Course Syllabus

TAM 542 – Global Leadership and Personal Leadership Development

Faculty - Dr. Christine Pearson

Credits -3

Course Description

This course concerns what is needed to lead globally at the individual, team and organizational
levels, especially as related to global and "4IR" perspectives. Personal leadership development
will be grounded in self-reflection, self-knowledge and continuous learning through lectures,
readings, journaling, as well as team and paired discussions.

Learning Objectives of the course:

● Describe at least three trends that are affecting how people are managed in the
contemporary global business environment.
● Detail how cross-cultural issues affect success at managing people, as related to topics
covered in this course.
● Describe emerging contexts and models of organizations, emphasizing how
Organizational Behavior is changing today.
● Explain the roles of organizational culture and leadership as they impact organizational
success.
● Describe levers for enhancing employee motivation and approaches for optimizing
reward systems.
● Describe principles of change management.
● Describe how to apply the leader-level reading approach.
Course Requirements

Recommended Prior Knowledge: To be successful in this course, we recommend English

language fluency and computer literacy.

To Optimize Your Learning

Global Leadership & Personal Development is a graduate-level course. Accordingly, the

workload reflects high expectations. To optimize your learning, please keep up with all
readings, contribute to and complete team assignments as a team, and work mindfully to
stretch your thinking as an individual and as a team member.

Team Formation

Please form a team of your choosing that optimizes team diversities (primarily regarding
cultural background and global experiences, but also consider aspects such as gender, age,
work experience). Please aim for a total of 5 or 6 members. You will find a team sign-up area on
the course page, under the “Teams” tab toward the right side of the top menu bar. You can
change teams for each assignment or keep the same team, you decide. If you do leave a team,
let the existing team know you will be exiting the team. You can only belong to one team at a
time.

IMPORTANT: Assignment Submission

Each person must load a copy of the team assignment in the "Assignment Section."
Assignments have multiple parts yet must be uploaded in a single document. Insert all team
participants usernames in the text box before submitting to ensure full credit.

Leader-level Reading

One of the most important skills you can develop for lifetime leadership success is leader-level
reading. Thus, one skills-based goal of this course is to improve your leader-level reading skills.
Some of the sessions require fairly large amounts of reading. Also, you are required to read an
additional book of your choice (please see a list of suggestions on the course page).

You will find a recording about leader-level reading on the course page. It includes guidelines
and hints that can help you increase your reading effectiveness, efficiency, and pleasure. For
the weekly assignments and for your individual book, please stretch and improve your reading
skills by practicing leader-level reading, focusing on the issues that interest you most, that you
find most compelling, most applicable, most important for you.
Leader-level Writing

Clear writing reflects clear thinking. Thus, another skills-based goal of this course is to sharpen
your leader-level writing skills. For team assignments, work with your full team to create a
product that reflects the strength of your team’s thinking and writing skills. For all written
assignments, team and individual, your writing goal should be to reflect the full power of your
thinking. Please do not write to “impress”; the best writing is clear, reflecting careful thinking in
a straightforward style.

Team Assignments

Your team assignments should reflect team synergy; that is, they should be greater than the
sum of your individual efforts. To achieve this, you must work together as a team. Even for
team assignments that have individually delegated elements, be sure that you plan sufficient
time to create and refine the final product as a team. This will assure best learning from the
assignments and, likely, best grades.

All teammates will have the opportunity to assess the participation of their teammates in week
6. Read the assignment schedule and the week 6 assignments for details.

IMPORTANT: Assignment Submission

Each person must load a copy of the team assignment in the "Assignment
Section." Assignments have multiple parts yet must be uploaded in a single document. Insert
all team participants usernames in the text box before submitting to ensure full credit.

Readings

Our course makes use of open educational resources (OERs), no purchases necessary. You will
find required readings, relative to the subject matter, each week.

Grading

• For any assignment exceeding specified length, in fairness to all, I stop reading at the
page/word limit.
• This course operates on a tight time schedule. Due dates and times for each assignment
can be found under “Important Deadlines” and throughout the course. Late
assignments will not be accepted at any point in the course.
• Graded assignments are required for ID Verified students planning to earn a certificate.
• All assignments must be submitted via the edX platform.
• A grade of B or better is a pass for the purposes of an ID Verified certificate. You must
achieve a grade of B or higher in all three Micro Masters courses in order to receive the
MicroMasters certification and the future option, should you choose to transfer all
three course certificates to Thunderbird toward a full master’s degree program.
Final Grades:

Your final letter grade for this course will be based on your relative standing within your class.
This will not necessarily match a “traditional” (90-100%=A, 80-89%=B, etc.) undergraduate
grade distribution.

Assignment Breakdown

Assignment Weight
Team Assignment #1 20%
Team Assignment #2 20%
Team Assignment #3 20%
Midterm 5%
Book Critique 5%
Personal Development Paper 20%
Team and Self Evaluation 10%

For specific assignment information see the Course Schedule.

Thunderbird Honor Code/ Academic Integrity

I support the Thunderbird Honor Code (please see www.thunderbird.edu for contents).
Suspected violators will be referred to the Thunderbird Honor Council. If the Thunderbird Honor
Council finds you guilty of violating the Thunderbird Honor Code, you will receive a grade of “0”
on the relevant assignment(s) and, additionally, your course grade will be dropped a minimum
of one letter grade.

Academic honesty is expected of all students in all coursework and exams. The possible
sanctions include, but are not limited to, appropriate grade penalties, course failure, loss of
registration privileges, disqualification, and dismissal. For more information, review ASU’s
Academic Integrity Policy and edX’s Terms of Service.

Communicating with the Course Team

This course uses a discussion board for general questions, communication and collaboration
about the course. Prior to posting a question, please check the syllabus, announcements, and
existing posts. If you do not find an answer, post your question. You are encouraged to respond
to the questions of your classmates. Participants bear the responsibility of missed messages
and should check the discussion board regularly.
Online Course

This is an online course. There are no face-to-face meetings.

Course Time Commitment

This three-credit course requires approximately 100 hours of work. Please expect to spend
approximately 12-15 hours each week preparing for and actively participating in this course.

Submitting Assignments

All assignments, unless otherwise announced, MUST be submitted to the designated area in
edX.

Grade Appeals

Grade disputes must be addressed with the instructor.

Prohibition of Commercial Note Taking Services

In accordance with ACD 304-06 Commercial Note Taking Services, written permission must be
secured from the official instructor of the class in order to sell the instructor's oral
communication in the form of notes. Notes must have the notetaker's name as well as the
instructor's name, the course number, and the date.

Course Evaluation

Students are expected to complete the course evaluation. The feedback provides valuable
information to the instructor and the school and is used to improve student learning. Students
are notified when the online evaluation form is available.

Syllabus Disclaimer

The syllabus is a statement of intent and serves as an implicit agreement between the
instructor and the student. Every effort will be made to avoid changing the course schedule but
the possibility exists that unforeseen events will make syllabus changes necessary. Please
remember to check the discussion board and update section of the course site often.

Computer Requirements

This course requires a computer with Internet access and the following:
 • Web browsers (Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari)
• Adobe Acrobat Reader (free)
• Adobe Flash Player (free)
• Microphone (optional) and speaker
• (Suggested but not required) Web camera

Technical Support

This course uses edX to deliver content. To contact the help desk at info@edx.org.
Access the edX Help Center for solutions to common problems. Please also be sure to review
our “Before the Course Begins” section for further information.

Note: Potential limitations of internet connectivity by some countries are beyond the control of
Arizona State University and may limit the ability of an ID Verified student residing in those
countries to complete all the assessments, and therefore potentially impede the eligibility to
earn college credit. Students impacted by such limitations should contact info@edx.org.

Student Success

This is an online course. To be successful:

• check the course daily

• read announcements
• read and respond to course messages as needed
• complete assignments by the due dates specified
• communicate regularly with your teammates and classmates
• create a study and/or assignment schedule and stick to it

Accessibility
If you are a student with a disability, and you would like to request an accommodation, please
send an email to accessibility@edx.org.

Title IX
As a mandated reporter, I am obligated to report any information I become aware of regarding
alleged acts of sexual discrimination, including sexual violence and dating violence. An
individual who believes they have been subjected to sexual violence or harassed on the basis of
sex can obtain information about support, including counseling and academic support, from the
university at https://sexualviolenceprevention.asu.edu/faqs.