Business is becoming
more competitive, more technical, and more global. Traditional organizational
structures are giving way to more flexible and responsive organizations.
Management and leadership in these new organizations are largely
channeled through communications technologies such as the Internet,
e-mail, groupware collaborative systems, videoconferencing, and
virtual teams. Whereas traditional leadership was focused at the
top, leadership in these new organizations occurs throughout the
organization at all levels. To serve this emerging need, we have
developed a concentration in the School of Management that prepares
students to take entry-level roles in consulting firms and other
organizations that will require exemplary leadership skills. This
concentration is available as a primary concentration. However,
we believe many students will find a combination of Consulting and
Leadership with other concentrations such as Management Information
Systems (MIS) or Marketing to be very attractive to future employers.
Students will make use
of traditional methods of learning such as texts and lectures. However,
this concentration emphasizes hands-on practice by means of simulations,
student projects in local companies, cases, and guest speakers.
Extensive use will be made of communications technology in the from
of the Internet, computer-assisted decision-making, and virtual
teamwork to teach required technology skills. An innovative part
of the program is a comprehensive assessment of leadership skills.
Students will use feedback from this assessment to develop personal
development plans to enhance their leadership potential. Courses
also provide practice in presentations and writing. Students will
be encouraged to take internships in local companies or elsewhere,
perhaps New York City.
Concentration Requirements:
To fulfill the requirements
of the Consulting and Leadership concentration, students must
complete the standard core curriculum for the management degree
option and 3 undergraduate LEAD courses.
Each course is four credit hours.
LEAD 351 – Leadership Skills and Development
Focuses on individual
leadership development. Concentrates on leadership as a dyadic or
small-group process, e.g. one leader and several followers. Also
provides a survey of the major topical areas of leadership. Students
learn how to use technology to enhance their leadership potential
up front and working at a distance with others.
LEAD 352 – Team and Group Leadership
Focuses on team or shared
leadership development. Begins with an emphasis on one individual
leading a team of individuals. However, over time the team takes
on more of a shared leadership model, whereby participants learn
how to distribute leadership within their teams. Students work in
project teams to learn the process of implementing and leading a
project team. Teams work both face-to-face and through technology
to learn how to be a virtual team. The team and project leadership
liturature provides the readings.
LEAD 353 – Leadership in Organization
Focuses on leading larger
systems and on the role of culture in organizations. Emphasis is
on how to work in larger organizations to effect strategic change,
implement new technology, work across different boundaries/units,
and work in different cultures and globally. Intent is to develop
the capacity in students to consult with larger organizations on
strategic leadership and change management practices. Students work
with advanced information technology to learn how to best manage
knowledge and to develop a learning culture in organizations.
Websites to Explore:
- Careers-in-consulting
- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! This excellent, well-organized site contains
information and links on topics such as: Career areas to explore,
Is Consulting Right for You?, Skills & Talents required, Salary
levels, Facts & Trends in Consulting, Top Tier Strategy Consulting
Firms, and many others. It also contains a well-vetted list of
recommend books on jobs in consulting and links to important websites.
- About.com's
One-Stop HR Career Planning Center - This comprehensive site
has good articles and resources on a variety of HR topics such
as: training, performance management, organizational development,
teams, compensation, benefits, job opportunities, and beginning
a career. It also has a large section devoted entirely to researching
& finding entry-level HR positions.
- The
Society for Human Resource Management
- Training
and Development Community Center
back
to top
|
