Week 6 Assignment
Final Paper: Contemporary Leadership
Issue Case Study
Assignment Instructions
In this class, we have explored current and future challenges in leadership and current approaches to leadership. In this culminating assignment, you will locate additional relevant literature and apply what you have learned to a contemporary leadership issue. Read and analyze the following article according to the proceeding instructions, building on the feedback you received on your week 5 preparation paper and the skills you’ve subsequently developed.
Case Study Analysis
According to Lincoln and Guba (1985), the following prompts are important for an effective case study analysis:
- Describe the context or setting and identify the problems related to the organization’s leadership.
- Identify the contemporary leadership theories that help you explain the problems you have identified in that context.
- Include a discussion of the changes that the leaders should make within the organization to implement improvements.
- Include a discussion of your recommendations with respect to the steps to be taken to implement the improvements.
- What are the lessons to be learned for the organization? What leadership changes should be made?
Assignment Details
Your 1200-1300 word paper should contain the following analytic components.
Introduction and Statement of the Problem
Broadly and concisely introduce and summarize the assigned article (1-2 pages). Only include the most important information necessary for the reader to get a sense of its main ideas. Conclude this section by explaining the primary leadership problem or challenge described in the article, including any supporting evidence.
Application of Leadership Approaches
Connect one of the contemporary leadership theories or approaches covered in this course to the problem you identified in the assigned article (1-2 pages). Explain the rationale for your selection. What are the points of connection? What parts don’t apply quite as well? Be specific by referencing various features and limitations of your chosen leadership theory/approach, anticipating its translation into the context described in the article. Cite your sources.
Addressing the Problem
Situate the leadership problem you identified in the leadership literature (1-2 pages). Locate and cite at least three (3) scholarly journal articles (empirical studies) that offer possible solutions and/or recommendations for further actions to address the identified leadership problem in the assigned article. Make sure to include commentary on the quality and applicability of each of your selected articles, as well as their limitations for use for this particular leadership problem and context (e.g. What was the problem the study was designed to address? How does it compare to the problem in the case?). Weighing the pros and cons of each article, along with what is known about your selected leadership theory/approach, conclude this section by proposing future actions or solutions (based on the literature) to address the leadership problem identified in the assigned article. Cite your sources.
REQUIRED BOOKS AND RESOURCES FOR COURSE #2
[Note to writer: This is the book required for the entire course. To see this week’s needed readings for the assignment, look at below at the Required Readings for this week]
- Hickman, G. R. (2016). Leading organizations: Perspectives for a new era (3rd ed.). SAGE. ISBN: 9781483346694
REQUIRED READINGS FOR WEEK 6
- Read Hickman (2016) chapters 22, 35, 37, and 43.
Recommended Reading
- Special Issue, Gender and Leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 27(3), 2016, ISSN 1048-9843, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(16)30016-9. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984316300169)
- Balestrero, G., & Udo, N. (2014). Organizational survival: Profitable strategies for a sustainable future. McGrawHill.
- Daft, R. L. (2015). Organization theory and design (12th ed.). Cengage.
