MANGT 545: Project Team Leadership

Course Overview

The course builds on the knowledge base developed in MANGT 535 (Interpersonal and Group Behavior) to learn more about and develop behavioral levers that leaders can use to improve individual and group performance and commitment. Focus is placed on better understanding one’s own leadership capabilities and building the skills necessary to effectively lead project teams. During your study, it is expected that you will draw on your own work experiences to further enhance your understanding of the subject matter.

• The course has an established start and end date and you will interact with other students throughout the duration of this course.
• The course consists of a textbook, various academic and practitioner-oriented readings, data projects, and online lesson content that has been developed by the instructor.
• The course has 10 content lessons, 5 bi-weekly reflection essays, requirements to take part in discussion boards, leadership 360(data project), a mini team case analysis, and two exams.

So how are we going to do this?

During the course, you will be expected to draw from your personal work and non-work experiences to further enhance your understanding of the subject matter. You will leverage your personal network to gain greater insight into leadership capabilities and styles both on a general level as well as for you personally.

Due to the online nature of this class, you may work through the assignments at your own pace. However, there are some particular deadlines that will affect others in the class; thus, these require your timely attention and must be strictly followed. It is your responsibility to meet any deadlines that are associated with the class.

What will be expected of you, the student?

As a student in this course, you are expected to read through the material from the assigned textbook(s), and complete any all aspects of the course assignments. You may work through this course at your own pace, but at each stage, you should:

• conscientiously read and reflect on the material;
• ask questions (via the Web, e-mail, phone, or in-person) of your instructor and fellow classmates on issues you don’t understand;
• complete all assignments as outlined in this Syllabus.

Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor.  This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines.  For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please see Graduation. By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• understand and integrate the material regarding leadership behaviors and their impact on individual and team effectiveness, including a deep understanding of the psychological mechanisms at work;
• better understand your own personality and leadership capabilities and how these might be adapted to improve your effectiveness in the workplace;
• have a concrete plan of action for building your personal network, developing your leadership skills, and preparing for the first day of a new leadership assignment,
• coach aspiring leaders about leadership styles and behaviors, and;
• apply the course material into the program’s body of knowledge on project management.

Library Resources

Many of Penn State’s library resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the University Libraries website, you can

• access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
• borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep…or even your desktop;
• get research help via e-mail, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service and much more.

You must have an active Penn State Access Account and be registered with the University Libraries in order to take full advantage of the Libraries’ resources and services. The Off-Campus Users page. has additional information about these free services.

NOTE: You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries’ resources and services. Once you have a Penn State account, you will automatically be registered with the library within 24-48 hours. If you would like to check that your library registration has been completed, visit the Library’s homepage, click on “My Library Accounts” and then click on “CAT Account.”

One of the benefits of being a registered Penn State student is that you are eligible to receive educational discounts on many software titles. If you are interested in learning more about purchasing software through our affiliate vendor, please visit our Student Services page regarding course materials.

Course Requirements and Grading

Grading

Your final course grade will come from a combination of participation, homework assignments, a research project, and a final exam.

NOTE: I do not engage in the rounding of grades at the end of the semester. If you are prevented from completing this course for reasons beyond your control, you have the option of requesting a deferred grade from your instructor. For more information, please see “Deferring a Grade” on the Student Policies Web Site.

Explanation of Assignments

Exams – 300 points

Over the semester, you will take two exams. In each exam, you will be required to complete four essay questions. The exam will be open-book and notes. It will require you to integrate knowledge and material from the first half of the course to answer broad-based management questions. Once emailed to students by the instructor, the exam must be completed in approximately seven days. Students are not permitted to collaborate with others when completing the exam. Exams submitted late will incur a penalty, unless a prior arrangement has been made for an extension. Once emailed to students by the instructor, the exam must be completed in approximately seven days.

Reflection essays – 200 points (five essays; 40 points per each report)

This assignment is for you to think about the concepts and theories you learned from each lesson. There will be no specified format or length for these bi-weekly reflection reports but you should at least:

1. briefly summarize one or two concepts of your choice from the relevant chapter,
2. write about your “biggest takeaway”, and
3. try to apply the concept(s) to your real-life project management experiences or cases.

Although my grading for your weekly reports is on a pass/fail basis, I strongly encourage you to spend “reasonable” time and effort because it is your learning benefit.

Contemporary Issue Seminar- 50 points

Theories and concepts in the textbook are usually based on research findings in the management literature, and they do not necessarily reflect/incorporate what’s happening in contemporary organizations/project teams. Although I am doing my best to use other materials (e.g., YouTube video lectures, recent academic articles) to complement gaps between research and new phenomenon, it usually takes at least two years to publish a paper in academia so what you read from a recently-issued journal is not “really” new and it may not catch what’s currently happening in contemporary organizations). Thus, I would like to discuss with you on contemporary issue seminar! In the first week’s module, you see a discussion board, that is called, “contemporary issue seminar,” where you could ask any questions or get some advice from me or other students. Of course, you can freely give feedback and comments to other students’ posts (like what business consultants do). The discussion board stays open until the last week of the semester so please regularly check the board and discuss/learn things together! 

Participation in the discussion forum– 150 points

Online discussion forums are most helpful to students when they promote the sharing of ideas about how the course material relates to your own work situations and organizations. Indeed, I realize that each student brings a unique background and set of experiences to this class; these experiences can help each of us grow as individuals and broaden our own perspectives. The discussion forum should not be a place where you list every single thing you know about a topic — you should thoughtfully contribute to the conversation, keeping in mind what others have said before you.

Here are my guidelines! You will be expected to actively engage in discussion in the online forums. Your participation will be graded both on the quantity and quality of your posts. The recommended length of posts is between 100-150 words (replies will likely be shorter).

Short Team Case Analysis – 100 points

During the case week, we study through a case discussion and activities together. Prior to discussion of the case, you and your team members will be required to thoroughly read the case regarding the problems the manager is facing, along with an assessment of what you suspect to be the root causes contributing to those problems. I will provide a separate discussion board for this case analysis. Our case discussion will be richer if all students have done these steps on their own so please be prepared and actively engage in the discussion. In addition, by the end of this semester, you will be required to complete a short report. I will provide you with detailed information about this case write-up before we get to the case week.

Leadership 360 – 200 points

An important part of developing our leadership capabilities is to understand who we are and how others perceive us. To this end, one big component of the course involves a 360-degree evaluation of you, your personality and other characteristics, and your leadership styles and tendencies. This assignment is similar to leadership evaluations offered by many companies but does not come with the same price tag. There are two parts to the Leadership 360 assignment:

• Part 1 (Individual task/assignment: 50 points): Throughout this semester, we are going to learn about different leadership concepts, and their antecedents and/or consequences. Although the relationships are largely discussed with management/organizational researchers, it is very important for us to empirically confirm whether what they are saying in their publications is applicable to us. Thus, in Part I of the Leadership 360 assignment, I would like to ask you to experience how management research is usually conducted and learn basic statistical concepts for Part II. I will walk you through each content, and give you a practice exercise (I will give you a practice data set). Those who took my MANGT 535 class might be familiar with this exercise and I believe it is going to be a good recap of what you learned last semester (I simplified the things though). For those who did not take my MANGT 535, I would say this is not a huge stat project so please do not worry. I will develop a discussion board to answer your questions.
• Part II (Team-based; 150 points): Upon completion of Part I, you have a good grasp of how to interpret outputs from statistical analyses. Now, it is your turn to empirically test what you learned during the semester. Right after the Leadership 360 Part I, I will develop an online survey for you to assess your traits and leadership behaviors. Then, at the end of your survey will ask you to recruit at least 2 coworkers (i.e., peers), and at least 2 subordinates to provide ratings for you (they will rate you in terms of your trait, leadership style, and behaviors). Additionally, you may ask your manager to complete ratings. If students are not presently working, it will their responsibility to propose appropriate alternatives for these rating sources (e.g., friends, spouse, teammates).

After I have analyzed the data and provided statistical outputs, students will write their own report, which includes

1. what they learned,
2. what surprised them,
3. what their results mean,
4. the patterns emerging from the results, and
5. areas for the desired improvement along with a proposed timeline for implementation.

This is an online course so I will not be standing over you to make sure that you do the work. Feel free to ask questions about aspects of the assignments which you find confusing or difficult.

Course Grievance Procedures

To ensure that students feel they are treated fairly, I provide an avenue for appealing grades. If you think your work was graded unfairly, you may use the following procedure:

1. Within SEVEN (7) days of receiving the grade, give me a written appeal. After, seven days I will assume that you agree with my assessment and consider the grade final. In other words, do NOT wait until the end of the semester to appeal grades earned weeks earlier; I will not consider appeals at this time.
2. To file an appeal, prepare a written statement explaining why you think the grade is incorrect or unfair. Be sure to document your reasons by referring to inconsistency in the application of grading standards, etc. Stating simply that you want or feel you “deserve” a higher grade because you worked hard is NOT sufficient grounds for an appeal.  Performance reflects a combination of effort AND ability.
3. Submit the written statement together with the graded material (if appropriate). I will consider your complaint and make a decision. You will be notified in writing of my decision. If you are not satisfied with my decision, you may use University grievance procedures to continue your appeal. Please note that I document my rationale for all grades.

If for reasons beyond the student’s control, a student is prevented from completing a course within the prescribed time, the grade in that course may be deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. The symbol DF appears on the student’s transcript until the course has been completed. Non-emergency permission for filing a deferred grade must be requested by the student before the beginning of the final examination period. In an emergency situation, an instructor can approve a deferred grade after the final exam period has started. Under emergency conditions during which the instructor is unavailable, authorization is required from one of the following: the dean of the college in which the candidate is enrolled; the executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student is enrolled in that division or is a provisional student; or the campus chancellor of the student’s associated Penn State campus. For additional information please refer to the Deferring a Grade page.