BUS401: Making Hard Choices | Saylor Academy

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Course Introduction

Course Syllabus

Unit 1: Introduction

1.1: Definitions

Defining Leadership

What is Management?

Nine Ways to Identify Natural Leaders

Characteristics of Good Managers: Styles of Leadership

Types of Leaders: Transactional Versus Transformational Leaders

1.2: Great Leaders

Power and Politics

Nelson Mandela: A Leader's Guide

Teddy Roosevelt: The Rough Rider in the White House

The Politics of Progressivism: Leaders of the Progressive Era

Vince Lombardi as a Strategic Leader

Unit 1 Assessment

Unit 1 Assessment

Unit 2: Leadership Theory

2.1: Trait Theory

The Trait-Theory Approach

Leadership Traits

8 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

2.2: Behavioral Theory

What Do Leaders Do? Behavioral Approaches to Leadership

The Behavioral Approach

Blake and Mouton

What Our Families Teach Us About Organizational Life

2.3: Situational Leadership

What is the Role of the Context? Contingency Approaches to Leadership

Boss Habits = Situational Leadership

Contingency Approach

2.4: Skill-Based Leadership

Introduction to Competencies

2.5: Visionary Characteristics

The Seven Qualities of Visionary Leaders

2.6: Transformational Leadership

Key Behaviors of Transformational Leaders

Unit 2 Assessment

Unit 2 Assessment

Unit 3: Change Management and Decision-Making

3.1: Change Management

Planning and Executing Change Effectively

Managing Change for Organizations

The Need for Communicating Change

Encouraging Organizations to Change: The Influence Model

3.2: Decision Making

Making Hard Choices

Techniques for Consensus Decision Making in Large Groups: the Spokespersons Council Method

Problems with the Rational Decision-Making Model

Non-Rational Decision Making

What's Your Default?

3.3: Biases

The Psychology of Groups

Selectivity of Perception

Unit 3 Assessment

Unit 3 Assessment

Unit 4: Leading Without Formal Authority

4.1.1: Sources of Power

Sources of Power

Finding Real Leadership Power

4.1.2: Forms of Exerting Leadership

A Leader's Influence

Mediation

Leadership and Conflict Management: Business Ethics

Actions Speak Louder than Words: Adaptive Non-Verbal Communication is a Key Leadership Skill for Collaborative Teams

Nike Improving the Environment and Communities the Open Source Way

4.2: Influence

Advice from 5 Joomla Project Leaders

4.3: Emotional Intelligence (EI)

Emotional Leadership

How Emotion and Mood Influence Behavior

4.4: Interpersonal Skills

Should Open-Source Leaders Go Native?

Aggressive Personality Types

Working with Individuals

Unit 4 Assessment

Unit 4 Assessment

Unit 5: Managing Groups and Teams

5.1: Managing Diversity

Managing Demographic and Cultural Diversity