MBA605C, Executive Development, Course Syllabus

Westminster College Gore School of Business MBA 605C, Executive Development, Section 3, FA 2011, Block 2
Instructor: Office Location: Telephone: Email: Office Hours: Class Days/ Time: Dr. Michael J.D. Sutton, http://www.westminstercollege.edu/apps/directory/directory_dsp.cfm?unit=msutton Gore 217 (801) 832-2563 msutton@westminstercollege.edu || GoogleTalk: michaeljdsutton@gmail.com Tuesday: 10:00am 3:00pm, Wednesdays: 10:00am 3:00 pm, Thursdays: 12:00noon 4:00pm [or at another time by appointment] Start Date: Oct. 27, 2011 for 7 weeks End Date: Dec. 15, 2011 [no class on Nov. 24, 2011] Thursdays: 6:00 9:20 pm [Starting sharply at 6:00pm] Classroom Location: Prerequisites: Gore 227 MBA 600C and an active interest in the subject matter.

1. ANGEL Learning Management System (LMS)

Copies of the course materials, (such as the syllabus, schedule, and presentation slides, etc.), will be found on the course website in ANGEL and accessible through the Westminster College home page. You are responsible for regularly checking with the ANGEL course site at least twice weekly for new announcements. Set an alert to keep you informed. The IS Department suggests using the latest versions of Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox on the Windows platform, and ONLY Firefox on the Mac platform. Opera, Safari, and other tools will not work properly.

2. Communications with Instructor and Between Learners1

You may communicate with the instructor via email, telephone, Instant Messaging (GoogleTalk), or hard copy. All email communication with the instructor should be through the Westminster College ANGEL Messaging (Communicate TAB in ANGEL)2. Immediately set your preferences for forwarding email and other material to your personal or corporate website. I would recommend you communicate with other learners first through ANGEL Messaging.

I use the term learner and learners when referring to student and students. The activity of teaching is often professor-centric, e.g., what the professor would like to teach. The activity of learning should be learner-centric, e.g., what the learner needs to learn. My teaching philosophy is based upon the premise that the traditional model is often professor-centric, and represents power and control over the student. I believe my role is to coach and facilitate the learning of a student. For more information read McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (1983). Power in the classroom I: Teacher and student perceptions. Communication Education, 32, 175-184 (http://www.jamescmccroskey.com/publications/112.pdf). 2 Unless there is an extenuating circumstance, please DO NOT USE GroupWise Email system.
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MBA605C, Executive Development, Course Syllabus 3. Course Catalogue Description

Viewable on p. 175: http://people.westminstercollege.edu/departments/registrar/GraduateCatalog20112012.pdf.

4. Detailed Course Description

For the learner who strives for excellence in the study of organizational behavior that emphasizes individual and group behavior, this course can provide a foundation for improving the learner's ability to manage and lead people, work collaboratively within teams, and communicate effectively. The instructor will facilitate an experiential understanding of the concepts and experiences most useful in eliciting high performance from individuals and teams. Chosen reading materials, videos, games, exercises, and cases will selectively introduce and convey the foundational principles of executive development topics. The primary instructional methods used in this course consist of: 1. Active Participation (including readings, discussion forums, video and case discussions), Professional Conduct, and Oral Presentations; 2. Individual and Team-Based Exercises, Simulations, and Games; 3. Coaching Ourselves Sessions and Personal Reflection Essays. The overall purpose of the course is to support your executive skills development. You have a choice to become a more thoughtful, effective leader. You may find that a method, technique, or framework you acquire in this course could help you to contribute more fully to your organization's success. Therefore, the professionalism of your analyses, presentations, writings, and interactions with others should meet the high standards expected of business professionals in a first-rate organization.

5. Course Goal and Learning Outcomes

5.1 Course Goal

The goal of this course is to provide a framework to improve the learner's personal effectiveness in three competency areas: leadership skills, team effectiveness skills, and communication skills, (see Figure 1 below).

Figure 1: Course Goal of MBA605C Executive Development

5.2 College, School, and Program Learning Goals

The competency areas reflect the College, School, and MBA Program Learning goals.
Core values of the colleges are viewable on p. 7 at:

http://people.westminstercollege.edu/departments/registrar/GraduateCatalog2011-2012.pdf.

MBA605C, Executive Development, Course Syllabus

College-wide learning goals are viewable on p. 8 at:

http://people.westminstercollege.edu/departments/registrar/GraduateCatalog2011-2012.pdf.

Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business learning goals are viewable at:

http://www.westminstercollege.edu/assessment/index.cfm?parent=4829&detail=4866.
MBA and Accelerated MBA Program learner skill development goals are viewable at: http://www.westminstercollege.edu/assessment/index.cfm?parent=4829&detail=4866&content=7226.

5.3 Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the learner who strives for excellence in the study of Executive Development should be able to master most of the course learning outcomes:
# 1 Course Learning Outcome Identify, define, and intelligently discuss the basic theoretical principles of: Identify, clarify, and assess personal values and understand how these values impact your: Identify, categorize, assess, and demonstrate personal strengths and weaknesses as a: Demonstrate and improve personal communication competencies in four key areas: leadership and various styles of leadership team design and management business communication leadership behavior team behavior communication behavior leader team member communicator interpersonal communications group discussions oral presentations individual and team-based exercises, simulations, and games giving constructive feedback to others receiving constructive feedback from others

Exhibit increased skills to improve your effectiveness at:

Table 1: Course Learning Outcomes

6. Required Texts/Readings
6.1 Textbooks (Available before Week 1 from the Campus Follett Bookstore)

All assigned readings must be prepared in advance. Northouse. P.G. (2010). Leadership: Theory & Practice (5th Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd. Mintzberg, H. (2009). Managing. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. (Available in Week 1 from the instructor in paperback).

6.2 Other Readings

CoachingOurselves topics (www.CoachingOurselves.com) will be provided at the beginning of each class to stimulate discussion and reflection on the learners current management challenges and experiences. These do not require advance preparation. You may wish to become acquainted with the vision Henry Mintzberg has proposed in his article entitled Coaching ourselves: Achieving success through guided conversations at Canadian Government Executive, (http://cge.itincanada.ca/index.php?id=13916&cid=311).

MBA605C, Executive Development, Course Syllabus

Optional (OPT) readings are also outlined for each week in the Course Schedule for those who wish to achieve a higher grade in the course. If you execute the assigned material with passion, rigor, organization, discipline, engagement, and excellence, then you could achieve a very high grade (A, A-, or B+). Optional readings could be used by the learner who misses one class due to extenuating circumstances or needs to raise a C to a B, or a B to an A. These readings are the only way to increase the value of your mark. If you choose this option, you would read and create summaries/synopses of the suggested optional material and post to the General Discussion Forum for review by class learners. In addition, upload the summaries/ synopses to the appropriate drop box. I recommend that you decide early in the block if you need this as an insurance policy. The posts to the appropriate weekly discussion forum and drop boxes must be completed by Week 7. A description of the elements involved in creating a summary/synopsis is available in ANGEL. Additional assigned course readings and cases may be selected by the instructor and promulgated to the learners if their currency warrants. The volume of your Team Discussion Forum and General Discussion Forum postings will contribute active participation grade points for each individual. Be vigilant and take the opportunity to post your own material and to comment on the entries of others.
6.3 Other equipment/software/material requirements

All assignments should be prepared and submitted to ANGEL using software compatible with MS-Office 2010 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) or a per-approved compatible format. The learner must be able to view and use this feedback to improve a resubmission, if directed.
6.4 Case Analysis

All assigned cases should be prepared in accordance with the process described by J. S. Hammond in Learning by the case method: (http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/ucacdxq/others/learning.pdf).

7. Classroom Protocol3
7.1 Demonstrated Professionalism

In my classroom, I strive to demonstrate professionalism as a scholarly practitioner as well as a business executive with 40+ years business, management, and executive experience. Therefore, I expect the learners in my class to demonstrate their professionalism through:
attentiveness; active listening; accurate verbal communications (clarity, tone, and style); accurate written communications (spelling, grammar, and style); pride in ones work; punctuality; trust; and team spirit. courtesy; integrity; ethical behavior; reliability;

Your professional conduct, (actions and behavior), in the classroom will factored into your mark. Laptops are permitted for note taking or class material review. During class, it is unacceptable professional behavior for learners to idly surf the Internet, read emails, participate in computer or phone based chats, or carry on distracting side conversations. During the break, you may embark upon any of thesebe my guest. However, such activities distract the instructor and your peer learners from focused active participation and destroy the classroom learning experience. Rude or offensive behavior will not be tolerated because of its unprofessional nature.
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Upon entry into the classroom, the learner must immediately turn off or set to silent running all equipment, such as a cell phone/iPhone, pager, PDA, iPod, etc. The learner must leave the classroom to answer a cell phone-like device. Laptops are permitted for note taking or class material review. 4

MBA605C, Executive Development, Course Syllabus

7.2 Deadlines/Milestones

Read all assigned readings/cases and submit any assignment deliverables before class begins at 6:00pm. Any deliverable submitted after 6:00pm of the class date it is due will be classified as late, unless an extenuating circumstance has been arranged and approved by the instructor in advance. You cannot actively participate in the class discussion if you are trying to catch up on your reading or assigned deliverables during the class.

8. Assignments and Grading Policy

8.1 Grades

In accordance with Westminster College Grading Policy, letter grades are assigned from the specified percentages (see Table 1):
Letter A AB+ B BC+ C CD+ D DF % 95-100 90-94 87-89 83-86 80-82 77-79 73-76 70-72 67-69 63-66 60-62 <60 Grade Point 4.0 3.7 3.3 3.0 2.7 2.3 2,0 1.7 1.3 1.0 0.7 0.0 Demonstrated Proficiency Excellent Proficiency V Above Average Proficiency V V Average Proficiency V V Poor Proficiency V V Failure

Table 1: Grading Policies

College-wide grading policy is also viewable at p. 57-58 of the current Graduate Catalog:
http://people.westminstercollege.edu/departments/registrar/GraduateCatalog2011-2012.pdf.

8.2 Weighting of the Instructional Methods of Assessment

The instructor does not grade on a curve, nor does he require hard copy quizzes, tests, or exams. Each class experience is a quiz, test, and exam of the assigned material. The weights for each instructional method of assessment determine the final course marks for each learner (see Table 2). The learner will achieve a grade based upon the evaluation of the assigned rubric for each instructional method against their demonstrated results.
Instructional Methods of Assessment 1. Active Participation (including readings, discussion forums, video and case discussions), Professional Conduct, and Oral Presentations 2. Individual and Team-Based Exercises, Simulations, and Games 3. Coaching Ourselves Sessions and Personal Reflection Journals Total
Table 2: Weighting of Instructional Methods

% 40% 30% 30% 100%

Please note the implications of this weighting:

If you are shy and reserved in your participation in the classroom, (or you miss a class), then you could put at risk a significant percentage of your grade. If you are poor or mediocre in your writing style, then you could also be at risk a significant percentage of your grade. If you miss the submission of any one deliverable, it may seem an incremental risk, but the impact could be major.
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MBA605C, Executive Development, Course Syllabus

If you are individualistic and not motivated to develop and experiment with team relationships, then a percentage of your grade may be at risk.

The Course Learning Outcomes mentioned earlier suggest the potential acquisition and/or application of a suite of competencies and skills you may not currently possess. Nonetheless, you are expected to bring to the classroom your business and professional experiences and use this background to leverage the assigned material. This class demands that if you do not currently possess competencies outlined as learning outcomes in Section 5, then you may chose to acquire and demonstrate mastery of them during your time in the class. There are two words in the official title of this course: executive and development. Many learners will strive to become an executive; but this takes many years of success and failure before a mature executive attitude emerges. On the other hand, the operative keyword in the course title representing the goal of this course is developmentnow is the time to move from your comfort zone into a learning zone:
If you are shy, then demonstrate greater assertiveness and presence. If you are a poor communicator, then acquire new learning from the campus Writing Center and your essays and journals, and new skills from your presentations and discussions in the class. If you are not timely and punctual with your submissions, then build your time management skills. If you are individualistic or lack certain social skills, then find a way to reach out and build relationships with your fellow learners.

Any graduate level course demands that you work at your best, not at a mediocre level. This class will challenge you to develop your practice management skills in leadership, team behavior, and communications. The instructor will provide feedback to the learners on a timely basis. The course is only 7 weeks long, and thus, the instructor does not have the time to provide interim marks. You will receive feedback for deliverables uploaded to drop boxes within seven days of their submission.
8.3 Grading Penalties

The instructor must be alerted in advance if you must miss a class or the deadline of a deliverable. Any late or missed deliverable will be penalized one grade notch of its assessed grade for each day (24 hours) it is late, up to 4 business days from the deadline: i.e., A => A-; A=> B+; B+ => B; B => B-; B- => C+; C+ => C, etc. However, if the assignment is over 4 days late it will be automatically graded with an F. Since you have likely never created a personal journal like the Personal Reflection Essay or a structured Summary/Synopsis of an article, the instructor is furnishing the learner with the capability to incorporate the instructor feedback into only your first resubmission. On your first submission of the Personal Reflection Essay in Week 2 or Week 3, or your very first Summary/Synopsis, the instructor provides an opportunity to resubmit it again for assessment, if you feel the mark did not reach your personal standard. Thus, you could raise the mark of your first submission. Otherwise, contact the instructor with any questions in advance of the submission of your deliverable. However, a resubmission can only achieve one whole mark higher than the first submission was marked. For example, if your first submission was graded as a B-, then a resubmission, even an exemplary one, would only be able to achieve an A- (two half gradesone whole gradehigher than the original submission). This prevents an individual learner from submitting a poor quality first submission, (Ill just throw something at the wall and see if it sticks), in order to meet a deadline, and then expecting a much higher mark when s/he has more time.

MBA605C, Executive Development, Course Syllabus

8.4 Extenuating Circumstances

The instructor, (on an exception basis), may consider suggesting alternative activities for the learner who encounters an extenuating circumstance preventing them from attending the class. However, this will not apply to Week 1, because of the critical significance of the kick-off class. All learners must endeavor to attend Week 1, which is the most important week of all the classes, excepting Week 6. The Weighting of the Instructional Methods of Assessment in section 8.2 suggests that a major component (40%) of a learners overall mark is active participation. If the Week 1 class is missed, a learner cannot achieve a high mark for that class. In Week 1, we establish the rules of engagement and instructions for all activities to be undertaken by the learners over the next 7 weeks. In addition, during Week 1, a learner would miss an individual exercise and group game, along with an experientially based Coaching Ourselves session. At jeopardy would by almost 1/7 (~14%) of the learners overall mark. If you foresee you might miss Week 1, the instructor suggests you consider enrolling in a different section of MBA 605C, where attendance may not be weighted as high, or taking the class in a different semester. For Weeks 2-7, alternative activities assigned by the instructor and accepted by the learner to make up a missed class may improve the mark for missing that specific class. Missing more than one class will critically jeopardize the ability to achieve a high grade, regardless of alternative assignments and deliverables. Any alternatives for Instructional Methods of Assessment would only permit achievement of a maximum mark of B+ for the missed class.

9. Other University Policies

Instructors at Westminster College are obligated to outline relevant university policies that can be viewed in the current Graduate Catalog at:
http://people.westminstercollege.edu/departments/registrar/GraduateCatalog2011-2012.pdf.

Academic Grievance Procedure, p. 60-61. Academic Integrity and Honesty, p. 61.

Instances of academic dishonesty, cheating, or plagiarism will not be tolerated.

Academic Calendar, p. 2, Attendance Requirements, p. 54, 78-79.

Attendance is mandatory. Absence and tardiness are highly discouraged.

Dropping and Adding Courses, see deadlines in current Graduate Catalog

Students are responsible for understanding the add/drop policies and procedures.

Services for Students with Disabilities

If you have a disability for which you will need accommodations in this class, please let the instructor know as soon as possible on or before Unit 1. Viewable at: https://www.westminstercollege.edu/start_center/index.cfm?parent=373&detail=6124.

Student Technology Support

Viewable at: http://www.westminstercollege.edu/support.

Writing Center
The Writing Center assists learners in the development of their written communications skills and is located in the Information Commons area of the Giovale Library, viewable at: http://www.westminstercollege.edu/writing_center/.