ABUS 371-1

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP

Fall 2009

Dr. Leanne C. McGrath

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Prerequisite: Junior Standing                Credit Hours:   3

Text:  Griffin, Ricky W.,  Fundamentals of Management, 5^th Edition, 2008.    

School of Business Administration Mission

The School of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina Aiken focuses on creating a caring learning environment in its accredited undergraduate program.  The program prepares students to meet the global, technological, and ethical challenges of a dynamic business and society.  

Course Objectives:

        This course focuses on the basic principles of management used by all types of organizations.  It serves to provide a foundation of knowledge concerning the theoretical framework of management as well as integrating the practical concerns of reality.  Contemporary issue topics and exercises are used to help students synthesize course materials and apply the management concepts and theories.    Emphasis and understanding of leadership principles are an integral part of the course.  

        The following are the primary learning objectives for this course.  A student should review these in order to gain an overall perspective for the course during his/her learning process.

1.     To gain an understanding of the nature of management.   Must include study of the four management functions, namely planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, and the concepts of efficiency and effectiveness.

2.     To acquaint the student with the historical forces that have influenced management and to gain an understanding of the complexity and importance of managing in today's global environment.

3.     To examine the general, task, and internal environments of an organization.  Must include discussion of corporate culture, managerial ethics, and corporate social responsibility.

4.     To comprehend the planning process and its link to organizational mission, strategic goals, tactical goals, and operational goals.   Include a general understanding of the strategic management process, strategy formulation, and strategy implementation.

5.     To gain an understanding of the decision making process and its importance to effective management.

6.     To explain the fundamental issues in organizing.  Must include chain of command, line and staff, formalization, work specialization, delegation process, span of management, and centralization/decentralization.

7.     To cover the basic approaches for structural design of the organization and to understand the relationship between structural design and achievement of strategic objectives.

8.     To comprehend the nature of organizational change and the concept of managing the process and overcoming resistance.

9.    To gain an understanding of the relationship between human resource management  (HRM) and strategic planning.   Include coverage of major laws and social trends that impact  HRM.

10.  To understand the complex issues relating to managing cultural diversity in the organization.

11.  To discuss the nature of leadership.  Include the trait, behavioral, and situational approaches with their major respective theoretical basis.

12.  To comprehend the nature of motivation including the content theories, process theories, and reinforcement theory of motivation.

13.  To explain the nature and importance of communication in the organization.   Must include the communication process and barriers to communication as well as the concept of active listening.

14.  To gain an understanding of teamwork in organizations.  Include concepts of team formation and stages of development, roles within teams, team cohesiveness, and team conflict along with its causes and styles for resolving it.

15.  To understand the importance and nature of control in organizations including the steps in the control process.   Explain the concept of Total Quality Management and its relationship to control within the organization.  Discuss feed-forward control, concurrent control, and feedback control.

16.  To incorporate usage of cases or other learning approaches where applicable to enhance the learning process.

                           Grading Scheme:

Guidelines For Written Assignments:

Important Note:  All written reports must observe the following:

Label all sections required in the written report.   The following is an example for the Leadership Report:

                              1.     Why Individual Chosen:
                              2.     Position and/or Status of Individual:
                              3.     Leadership Characteristics & Practices:
                              4.     What was Learned &/or Changed about Leadership Understanding:
                              5.      References:

Be concise and proofread all papers after completion.  All papers will be graded on substance, adherence to the respective format, use of proper grammar, punctuation, and correct spelling.

All work should be typed neatly and include a proper cover sheet.    The cover sheet should have all team member names typed on it with the respective signature above the name.  This signature attests to the fact that each team member has done his or her part of the assignment and is entitled to the earned grade for the assignment.  Use of a word processing package is strongly encouraged.  Staple all pages together in the upper left hand corner if a cover folder is not used.  Remember the appearance of a written report is important.    It makes a statement about you !!!!

One Written Report Is Required From Each Team.  A Team Grade Will Be Given And All Members Must Have Input Into The Paper To Receive Credit.     The team is responsible for assessing input of the members.    If A Team Member Is Not Contributing His/Her Share Of The Work Assignment,   The Team Is To Notify The Instructor Immediately So That Appropriate Action May Be Initiated To Ensure That There Are No Freeloaders.  

Individual Papers Will Not Be Accepted.

Format For Specific Written Papers: 

    I.  Leadership Paper:      This is a Team project.  Must include --

        1. Leader Chosen & Why:
        2. Position &/or Status of Individual:
        3. Leadership Characteristics & Practices exemplified by chosen leader:--This section actually ties the leadership practices of the chosen leader to leadership theory learned in the course.  This would include specific examples of leader behavior demonstrated by the chosen leader, keeping in mind the definition of a leader.  
        4.  What was learned &/or Changed about Leadership Understanding: -- These are your thoughts about leadership and its integration into management theory and practice.  Has your knowledge about leadership changed by doing this assignment?  If so, how?  What new understanding do you have about the individual your team investigated. Each team member may have different things learned, and For  This Section Only each team member  writes an individual part labeled with the particular team member's name and put under the larger heading of What Was Learned.
        5. References: --  Include all books, journals, articles, interviews, and so forth used in writing the paper.    Put citations throughout the paper as required by either MLA or  APA format.   Proper formatting for Internet sources can be found at the  USCA library.  References cannot be solely from the Internet.  Copies of all Internet reference pages must be attached to the paper.  

This paper should be of sufficient length to provide a quality paper.  The individual chosen should preferably exemplify overall the ideals of good leadership.  Any characteristics or practices that are less than exemplary should also be included in the paper and critiqued.     This paper should include a bibliography. 

NOTE:  For Leadership Paper See Also Guidelines For Written Assignments Section of This Syllabus

   II.  Case Report:    This is a Team project.       Must include --

       1.  Very Brief Summary of the Case.
       2.  Identification of the Main Concept or Problem. This is a few sentences at most.
       3.  Critical Analysis of the Issue.  These are the team's thoughts about the concept or problem and its integration into management theory and practice.  This includes what may be implied concerning the issue.  This section should constitute a substantial part of the paper.  This section reveals to the reader the team's understanding of management concepts and their application.  This is not merely a restatement of case facts.
       4.  Action Recommended.
       5.  Answers to the Questions at the End of the Case.  Restate the question and then answer it.

NOTE:  For Case Report See Also Guidelines For Written Assignments Section of This Syllabus

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