Week 1 Learning
Activities
To complete the learning activities, please create a new
thread for each theme and identify in the subject line the theme for which you
are responding. Students are expected to
post to all themes by Thursday and to at least two other students (across all themes)
by Sunday. In responding to the learning
activities and to other students, please be sure to use the course material
using in-text citations and a reference list to cite the source(s) used. Remember, an in-text citation cannot exist
without having a corresponding reference list and a reference list cannot exist
without having a corresponding in-text citation. Use of the course material using in-text
citations and a reference list is always expected in the learning activities
and good practice for the assignments in the course.
To respond to Learning Activities, click on the blue
hyperlink.
WEEK ONE
Learning Activity 1 – Theme One: Understanding the nature of
leadership helps to frame the viewpoint of a leader.
View: Drew Dudley:
In conjunction with the opening comments in the week 1
course schedule, the readings for week 1, theme 1, consider the point stated by
Drew Dudley in Everyday Leadership.
Then, reflect on your experiences with leaders, and in your own words,
define leadership. How does your
definition differ from what you read and viewed and explain why.
Learning Activity 2 Theme Two: The evolution of leadership
theory can help to explain what makes a good leader today.
Explain the meaning behind theme two and describe the GDD
leader of today based on the evolution of theory. What you will need to do is look at the
different leadership theories and apply the theories to support your reasoning.
Week 2 Learning
Activities
To complete the learning activities, please create a new
thread for each theme and identify in the subject line the theme for which you
are responding. Students are expected to
post to all themes by Thursday and to at least two other students (across all
themes) by Sunday. In responding to the
learning activities and to other students, please be sure to use the course
material using in-text citations and a reference list to cite the source(s)
used. Remember, an in-text citation
cannot exist without having a corresponding reference list and a reference list
cannot exist without having a corresponding in-text citation. Use of the course material using in-text
citations and a reference list is always expected in the learning activities
and good practice for the assignments in the course.
To respond to Learning Activities, click on the blue
hyperlink.
Learning Activity 2 Theme Two: Leadership drives competitive advantage when
he or she can create a culture of inclusion of people and ideas, is responsible
for its supply chain decisions and organizes a culture that promotes people,
innovation and creativity. Inversely poor leadership creates little to no
competitive advantage.
Use the facts of the case scenario below and the course
readings for week 2, theme 2 to explain how Simon’s investigation and the
accident prove the following statement:
The culture of the company if not reinforced at all levels
of the organization can kill sustainability.
As part of the movement toward making money Rockfish
reviewed the Human Resources (HR) departments of GDD nationwide. He realized that worldwide departments were
staffed much like GDD North America, with a personnel officer and a benefits
specialist. Further, he found that most of their work was focused on form
review and collection for benefits, approving vacation and sick time, as well
has processing applications for employment.
Rockfish decided to hire a department head for HR in North America as a
test to see if the department could provide more value to the company. The new
Department Head, Carly Simon, has great ideas on shared leadership and is
hoping to be involved in other departments of the division by providing what
she calls a “people take” on departmental tasks.
Rockfish has asked Simon to review the safety record of the
Chicago station because it seems to have the highest incident of injury. Simon looked at the number of workmen’s
compensation claims that the Chicago station employees filed. The results show that the claims total was
24% higher than the other stations.
Simon began to look for answers. Her conversations with the employees in
the lunchroom revealed some very important ideas:
Employee attitude towards injuries was cavalier. They wore injuries almost like a badge of
honor because it meant employees were able to cut down on time moving more
packages out the door
Employees often worked double shifts to make up for the
employees who were injured. Employees
seemed to fear the idea of speaking up because it was not considered good to do
so in the eyes of the team
When pressed, the employees admitted that when met with
possible delays in conveying the packages to the sorters or planes, they would
ignore safety procedures
Some believed that
management cared more about productivity and profits than the welfare of the
employees
Simon suspected that the attitude of the employees of the
station did not help the situation, but management was creating the
problem. A major accident validated her
suspicions. An old baggage machine that
uses hydraulic lift to get the packages loaded in the cargo hold collapsed
seriously injuring two men. One was not likely to recover the use of his legs.
When Carly heard of the accident she ran to the tarmac and talked with James
Taylor, the station manager. Distraught, Taylor confessed that he was pushing
the workers to use the old baggage machine because production was much higher
than the new machine. Taylor indicated that he had made several requests for
two new machines but only received one.
Management said that they did not care about the safety of the machine;
that the men would just have to be careful.
Week 3 learning
activity
To complete the learning activities, please create a new
thread for each theme and identify in the subject line the theme for which you
are responding. Students are expected to
post to all themes by Thursday and to at least two other students (across all themes)
by Sunday. In responding to the learning
activities and to other students, please be sure to use the course material
using in-text citations and a reference list to cite the source(s) used. Remember, an in-text citation cannot exist
without having a corresponding reference list and a reference list cannot exist
without having a corresponding in-text citation. Use of the course material using in-text
citations and a reference list is always expected in the learning activities
and good practice for the assignments in the course.
To respond to Learning Activities, click on the blue
hyperlink.
Learning Activity 1 Theme One: Leadership style has a direct
effect on employee commitment and organizational effectiveness.
Take the leadership style quizzes below.
What’s Your Leadership Style
What Kind of Leader Are You?
Discuss the results and how leadership style can affect
employee commitment and organizational effectiveness. Be sure to define in your own words,
employee commitment and organizational effectiveness before showing how the
leadership style relates to the two concepts.
Also, discuss how style affects communication, employee input, morale
and goals with respect to commitment and organizational effectiveness.
For example, a person with an authoritarian style might
communicate only those ideas they he is she deems important for an employee to
know. This can lead to inaccurate execution of tasks or morale issues.
Week 4 learning
activity
To complete the learning activities, please create a new
thread for each theme and identify in the subject line the theme for which you
are responding. Students are expected to
post to all themes by Thursday and to at least two other students (across all
themes) by Sunday. In responding to the
learning activities and to other students, please be sure to use the course
material using in-text citations and a reference list to cite the source(s)
used. Remember, an in-text citation
cannot exist without having a corresponding reference list and a reference list
cannot exist without having a corresponding in-text citation. Use of the course material using in-text
citations and a reference list is always expected in the learning activities
and good practice for the assignments in the course.
To respond to Learning Activities, click on the blue
hyperlink.
WEEK FOUR
Learning Activity 1 Theme One: A leadership approach is a way of looking at
the world around us.
Are you a leader? The point to the quiz below is to
determine if you have a leader’s perspective in your approach to situations and
people. Take the quiz and share your
ideas about the quiz and the type of results provided. The questions asked of you have several
characteristics of a leader’s attitude that have been researched to mark a
leader rather than a follower.
Review the questions and list three characteristics the test examined. Share examples of
questions that support your selections of characteristics.
Are you a Leader?
In the following quiz, you are evaluated in terms of the
leader and follower relationship. Take the quiz and then share your thoughts on
the quiz. Consider the focus of the questions and discuss whether there are
times when a leader is also a follower?
Be sure to use the course readings to support your answers.
Are You a Leader or a Follower?
Read:
5 Reasons Leaders Become Followers
Week 5 learning
activity
To complete the learning activities, please create a new
thread for each theme and identify in the subject line the theme for which you
are responding. Students are expected to
post to all themes by Thursday and to at least two other students (across all
themes) by Sunday. In responding to the
learning activities and to other students, please be sure to use the course
material using in-text citations and a reference list to cite the source(s)
used. Remember, an in-text citation
cannot exist without having a corresponding reference list and a reference list
cannot exist without having a corresponding in-text citation. Use of the course material using in-text
citations and a reference list is always expected in the learning activities
and good practice for the assignments in the course.
To respond to Learning Activities, click on the blue
hyperlink.
WEEK FIVE
Learning Activity 1 Theme One: Creating your own leadership
energy as Clawson would suggest starts with knowing who are as person.
Take the following quizzes.
After a review and reflection of the results, discuss how knowing
more about your personality, emotional IQ, communication, ethics and your
natural inclinations to be a leader can improve your relationships with others
in the workplace. (Students can reflect generally or specifically on the
results to the class. Privacy is important to us all so if you choose not to
give actual numbers and just the results in general, that is fine.)
Think over your experiences in the workplace and find five
examples where personality, emotional IQ, communication, or ethics helped to
create trust or lose trust, for you, in a leader.
Jung Typology Test
EQ Test
Ultimate Ethics Quiz
How Good Are Your communication Skills
Would You Make a Good Leader?
Leadership Skills
Week 6 learning
activity
To complete the learning activities, please create a new
thread for each theme and identify in the subject line the theme for which you
are responding. Students are expected to
post to all themes by Thursday and to at least two other students (across all
themes) by Sunday. In responding to the
learning activities and to other students, please be sure to use the course
material using in-text citations and a reference list to cite the source(s)
used. Remember, an in-text citation
cannot exist without having a corresponding reference list and a reference list
cannot exist without having a corresponding in-text citation. Use of the course material using in-text
citations and a reference list is always expected in the learning activities
and good practice for the assignments in the course.
To respond to Learning Activities, click on the blue
hyperlink.
WEEK SIX
Learning Activity 1 Theme One: Strategic thinking is how we
craft the GDD “story” to create organizational wealth for the company, customer
satisfaction, a etc. Strategic thinking can be done by anyone, but it does
require an open mind, a positive attitude and organizational culture that
encourages aligns with the organization.
Vision or direction is so critical to the achievements of
the organization. Strategic thinking
creates that vision and the direction of activity that flows from the
vision. Visit the GDD Company Profile
information and review it once again looking for the vision statement, and
business philosophy of the company. Choose one of the areas that GDD is looking
to improve in the future for sustainability and suggest a strategy as to how
they may accomplish this goal.
Week 7 Learning
Activities
To complete the learning activities, please create a new
thread for each theme and identify in the subject line the theme for which you
are responding. Students are expected to
post to all themes by Thursday and to at least two other students (across all themes)
by Sunday. In responding to the learning
activities and to other students, please be sure to use the course material
using in-text citations and a reference list to cite the source(s) used. Remember, an in-text citation cannot exist
without having a corresponding reference list and a reference list cannot exist
without having a corresponding in-text citation. Use of the course material using in-text
citations and a reference list is always expected in the learning activities
and good practice for the assignments in the course.
To respond to Learning Activities, click on the blue
hyperlink.
Week Seven
Learning Activity 2 Theme Two:: The importance of change in
the 21st century business can never be underestimated by the leader.
In the future of business, the impact of technology and
globalization is creating a pattern of disruption that forces a leader to
direct massive long term change. There
is no strategy that a leader creates or a decision implemented that must not
account for change.
As a leader, effective change begins with an attitude that
embraces the idea that change is possible and is dynamic. In short, a leader
needs to be open to change before leading others.
Take the following change quiz and report your results: Change Quiz
Based on the results of your quiz select a quote from one of
those listed in this article 38 Quotes to Help You Become a Change Agent.
If the results show resistance to change select a quote that
will inspire you to embrace change,
If you accept change select a quote that can act as a daily
reminder that change is vital to your success as a leader.
Explain why you have selected the quote and support your
reasons for selecting the quote with the class material.
Week 8 learning
activity
To complete the learning activities, please create a new
thread for each theme and identify in the subject line the theme for which you
are responding. Students are expected to
post to all themes by Thursday and to at least two other students (across all
themes) by Sunday. In responding to the
learning activities and to other students, please be sure to use the course
material using in-text citations and a reference list to cite the source(s)
used. Remember, an in-text citation
cannot exist without having a corresponding reference list and a reference list
cannot exist without having a corresponding in-text citation. Use of the course material using in-text
citations and a reference list is always expected in the learning activities
and good practice for the assignments in the course.
To respond to Learning Activities, click on the blue
hyperlink.
Week Eight
Learning Activity 1 Theme One: Understanding the unique
challenges facing leaders today, and the skills needed to meet them, will help
you as a leader to act decisively and proactively.
Maria Artos, a 25-year-old female graduate of Harvard
Business School, has just been appointed to the job of Director of IT in a
medium size business. Her immediate junior in the business, Anthony Jones, is a
53-year-old long term employee of the business.
He was passed over for the job that Maria Artos now holds.
First, identify all the leadership challenge issues that
might be suggested by this fact pattern.
As can be imagined, both Artos and Jones could feel
uncomfortable since Artos was told that Anthony Jones also applied for the
position and Anthony could be resentful for being passed over. Students will
create the opening interview/meeting between Artos and Jones on her first day
on the job. Use this week’s course
material to create the exchange between Artos and Jones.
In creating the exchange between Jones and Artos, have Artos
deal with all the identified issues using her “leadership relationship building
skills”. Note: In responding, consider that the situation is one in which the
skills from week five should be employed along with addressing the topic of
diversity.
