Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Administrative Science Masters of Administrative Science (MAS)
ONLINE 3 CREDIT COURSE SYLLABUS
Course: Perspectives on Leadership from Films
Course: MADS 6676
General Course Description:
Movies exaggerate and over-simplify, but they can still be compelling case studies. This course uses classic movies, readily available for rental or purchase, as the material for the study of leadership issues including ethics, teamwork, and imagination. Students are expected to contribute insights from other movies, and from their own experiences, to complement the assigned films.
Course Organization:
The course will include six online classes plus a mid-term and final examination, both including short-essay formats, and a term paper. Students are expected to participate meaningfully in each of the online discussions, responding both to assigned questions and to points made by their colleagues in the class. Quality of participation in online discussions makes up the single largest percentage of the grade for the course. This is a fully online course; participants’ written words will represent them almost exclusively, and participants should be attentive to good taste, etiquette, spelling and grammar not just in the exams and term paper but in their entries in discussion forums.
Required Texts:
*Movies to Manage By (Paperback) * by John Clemens, Melora Wolff * *Paperback:* 240 pages * *Publisher:* McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (October 11, 2000) * *Language:* English * *ISBN:* 0809227967
Films:
Viewing classic films is an integral part of preparation for the course discussions, and participants should begin in Week 1 making plans to purchase or rent, and view, movies which illustrate important points about leadership. In cases where participants are not able to get access to films in a timely way, it is acceptable to read the book from which a film was adapted. Entrance Competencies:
No specific prior knowledge of management or leadership issues is required. It is expected that participants will be able to recognize leader and follower roles in their own work organization and in their daily lives.
Exit Competencies:
This course is intended to enhance participants' understanding of principles of leadership, and their ability to see those principles at work both in their own lives and in film and literature. Understanding leadership principles, participants should be able to: apply those principles in their own roles in formal and informal groups and organizations whether at work or outside it recognize their own strengths and weaknesses in leadership issues discriminate successful from unsuccessful applications of leadership principles
Assessment of Learning:
All participants are expected to prepare a written term paper. Each term paper is expected to draw on examples from three movies to make substantive points about leadership. The movies chosen may be among those discussed during the course or may be others that are relevant to one or more issues of leadership. The movies may be chosen to reinforce one another, contrast with one another, or show different facets, but they should all be connected by the logic of the argument and not be random choices. The term paper is not an exercise in film criticism, nor simply a precis of the films, but a way of proving the participant’s understanding of leadership issues as those issues are played out in the chosen films. Papers are expected to be 10 to 15 pages in length, double-spaced, in APA style, delivered as Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) documents.
Table of Contents Introduction Background Argument Conclusion References Optional supplemental materials
All work in this course is expected to be that of the individual participant. The work of others is to be appropriately cited. Any term paper or examination that misrepresents the work of others as that of the participant will receive a failing grade.
Activity Value
Mid-term Examination 15% Final Examination 15% Term Paper 15% Online Discussion 40% Assignments 15%
Grading Policies:
Grade Scale: A = 96 - 100 A- = 90 - 95 B+ = 87 - 89 B = 83 - 86 B- = 80 - 82 C+ = 75 - 79 C = 70 - 74 F = Below 70
General Class Procedures:
The instructor reserves the right to alter the syllabus where warranted. Fall 2006 is the first administration of this course. Changes to the Syllabus and to details of the course are likely during this first semester, and participants should rely on online course documents, NOT on course documents printed to hard copy at the outset of the course.
Students are expected to complete the material within the given timeframes. In the event a student cannot maintain the schedule due to some unforeseen and unavoidable emergency, an accommodation may be made at the discretion of the instructor. However, your grade may be adversely affected.
Final grades will be posted on the University's website, and also mailed by the University. You can access your grades through WebAdvisor, approximately two weeks after the course.