C19LO Leading in Organisa8ons

Coursework 1 – Explana8on, Hints and Tips

Coursework 1 (Case study and Group Reflec8on-40%)

1. Introduc8on- Aims

The aims of the assessment are to (40%):

•    Upskill students’ knowledge and prac>ce in leadership.

•    Evaluate the different approaches of leadership theories and models

•    Examine the applica>on of responsible leadership for sustainable business development and

•   Appraise  self-awareness  of  leadership  through  reflec>on  and  ra>onalise  personal  strengths  by working with others.

(Note: this coursework is reflected on LOs 1, 4 and 5)

Your group should select one (1) of the themes (see Sec8on 2) and apply knowledge by choosing one of  the leaders or organisa>ons to jus>fy your analysis (see Sec8on 3). A team contract should be submiQed as part of the collabora>on and communica>on skills - working with others (see Sec8on 4).

2. Themes to be selected:

This coursework is focused on the first part of the course and your further research and engagement with the core subjects and one (1) of the themes listed below:

•   Charisma>c Leadership

•    Distributed Leadership

•   Con>ngency (Situa>onal) Models of Leadership

•   Team Leadership

Note: A >meline of the literature, such as the evolu>ons of the theories/concepts - like a review of the literature, by wri>ng a >meframe. from the past to now of the current literature, named as cita>on chaining (see  more  informa>on  below).  Some  ques>ons  can   help  you  such  as  who   has  first  developed  the theory/concept/model, and are these theories and concepts UpToDate in our business environment? To jus>fy your analysis a business case study (choose a leader or organisa>on) should be used to illustrate your arguments.

What is Cita8on Chaining linked to the case study?

This simply means looking at specific published works cita>ons (in this case, the core text for your book) and following them backwards to iden>fy the first >me a par>cular concept or idea was published. Or, in the case of the original concept, I look forward to seeing how they are used up to the present day. The purpose of this is that it provides a clear understanding of how an idea or concept was introduced, its origins and, of course, how it has evolved and developed over the years, followed by a case study, an intensive study about a person, or group describing as an intensive, systema>c inves>ga>on of a single individual, group, community to examine.

3.  Applica8on of Knowledge (choose a leader or organisa8on/company)

You    should     then     present     a    detailed     analysis     of    the     theme     selected     and    apply     your knowledge/theory/concept by analysing a leader or organisa>on/company that can be seen as a case study of your analysis. For example, Nelson Mandela is a charisma>c leader. In this case, the theory and prac>ce of this leader should be evaluated and examined using theory or concept and analysis.

4. What is a Team Contract?

This course uses team contract to allocate marks to students within a group. Each group is required to submit a team contract (see template in Appendix A). it is used for marking only in cases where group members feel that one or more members have not made a fair and equitable contribu>on to the submission. In this case, each  group  member  should  sign  the  template  to  confirm  all  contribu>ons  and  mee>ngs.  This  is  fully explained in the team contract sec>on. This may lead to individual students receiving a reduced percentage of the submission grade.

Why Groupwork?

Groupwork can be unpopular amongst student groups, so why include it for assessment purposes? Simply, it is such a core aspect of employment and roles in the workplace that for employability, providing the experience of working in teams and dealing with and managing challenges and obstacles is something employers want to see from new staff. It is defined as a group se\ng with the aim of developing students individually through group coopera>on, collabora>on, communica>on and curiosity  (Collins  Dic>onary, 2024).   However,   everyone   must   contribute   appropriately   to  group  work  within  the   courses   and assignments, so a team contract is also part of this coursework submission where necessary.

As a group, you should follow the steps below (checklist):

•   Select one of the themes above to evaluate the leadership theories or concepts covered in the first half of the course.

•   You should then iden>fy the relevant references from the core text that you consider important to explaining or developing that theme. You should then use backward cita>on chaining to iden>fy the first use of the theme, theory or concept once you are sa>sfied that you have completed thorough searches and iden>fied the ‘history’ of the theme, theory or concept.

•   Your group should write a group report and cri>cal summary showing its development and progress toward  current  thinking.  This   means  you   need  to  find  a  business  case  study  (a  leader  or organisa>on/company) to jus>fy your analysis and examine the applica>on of knowledge as part of responsible leadership for sustainable business.

•   You should present an introduc8on which details an overview of the case study and explains which cita>ons you iden>fied in the core text and why you tracked these in par>cular (400 words).

• Applica8on of knowledge (see the instruc>ons above) (2000 words)

•    Finally, you  should  present  a conclusion (600 words) to your analysis and draw the  key cri>cal elements and importance of your iden>fied ar>cles and your leader or organisa>on choice.

•   A brief group reflec8on by answering these ques>ons (500 words) based on Rolfe et al.’s (2001) reflec>ve model (group reflec>on):

•         What learning occurred for you (as a group) in this coursework?

•         How can you (as a group) apply this learning?

•         What would you like to learn more about related to this course?

•         What follow-up is needed to address any challenges or difficul>es?

Note: The team contract template must be submi[ed as part of the appendix (refer to Appendix A).

Format and requirements:

•   This coursework report should be 3500 words (+/- 10%). (Note: the individual word counts shown above are sugges>ons for structure but are not a requirement, and they are the overall word count of the essen>al coursework)

•   This report should include at least 15 academic references (the reference list is not included in the word count.

•   Appendix A should be signed by all group members and submiQed on Canvas.

•    Font size and type: 12 Times New Roman/Arial

•    Line spacing: 1.5

Note:

The final group report is due no later than 11 a.m. (UK), 3 p.m. (Dubai), and 6 p.m. (Malaysia) on Friday, November 1st, 2024 (Week 8).

For groupwork, only ONE group member should upload to Canvas by the submission deadline on behalf of the whole group.

Hints & Tips

•     You  should  write  in  the  third   person  throughout  this  case  study,  as  it  is  a  formal  academic submission.

•      Ensure you provide a ra>onale for the first references you select from the core text (why are those cores used to explore the subject?)

•     You  need to  be selec>ve in reviewing each set of cita>ons to jus>fy your selec>on  by providing a business case analysis. Only track the ones you consider to be of core importance.

•      Remember that websites and blogs are unsuitable academic references and that the focus should be on peer-reviewed ar>cles, conference papers or books.

•      One key challenge is wri>ng succinctly and drawing out the key points; try marking each point of importance in a paper or making a plan using bullet points to ensure you have iden>fied the most cri>cal aspects of the ar>cle.

•      Read the marking guide/criteria for details on what the markers look for in your case study.

•      Pick each ar>cle for a clear reason: why is it necessary or relevant to management (leading people), what is the theme/subject, and what have you learned from it? How will this help you in the future with your learning about leadership?

•      Ensure you have a robust and clear structure for the body of the report

•     The Introduc>on and Conclusion are essen>al to the case study – don’t neglect them

•      Remember that you are not simply describing the ar>cle. Your wri>ng on it should be cri>cal. How reliable is it, what approach did the author(s) take, and why have you selected/chosen the leader or organisa>on? How clear and well-evidenced are the conclusions and so on.

•      Much like your actual course content, develop your academic skills by reading further on reflec>ve wri>ng,  cri>cal  analysis,   referencing  and   research.  These  are  essen>al  skills  for  your  overall programme and tend to be parallel to actual business skills.