DIMENSIONS OF LEADERSHIP: AN EXPLORATION OF BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP; LEADERSHIP WITHIN STATE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW; LEADERSHIP WITHIN GLOBAL GOVERNANCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS LADY MARGARET HALL, OXFORD I offer you my warmest greetings to Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. I am delighted that you can join us for this course entitled Dimensions of Leadership. The University of Oxford has a distinctive collegiate formation, an arrangement within only a few universities worldwide. The colleges which make up Oxford University are self-governing institutions which are both academic and social communities for our undergraduates and graduates. We extend a generous welcome to all of our guests from Xi’an Jiaotong University and hope that you will think of LMH as your home for the next three weeks. We are very pleased to be working for the first time with Xi’an Jiaotong University, a university which, like ours, has an impressive reputation globally and whose students will be the leaders of the future. It is due to this global reputation that our academic programme will focus on those aspects of leadership which will increasingly play a vital part in international affairs. Your participation within the programme will result in an increased understanding of what it means to be a leader in the twenty-first century and the issues which will face you, our global leaders of the future. Lady Margaret Hall is one of the most forward-thinking colleges in Oxford. It is a leader in its commitment to social fairness. It was the first college to allow women to enter Oxford University, and is now at the forefront of outreach within the University. Most of all, our lecturers and tutors are leaders in their field and we hope to inspire you during your time here to strive towards similar excellence in your own work and careers. Dr Benjamin Skipp, Director of Visiting Students, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Course design The course has been designed around three broad themes which provoke stimulating questions within their own limits but also connect to each other through the overarching notion of leadership. These themes include: business and financial management; international and national legal frameworks and agreements; international relations and global governance. Each of these themes is taught through a wide-ranging series of modules and have been selected because of their relevance to leadership studies, as well as their usefulness for leaders of the future. Business and Financial Management - Essence of Leadership - Gender and Leadership - Limits to Leadership - Business Leadership in Climate Policy - Artificial Intelligence in Finance and Economics International and National Legal Frameworks and Agreements: Case Studies - Leadership and Global Universities - International Criminal Justice - Political Leadership in the United States - UN Security Council and Use of Force International Relations and Global Governance - Foreign Policy Making and International Leadership - Leadership in Chinese Foreign Policy - African Leadership and Agency - Model Constitutional Convention While you are here, you will experience what it is like to learn in a similar way to Oxford undergraduates. This means that you will experience a combination of lectures, small-group teaching (called seminars) and short individual tutorials. All of these different modes of learning will encourage you to think independently and critically. Our lectures are the vehicle through which information is shared and explained by an expert to the group. These will provide you with up-to-date information and cutting-edge research. You are welcome to take notes on the lectures and encouraged to read any suggested texts by the lecturers to enable you to follow the thread of the lecture. Smaller seminars are used to provide you with an opportunity to be led by a researcher into discussions relating to the material from the lectures in more depth and detail. There will also be an opportunity to be taught through a tutorial which is a specific Oxford system of learning. Here you will enter into one-on-one discussion in order to voice ideas and scholarly debate. Assessment The purpose of the course is to encourage you to think critically about leadership. This means not only absorbing the information and ideas provided to you by lecturers and texts, but to interrogate such ideas yourself on the basis of evidence and logical argument. In order to get the most from this course it is imperative that you engage with the material both in discussion and through written forms. • Oral contributions to seminars, lecture questions-sessions and tutorial discussions (25%) You shall be assessed on the quality of your spoken contributions. This is particularly important within seminars where you can contribute freely to the discussion. We shall not necessarily be assessing the sophistication of your spoken English,1 but we shall assess your ability to persuade others, your flexibility in responding to debate and the pertinence of any questions asked. • Weekly forum posts of 300-500 words each (20%) We have created an online forum which will enable you to post short ‘blogs’ which should reflect your thoughts on what you have been learning each week. Guidance will be offered as to what will make suitable subjects for forum posts, but they may include a summary and discussion of a particular line of argument from a lecture, or a critique or a particular author or article you have read. You must write one forum post per week. • Model Constitution Convention (25%) The Model Constitution Convention (MCC) simulates the process by which a constitution is formed. You will be assigned to a team and given a particular task in the preparation of material for the convention. There will be a training session during the programme to help you prepare. • An essay of up to 1500 words max (30%) You are required to submit an essay of compact length on a title from a given list. Essays are independent pieces of work and should be original. They should be broadly based on material presented throughout the course, although there is room to include an example or case study of personal interest which may apply the ideas to areas beyond the course. 1 Although this is a course delivered in English, we appreciate that English may not be your first language. There will be translators on hand to help you if there is a key point you wish to make but are unable to find the precise language to express your ideas. Essay titles You must write an essay on one of the following titles. You may draw on examples and ideas encountered in any of the lectures of the course. 1) What defines and legitimizes a leader? 2) To what extent is successful leadership dependent upon the abilities and personality of the leader, and to what extent dependent upon the context in which leadership occurs? 3) What do you consider to be the main challenges for leaders in your lifetime? 4) Using a leadership ‘case study’ of your choice, explain why you think the leadership displayed was successful or unsuccessful. 5) How do attitudes and values of followers constrain and shape leadership behaviour? 6) Examine the role of ‘resources’ (which may include institutional resources, technologies, military resources, legislative bodies) within leadership. 7) If you were a leader (for example of the US, China or a European country) what would you see as your goals and how would you go about achieving them? Marking criteria Total Description Mark (%) 80-100 Outstanding work produced. Both written and spoken elements show full understanding of the core issues presented within the lectures as well as an ability to think critically and imaginatively, applying thought to new case studies and ideas. MCC contributions are well-prepared and persuasive. All work submitted on time and full attendance. 70-80 Excellent work, showing a good understanding of the ideas presented in lectures and seminars. Written and spoken elements will mostly reveal engagement with case studies in a sophisticated way. Contributions in MCC show capable handling of material. All work submitted on time and full attendance. 60-70 Very good work which often reveals insight into the issues under discussion. There may be a few confused elements but overall there is understanding of the main themes and ideas presented in the lectures and reading. Good effort is revealed in MCC. All work submitted on time and full attendance. 50-60 Good work is sometimes shown, and there is clear effort in evidence in written and oral presentations. There may be one or two fundamental misunderstandings of the material but overall there is secure grasp of the issues under discussion. Attitude to learning is often keen. All work submitted on time and full attendance. 40-50 On balance, the work shows a secure grasp of the main themes of the course, although frequently it will lack some security. Effort is sometimes registered in oral contributions and MCC. Work submitted on time and full attendance. 20-40 Work is of satisfactory quality overall, although there will be frequent errors of understanding. Effort in lectures is not regularly noted and there may be some late work handed in or left incomplete. Full attendance is noted. 1-20 Work is of poor standard and shows little or no understanding of the topics under discussion. Work will often be handed in late or not completed. Attendance may not be achieved. 0 Work is not completed. Full attendance is not achieved. Certification All students who have full attendance will receive a certificate of attendance. Students who have full attendance and a mark of 20-40% will receive a certificate of attendance and successful completion. Students who have full attendance and a mark of 40-60% will receive a certificate of attendance and successful completion with commendation.