Unit Outline

The role of leaders and the function of leadership has been the focus of scrutiny for many years. It could be argued that this scrutiny has been amplified in recent times due the recent crises associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many of the challenges faced by leaders were already in need of resolution. As part of a suite of units examining leadership and the central function of organisational capability development the central premise of this unit rests heavily on the role of positional power and structures that support leadership as a position in organisations. This includes an examination of strategy development, organisational structure, leadership behaviour and the utilisation of legitimate power. The unit encourages you to think more expansively about the emerging community demands of leaders in terms of ethics, behaviour and corporate citizenship. You’ll also be asked to reflect on your own capacities and behaviours as a leader.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Evaluate current leadership challenges and the implications for meeting organisational goals.
2.	Review and critically appraise current leadership theory and practice as applied in contemporary organisations in context.
3.	Reflect on and critique the role of leaders in creating and implementing effective and ethical organisational practices
4.	Construct and communicate convincing arguments relating to the effective application of leadership theory and practice

Alterations as a result of student feedback

To Be Determined.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Theory Discussion	Week 4	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Individual Case Study	Week 10	40 %	LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Reflective Journal	Week 13	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Theory Discussion

Task Description:

The purpose of this assessment is to get you thinking about how academic theories and concepts relate to your organisation and personal/professional experience.

Each week, in weeks 2, 3, and 4, you will need to select one key theory or concept and write a discussion post linking it to your organisation and/or experience. Key theories and concepts will be provided in MyLO learning content.

Each of the Theory discussion posts should synthesise the fundamental principles of the theory or concept, include reference to quality academic sources, and explain how the theory or concept relates to your organisation or experience.

In addition to sharing your own Theory discussion post, you will need to respond thoughtfully and respectfully your peers' Theory discussion posts.

Task Length:

Please see MyLO for details

Due Date:

Week 4

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Access, utilise and reference relevant literature associated with leadership and development of organisational capability	LO2
2	Critically compare and contrast your lived experiences associated with leadership and management theory.	LO1, LO4
3	Reflect on one’s own behaviours and experiences in relation to relevant theory and the contribution to capability development.	LO4

Assessment Task 2: Individual Case Study

Task Description:

For this assessment task, you will work individually to complete a case analysis and respond to the relevant question (cases and questions will be provided in MyLO).
Once individual case analyses have been drafted, students will give and receive peer reviews in class and/or via pro forma.

Once peer reviews have been given and received, students can revise their case analyses and submit them to MyLO.
Students must also submit the peer review they provided.

Task Length:

Please see MyLO for details

Due Date:

Week 10

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Reflect on and critically appraise three aspects/roles of leaders as enacted in a specific organisation	LO2, LO3
2	Make clear and accurate comparisons of the observed enactment of leadership with relevant theory	LO2
3	Generate and communicate convincing recommendations to support the improvement of ethical leadership in the organisation under review	LO4
4	Write clearly in an academic style using Harvard referencing style throughout	LO4

Assessment Task 3: Reflective Journal

Task Description:

The purpose of this assessment is to track, challenge, and extend your personal understanding and practice of leadership through regular, critical reflection.

Throughout the semester, you will be prompted to reflect on your personal experience, insights, and understandings in relation to key concepts, theories, learning activities, and assessments. These reflections will form the basis of your Reflective journal assessment.

Your Reflective journal should have a minimum of 5 entries. Your entries should explain how your thinking, feeling, and doing (cognition, affect, behaviour) evolve in response to the learning content and activities you participate in. As you progress through the semester, you will need to revisit previous entries to chart how you are evolving in your understanding and practice of leadership.

Task Length:

Please see MyLO for details

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Effectively critique relevant theory to support informed and clear arguments regarding how well theory serves current challenges	LO1, LO2
2	Generate coherent arguments regarding the effectiveness of current organisational leadership practices to respond to challenges experienced by organisations in context	LO3
3	Utilise relevant, recent evidence and other material extracted from both academic sources (e.g., journals) and robust publicly available material (e.g., McKinsey, BCG, HBR) to connect theory to current business challenges	LO4
4	Write clearly in an academic style using Harvard referencing style throughout	LO4

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.