MSING021: Leadership, Ethics and Communication

Aims

The module provides a critical review of leadership theories and their practical application in modern organizations. The principles of effective communication are reviewed for equipping students with knowledge of negotiation tactics and communication skills. The module also sensitizes students to ethical issues and provides them with conceptual and theoretical knowledge to develop and evaluate responses to ethical problems. The module is delivered through a mix of lectures, exercises and class discussion. All materials not protected by copyright are made available on Moodle. Private reading is an essential part of the module and students are expected to read a substantial amount of theoretical and practical literature on their own time.

Objectives

By successful completion of the module, students should be able to:

  •  Critically appraise theories of leadership for understanding how authority and power can be evoked and applied in organizations in an effective way
  •  Appreciate different styles of leadership and how they relate to personality types  and organizational characteristics
  •  Make use of theories of normative and descriptive ethics to identify and respond to ethical issues
  •  Appreciate the process of communication including verbal and non-verbal behaviours
  •  Explain and analyse the nature of conflict and how to manage it through effective communication and negotiation tactics
  •  Critically review own communication practices and evaluate their effectiveness in different situations