ANU - Faculty of Economics and Commerce - Teaching Notes for FEC Courses

This is a link to the photographs taken during Pangea Day!, Tuesday Oct 20, 2009 (during class

time, Week 12): Pangea Note that Pangea Day! marks the first stage of The Community Project

organised by students of MGMT 7030. The second stage is the competition event. More forthcoming on that.

Here is a set of photographs of Learning Cells and interview dyads from class. I would be happy

to add any photos of class activities and students from the course: Class Photos.ppt

This web page is continually updated as the semester proceeds, with new / relevant material

added. At the bottom of this page is a set of supporting materials organised week-by-week.

See NEW MATERIAL shortly below for the most recent additions to this page.

Instructor (Ship's Captain and Expedition Leader): Jay Hays. All questions may be referred

to him by visiting the office, calling, or e-mail: Office: Location - 1059, Level 1, Crisp-Moran Bldg;

Phone - 6125 5548; e-mail: jay.hays@anu.edu.au Please note that Dr J welcomes visits and calls

or by appointment. Feel free to call or e-mail to schedule meetings at other times.

Class Meetings: Class meets SEM II 2009 in JD101, Bldg. 27, on Tuesday 1:00 - 4:00 PM. All visitors welcome. Students invited to bring partners, friends, and work mates.

Course: This course, explained below and in the course outline, is built around a semester-length project. Students study typical theory portions of a management and organisation course, in addition to complementary subject matter (e.g., systems thinking), and apply it to and in the project. Projects are different each semester. The project for SEM I 2009 was "e-community." Here is the executive summary from the final report:

Students may find this recent paper (under review for publication) of interest: Hays, J., and Kim, C. "Renaissance Leadership: Transforming Leadership for the 21st Century." While the entire paper is generally relevant to the course, the first 20 pages are most germane to the new environment and leadership. Renaissance Leadership.pdf .

My article "Practicing Community," wherein different definitions and understandings of community are presented, published in the Journal of Sociology, Social Work and Social Welfare: Hays - Practicing Community.pdf

Learning Design: MGMT7030 is under review as part of a campus project to explore and promulgate learning designs of innovative education. Here is the narrative description of the course: The Community Project - Learning Design.doc. An experimental "graphical" design is in progress and should be available soon. This PowerPoint version is the substance: The Community Project - Learning Design.ppt Course designers and other practitioners and researchers are welcome to use the material presented. Please forward explanations as to how the material is being used to the e-mail above.

A Concern. In past semesters some students have spent extraordinary and disproportionate amounts of time and effort on their individual journals. They have generally (at least over time) exceeded expectations on this assessment component and, duly, achieved high marks. These same students were not always the ones, however, who performed best in or contributed most to their Learning Cells or their Community Project teams. This is disappointing, and reflects students' overemphasis on individual performance (in the form of marks or recognition) at the expense of collective performance. Some students just "don't get it," because they are so accustomed to being assessed primarily as individuals. While individual learning and development are important and I want to see your progress, the whole purpose of the course and The Community Project is to learn to work effectively and succeed together. Please remember this when debating whether or not to attend your next group meeting or whether to spend more time on individual assignments than group projects. Your commitment and contribution to the community will be noticed and appreciated. Remember, only 50% of your course mark is individual; the other half is group.

As a result, a few small but important changes have been made for SEM II 2009:

1. Two of four Reflective Learning Journals (RLJ) will be developed and submitted as a group (by Learning Cells), specifically RLJ 2 and RLJ 4. RLJs 1 and 3 and the Semester Reflective Overview (SRO) will remain individual assessments. For RLJs 2 and 4, all LC members will receive the same mark. At the end of the semester, Learning Cell marks will be moderated by any differentials evident in the Learning Cell Evaluation of Self and Cell Mates (ES&CM). This includes both the Team Theopry Piece (15 %) and the RLJs (20 %).

Students will be provided a form / mechanism for evaluating themselves and their cell mates. There will be a required evaluation Week 7 for practice and a formal one Week 13 covering the entire semester.

2. A new assessment component has been added: Leadership (15 %). This leadership component governs an individual student's leadership and contribution to the class and project(s). All students in the class will be rank ordered according to overall semester contribution and be awarded from 0 to 15 points. Criteria will be set by class members Week 1 (along with criteria by which community projects will prioritised and evaluated).

For more on metaphor, systems thinking, and complex adaptive systems see "thinking systems" under Week 11 (at the bottom of this page). Also the following articles are all relevant and interesting:

It shows where we are in terms of readings and progressing The Community Project . The handout provides guidance on possible themes (in the form of questions) for your Reflective Learning Journals. You do not have to follow these themes; they are suggestions only to help you get started. Remember that answering questions is not the same as reflecting. Responses are not technical in the sense that the answers are found [completely] in the book. You must show understanding through experience, examples, and applications.

The course is subtitled "The Community Project." Built upon the principles of experiential education, the course requires students to research, select, design, implement, and evaluate one or more projects intended to improve university community and / or the quality of the overall learning experience.

The course and project are described thoroughly in the course outline, and more is said below. But, basically, class sessions are very interactive and run as workshops. With supervision, coaching, and facilitation provided by the course coordinator, students are responsible for project success, relying on their own initiative and creativity. Many practical skills and knowledge are developed in the course, including teamwork, leadership, communication, and project management. Course theory (including topics such as change leadership, organisational design, and performance measurement and management) is linked directly to phases of the project in order that students come to see its practical relevance.

Post-graduate students who desire real project experience and a course like no other should take the course. This is, however, not a conventional course: there are no examinations or research papers; and the bulk of assessment is group-related. While much planning and preparation have gone into the design of the course, by its very nature students will confront and have to deal with ambiguity, dilemma, contradiction, unpredictability, changing priorities, and a raft of other real issues that arise in project work.

This will not be the typical course, and cannot be completed satisfactorily by reading the text and attending lectures. The primary assessment is not a "sit down" examination. The course revolves around a major project at or related to the ANU campus that applies theory (the text and a few selected additional readings), and requires considerable team work. Lecture periods will be devoted to working on the project as it unfolds and linking theory to the various aspects and phases of the project.

The required text is Campling, Poole, Wiesner, and Schermerhorn (2006) Management: 2nd Asia-Pacific Edition (Wiley). Students are expected to have read Chapters 1, The Dynamic New Workplace, and 13, Leadership, by Session 1.

This is a copy of a recent academic paper I wrote, Threshold and Transformation: Threshold and Transformation.pdf This paper concerns threshold concepts in higher education, particularly management education, and deals with deep, transformative learning, achieved through the application of principles and theory from the realms of experiential, holistic, and deep learning. It explains much about the philosophy and methodology of my teaching and course design.

I am here as a facilitator of learning and a co-learner: we will be learning and discovering together as we go. I am not better than you or more important than you. I am privileged to teach by virtue of my age, experience, and education; but I see it as an honour to serve and learn from and with you.

Each of you has much to offer in terms of life experience and your own unique personalities, intelligence, creativity, and skills. I want to see these, and your classmates will benefit from their expression as well.

You will be expected not just to participate, but to lead, accepting a fair-share of ownership for success of each session, the course in its entirety, and your own learning and accomplishments this semester and that of your peers.

We all have much to learn. I welcome feedback on my performance, and know that it will make me a better teacher. Be honest and direct with me. But do not complain about or criticise me or the course. If our learning environment and my facilitation of learning do not meet your needs, be prepared to recommend changes and improvements. We will entertain these as a group, make decisions, and take action as appropriate.

Our sessions can be laboratories to experiment with ideas and practice applications. For example, you might bring an issue from work and we will work on it together. We can apply any concept, theory, or practice emerging from our readings and discussions to your unique situations. We will test them out on reality; see where and how they fit, and explore options and alternatives until we find suitable solutions or come to a better understanding of the situation and, just maybe, our world.

I see the classroom and our learning activities and approach as reflective of and preparation for the “real world.” What we do here is what is being done (or should be) in modern industry.

You will see my vision, values, and principles articulated in the course outline. It will behove you to understand and practice them. I expect to be held accountable for living up to my own ideals, so remind me if you see me drifting from my espoused purpose and principles.

The way I teach Management and Organisation is an attempt to address meaningful and relevant issues, making them personal, but also placing them in the larger context. In looking at business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability, we consider “doing the right thing” and the crucial role managers and leaders play in creating environments in which we do the right thing as well as do things right. We find that management is not about managing things or being in control, but working with—and through—people.

You will have a number of “take aways” from this course. Two important related points that will help you succeed in your professional life are that (a) management is mostly about people and (b) communicating and relating are just about everything when it comes to management and organisations. These points sound simple, but are crucial. The vast majority of problems, conflicts, and missed opportunities at work result from people who are otherwise smart and well-intentioned forgetting these principles. Managing things is fairly easy for most people. Managing people is challenging, and requires constant attention, effort, a wide range of skills, flexibility, commitment, sensitivity, and open-mindedness, amongst other things. This course promotes development in these areas.

The course has a strong emphasis on systems thinking and analysis, and stresses the importance of teamwork and collaboration. We also look at citizenship: what are the privileges and obligations of employees, employers, and employment? What does it mean to be a “good citizen” in the workplace?

There is an integrative case in the text that spans the entire semester, Learning and Change in the Healthcare Sector. You will be reading the case for Week 4, and we have a special guest that week to represent the Hospital view of the change management approach discussed in the case.

This is not a textbook course. While the textbook is very good and required reading, you cannot expect to do well in the course unless you attend and participate in lectures. Every week there will be exercises and activities not covered in the text or lecture slides. You will need to understand and apply the principles and lessons of these exercises and activities. This will be evidenced in your Reflective Learning Journal.

The course makes you think of yourself as a manager and to consider your experience as one also being managed, that is, in a position to be a subordinate reporting to someone senior. It asks you to genuinely search out your strengths and weaknesses relative to being an effective manager, employee, and teamworker; it assists you to learn to capitalise on strengths and overcome weaknesses and counterproductive habits. We also focus in on leadership and leading. We explore and revise our views on and expectations of leaders.

Students looking for “the bottom line” in management from this course or the absolute answers from their lecturer will be disappointed. More often are asked questions for which correct and certain answers are unknown, that represent choices amongst imperfect and unpredictable courses of action, and where you are expected to find your own best way and know why you choose that particular path. This course is less about the management world than how you fit within it.

The course is designed to get you thinking; to broaden your perspectives on management, work, and people, to sensitise you to the role you play in your environment; that is, the way you influence others, the continuous contributions you make to problems and successes, the way you respond to challenges and influences around you. The course is about you, not the book. You must know yourself.

You will not learn this in the text. Referring to the lecture slides won’t help much (although many aspects of this are dealt with in notes and supplementary readings). You cannot memorise formulas or details to assist you. You must think and reflect. You must apply course material to your life, and subject your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and experiences to the theory, concepts, and principles examined in the text and the case. You must be able to write about these issues in the Reflective Learning Journal, and will be able to do so, having had the on-going personal debate: how does the theory fit you? On-going participation in lectures will ensure you become fluent in the things that matter in this course.

Dr J’s lectures are not like normal lectures. “Talking Head” delivery is kept to a minimum, while interaction, debate, dialogue, and workshopping are emphasised. Students are expected to be involved. At least half of any lecture is devoted to exercise or activity. Some students do not like this, or are confused by Dr J’s style and the lecture format. Unenlightened students complain or asked something like, “Why don’t you just teach from the book?” or “Why can’t you just lecture like you’re supposed to (or like other lecturers do)?"

There is no “supposed to.” Lecturers, like other managers and leaders, are all different. They play to their strengths; they try to compensate for their shortcomings. They do their best, given what they have to work with. Some styles and techniques work (in given situations) and some don’t. Dr J believes that the classroom and learning environment are like the work world. There is important work to be done. Students are real people – adults – like employees. They have a diversity of needs, wishes, preferences, goals, strengths, weaknesses, motivations, attitudes and values, experiences. If you treat them like children you will get child-like behaviour. If you treat them like they are important, intelligent, trustworthy, and deserving or respect, they will give their best; often exceeding expectations!

Success in the work world does not hinge on knowing lists of things, like bullets on PowerPoint slides. Such facts are deceiving: they make you feel like you know something. Bullets are deadly! Success hinges on being able to think; to make connections amongst seemingly unrelated concepts or events; to see beyond lists; sometimes independently, but often in teams. Your manager should not and probably cannot or will not think for you. This is not an undergraduate course. You won’t be spoon-fed. Regurgitating facts and other items you have memorised is neither expected nor sufficient. This course makes you think, and expects you to take the initiative.

My lectures are not about taking notes, but getting into the material mentally and physically. Get involved: argue; question; apply and provide examples. I am not here to hear myself talking, but to talk with you.

That said, I will “soapbox” periodically. You may find me a bit “preachy” on these occasions. I do this when I am covering a topic that I feel particularly strongly about. Please listen respectfully when I do this. I am not trying to force my values on you or to convince you to change your mind. I just think it is fair and right that you know what I believe in. It helps explain my behaviour. It also reflects one of the main roles of leader: to create a vision of possibility and share thoughts on purpose and direction. Like it or not, I am a leader in this course, not just a mouthpiece for objective facts and figures. My job is to help you come to understand the world from a bigger perspective. One of the ways I do this is by sharing my experiences, interpretations, and values.

But, please let me know when I have talked enough, and you need to. A smart, courageous student in 2005 interrupted me in lecture one day, saying “I thought you wanted us to talk about this amongst ourselves.” That’s all it took for me to shut up and let the class get on with the activity.

Before each lecture, ensure you have read the recommended chapters of your prescribed text-book. Even if we don't cover the material in class, you are expected to know it! After the lecture, review and rewrite your lecture notes. Ask friends questions on the lecture; exchange information and experiences. Some students have experienced success and enjoyment having formed informal discussion groups that meet after class.

One of the required components and assessment vehicles in this course is to keep a reflective learning journal. Your disciplined practice, here, will ensure better learning. Write down your thoughts, feelings, and reflections about the material, your approach to learning it, and the class (or other activity) daily or at least weekly. If you are working, explore the relationships and relevance (or lack thereof) and disagreements between what we are covering and what you see in the workplace. Find the connections, and write about them. Describe how what you experience is different from what the theory suggests.

There are examples of leadership, management, communications, systems thinking, teamwork, and on down the line, all around us. They are in the media; they are in our everyday experience, in shops and offices, at home, in the college. If you are not working, look to these situations and experiences for examples and application. Do you see effective planning? Why did that path not lead to success? What is that team leader doing differently than others you have seen? Who is leading at home, my partner or I? How is dad like a manager? What leadership traits does mum exhibit, and under what circumstances does she lead? What would I do in that situation? Or, What could or should I do differently next time?

This course is a journey. From Day 1 the lessons begin: you will have lots of material and it won’t come in the fashion to which you are accustomed. Skills, content knowledge, experience, insight, and knowledge of self build continually. You need to actively journey; you cannot watch this trip from the sidelines and hope to get anything out of it. You can’t hop on and off, skipping points of disembarcation; opportunities and experiences will be missed forever, if you do.

Some will find the approach to leaching and learning in this course unsettling, confronting, and challenging. I don’t teach from the book because you can read it yourself. I teach from the heart and from my personal experiences as an employee, director, and consultant. You miss my lectures, you miss my insights.

You will be asked to summarise your journey at the end of the semester, what you learnt, what you struggled with, your impressions of the course and yourself in relation to it, and other aspects in the last part of your Reflective Learning Journal. You will be expected to provide evidence of and critical discussion regarding your own participation in and contribution to the course. It will help if you make on-going annotations that over time chronicle your learning and experiences. This technique is guaranteed to enhance your learning and, thus, the value of the course; it will also prepare you for the final exam.

Brief guidance on journal-writing is provided in a section on this page below. See also these guidance materials for further detail:

This is an exemplary Reflective Learning Journal (in this case, the fourth of five for SEM II, 2008) for anyone seeking guidance on a proven-successful way to write RFLs. I awarded the student, Aswin Wirawan Tik, a 10/10 on this one, which is quite uncommon for me. Aswin performed exceptionally well on all journals with three 9s and two 10s---A true Olympic champion. While two other students (out of 43) received one 9 each, I thought I'd share one of Aswin's. Thanks to him for allowing me to post this fine example of a journal. Exemplary Reflective Learning Journal.pdf

Here is a link to my teams course web page (MGMT 7061 Leading High-Performance Teams). Once you've opened the page, under "links" you will find four examples of High Distinction journals from previous students for reference. http://teaching.fec.anu.edu.au/MGMT7061/

Learning Journal Format and Guidance (GENERAL)

You are not a passive observer; you are an active player.

Introduction

Learning Journals come in many forms. Journal writing is used in many disciplines for a variety of reasons, usually to promote learning and change through reflective thinking. Reflective thinking is kind of like holding your thinking, your and others’ actions, and your thoughts about acting and thinking up to a mirror for another look and a closer examination. Perhaps a better analogy is to capture these things on videotape and to run the tape again (and again, if necessary) to get the most out of the story. For everything is a story. This does not mean it is a fabrication or untrue, but almost everything has characters needing developed, plots and agendas clarified, conclusions drawn, and so on. And stories can all be interesting and relevant if told in their fullness through the eyes of an interested narrator.

In this course, reflective thinking is about returning to points in the readings, discussions, class activities, and team experiences and “going over them again” and making connections between and among them. This helps you remember the material and may lead to important insights. Remembering is good; say, at exam time. Insights and connections are steps up from memory, though, and involve deeper and richer understanding. This is what we are after in this course. Such understanding is not likely to arrive the first time you see, hear, or read something; but often comes while reflecting on something you’ve experienced.

Too often, students neglect or discount material they feel is not relevant. Relevance—finding material of importance or directly applicable to you—does not automatically or often come naturally. While teachers and writers cannot always make material relevant to students, fortunately relevance can be constructed. But it takes work. Relevance is served when you go to the trouble of exploring how certain points apply or might apply in your world of experience (at work, home, university, sports, etc.). You might have to stretch; you might have to hypothesise and speculate. So, if you don’t remember anything else when it comes time to write in your journal, tell a story (or paint a picture for the reader through your words) and put yourself in the picture!

Reflective thinking (and writing) is not the same as critical analysis, which is all about facts and details and analysis. Reflective thinking is more personal. But that does not rule out the importance of thoroughness. Think about the huge difference between a well-written story and an outline. In the former the reader sees the complete picture the author is creating and becomes part of an on-going story. There is, quite simply, a beginning, a middle, and an end. Sometimes the reader even has access to characters’ thoughts, feelings, and motives. The outline—like a presenter’s list of PowerPoint bullets—just touches the surface. It’s what underlies them and ties them together that makes all the difference.

So, here, we use journal writing to “get to the bottom of things,” to “see beneath the surface,” and, generally, to “go deeper;” in other words, to look beyond the obvious and explore issues and events in more personally-relevant and applied detail. This process doubles or even triples the retention and learning value of material. Do not make the mistake of thinking it is a restatement (though even this promotes retention). I do not need to know that you skimmed the chapter or attended a lecture. What I need to know is what you got out of it, and a well formulated journal entry will inform me. One you spend a little time and have a little fun with will be more interesting to write and a lot more interesting to read!

In this course, students are expected to make connections—all types of connections. You need to see and show the linkages between and among readings, theories, concepts, methods, practices, activities, critical events, observations, interpretations—and importantly and perhaps unlike other academic writing—your feelings and personal thoughts and reflections. I am particularly interested in your inner thoughts and the conversations you have within yourself that you might not normally share, and perhaps may not even be very conscious about. Journal writing should get them out in the open for more objective consideration.

..\MGMT7061\The New Leadership.ppt. The New Leadership is a PowerPoint presentation on the evolving nature of leadership (according to Dr J and Dr Kim) that may help course participants understand why certain concepts are emphasised in class and why the process is as it is. The presentation also suggests a leadership development program built on the principles discussed.

This Power Point presentation may assist you in preparing to conduct your interviews: Zen and the Interview It's slightly more entertaining to watch in presentation mode.

This is a brief explanation of the needs / motivation results: Needs and Motivation.pdf for the manifest needs inventory above.

This is an interesting article that looks at Emotional Intelligence (an aspect of leadership) and McClelland's Needs (relevant to the one of the exercises distributed): Emotional Intelligence and Needs.pdf

A great spin and broadly useful, covering various aspects of organisational life of relevance to the course, including leadership, organisational culture, motivation, and even Theory X - Theory Y (see two of the exercises for the week) Tao of Organisational Behaviour.pdf

An assessment of your decision making style: Decision Style Inventory.pdf. Refer to the very bottom of this page for the link to the Learning Style Inventory. We want to compare results between the two assessments.

Please see the attached presentation for detail on vision. It also covers mission, objectives, performance measures and other aspects of planning, and how all these things fit together. Vision Plus

An assessment of your thinking style (PENDING). Compare to the Learning Style Inventory (see below):

This is a slide presentation on change, which comes up later in the semester, but the part on the Journey metaphor is timely. Watch in presentation mode, if possible. IT’S THE JOURNEY NOT THE DESTINATION (do you like penguins?) and here is a reading on the Journey Metaphor to complement the preso: The Journey Metaphor.

Week 3 -- Communication and Interpersonal Skills; Environment and Diversity; Information and Decision-Making: A World of our Own

This is an extract from my forthcoming article on Leadership for the 21st Century. This section on the environment (technology, globalisation, and diversity): Copies were provided in class, Week 3.

For anyone wanting extra material on cross-cultural issues in management, this should suffice:

You might like to take the communications styles test. It's pretty interesting and can tell you a lot about your communication style and the implications of this for getting along with others. Assess Your Communication Style.pdf. You will need to refer to this discussion piece concerning the results: Communications Style Discussion.pdf

Here is a good article on organisational communications / communication strategy. Quite worthwhile. Communication Strategy.pdf

Jackman - Change as a Process.pdf This is a good overview of approaches to change, including Kotter's eight elements and Hays' Positive Change Management (CM+) Roadmap.

I've pdf'd this reading on visions for those of you who would like to know more about visions and how and why they are developed in organisations: Block - Visions of Greatness.pdf

And, for anyone who became intrigued with the notion of "followership" here is a background reading: Followership.pdf

Week 5 -- Ethical Behaviour and Social Responsibility / Citizenship: Citizen Sailors

Week 6 -- Planning and Controlling ; Strategic Management: Charting the Course

For Week 6, the subjects include strategy and planning. There is a PowerPoint presentation on strategic planning (several sections down) that complements this week's lesson.. Here are also a reading and a slide presentation covering the reading that relate to this week's topics and the planning activities associated with The Community Project:

Week 7 -- Organising and Organisational Design and Work Processes: Let's get Organised!

Week 8 -- Motivation and Rewards; Individuals, Job Design, and Stress: Work and Performance

You may do one or the other or both of the following two assessments that reflect (amongst other things) your needs with respect to motivation.

This is an interesting article on in that it looks at expectancy, need motivation, and Pygmalion: Eden - Pygmalion etc.pdf

Week 10 -- Entrepreneurship and New Ventures: New Lands; New Opportunities.

Week 11 -- Historical Foundations of Management: Our Heritage and Forefathers

Reference the PPT presentation "management foundations" you might want to read "Dynamics of Organisational Wisdom," now (Business Renaissance Quarterly): Hays - Dynamics of Organisational Wisdom - BRQ.pdf. There is also more on Theory X / Theory Y in this paper "Teacher as Servant: Applications of Greenleaf's Servant Leadership in Higher Education" in Journal of Global Business Issues: Hays - Teacher As Servant - JGBI.pdf

Week 12 -- Global Dimensions of Management: The Seven Seas and the Four Quarters

1. In this course I have worked less than _____, about the same as _____, or more than _____ in other courses.

2. I believe the quality and volume of my work in this course deserves a Credit ______, Distinction _____, High Distinction _____, based on the following _____....

3. The following student or students deserve extra recognition and credit for their work in this course based on _____....

4. The most significant / important learning for me this semester is _____ .... This is because this major learning or change will _____....

5. I would tell others to take this course (or not to take the course) because _____....

Here is a series of reflective questions on the course. Some of these are similar to the survey questions posed by Roopa, but are all relevant to the course. Reflective response to these questions would be good evidence of your learning and would help in evaluating and revising the course. Course Research Questions.doc

Here is a copy of Kolb's Learning Style Inventory and the associated reading and a couple PowerPoint slides concerning the LSI and Kolb's Learning Cycle: Kolb LSI.pdf Kolb Learning Styles and Learning Cycle

It would be interesting to see if and how the LSI and the Decision Style Inventory given in Week 2 correlate.

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MGMT7030 Management and Organisations