design seems impossible. How do we differentiate and integrate the activities that take place in different country and subsidiary cultures? Companies like Nestle not only find themselves in hundreds of countries, but also are dealing with different languages, cultures, currencies, tax systems, and regulatory agencies, their key customers have also globalized. Serving a CarreFour in Taiwan, Mexico or Brazil, requires Nestle to undertake new initiatives: making purchases across business-units, common order-fulfillment processes, common supply-chain process, and coordinated buying. To deepen its global organizational capability, Nestle has decided to put all of these new projects and initiatives in enterprise software from SAP. We will learn how Chris Johnson manages this GLOBE project. To succeed, Chris Johnson must not only understand strategic design, but also understand power & politics, and culture.
Assignment :1. Prepare Case: Nestlé’s GLOBE program (A): The early months
2. Read: Harnessing the Science of Persuasion. R. Cialdini. HBR (October 2001)
3. Read: Beer, M. & Nohria, N. 2000 “Cracking the code of change”. Harvard Business Review
Study Questions1. On a scale from one to ten (ten being very difficult), how difficult will it be for Chris Johnson to
make a success of his new job?
2. What and who will be the keys to success for Chris Johnson in his new job?
3. What would you advise Chris to prepare for his upcoming meeting to discuss staffing with Mario Corti? What should he ask for? On what issues should he be willing to compromise? Why? If he follows your advice, what will be the risks and ramifications for him, and how should he deal with them?
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SESSION XII. TOPIC:
December 4 Leader Behaviors and Effective Leaders: Leading Change
(Leadership paper due
IntroductionToday will summarize everything you have learned about leading change. It will test your team’s ability to diagnose and take action. Computer simulations are growing in popularity as practice fields for organizational learning. Today you will be using a computer simulation developed to challenge your change management skills. You will spend most of the class working in your teams trying to lead a change initiative in a simulated organization. Then, we will collectively compare how you performed in leading change.
Assignment : The Change Pro Simulation Abridged User Manual. “Informal Networks: The Company Behind the Chart” by Krackhardt and Hanson
Study Questions1. The Change Pro instructions detail the various tactics available to you in the simulation.
Review them and consider how and when each tactic might be appropriate.
2. What, in your view, are the three biggest challenges facing a manager charged with leading change?
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SESSION XIII. TOPIC:
December 11 Leaders Solving Social Problems and Having Social Impact
Overview
For this final class, we will focus on two leaders: Reverend Jeffrey Brown, and Bob Chapman.
On May 14, 1992, 14 gang members entered the Morningstar Baptist church in Boston during a funeral and beat and stabbed a rival gang member in attendance at the service. This event prompted Reverend Brown to join forces with other clergy to develop the TenPoint Coalition, forging connections between the clergy and Boston’s minority youth. We will hear discuss how he accomplished his goals and how he brought innovative thinking and action to this challenge in this inspirational session.
Video: Rev. Jeffrey Brown
Video: Bob Chapman
Assignment:1. Prepare Case: “Reverend Jeffrey Brown: Cops, Kids, and Ministers”2. Prepare Case: Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller 3. Read: “Managing Strategic Issues and Stakeholders” by Chilingerian4. Class Party—Bring some food and drinks!!
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APPENDIX 1. Grading IssuesA. Class Participation (see “Tips on Preparing Cases” on page 25)
The character of the course naturally lends itself to active exchange among participants. The most important preparation is to have read and studied the cases. In the classroom, the expectations are relatively simple: be well-prepared, arrive punctually to class, and actively participate. There are several ways in which the materials in this course help you to do this.
Short Introduction or overviews provide background on, and an introduction to, the session’s materials. Read first – these provide contextStudy Questions guide you through each session’s content. Read second - these help you focus on what is most importantAssignments & Required Readings (incl. cases and articles) provide the content for our class discussion. If time do he optional readings--Read and study the cases – these provide content (you can’t participate in class discussions without them)
How do I get a high grade for class participation? Individual contribution consists of; Not surfing the internet in class Attending classes on time, coming prepared to listen and build on the ideas of others; Quality of individual comments in class discussions; Post your reflections (1 or 2 key take-aways) after every class and engage in after-class
on-line discussion with at least 2-3 students On-time submission of four online questionnaire/case polls;
Attending Class (In-class comments/contributions). There are many ways to participate, beyond showing-up, speaking, and not surfing the internet in class. Listening carefully to what your colleagues are saying in class and building on their ideas is critical. Listening for understanding is critical to good leadership. If you do not understand what your colleagues are saying, raise your hand, and ask them to clarify. Quality and clarity are more important than quantity – one insightful, concise comment that builds on the ideas of others and advances the learning could create more value than speaking five times in one session.
Missing class: Please note the only “excused” absences are those due to uncontrollable events (e.g. medical/family emergencies or critical personal events). Prioritizing your time is part of your Brandeis experience. If you decide it is in your best interest to miss or be late to class your professor won’t take it personally, but it may negatively affect your participation grade. Please notify your professor ahead of time if you will miss class.
B. TEAM PERFORMANCE
• Team Performance: During the first class, each student will self-select into a small (5-7 persons) diverse group to work together on several assignments and class exercises. You are responsible for building your group into an effective learning team over the course of the semester. You are responsible for managing relationships and productivity on your team, including helping other team members to learn.
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How do I get a high grade for team performance? The team grade consists ofa. Implementing the “Tips on Teams” on pages 24, and agreeing to use it.
Read tips on Teams page 23.
b. Doing reasonably well on simulations and showing improvement as a team. I do not grade the performance of the team based on the simulation but on your ability to help each other as a team. When you are on a team, some people do more work than others. Complaining about that to the professor is not effective. Create a safe space for each member of the team and learn how to communicate and work together.
c. Doing team process checks after class. Do process checks after each meeting and keep the team results. See page 24. YOU CAN USE THE DATA FOR YOUR ESSAYS.
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Grading Rubic
During the sessions that you will attend for this course, you will engage in a number of very important in-class activities that will allow you opportunities to apply the knowledge gained through the course material. Throughout this course, you will be asked to engage in various discussions with your peers in the online environment through the discussion board. These discussions will build on the information presented in each topic and will ask you to take this information one step further by making connection between the material and your own workplace, including your own personal leadership style.
Each of these discussion activities will be graded separately using something similar to the rubric below.
Demonstration Criteria Proficient (100%)Needs
Improvement (88%)
Not Evident (80%) Percentage
Quality of Response
Contributions to the in-class activities are well-thought out and professional in nature; it is evident that readings were completed and preparations to participate in class were in place before coming to the sessions
Contributions to the in-class activity lack preparation
Does not attend some residency sessions/does not contribute to the in-class activity
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Connections to Professional Life
Makes connections between the class material and application to leadership in the field, supported by evidence
Attempts to make connections between the class material and application to leadership in the field, but does not support connections with evidence
Does not attend some sessions or does not make connections between the class material and application to leadership in the field
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Participation
Engages in discussions with peers in-class and post-class responding to peer and instructor contributions to the class
Participates in class, but does not engage in post-class discussion with peers and the instructor
Does not attend some sessions or does not participate in some post-class discussions
30
Total: 100%
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APPENDIX 2. TEAMING PLEASE READ: Tips on Teams
• A diverse team brings many points of view, which sometimes creates conflict and misunderstanding. Listening to understand a person is not listening to refute or argue. Manage your team members by listening-to-understand each person’s feelings and perceptions. Once you analyze their perceptions, you can understand different assumptions that are being made. Listening to understand and connecting with people is fundamental to good leadership. See Crucial Accountability.
• A second way to work with a diverse team is to use the MBTI as a tool. We will discuss this next week. The next time you meet, agree to explore the MBTI personality types on your team and read the MBTI descriptions of each other. Learn how to talk with each other. Opposites (for example--ENFPs and ISTJs) will have a hard time communicating, connecting and cooperating. Learn how to communicate with diverse personality types.
• There are four key roles and responsibilities: – Someone to facilitate or chair the process (helps with the rational & relational)– Someone to take minutes – Someone to keep time – Someone to harvest the learning
• Develop ground rules for your team– Rotation of 4 roles so everyone plays each role– No interrupting/no one dominates, etc.– Keep 10-15 minutes at end to do process checks– Agree to call a time-out or say “I am not getting it”
– Process Checks for every team meeting: use a 5-point scalevery poor very good
1 2 3 4 5
– Did we achieve the objectives of the group today?1-5– Evaluate the rational process. 1-5
• Did we analyze the situation separating facts from assumptions? 1-5 • Did we set clear, engaging objectives?1-5• Did we discuss the full-set of consequences?1-5
– Evaluate the relational process. 1-5• How well did the team work together? Listening, deep engagement?1-
5• Did the group confront and challenge each other respectfully? 1-5• How well did each individual participate in/contribute to the
meeting?1-5– How can we improve our performance as a team?(qualitative comments)
Agree to discuss low scores to capture learnings.
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APPENDIX 3. CASES PLEASE READ: Tips on Preparing Cases
We will discuss the cases in class. Here are my recommendations—You should study the cases and prepare a 1-3 page “brief” on the case. The brief is intended to organize your ideas and facilitate class presentations. You should write the brief after you have studied the cases and readings.
After you have studied the case and read the readings use the following format:
1. Frame the problems/issues into a decision question: frame the major leadership or organizational issues and/or problems around a key goal or objective, differentiating the long from the short-run. The question might be—”What is the best course of action for this case in order to achieve X”? In some cases the goals may not be clear.
2. Analyze the problem/situation by identifying the pertinent facts vs. assumptions. Ask yourself three questions: where did the facts come from, how do I know they are correct? Are they a final, reliable reality or an interpretation or an assumption? Be sure to identify your assumptions explicitly. What OB models or concepts are most useful to understand the problem?
3. Alternatives and consequences: think about the alternatives courses of action and the full set of consequences. Analyze each alternative and consider what the trade-offs are. What are the risks and uncertainties? Remember to relate your analysis to your recommendations.
4. Recommendation: identify, justify, and support your recommendations, giving careful consideration to rebuttals from your classmates.
5. Implementation: (if applicable) assess the feasibility of your solution by developing a plan of action necessary to implement the recommendation.
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APPENDIX 4. OTHER READING
RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR ADVANCED STUDY AND MASTERY: The Leadership Challenge (2017). 6th edition, James Kouzes, and Barry Posner,
San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Essentials of Organizational Behavior. Stephen P. Robbins, Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall (2017). Seventeenth Edition NOTE (If you do not have a strong background in Organizational Behavior, you should read this book, otherwise it is optional)
Why Great Leaders Don’t Take “Yes” For an Answer. Michael Roberto. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing (2005)
The Tipping Point. Malcolm Gladwell London: Little, Brown, and Company (2000)
Breaking Through: Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America David A. Thomas and John J. Gabarro, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing Press (1999)
The Logic of Failure: Recognizing and Avoiding Error in Complex Situations. Dietrich Dorner, Reading, MA: Perseus Books (1996)
Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices. Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria, San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass and Son (2002)
Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation. William Ury, New York, NY: Bantam Books (1993)
The Leadership Challenge. James Kouzes and Barry Posner, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass (2002)
Action Coaching. Peter Cairo and David Dotlich, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-bass (1999)
Competing by Design: The Power of Organizational Architecture. David Nadler and Michael Tushman, New York, NY: Oxford University Press (1997)
The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making. Scott Plous. New York, NY: McGraw Hill (1993)
Organizing Genius. Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman, London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing (1998)
Organizational Culture and Leadership, Second edition. Edgar H. Schein, San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass Inc (1992)
Managing Conflict, 2nd Edition. Richard E. Walton, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company (1987)
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. Roger Fisher and William Ury, New York: Penguin Book. (1992)
Right from the Start: Taking Charge in a New Leadership Role. Dan Ciampa and Michael Watkins, Boston: Harvard Business School Press (2005)
Primal Leadership. Daniel Goleman, Annie McKee, and Richard E. Boyatzis, Boston: Harvard Business School Press (2002)
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