module specification

Early theories of leadership assumed that the qualities which made great military, social and political leaders were those that would make great industrial leaders. However, the characteristics of leadership required for well-established steady-state organisations are far removed from many
21st century workplaces where business leaders are confronted with unprecedented complexity and change.  For example, the scope of entrepreneurship is widening far beyond micro and small-to medium sized enterprises as organisations that previously could not have been considered entrepreneurial enbrace innovation as a means of survival (Urban, 2012).   In order to respond rapidly to changes in the external environment today’s leaders and managers are required to lead and manage innovation, and create an environment that fosters and enhances entrepreneurship.    

This module provides students with an introduction to both traditional and contemporary theories of leadership. It examines how cumulative knowledge of leadership theory can contribute to leading and managing innovation and entrepreneurial activity in modern organisations. Innovation and entrepreneurship are central themes of the module as students explore the characteristics of entrepreurship and identify conditions that foster innovation. Students will have an opportunity to interact with the local business community and are required to identify a local enterprise and interview its founder/current owner to determine whether they demonstrate the dynamic and visionary  approach to business proposed by entrepreneurial theory to be typical of  entrepreneurs.   

In small groups students are required to explore their own entrepreneurial skills through the proposal of an on-line business application. They are required to use their knowledge of management and leadership theory to manage its development, and they are required to produce a business plan to bring the application to market.        

Throughout the module there is an on-going focus on skills, for example students will be helped through the use of self-assessment questionnaires to identify their own leadership styles and preferences as well as foster their entrepreneurial skills.

The  module aims to:

1. Reinforce students understanding of the differences between management and leadership;
2. Develop students understanding of traditional and contemporary approaches to leadership;
3. Help students to identify their leadership styles and preferences;
4. Develop student’s understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship;
5. Help students explore, identify and develop their own entrepreneurial skills;
6. Assist students to develop innovative business ideas in the form of on-line applications;
7. Assist students to develop a business plan for their application.
8. Help students to identify theories of leadership best suited to creating and leading an organisational environment conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship;

In addition, the module aims to assist students in the acquisition of the following skills:
Entrepreneurial and innovation skills through problem based learning.

• Conducting Research;
• Interview skills;
• Project planning;
• Communicating;
• Enterprise skills
• Problem solving and decision making

What is Leadership and how does it differ from management? 
Leadership as Traits, as Skills, as Abilities, Behavioural Styles and as Situations
Leadership as Contingencies, as Goals and as Exchanges and as Transformation;
New Leadership paradigms: Authentic and Servant leadership, Followers and Teams.
Renewal and its role in economic growth;  Innovation and creativity in organisations;
Creating an environment that fosters innovation and entrepreneurial activity; 
The nature, characteristics, and behaviour of the entrepreneur;
Entrepreneurial teams;
Generating and evaluating business ideas;
Opportunity identification, evaluation and exploitation
Creating a vision for the idea;
Managing the development of the idea;
Developing a business plan.

This module will be delivered through 3-hour weekly workshops which will be enhanced with various additional activities during the course of the academic year.  Workshops will consist of a mixture of theoretical input and problem based learning.  Learning activities will be supported by multimedia, including videos, self-administered questionnaires, student centred discussions, peer evaluation of set tasks, guest speakers and virtual lectures. 
A strong student-centred focus means that concepts of action and experiential learning will be emphasised and students will be encouraged to focus on their own creative experience and observers of, or participants in, small and family businesses. Students own knowledge and experience of small and family business experience will be brought into the classroom so offering current and accessible learning.   Class room discussions and activities will be interactive.
Students will be required to participate in various events such as a Venture Fair where they present their business idea and receive formative feedback which will contribute to the development of their business plan.   
Weblearn:  will be used for the distribution of module material and it will also be used as an interactive mechanism between students and tutors, for example, to direct students to particular readings or to provide news about the module or the module content. It will also be used for the timely provision of generic feedback following formative assessment.

On successful completion of the module students will be able to:

1. Explain the difference between management and leadership;
2. Critically analyse the major theories of leadership;
3. Demonstrate insight into their own leadership styles and preferences;
4. Illustrate how different leadership approaches can be combined to enhance innovation in organisations;
5. Appreciate the roles of leadership and management in the creation of new ventures;  
6. Recognise the key role of innovation in modern organisations;
7. Demonstrate an understanding of entrepreneurship;
8. Research, plan and develop a business application;
9. Develop a  leadership strategy that fosters a climate of innovation and entrepreneurship;  
10. Develop a business plan to take the application to market (i.e. commercialise the innovation).

The assessment of this module is designed to enable students to develop their understanding of a) the approaches to leadership that can be utilised to foster the innovation process, b) to experience the process of leading an innovative and entrepreneurial idea to bring it to fruition in the form of the development of a business plan to take the idea further.

CORE TEXTS
Burns, P (2013) Corporate Entrepreneurship: Innovation and strategy in large organisations (3rd edn). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 
Burns,P. (2011) Entrepreneurship & Small Business: Start-up, Growth and Maturity. Basingstoke:  Palgrave Macmillan. 
Northouse, P. (2013) Leadership: Theory and Practice (6th Edn). London:Sage
           
Essential Reading
Barrow, C., Barrow, P., and Brown,R. (2008) Business Plan Workbook (6th Ed) Kogan Page: London
Lowe,R. and Marriot, S. (2006) Enterprise:Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Butterworth Heinemann: Oxford
Mayle,D. (2006), Managing Innovation and Change. (3rd Ed). London: Sage
Stokes, D., Wilson,N and Mador, M (2010) Entrepreneurship. Andover: Cengage

Additional Reading
Armstrong, S.J. & Hird, A., (2009) Cognitive Style and Entrepreneural Drive of New and Mature Business Owner-Managers. Journal of Business Psychology. 24:419-430.
Buchanan, D., and Badham, R., (2008) (2nd ed) Power, Politics and Organisational Change: Winning the Turf Game. London: Sage.
Gill, R. (2006),  Theory and Practice of Leadership. London: Sage  
Jain, R. K. (2011) Entrepreneural Competencies: A Meta Analysis and Comprehensive Conceptualization for future research. Vision 15(2) 127-152.
Kouzes, J.M., and Posner, B.Z., (2008) The Leadership Challenge, (4th ed). San Francisco: Jossey Bass
Oshagbemi, T. and Gill, R., (2004) Differences in leadership styles and behaviour across hierarchical levels in UK organisations. Leadership and Organisational Development Journal, 25 (1), 93-106.
Oshagbemi, T., and Gill, R., (2003) Gender differences and similarities in the leadership styles and behaviour of UK managers.  Women in Management Review, 18 (6), 288-298.
Pedlar, M., Burgoyne, J., and Boydell, T. (2004) A Manager’s Guide to Leadership. McGraw-Hill:  Maidenhead
Urban, B. (2012) The Effect of pro-Entrepreneurship architecture on Organisational Outcomes. Journal of Business Economics and Management. 13(3):518-545.
Wagener, S., Gorgievski, M., and Rijsdijk, S. (2010) Businessman or host? Individual differences between entrepreneurs and small business owners in the hospitality industry. The Services Industries Journal.  30(9), 1513-1527.
Yammarino, F.J. (2002) Leadership skills: Introduction and overview. Leadership  Quarterly, 11(1), 5-9
Yukl, G.A. (1998), Leadership in organisations (4th ed), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Zaccaro, S,J., Mumford, M.D., Connelly, M.S. Marls, M.A. & Gilbert, J.A. (2000).   Assessment of leader problem solving capabilities. Leadership Quarterly,11(1),37-64.
Zakarevicius, P., Zuperka, A., (2010) Expression of Emotional Intelligence in Development of Students’ Entrepreneurship.  Economics and Management (15) (ISSN 1822-6515).