Units

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Sample subject outline - 5 Week Teaching Period - 2 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Self awareness provides a foundation for both personal and leadership development. This unit provides an opportunity for students to increase their understanding of themselves and how their interactions with others impact on their effectiveness as managers in a complex project management environment. Personal development is explored in the context of cultural understanding and ethics. This unit provides the introduction to other units within the course that address people in organisations including: Developing and Leading High Performance Teams, Organisational Behaviour and Culture; Building Organisational Capability and Leadership for Results.

Aims

The aim of this unit is for students to increase their understanding of themselves and how their interactions with others impact on their effectiveness as managers in a complex project management and strategic procurement leadership environment.

Objectives

Course Learning Goals (Corporate Programs)

The QUT Business School has established the Assurance of Learning (AOL) Goals to meet contemporary industry needs and standards. Achieving these learning outcomes will assist you to meet the desired graduate outcomes set at QUT - aligned with other internationally renowned business schools. Students will develop the following capabilities relevant to a contemporary global and sustainable business environment:

Program Goal 1: Understand Self and Lead Others in an International Environment (ULO)
1.1: Develop the personal attributes of action and outcome orientation, ability to influence and self-knowledge that distinguish the manager of complex projects.
1.2: Develop and demonstrate the leadership and communication skills to manage the staff involved in complex projects
1.3: Work effectively in managing people and a wide range of stakeholders through understanding of culture cognition, personality and human lifecycle.

Program Goal 2: Lead Strategic Planning, Design and Implementation (SPDI)
2.1: Understand the context of complex projects and the design and implementation of appropriate project strategy and systems to match emergent requirements
2.2: Demonstrate the capacity to design, establish and manage the organisational architecture for complex projects
2.3: Develop the understanding and skill to deliver probity and governance requirements for complex projects
2.4: Develop the capacity to design and implement innovative business planning, reporting and performance measurement systems.

Program Goal 3: Think Holistically: Innovate and Creatively Problem Solve (TH)
3.1: Develop the insights to manage people and systems subject to on-going change and constantly adapt to emergent conditions
3.2: Demonstrate the capacity to envision novel, critical and creative responses to complex and emerging problems

Program Goal 4: Develop the understanding of and skill to design, manage and lead strategic procurement practices that respond to the challenges of the complex organisational and project management environment.
4.1: Develop, plan and implement a comprehensive and effective acquisition strategy to deliver complex strategic capabilities.
4.2: Assess and implement the contractual requirements of a complex acquisition taking into account the implications of international law and conventions, intellectual property rights, and ensuring the appropriate allocation and mitigation of contractual risks.
4.3: Develop, plan and implement strategic sourcing arrangements covering the capability life-cycle.

Unit Objectives
At the completion of the unit, students will be able to:
1. Understand their particular world view and how this view impacts on those they work with.
2. Critically analyse the impact of culture (both national and organisational) on individual and organisational performance.
3. Apply ethical frameworks to decision making
4. Prepare a self-development plan incorporating feedback

Content

• Personal mastery (special attributes)


• Personal development, ethics and culture; self analysis


• Models of change and coaching


• Understanding organisational culture


• Power and influence


• Leadership development


• Common ethical dilemmas and decision-making


• Using feedback for personal development


• Work-Life balance


• Self development plans

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

A blended learning approach is taken with this unit. Students will engage with the material through a blend of:

• Guided instruction, learning activities, readings and cases presented in a comprehensive study guide. Students are expected to engage with the readings and learning activities in the study guide prior to the face to face session.


• A comprehensive set of readings, cases, workplace documents and other authentic materials is provided in advance with the study guide. Set texts for units will be provided in advance to students.


• Intensive face-to-face sessions for each of the modules of the unit where students will actively engage in exploring the concepts, issues and cases provided in the study guide. A focus on facilitated group learning and collaboration is a feature of the face-to-face sessions rather than content input by the lecturer.


• A Blackboard learning site is provided where additional materials such as podcasts, vodcasts, audio and video files, and computer simulations can be shared through the life of the unit. Collaboration tools for students such as blogs, wikis, discussion forums, and group tools will be a feature of the Blackboard site.

There is a commitment to critical inquiry and intellectual debate in regard to the material covered, and students are encouraged to relate the theories and research discussed to situations known to them.

Assessment

General feedback about each piece of assessment will be discussed in the individual modules. In addition, students are welcome to make an appointment with the lecturer to discuss their individual assessment items.
Each piece of assessment has an individual criteria sheet. These will be returned to the student with additional notes on the text of individual and group proposals.

Assessment name: Personal Profile
Description: Each student is required to submit a personal profile using the various frameworks and instruments discussed in class in modules 1,2 & 3. These can include the personality frameworks and the impact of ethical and cultural dimensions of experience. These frameworks should outline what the student has discovered about him/herself from the self-analysis process that has occurred and discuss the implications of this understanding for career development and leadership.

This profile is essentially a work in progress as we all change over time. This unit provides an opportunity for students to reflect on their personality, experiences and aspirations as they relate to the development of their leadership potential.

The profile should be presented in typed format and can be supported by diagrams and other illustrations to help clarify the ideas presented. All models and frameworks referred to must be appropriately referenced

Length: 1500 words
Relates to objectives: Unit objectives: 1 & 2
AOL goals: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 3.1
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: After Module 3

Assessment name: Reflective Journal
Description: The Self Development plan will consist of:
-The areas of personal, cultural or ethical understanding and behaviour that need to be addressed
-The reasons why these particular areas have been chosen
-The strategies used to develop the particular competencies or attitudes identified and why they have been chosen
-The barriers to self development
-The time line over which the plan will extend.

To support the assertions made in the plan, a reflective journal should be kept over the period from the beginning of the contact time to the submission of the plan. For assessment, you are required to select three entries. Writing a reflective journal is a technique which is designed to increase self awareness and understanding by recording personal events and by reflecting on aspects of those events in terms of one's emotional reactions, and one's behaviours. It is a critical element of learning and personal development, and is essential to the process of learning from experience.

It is important to remember that these extracts from your Reflective Journal are also an assessment item and therefore require more formal structure that would be the case if the journal was being written for you alone. You have to explain your behaviour, emotions and reflection for the reader to appreciate what you have understood and learned. The journal provides an opportunity for you to practise the action-observation-reflection model of learning.

Over time, behavioural patterns often begin to emerge and dysfunctional reactions and patterns become visible. Once a greater understanding of these dysfunctional behaviours is achieved, new behaviours may be practised and an assessment of their impact can be made and reflected on.

There is no set ratio for the word spread between the Plan and Reflective Journal, though 50:50 is a guide. You may decide to integrate Journal extracts through your Plan or keep the Journal Extracts in a separate section and make references to them in the Plan.

Length: The profile should be concise and not exceed 2000 words
Relates to objectives: Unit objectives: 1, 2, 3 & 4.
AOL goals: .1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 3.1
Weight: 60%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: After Module 6

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Study Guide
Readings
Blackboard Site
Daglish, C. and Millter, P. (2010). Leadership: Understanding its Global Impact. Prahran: Tilde University Press.
Greene, J. and A. M. Grant (2003). Solution-Focused Coaching: A Manager's Guide to Getting the Best from People. London: Pearson Education Limited.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with lectures or tutorials in this unit. You should, however, familiarise yourself with evacuation procedures operating in the buildings in which you attend classes and take the time to
view the Emergency video.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 18-Feb-2013