MA Leadership by Distance Learning

John Mullen

Why MA Leadership

• Projected Demand• "As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be

those who empower others." - Bill Gates• "Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of

success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall." - Stephen R. Covey

• Gap in the Market

Can leadership be learned?

The most important prerequisite is a desire to lead, and there are three kinds of people:•People who have a strong drive to lead, and often don't care too much what kind of circumstance they lead in.•People who never want to be leaders - they have other ambitions and interests.•People who are prepared to be leaders, but only under specific circumstances. •Nigel Nicholson, London Business School•http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7033398.stm

The key to effectiveness is:

• a) correctly reading the situation you are in and what behaviours it requires

• b) being willing and able to do what needs to be done.• Most leaders fail firstly because they don't read the situation well,

and especially how it changes; and secondly, because their personality, values, and abilities make them unwilling or unable to do what needs to be done.

• Organisational politics often governs point a). But point b) is down to what sort of person you are.

• So the answer is, many leadership capabilities are inborn or take a lifetime to develop, but there are many ways of being a leader and most of the key skills can be learned - if you're motivated to do so.

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7033398.stm

Anglia Ruskin Course

• to meet the development needs of potential leaders in contemporary organisations.

• aimed at graduates who have some experience of working in a leadership role and are keen to develop their skills further.

• attractive to those who wish to progress to more senior levels in their career as leaders, managers or consultants.

• designed for committed people who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to undertake traditional campus-based courses.

• work-based, distance-learning programme enhanced by previous experience, the rich resource of specific working environments and interaction with colleagues and fellow students.

Course aims – to enable students to• develop a broad understanding of the principles and practices of

leadership, and develop a critical awareness of their own leadership effectiveness

• develop key leadership competences, including negotiation, decision making, time management, team leadership, stress management, conflict resolution and communication and presentation skills

• develop advanced leadership competences and awareness, including organisational transformation, innovation, intercultural leadership, power and politics, emotional and spiritual intelligence, and an understanding of leader led dynamics

• handle complex organisational issues from leadership perspective across a wide range of disciplines

• study in a stimulating ,and supportive learning environment, which will foster personal growth and effectiveness as a leader.

Course structureYear 1

Trimester 1 Trimester 2 Trimester 3

Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership

Leadership Foundations Developing the Modern Leader

Advanced Decision Making

Year 2

Trimester 1 Trimester 2

Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership

Strategic Leadership Leadership in a Global context

Year 2

Trimester 3

MA Leadership

Major Project

Course Features:

• The course is delivered entirely through e-learning with full tutor support.

• Where appropriate some face to face interaction is possible• Assessment is carried out through a mixture of essays and project

work.• Successful completion of the first three modules confers the

academic qualification of 'Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership’.• Successful completion of the following two modules confers the

academic qualification of 'Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership’.• The modules are designed to be practical and relevant to the

student’s every day experience, but in the context of rigorous academic study

Study Skills:

• Use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT)• Managing own time and resources• Investigative skills and techniques• Description, discussion, evaluation & analysis• Effective communication, written and oral• Problem solving and the use of case studies• Collaboration and interaction with fellow students• Preparing for and handling the academic assessment process• Citing & Referencing of material

Module 1Leadership Foundations

• This module lays the foundations for the MA Leadership pathway by examining definitions of leadership and by distinguishing between leadership & management.

• Classical theories of leadership are analysed and subjected to a thorough critique.

• Modern equivalents of the classical theories will be identified and debated.

• Leadership is a complex concept and over this course the student will come to understand some of the complexities and why it is so important to both society and organisations.

• Students own experience is a central part of the learning process.

Module 2 Developing the Modern Leader

• Within the context of the module consideration is given to the key skills of leadership and their application in the modern working environment.

• The module seeks to explore those elements of leadership that are most often associated with successful leadership including, leadership style, dealing with power and politics, negotiation, leading in times of crisis and leadership for knowledge creation.

• Throughout the module consideration is given to the development of core, values attributes in respect of the demands placed upon the role and very often the behaviour of the modern leader.

• This requires an exploration of the notion of leadership in respect of the leadership of both the human resource and the organisation as a means of facilitating change during periods of organisational redefinition.

Module 3:Advanced Decision Making

• Both the public and private sector now require the development of confident autonomous practitioners, who possess the knowledge and skills to implement complex decisions in a rapidly changing environment and to play key roles in service development.

• They need to be able to utilise practical decision making skills within an area of professional knowledge and to develop strategies to facilitate the implementation of the outcomes of the decision making process into practice, either as an individual or within a team / organisation.

• Self-awareness, management of change and service development, and enhancement of professional judgement and leadership are seen as core elements of the module.

Strategic leadership• The module explores strategic leadership and how the leadership of an

organisation's strategy contributes to an organisation's performance. • The module is integrative in nature and provides practically relevant ideas

and frameworks that facilitate strategy design and implementation. • It includes a review of classical theories to strategy and subjects them to a

thorough & rigorous critique. • A range of contemporary views of strategy are also introduced and evaluated,

including emergent, collaborative and ethical perspectives.• The module also provides pathway participants with the appropriate

knowledge, skills and abilities they will need to effectively carry out a piece of small scale business/management research.

• This will include the philosophical aspects of enquiry in social settings, operating in political contexts, negotiating access to key individuals and data, and meeting the research outcomes expected by multiple organisational stakeholders.

Module 5Leadership in a Global Context

• Businesses, whether private, public or third sector, operate in a world facing a range of urgent global issues.

• This module examines the fitness of business in a range of sectors and individuals to tackle such issues, based on the Global Leadership model developed by lecturers at this university.

• This model consists of four elements: effective decision making, adoption of a global approach, creation of a new business paradigm and a contemporary mission.

• The module also considers the related concept of 'MisLeadership', which looks at how leaders have often failed to achieve the optimum outcomes for those they lead.

• Leaders predominantly create context and this module will explore the skills required to successfully mould and develop the context in a complex evolving environment.

Major Project

• The dissertation is not a taught module and this means that the research and writing up of the student’s findings is very much an individual effort that allows them to demonstrate both organisational and time management skills.

• They will have further honed their research skills and techniques and deepened your understanding of at least one major area of business and/or business related areas.

• Other high level skills which will be developed and improved include evaluation, synthesis, and critical thinking. Finally, a well-written dissertation enables them to demonstrate communication and presentation skills.

• The dissertation is limited to 18,000 words

Assessment

We have a number of approaches to assessment including•Continuous formative assessment•Essays and Reports•Collaborative Wikis

Online Submission and Marking

• The vast majority of submissions re made via Turnitin• Marking is via Turnitin/Grademark • Feedback is returned to the students electronically• http://www.submit.ac.uk/

Student feedback

• http://distancelearning.anglia.ac.uk/caseStudy.php/Tracey-Collins-5/

Support

• We have a very strong team providing a high level of support for our students.

1. The module tutor2. The Distance Learning Facilitator3. The Course Leader 4. Module Leader5. Faculty liaison librarian6. Faculty student adviser

Our aiim

• Our aim is to facilitate an enjoyable and instructive course, through which students will gain the skills to be enlightened and effective leaders in their fields in the 21st century.

• We hope many will come and join us in this exiting and innovative course.

Further information

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact either:•John Mullen, Course and Module leader.•John.mullen@anglia.ac.uk •01733 261158•or•Jon Nettleton Distance Learning facilitator.•Jon.nettleton@anglia.ac.uk •0845 196 4361