Leadership and Team Dynamics

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

Approximately 2.5 hours of personal study per hour of class time is required to achieve a satisfactory level of performance

Entry into the Master of Human Resource Management or the Master of Management.

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For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements for this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

One of the main challenges for today's managers is effectively communicating vision and inspiring employees to achieve that vision within team-based work structures. This subject deals with this challenge by examining the interaction of leadership and team processes. A focus will be on critically evaluating the role of leaders in organisations with high involvement work practices (for example, employee involvement and empowerment) and the role of human resource practices in identifying and developing organisational leaders. Topics considered will include: contemporary theories of leadership; the role of managers as organisational leaders; human resources and leadership challenges of the team-based organisational structure; managing team dynamics; the effectiveness of shared leadership; human resource strategies for developing organisational leaders; and the impact of high involvement work practices on leading and managing teams.

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

• Examine and evaluate the integrated nature of HRM strategy, policy and practice across the individual, group/team and organisational levels;
• Explore the interaction of human systems and processes across these three levels;
• Analyse the role played by stakeholders in the development of organisational policy and practice; and
• Develop a critical appreciation of the nature of organisational leadership and the role of leaders.

• In-class activities. Throughout semester (10%);
• 2500 word individual personal leadership assessment & analysis. Due Week 11 (30%);
• Group assignment totalling no more than 4000 words. Due Week 5-10 (40%);
• Peer evaluation surveys Due Week 5-12 (10%); and
• 20 minute group case presentation. Due week 12 (10%).

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This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On successful completion of this subject, students should have improved the following generic skills:

• The ability to examine their own ideas and beliefs about team dynamics and leadership and compare them with the theories and observations of others;
• An appreciation of the integrated nature of HRM and group processes associated with team dynamics and leadership; and
• An understanding of a range of ideas concerning the role played by HRM in the emergence of effective leaders.