MGT 530 - Executive Leadership

You will address the question of what leads to outstanding performance as a general manager.  It begins with a study of the inertial forces that drive organizations toward fragmented, bureaucratic activity and that pose a fundamental challenge to effective managerial leadership.  The remainder of the course studies three contrasting views of leadership, each of which is grounded in a long intellectual tradition and gives a different, yet internally consistent and persuasive answer to the question of what distinguishes outstanding managers from their run-of-the-mill counterparts.  We will discuss the conflicting approaches among these views of leadership for resolving a set of fundamental dilemmas that face most leaders.  It is hoped that the participants will test their own personal assumptions and beliefs about effective leadership against the arguments posed by each of the views.  The course uses readings and cases.