College of Business
Undergraduate Business Program

Course Syllabi

Professor: Dr. Chuck Williams, Dean
College of Business
Holcomb Building, Rm.126
(W) 317-940-8491
(C) 317-473-2243
(F) 317-940-8287
Daily Class: 9:30 -11:30 a.m., Monday-Thursday
Daily Trips: Typically, 1-5 p.m., Monday-Thursday, but times may vary

Course Objectives:

Leadership London is a seminar-style, site-based course taught in London, England. While the professor is responsible for facilitating discussion, the success and failure of those discussions depends on the students. In general, we strive for class discussions in which 80 percent of the "air time" belongs to the students, with the remaining 20 percent being used by the professor to guide those discussions. Site-based instruction means that we'll use London's resources, institutions and history to explore the cultural, international, historical and ethical issues relevant to leadership.

This course uses stories from classical literature, essays about historical figures, descriptions of current business challenges, and on-site visits to London's historic sites and resources:

  • To teach students contemporary leadership theories.
  • To have students articulate their views of leaders and leadership.
  • To have students challenge and defend each others' views of leaders and leadership.
  • To have students understand the conditions and experiences by which famous leaders acquired and developed their leadership potential.
  • To understand the role that personal character and choice plays in the development of leaders. By virtue of being in a foreign location, this course also help students.
  • To understand the similarities and differences in policies and approaches regarding management practices in England and the United States.
  • To understand cultural similarities and differences, and the ways they affect the methods, practices and objectives of the management of human resources in England and the United States.
  • To become familiar with current business news, issues and topics affecting people who do business in England.

Grading:

  1. Hartwick Classic Cases (see class participation and quizzes)
  2. Pre-Trip Readings (15%)
    • 2 Chapters from Williams (2007), 4th Edition
      • Chapter 1, Management
      • Chapter 7, Global Management
      • Collection of Articles to be Read Before Going to London
  3. Class Participation (20%)
  4. Quizzes (20%)
  5. Newspapers Articles/Journal (10%), Daily Business News to be Read While in London
  6. Attendance, Behavior, and Attentiveness on Daytrips to historic and modern leadership-related sites while in London (5%)
  7. Meeting with Individual Instructors
  8. Final Paper (30%)

Hartwick Classic Cases (see class participation and exams)

Hartwick Classic Cases are unique in that they combine excerpts from classic works of literature, philosophy and history with cases on contemporary business leaders. Thus, the class will read from Shakespeare, and about Queen Elizabeth and Churchill, while also reading about modern leaders such as Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer, William Agee, former CEO of Bendix corporation and Morris Knudsen Corporation, Lee Iacocca, former CEO of Chrysler Corporation, and Jimmy Treybig, founder and CEO of Tandem computers.

The basic idea behind marrying the study of classic works and modern business leaders is that, "..the solutions to fundamental leadership questions which were discovered by leaders and thinkers in other eras and cultures are preserved for us in texts and traditions that capture the collective wisdom of the human race on the challenge of leadership."

The effectiveness of this teaching approach hinges on careful and repeated reading of the cases. Students need to understand that the primary responsibility for analyzing case belongs to them, and not to the instructor. In good class sessions, students frequently gain a high level of understanding of the text as well as a clear picture of the leadership in classic texts. In the best classes, they also apply the ideas and lessons to themselves.

Grades will be determined by the quality of students' in-class discussion and participation, by the quality of discussion and participation on daily field trips, and exams.

Pre-Trip Readings (15%)

Each student will be provided copies of textbook chapters from Williams, Management (4th edition) textbook. These readings include Chapter 1, Management, and Chapter 7, Global Management. Students will also be provided a series of current news articles about British-based businesses.

Grades will be determined by a take-home exam on this material that is due in my office by 5 p.m. on Friday, July 17, 2009. Late work will be reduced one letter grade per day. FYI: email works 24 hours a day, so one day late means Saturday, not Monday.

Class Participation (20%)

Since this is a seminar, students are expected to contribute to class discussion on a daily basis. Participation grades will be determined as follows:

Average - After each class, each student will be rated on the frequency and quality of class participation. The total participation grade will consist of an average of those ratings.

Frequency - Frequency of participation will be rated on a five-point scale:

  1. Never participates unless called,
  2. Rarely participates,
  3. Sometimes participates,
  4. Regularly participates,
  5. Always participates in class discussion/activities.

Quality - Everyone knows that frequency of participation isn't the same as quality. Some students use a lot of "air time," but have little to say. Others may participate infrequently, but make highly substantial and important points when they do. Quality of participation will be rated on a five-point scale:

  1. Comments generally unrelated to class discussion/readings,
  2. Comments fit/follow class discussion, but are less connected to cases/readings,
  3. Comments indicate some familiarity with cases/readings,
  4. Comments indicate good familiarity with cases/readings and that student understands leadership principles and lessons derived from cases/readings,
  5. Comments indicate high familiarity with cases/readings and that student understands and can apply leadership principles.

Attendance, Participation, and Being on time - I cannot stress enough the importance of being on time for class, for day trips, or anything else we do as a group. Your being late disrupts class, disrupts our day trips, and sometimes results in having to break away from the group to find out just where the heck you are. Accordingly, here are the consequences for not attending class or for being late.

  1. Missing Class or Day Trips or Other Scheduled Activities - If you completely miss a class session or a day trip or another scheduled activity, you will be docked five percent of the total number of points for the class and receive a 0 for class participation that day.
  2. Being Late for Class or for Day Trips or Other Scheduled Activities - If you are late for class or for a day trip or another scheduled activity, you will be docked one percent of the total number of points for the class and receive a 0 for class participation that day.

Quizzes (20%)

Exciting and interesting discussion of the class material won't occur unless students are thoroughly familiar with the cases assigned for each class period. This is why you will receive all of the course materials at the end of April, two months before we meet in London. During this time, you must read, highlight and take notes on each of the assigned cases and readings. Unlike lecture courses in which students simply show up for class, seminars require a much higher level of student preparation, involvement and participation. Furthermore, there will be a 10-minute, one-page quiz each day you have assigned cases and readings. You may drop your lowest quiz score. The remaining quizzes will be averaged and will total 20 percent of your overall grade. Quizzes that are missed for unexcused reasons will result in a zero score that cannot be dropped.

Newspapers Articles/Journal (10%)

Once we are in London, students are expected to read the daily business news in either the Wall Street Journal Europe, the London Times, the Daily Telegraph, or other daily business periodicals. Each day that class meets (12 in all), students are to cut and paste one business news article (from original London published newspapers, no copies allowed) and then comment on that article in a daily journal entry. The minimum journal entry is one-half page per day, four days per week. Students should turn in 12 articles and 12 journal entries. Each article must be at least 12 column inches in length. Grades will be determined by the quality of journal entries associated with each article. The article and journal entries are due in my office by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4. Late work will be reduced one letter grade per day. FYI: email works 24 hours a day, so one day late means Saturday, not Monday.

Attendance, Behavior, and Attentiveness on Daytrips to Historic and Modern Leadership-Related Sites While In London (5%)

The lessons learned from studying the leaders depicted in our Hartwick Classic Cases will be complemented by afternoon visits to London's many historical sites. Attendance at classes and field trips is mandatory. While in class and on field trip sites, students are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner. Students who fail to conduct themselves in a professional manner, miss class or class field trips without prior approval of the instructor may be subject to dismissal from the course.

Final Paper (30%)

The purpose of this paper is for you to integrate your learning in London with your research and understanding of the business leadership practices in the United States. Select a topic that holds interest for you, and clear it with me before we leave London - the result will be much more satisfying for both of us.

The paper is a chance for you to systematically ponder, catalog and explore your chosen topic in light of our class discussions and site visits. I encourage you to visit with me both before and after the trip as you work on this report. Your paper grade will be determined both by the quality of your writing, ideas and research, and a demonstrated understanding of the issues. I suggest that you outline, write, rewrite, rewrite some more, and use the resources of the CPC or writing center for feedback.

  • Papers (10-15 pages in length) should contain:
    • A title page with your name and the date
    • A table of contents
    • An executive summary
    • A well organized report, using headings, sub-headings, figures, tables, etc.
    • A list of references in APA style at the end of the paper - the CPC has a useful handout showing reference format for APA style.
  • Papers are due in my office by 5 p.m., Friday, Sept. 4. Late work will be reduced one letter grade per day. FYI: email works 24 hours a day, so one day late means Saturday, not Monday.

Tentative Schedule of Cases & Day Trips

In April, you will receive a tentative schedule of the leadership cases we'll be studying and the day trips we intend to take. Take "tentative" seriously. Things are bound to change because of scheduling conflicts. When studying abroad, the key word is flexibility. Expect changes. While we schedule everything three to four months in advance, there are always last minutes changes.

In general, we'll be in class from 9:30-11:30 each day and then do our day trips in the afternoon between 1 and 5 p.m. However, there may be days in which we day-trip first and then do class second. Also, we intend to take the class to an evening performance at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and to an evening Jack-the-Ripper Walking Tour of London's East End. To this point, these are the only evening activities we have scheduled.

Leadership London: Articles for the Pre-Trip, Business Take-Home Exam

  • Textbook Chapters (to be handed out in April).
    • Williams, C. Chapter 1, Management, and Chapter 7, Global Management, from Management, 3rd edition, Southwestern Publishing, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2007.
  • Articles on the Following Topics (to be handed out in April).
    • U.S. Businesses and Businesspeople in Britain/Europe
    • The "Euro," European Union and Europe as a U.S. Competitor
    • The London "Tube" and British Trains
    • Britain, British Businesses, and British Businesspeople