ORLD 7490

Credits: 3 cr.

Course Description:
This course will help you better understand and use personal and organizational power within the context of organizations as political systems. Emphasis will be placed on differentiating between gender-stereotyped leadership skills, and assisting you in identifying your leadership style in terms of masculine/feminine uses of power.

The course will increase your comfort in using such arguably masculine skills as negotiating, influencing and building coalitions; using chits, competition, and team roles; and developing change strategies that include a political element to them.

Grounded in the theories surrounding these concepts, the course focuses on your awareness of, and ability to use, the types of power available to you and to build political skills as a complement to your other leadership abilities. The issues of ethical and unethical uses of power and politics within organizations will be addressed. You will identify whether and when you would use certain types of power and political skill, based on your personal ethics, leadership style and case study situations.

Prerequisites:
ORLD 6200.