BA 598.03 Service Leadership
Fall 2007
Professor: Mike Mullen Email: or
Office: CBC 316 Office Phone 1 310 506 6814
Home Phone: 805 495 2760 Fax: 805 495 2777
Office Hours: Monday 10:00 – 11:50 a. m. & 4:00 – 5:00 p. m.
Thursday 10:00 – 11:50 a.m. & 4:00 – 5:00 p. m.
or by appointment for other hours.
Course Time: Mon. & Thursday, 2:00 – 3:50 p. m.
Web page: http:// www.muldoonski.com (click on Service Leadership icon)
Welcome to the Service Leadership class. I look forward to a challenging and rewarding semester working with you. I hope that you will come to this class with a desire to contribute your knowledge, talent, and personality to create a dynamic and rewarding learning experience for yourself, your peers, your faculty member, and your client.
Course Description:
This service leadership course is designed to blend academic study with community service. In this course the students will form consulting teams to serve non-profit organizations by applying business concepts and skills to mutually agreed-upon projects. In this approach, all parties to the arrangement are seen as learners and teachers as well as servers and served. Dealing with issues related to service projects, reflection, and evaluation will be essential elements of the course.
Any student with a documented disability (physical, learning, or psychological) needing academic accommodations should contact the Disability Services Office (TCC 209, x6500) as early in the semester as possible. All discussions will remain confidential. Please visit http://www.pepperdine.edu/studentaffairs/disabilityserv for additional information.
Class Format:
This is not a traditional lecture course. Since the course is designed to be taken by students during their senior year, the format is that of a seminar in which everyone must actively participate in each class session. The instructor serves as a facilitator, not lecturer. This class is a learning community therefore you are expected to come to class prepared, willing and ready to share. Due to the fact that you will be part of a consulting team to an organization in the community, you are expected to perform with the highest level of professionalism. Furthermore, you will be expected to be responsible - not only in terms of time, communication, course work, and team contribution, but in taking initiative. If you cannot perform to the level of responsibility necessary and expected in this course, your grade will reflect this. Remember, education is not a spectator sport. Be prepared to participate
Course Goals:
1. Provide an opportunity to apply business concepts and skills to a non-profit community agency.
2. Broaden students' learning about communities through guided discussion and reflection.
3. Encourage collaborative teamwork with faculty, fellow students, and community personnel.
4. Provide an opportunity for students to catch the spirit of "freely ye have received, freely give" by participating in a service-learning project.
Objectives:
1. Sharpen leadership skills (life skills) including such skills as identifying problems, seeing how to solve problems, listening, being sensitive to the needs of others, learning how genuinely to help others, learning how to learn from others, communicating effectively (verbal, written, and non-verbal communication), appreciating diversity, dealing with resistance, dealing with the dynamics of intra and inter-groups, and learning when and how to be appropriately assertive.
2. Develop the "emotional muscle" to handle a high degree of emotional impact and stress while remaining focused on solving a business problem--avoiding withdrawal or impulsive behavior, both of which are less than satisfactory ways of protecting one's self-esteem.
3. Enhance interpersonal effectiveness--by establishing and maintaining the necessary trust and communication with the client; motivating and influencing the client and your team; consulting and advising across possible differences in values, ways of perceiving and thinking, and cultural norms and expectations.
4. Sharpen professionalism in presentation of self as manifested in behavior, attitudes, dress, time management, and communication.
5. Learn better how to extract meaning from one's experiences, relevant others, and every human encounter.
6. Learn to appreciate that facts are often the perceptions and attitudes which persons hold about those facts.
7. Develop the ability to make decisions and take action on inadequate, unreliable, and sometimes conflicting data in a timely manner.
8. To find satisfaction, enjoyment, and fulfillment from the impact one has directly on others and they on us.
9. To recognize that, ultimately, effective problem solving is a social process involving human communication, interpersonal influence, consensus, and commitment.
10. Become involved enough in a community agency to have a real feel for and appreciation of the work it does.
11. Learn to be creative in seeking necessary resources for solving problems.
12. Develop an understanding how one’s personal faith is demonstrated in his or her leadership style and interaction with others.
Required Texts:
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The coursepac for this section of Service leadership will consist of readings posted on my web site. You will not be required to purchase and reading material. You will be expected to read the readings as assigned.
Selected readings will be handed out in class. You are responsible for ensuring that you have copies of the handouts before class time. In addition, necessary web addresses and additional information will be posted on muldoonski.com.
Recommended Texts:
Strunk, W. & White, E.B. (1979). The Elements of Style. New York: MacMillan Publishers.
Achtere, W.S & Gibaldi, J. (1988). MLA Handbook for Writers. New York: Modern Language Association of America.
It would be a shame if you graduated from a major university not having read Studs Terkle, Kurt Vonnegut,
John E. Wideman, (Brothers and Keepers 1985), Max Dupree, Jimmy Breslin, and Steve Allen. Also, John Stuart Mills On Liberty,
I also recommend The Devaluing of America by Wm. J. Bennett; Reason to Believe, by Mario Cuomo; Savage Inequalities, Jonathan Kozal. ( Kozal’s Ordinary Resurrections, and his Amazing Grace are both bestsellers and excellent.) Lies My Teacher Told Me; by James W. Loewen: Yogi Berra, When You Come to the Fork In The Road Take It; Myths America Lives By, Richard T. Hughes author and Distinguished Professor Pepperdine Religion Division. Finally; Men in Therapy Richard Meth & Robert Pasick
Attendance:
Due to the nature of this course, attendance is critical. If you attend every class, AND Guest Lecture in its entirety you will receive twenty point bonus. You may miss two classes without penalty. The third absence results in a penalty of 30 points, the fourth absence 60 points, the fifth absence 100 points, and an additional 200 points for each absence exceeding five. There will be a “sign in” sheet for each class session. Your name will be on the sheet in alphabetical order. You are responsible for signing the sheet. If you do not sign the sheet, you will be considered absent regardless if you were present in class.
If an athlete, please submit a schedule of classes to be excused at the beginning of the semester.
Excused absences must be discussed in advance with the professor and your team members (prior to the absence) and meet the guidelines stated below:
Excused absences are defined by the following University guidelines:
- Participation in an official University activity such as athletics, debate, chorus, etc.
- Death or major illness in a student's immediate family (parent, sibling, wife, child, or grandparent).
- Participation in legal proceedings that require a student's presence.
- Religious holy day.
- Confinement because of illness (documentation required from medical professional).
- Required participation in military duties.
- Natural disaster (wildfire, mudslide, earthquake, etc.) which causes the University to close.
In contrast, the following are not considered excusable:
- Technological problems (alarm clock, printer not working, wrong disk, etc.)
- Parking or traffic problems (barring aforementioned natural disasters)
- Care giving for individuals outside of immediate family (boyfriend, girlfriend, roommate, etc.)
- Vague, undiagnosed illnesses
You are given two free absences. Use them to your advantage for the unexcused reasons above.
Furthermore, please be on time to class. Your participation is important and many of the activities require the involvement of everyone. If you exceed two “tardies,” your participation grade will be significantly reduced. Arriving to class significantly late or leaving class significantly early will be considered an absence. If unclear, ask faculty member.
Email:
Everyone is expected to have an accessible and current Email address. Once the teams are formed, much of the communication between the team and the instructor will take place on Email and through www.muldoonski.com. The class members are expected to check their Email at least three times a week and respond to the instructor accordingly. Please notify the instructor of any changes to your email address.
Pop Quizzes:
Pop quizzes will be given over the readings and guest speakers. They will be given at the beginning of the class time. If you are late or absent, you cannot make-up the quiz and will receive a 0.
Web Page:
Remember, http://www.muldoonski.com is a web-based tool that will be effective for communicating important information relevant to this course, checking grades, and accessing course assignments. You will be expected to check the BA598 muldoonski.com site at least two times a week, but are recommended to do so more often. Any changes to the class schedule or other relevant information will be posted on the note pages of muldoonski.com. .. Please note: You will be held responsible for any information posted on the web page regarding the course schedule, activities, etc.
You are also expected to keep your email address current with your team members and the professor.
Electronic Journal:
You will be expected to reflect in a journal format of your experiences and feelings while in this class on three different dates. The purpose for keeping the journal is to provide a means for personal reflection on your experiences, feelings, thoughts in your consulting setting, in class, and with your teammates. Although some topics are given to you in Blackboard, you are encouraged to elaborate more fully about what’s happening in your life as you go through this course; hopefully, you will be able to pull out of your experience this term meaningful insights for your life.
Each electronic journal entry should be at least 500 words. This is a free-flowing written journal. Grammar and punctuation are not graded. The instructor must receive the journals via e-mail by 5:00 p.m. on the date they are due. The journal should either be saved as a Word 6.0 document and emailed as an attachment or can be written in the body of the email. Email will document the exact date and time that the email was sent regardless of when it was opened and/or read. You are encouraged to send yourself a carbon copy of your email to ensure it was received on time. NO HARD COPIES OF THE EMAIL ARE ACCEPTED. Please state name and Journal # in subject heading of email (e.g. Smith Journal #2). The instructor will email you a written response and grade for your journal within two weeks after receipt.
The evaluation of the content of the journal is based on the following criteria:
· Thoroughness of response to questions;
· Demonstration that learning is taking place;
· Thoughtful reflection on experience with team, client, and class;
· Ability to think about what type of leadership you want to demonstrate based upon what you are learning about yourself in this class.
Each journal entry is worth 15 points. Ten points will be deducted for emails received late (again, according to send mail documented date and time). Journals received later than three days after the due date will not be accepted.
DUE DATES FOR JOURNALS
Midnight September 30th
Midnight October 29th
Midnight December 11th
Reflection/Position Papers:
You will also be expected to turn in two formal papers in addition to your team/client projects. The due dates will be discussed during the first week of class. The topics for each paper will be posted in the Assignments section of the web page prior to the due date. The topics ask you to reflect upon your experiences and the readings. The papers must be typed and should be from three to five pages in length. Grammar, spelling, and content will all be graded.
Position Paper # 1 is due midnight October 18th
Final Position Paper is Due midnight December 6th
Each formal paper will be worth a maximum of forty points. 40 - 36 is superior in context and grammar, demonstrates critical thinking and clear articulation and argumentation regarding the topic. No errors whatsoever are present; 35 –31 is very good and demonstrates critical thinking and strong argumentation; few errors present; 30 - 26 is acceptable, average as the paper contains errors and answers the questions with little critical thinking. 25 and below is poor.
*The topic for the final paper is: “The World Would Be a Better Place If…”
E-mailed papers are due by Midnight on the due date.
Hard copy versions: If the paper is not turned in at class time, it must be given to the faculty member by 4:00 p.m. If she is not in her office to receive it (do not slide it under her door or leave in holder outside office), IT MUST BE TURNED INTO THE BUSINESS DIVISION OFFICE AND STAMPED FOR DATE AND TIME BY 4:00 p.m. The office will turn the paper into the instructor’s box at 4:00 p.m. Fifteen points will be deducted on papers turned in after the 4:00 p.m. deadline and ten points for each day the paper is not turned in starting the following day of the due date. Unless there is an emergency, papers that are more than a week late will not be accepted. This will be strictly enforced.
Readings/Discussions/Facilitation Groups:
Since this is a seminar course, student groups will be assigned to take responsibility for facilitating the class discussions of our readings at two different times in the semester. Each group is expected to keep the discussion lively while covering all of the content! The discussion should require the students to use critical thinking and personal application in sharing their thoughts. If more than one reading has been assigned, discuss how the two relate. The discussion should involve the reading’s relevance (or non-relevance) to the course content, team relationships, consulting/client relationship, and personal leadership. Application to the class, particularly the consulting and team relationships should be an essential element of the discussion.