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2023/2024  KAN-CCMVI2127U  Frontiers of Leadership; A Global Perspective

English Title
Frontiers of Leadership; A Global Perspective

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration Summer
Start time of the course Summer
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Min. participants 30
Max. participants 60
Study board
Study Board for cand.merc. and GMA (CM)
Course coordinator
  • Sudhanshu Rai - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
For academic questions related to the course, please contact course responsible Sudhanshu Rai (sr.msc@cbs.dk).
Main academic disciplines
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Innovation
  • Leadership
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 22-11-2023

Relevant links
Learning objectives
  • Demonstrate an understanding of leadership in a Global context
  • Analyze and demonstrate an understanding of leadership within innovative spaces
  • Show an appreciation of the impact of context on leadership in diverse contexts
  • Critically reflect about the limitations of leadership in a global environment
Course prerequisites
Students wanting to take this elective should have a bachelor’s degree, with a good knowledge of global business environments, a good awareness of leadership as an academic discourse and a fair understanding of innovation. A formal education on leadership is not necessary and not required.
Examination
Frontiers of Leadership; A Global Perspective:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
Assignment type Scientific paper
Release of assignment Subject chosen by students themselves, see guidelines if any
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Summer, Course and exam timetable is/will be available on https:/​/​www.cbs.dk/​en/​study/​cbs-summer-university/​courses-and-exams
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
The 1st retake is a 72-hour, maximum 10-pages home assignment.
Description of the exam procedure

The purpose of the examination is to determine the level of understanding the student has acquired from the literature and lectures, group work, personal diary. The focus of the students in this report must be focused on how they critically reflect and integrate these sets of knowledge and experience into a coherent written product, which illustrates the learning objectives. This report is a reflective statement of how the students have learned, what inspired the students during the lecture and how they have made sense of that inspiration in the context of their class and group work. The final product (report) will demonstrate the student's ability to critically reflect on literature, integrate with experiences from exercises. The report should make clear a single argument or, have a thin red line illustrating the experiences from group work in class, lectures, and reflections from their personal diary linking it with the relevant parts of the literature and aligning it to the main insight from the class. The examination is about how you know and how you communicate the learning from class into a report.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

The focus of this course is to expose the student to the dynamic nature of leadership in a global context as theorized in the past, its present application and how it might evolve in the future within the backdrop of a fast-digitalizing global economy. Focus during these lectures will be on how leadership understanding within a global context is taking shape over time, how emerging economies are learning from the existing leadership debates and adding to it from their own experiences, culture, and social context. While this course will start from existing leadership discourse, it will not limit itself to the current understanding of leadership. It will explore newer leadership experiences from a diverse experience of leadership from around the world. The focus will be to develop a counter exploration to the existing leadership narrative, in so doing the endeavor is to provide the students a holistic understanding of leadership by filling the gaps and insights from vibrant diverse cultures that identify themselves as emerging economies.

 

This course in an elementary way will introduce leadership as a holistic human experience, by bringing on board recent experiences of large companies from emerging economies. It will then pose the following question; As we continue to globalize through integrative technologies like the internet, phones, and social media how leadership thinking should evolve. Do cultures merge into each other or distinct new formulations emerge based on how we communicate and work.  How will we continue to innovate if we are fast getting harmonized. What new challenges to leadership thought does technology pose, if at all are some of the questions we will explore during the course. 

 

Taking this course, the students will become aware that leadership narratives are rather diverse and getting even wider as different understanding of leadership experiences are integrated into the main streem leadership conversation. In effect; the there is no one type of leader, even though the popular imagination subscribes to such a view in a subtle way. The students will be sensitized to look for leadership qualities in different situations and be empowered to be sensitive to context as king, in leadership discourse. The students will learn to evaluate the role of leadership in innovative projects and made aware of the larger context to how leadership thinking has evolved in a global context.

 

Finally, we will critically reflect about the future and the implication of innovation theorizing on understanding the future shape of leadership focusing on how leaders create opportunity. This course is to provide the students experience and exposure to how leadership ich theorizing can be integrated and understood within the context of innovation.

 

The course aims at developing integrational skills, primarily integrating classroom experience with leadership and innovation literature. It is expected that students will then integrate the literature with the experiences from the classroom. This integration is vital for analyzing the contextual bases for the experience and the critical appreciation and limitations theorical backdrop. 
Description of the teaching methods
The teaching methodology will take the format of workshop and seminars and is designed to be interactive, reflective, and engaging with importance given to feedback. Contact hours will primarily focus on reflective thinking, critical appreciation of the literature, and hands on experiential understanding of how leadership can be integrated to our understanding of the practice of innovation through learning by doing.

The class workshop will unfold in three modules of 45 minutes each. The first module will be dedicated to games, with the resource person managing the execution of the game, intervening to provide feedback, and engaging the students in their group work, listening to the students’ ideas., The second module will be dedicated to discussion with reflection about the game, what aspects of the game relate to the literature and to what extent the literature plays a clarifying role in understanding leadership within the context of innovation. the game will be designed in a way to bring out the key theme of the class workshop, which would be to explore the topical literature and combine it with the experience from the games. The third module will be dedicated to lectures which will deliver the key thematic ideas and concepts. This structure will be maintained throughout the course. The purpose of designing the teaching method in three steps is to allow the participants to use both intellect and reflection towards an integrated understanding of leadership within the context of innovation.
Feedback during the teaching period
The class sessions are designed to be interactive; therefore, students must be committed to working in groups and asking questions at every stage of their learning journey. Giving feedback and receiving feedback is an important part of the course design; students must be prepared to seek and receive feedback from the resource person. Furthermore, additional one-to-one feedback sessions can be prearranged by the student at the end of every class, for a period of maximum 15 min per face-to-face session. This will take place at the resource persons office. The students are encouraged to seek face to face interaction if they experience challenges during their learning journey in class.
Student workload
Lectures 20 hours
Group work and exercises 10 hours
class preparation 136 hours
exam 40 hours
Further Information

6-week course.

 

Preliminary Assignment: The course coordinator uploads Preliminary Assignment on Canvas at the end of May. It is expected that students participate as it will be included in the final exam, but the assignment is without independent assessment and grading.

 

 
Expected literature

The literature is suggestive and not final. A comprehensive reference list will be uploaded for the students well in advance of the course on Canvas

 

 

Djelic, M-L. and Quack, S. (2007), “Overcoming path dependency: path generation in open systems”, Theory and Society, Vol. 36, pp. 161-86.

 

Goldstone, J. (19 98a), “Initial conditions, general laws, path-dependence, and explanation in historical sociology”, American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 104, pp. 829-45

 

Brown, Tim. (2008). Design Thinking. Boston: Harvard Business Review.

 

 

Christensen, C. M. (2006). The ongoing process of building a theory of disruption. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 23(1), 39–55. http:/​/​doi.org/​10.1111/​j.1540-5885.2005.00180.x

 

Chase, Robin. (2016) We need to expand the definition of disruptive innovation. Disruptive Innovation. Harvard Business Review. January,.

 

Hui, Gordon. (2014) How the Internet of Things Changes Business Models. Disruptive Innovation. Harvard Business Review. July 29,.
Last updated on 22-11-2023