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MA Organizational Leadership
Lewis University Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership
Courses
This 37 credit-hour Master's degree program offers a comprehensive and multi-faceted curriculum, preparing students to assume an advanced leadership role at the helm of organizations in their chosen field. Concentrations are available in Organizational Management, Not-for-Profit Management, Public Administration, Training and Development, and Higher Education – Student Services. The courses required for completion of the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership provide all the tools necessary to advance your career, while offering the flexibility to enter the program at six different times throughout the year.
Core Courses: (19 credit hours)
LL502 - Directed Research Study (1)
Explore different research methodologies, electronic search processes and basic statistical measures - then apply this knowledge to class projects. Emphasis will be placed on teaching students to become critical consumers of research in their field and how to use this knowledge to benefit their organization.
LL509 - Leadership: Theories, Practices and Context (3)
An analysis of contemporary theories and practices of leadership, emphasizing the application of theoretical concepts to real life leadership situations. Also examined are the impact of organizational history and structure on today's organizational challenges.
LL512 - Assessing Leadership Skills (3)
An investigation into developmental psychology, leadership abilities and learning styles based on personal and professional experiences, values and attitudes. This course provides students with a profile of their personal leadership style utilizing various methodologies to identify leadership competencies and organizational dynamics.
LL515 - Critical Thinking and Decision Making (3)
Emphasis of the course is on the examination of knowledge and research as they pertain to leadership; exploration of the relationship between creative and critical thinking; and analysis of scientific methodology and logic, language and interpretation, and their influence on the study and practice of leadership.
LL536 - Ethics, Integrity and Social Responsibility (3)
A study of how personal values and ethical perspective shape the concept and practice of leadership. Included is the role of values in determining the moral obligations of leaders and followers in shaping moral environments, and in policy making and vision. How leaders can create ethical basis for action.
LL539 - Conflict Management (3)
Using real life case studies, this course explores the theories, practices and issues involved in managing conflict in interpersonal and intergroup settings. Also discussed are methods available to leaders to use conflict to advance their organization.
LL576 - Organizational Assessment (1)
This course provides a broad understanding of the theories, instruments, and practices leaders can use in assessing organizational performance. It focuses on practical application of processes that can be readily used in any organizational setting.
LL590 - Leadership and the Future (2)
The focus of this capstone seminar is on developing and presenting a publishable paper that examines a collaborative change intervention of the student's choosing. By studying futuristic scenarios and issues, students are encouraged to present a vision of their career future and leadership role, which provides students with the opportunity to reassess how their knowledge of the leadership field and their personal style have changed as a result of the program.
Concentration Courses: (12 credit hours)
Organizational Management:
LL527 - Building Teams (3)
This course concentrates on the theory and application of team development, issues of readiness, the strengths and weaknesses of individual members, and their impact on organizational effectiveness. Also investigated are the interdependency of corporate systems and ways to enhance the effectiveness of these interactions.
LL558 - Planning Strategically (3)
Reviews traditional management processes and examines strategic perspectives. Students will learn how to apply a variety of management tools and techniques for decision-making and develop strategic approaches to management decisions. This course is designed to encourage students to think strategically about organizations in an increasingly diverse management environment.
LL561 - Organizational Cultures and Systems (3)
This course focuses on how to research and understand the culture foundation - including basic philosophy, value system, communication patterns, social roles, and style of interactions - that shape an organization internally and externally, and how to assess the development of organizational structures and behavior factors within organizations of different types and sizes.
LL565 - Finance as Organizational Text (3)
Organizational leadership responsibilities include the allocation and distribution of resources, and this course will prepare students to read, develop, and write financial text for their organizations. Offering an overview of inter-relations of money and markets, investment, and financial management, the course proceeds to develop concrete skills in fiscal leadership.
Not-for-Profit Management:
LL558 - Planning Strategically (3)
Reviews traditional management processes and examines strategic perspectives. Students will learn how to apply a variety of management tools and techniques for decision-making and develop strategic approaches to management decisions. This course is designed to encourage students to think strategically about organizations in an increasingly diverse management environment.
LL561 - Organizational Cultures and Systems (3)
This course focuses on how to research and understand the culture foundation - including basic philosophy, value system, communication patterns, social roles, and style of interactions - that shape an organization internally and externally, and how to assess the development of organizational structures and behavior factors within organizations of different types and sizes.
LL567 - Working with the Community: Boards to Volunteers (3)
Provides an analysis of the respective roles of the board, executive director, staff and volunteers in non-profit organizations. Students will explore ways to define roles and responsibilities of board and staff, leadership development and volunteer utilization of board members, and volunteer governance.
LL570 - Stewardship and External Support (3)
This course examines the nature of fund raising and development strategies for not-for-profit organizations. Topics include: strategies for annual appeals, events, and services, methods of gaining foundation support, corporate and individual support, proposal writing, membership development, and profit making ventures in not-for-profit organizations. Students will learn to assess an organization's readiness for fund raising, while developing fund raising expertise.
Public Administration:
LL530 - Managing Diversity (3)
Covers issues involved in multi-cultural organizations, including how to develop consensus within an organization for valuing diversity, relationship building, communicating across cultures, and managing people of different genders, races, and cultures. Issues of stereotype, bias and resistance are examined from both a personal and an organizational perspective with emphasis on making meaningful contributions to diversity initiatives within organizations.
LL558 - Planning Strategically (3)
Reviews traditional management processes and examines strategic perspectives. Students will learn how to apply a variety of management tools and techniques for decision-making and develop strategic approaches to management decisions. This course is designed to encourage students to think strategically about organizations in an increasingly diverse management environment.
LL560 - Themes in Public Policy Administration and Leadership (3)
This course is designed to provide a broad overview of public administration and policy analysis. It will identify methods for understanding the political process as a system and look at evaluation techniques to address complex policy issues that are not resolvable by quantitative methods. This course will use current case studies drawn from various governmental levels.
LL564 - Public Policy and Governmental Relations (3)
An exploration of the ways businesses and non-profit organizations can work effectively with local and state governments to address issues of mutual concern. This course provides an overview of governmental structures, processes, and policies with a focus on methods of communication and lobbying to improve on public policy issues and governmental relations.
Training and Development:
LL518 - Organizational Communication (3)
Focusing on personal, organizational, and professional communication, this course examines theories and models of organizational communication and the skills necessary to effectively communicate as a leader within these organizations. Includes an examination of internal communication issues, individual communication skills necessary to communicate effectively, as well as strategies for effectively communicating with external constituencies.
LL555 - Psychology of Motivation (3)
Examines contemporary approaches to motivation and the design and implementation of motivational strategies for effective personal and group performance. This course reviews the work of noted theorists like Hertzberg, Hackman, Oldham, Deci and Ryan, as well as emerging models of workplace motivation.
LL572 – Adult Development: Learning Models and Practices (3)
Building upon the foundational notions of development as laid forth by the likes of Erickson, Piaget, Bandura, Levinson, and other theoreticians, this course reviews the dynamics of adult life in an effort to understand key issues in organizational learning. Special attention will be placed on the specific learning objectives of participants in relation to areas of concentration. Participants will bring personal goals and areas of expertise to bear on developing learning models for adults.
LL577 - Design and Delivery of Training (3)
Effective training involves the identification of essential skills and outcomes, understanding both the systemic and human side of the enterprise, and skills in both design and delivery of learning. This course engages those topics and develops the skills essential to design and deliver such training, focusing on the development of outcomes and competencies, identification of best-practices and benchmark efforts.
Higher Education – Student Services:
LL516 - Principles of Higher Education; Mission and Directions (3)
An analysis of the historical development of our nation's colleges and universities, with a special emphasis on the development of the campus in relationship to its students - traditional, non-traditional, resident, and commuter. This course is designed to develop the ethical and legal context for understanding student-institution relationships, the difference between public and private institutions, church and state issues, and freedom of expression.
LL527 - Building Teams (3)
This course concentrates on the theory and application of team development, issues of readiness, the strengths and weaknesses of individual members, and their impact on organizational effectiveness. Also investigated are the interdependency of corporate systems and ways to enhance the effectiveness of these interactions.
LL556 – Systems and Services in Higher Education (3)
Reviewing the characteristics of the organization, administration, and functions of student affairs programs, this course looks at the concrete services offered. Perspectives in planning, annual rotation of events and services, staffing issues, foundational budgeting, and other areas of management will be reviewed. These services will be considered in regard to mission, diversity, traditional and ‘non-traditional' students. Participants will engage in actual design, and share in the implementation, of student service initiatives in the learning context.
LL572 – Adult Development: Learning Models and Practices (3)
Building upon the foundational notions of development as laid forth by the likes of Erickson, Piaget, Bandura, Levinson, and other theoreticians, this course reviews the dynamics of adult life in an effort to understand key issues in organizational learning. Special attention will be placed on the specific learning objectives of participants in relation to areas of concentration. Participants will bring personal goals and areas of expertise to bear on developing learning models for adults.
Electives: (6 credit hours)
LL522 - Technology and Resource Development (3)
This course provides an extensive inquiry into the emerging technologies related to distance learning and organizational leadership. As a laboratory class, participants will develop virtual teams, information sharing methods, and patterns for technologically assisted organizational communication. Use of technology in the arena of training and continuing education will be explored. Students will investigate the dynamics of on-line learning, outcome assessment, and corporate portals. Emerging technologies are reviewed and evaluated, as well as considered for professional use. This hands-on course makes use of case studies, industry standards, and on-site event evaluation.
LL524 - Maximizing Organizational Change (3)
A study of the processes and techniques used to analyze and evaluate organizations and programs, this course explores the key concepts related to planning and management of the organizational change process. Models of change, strategies for change, the leader's role as a change agent, and potential interventions utilized in managing change will be examined.
LL573 - Independent Inquiry (1-3)
This course is an experiential and theoretical exploration of focused study in a specific area of organizational development. Independent inquiry is directed by a member of the faculty. Students with well defined interest areas and practicum directions are encouraged to consider this mode of learning. Contact the program director for more information.
LL579 - Selected Topics (1-3)
Seminars and classes of particular interest to students that are developed by the faculty and delivered throughout the year. Small groups of students are encouraged to select specific topics in conjunctions with members of the faculty.
LL592 - Workplace Research (3)
Leading change in the workplace demands highly developed skills for understanding the uses of research, range of methodologies, matching methodologies to organizational inquiry, interpreting data, and integrating information for alignment of organizational behaviors. This course develops these skills for organizational diagnostics, and action alignment.
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