Week 4:
Teams and Teamwork, Leadership, and Followership

Assume that you are working on a critical project. What are the factors that would lead to the success of this project? Aside from the contextual factors such as the timeline and resources available, there are interpersonal factors to consider.

This week, you will learn about teamwork, motivation, and coaching skills. You will also learn about creative problem-solving abilities, various aspects of leadership, and different factors contributing to organizational development. In addition, the week will introduce you to utilitarian theory, which is the basic approach to understanding ethics and leadership.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Examine and evaluate current trends of employee empowerment and team management

Photo Credit: Rob Daly / Caiaimage / Getty Images

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Course Text: The ethics of leadership by Joanne B. Ciulla

• Chapter 4, “Leadership for the Greatest Good”

Chapter 4 focuses on the fundamental moral problems faced by the leaders. The chapter also explains Kant’s theory of ethics and the utilitarian theory.
Focus on the articles on utilitarianism and distributive justice and philosophy of Zarathustra and Lao Tzu. Review the subject-specific case studies.

Course Text: Principle-centered leadership by Stephen R. Covey

• Chapter 14, “Abundance Managers”

Chapter 14 explains the abundance mentality and various characteristics of abundance managers. The chapter also familiarizes you with the laws of the farm and harvest.
Focus on the seven characteristics of abundance managers.

• Chapter 15, “Seven Chronic Problems”

Chapter 15 focuses on the seven chronic organizational problems and their cures.
Focus on the descriptions of chronic organizational problems.

• Chapter 16, “Shifting Your Management Paradigm”

Chapter 16 focuses on how you can become more effective by changing your frame of reference. The chapter also explains ways to create harmony in your team.
Focus on the four management paradigms—scientific management, human relations, human resource, and principle-centered leadership.

• Chapter 17, “Advantages of the PCL Paradigm”

Chapter 17 provides information about the principle-centered leadership (PCL) paradigm.
Focus on the four characteristics of the PCL paradigm.

• Chapter 18, “Six Conditions of Empowerment”

Chapter 18 focuses on the six conditions of empowerment. The chapter also explains the human competencies that are required to build a trusting relationship between members of an organization.
Focus on the win-win agreement.

• Chapter 19, “Managing Expectations”

Chapter 19 explains the implications of conflicting expectations on roles and goals of people adding stress in their relationships and careers.
Focus on the performance agreement as a solution to the problem of conflicting expectations.

Assignment:
Group Case Study

As a team, select one case from Chapter 3, 4, or 5 from the course text, The Ethics of Leadership. Submit a 5- to 7-page group paper in the American Psychological Association (APA) format. In the paper:

• Present a brief summary or review of the case.
• Identify the primary ethical dilemma or challenge faced by the case’s main character or organization.
• Through an active discussion in your teams’ Group forum, build a group consensus and unified approach on how to answer the assigned questions for your case. Discuss how your team would handle the problems or challenges presented in the case.
• Explain the elements or concepts of the case that proved to be most challenging in building a group consensus, and describe the process by which your team decided a chosen path or course of action.