WELCOME! "LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING ARE INDISPENSIBLE TO EACH OTHER." JOHN F.

KENNEDY

Among all the courses that you will take in your undergraduate experience none will give you more insight to your own personal business persona than Organizational Leadership. This course is designed to focus on the development of leadership skills and methods of assessing and improving those skills. In particular you should be able; 1) use leadership theories, assessment tools, and an understanding of the role of ethics, values, and attitudes to evaluate and enhance personal leadership skills ; 2) develop and implement strategies that establish constructive interpersonal and group relationships that build highperforming and loyal individuals and teams ; 3) evaluate the culture and policies of an organization to recommend and implement improvements that support vision, success, and sustainability ; 4) assess the interactions between the external environment and the organization to foster responsible and effective leadership and organizational practices. Learning to lead is a challenge that every individual should embrace for it is a useful skill no matter what the situation. It doesn't matter whether you are leading

a multinational corporation or the PTA Bull Roast Committee a good leader is necessary to get the job done. Learning to enhance and improve personal leadership traits is a primary goal of this course, and is an ongoing task for a business leader. Like Kennedy I too believe that learning about leadership is a dynamic process. The more we learn about the people around us; the more we learn about ourselves, the better leader we will become. Learning the tools for self assessment will help to facilitate the process. They are tools which will show growth and change through out your lifetime and will help you to adapt to the organizations and positions that you will encounter during your career. The skill of learning to lead others is as important as learning the substantive skills of your trade. We have exactly eight weeks to accomplish our goals and therefore time management is crucial to your successful completion of this course. You course schedule is to be your Bible. Each week you are expected to attend class on Tuesday evenings having read the assigned chapters and prepared the conference assignments. Week two has the self assessment paper due, week four the environmental impact paper, week six the observation paper, week 8 both group project paper (part one) and the individual analysis (part 2) as well as you conference assignment. Try to plan for unexpected contingencies, like the loss of your computer for a day, a sudden one-day business trip etc. Finally, if you see a schedule conflict let me know ahead of time. Communication is essential to making sure that we keep

each other aware of problems that might arise in your being able to complete your assignments in the time provided. The course has a messaging center please use it to let me know what questions or problems you have. There are a few steps that you can take to prepare yourself for this course. First, make sure that you get the book and begin to read week one's assignment. You will be expected to have read the first three chapters before our first Tuesday meeting! (1/17/12) Please read before the week starts. Second, print out your syllabus and class schedule, and read it carefully. Incorporate your assignment due dates etc. in your daily calendar. Third, I have put some helpful study hints in your syllabus. Read them before you start the course hopefully they will help. Reading a textbook is not like reading a novel it is important to understand what you read from the outset to avoid having to read it several times. The study tips are designed to help you avoid this problem. I always expect full answers to questions. One or two sentences will not work. The bottom line business approach needs to be left at the doorstep. I want to know your reasons for your answers, explain the concepts in detail that led to your conclusion. AT THE RISK OF BEING REDUNTANT, ONE SENTENCE ANSWERS OR CONCLUSIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. There is a lot of reading and writing in this course. Embrace it from the beginning and you will find it easier to succeed.

There are several procedural matters that I wish to address at the beginning of class. First, please read the syllabus carefully and follow your course schedule religiously. I will expect due dates to be adhered to and I will mark down for lateness. Second, your participation in group work is essential to being successful in this course. It is worth thirty percent of your grade. Furthermore, your classmates must be able to depend on your input, do not shortchange them by making a half hearted effort in completing the conference tasks. Each week builds upon the next and timely participation in the group work assigned is critical. Third, Conference participation is also important. It is worth twenty percent of your grade. Each week has an online conference topic. Late postings and non participation in discussion will significantly hurt your ability to succeed in the class. Together group work and conferences makes up fifty percent of your grade. DO THE MATH!!! PARTICIPATE! Fourth, please remember I am always available for questions should they arise. PLEASE USE THE PRIVATE MESSAGE FEATURE of our classroom to E-mail questions and concerns. I will get back to you as soon as I can and certainly within 24 hours during the work week. Fifth, Please remember that we are all professionals in this class and as a courtesy to us all take time to write complete sentences and thoughts. It is easy to lapse into "text" language or casual English in this medium. Resist the temptation and check over your work. Sixth, those of you who are new to the online/hybrid classroom setting please make sure that

you take the orientation and use your Web Tyco help line. Last, but not least, I may "tweak" things as we go along if they aren't working the way I had hoped. I will announce them. Always check your announcement section daily!! Finally, I just wanted to tell you a little about myself. I am a lawyer and educator by training and profession (Please read my Bio for details). I practiced law in Virginia for several years and returned to Baltimore when my husband went back into the family business. I am licensed to practice law in Virginia and Maryland. I have taught Business Law both on an undergraduate and graduate level for many years taking a break for eleven years to start a family. Currently, in addition to my teaching, I work with my husband in the family business doing marketing and sales work. I am an old parent. Let's just say I am the "Queen Mother of the fifth and seventh grades. Besides teaching with UMUC I also teach online for the University of Baltimore. I enjoy teaching and I hope to make this course a challenging and enjoyable intellectual experience.

Regards, Elizabeth Brunn