Organizational Leadership

This course provides an overview of leadership perspectives, frameworks and theories and also focuses on how communication is the essential tool for engaging in relational leadership processes. In the last 30 years information about leadership has exploded, and this class is designed to help you to be better consumers of information about leadership as well as to have a clearer and more useful repertoire of ideas, and practices to intentionally engage in the leadership process, no matter the role in which that engagement occurs. You will also spend time analyzing your own experiences, beliefs, and assumptions about leading, following and communicating effectively.

Group and Team Dynamics is an intermediate-level course in the organizational leadership and communication curriculum that focuses on group and teams. In this class we will examine theories, variables, models, and processes of communication occurring in the context of formal and informal groups and teams. The course is designed to develop competent participation in and facilitation of group processes. Specifically, after taking this course you should be able to:
•Describe the factors that affect the performance of groups and teams
•Analyze theories and apply them to group activities in organizational settings
•Understand leadership process within groups and teams
•Describe how communication functions affect group members and the outcomes of group processes
•Demonstrate effective communication skills as a group member
•Demonstrate facilitation skills for group tasks and activities

Interpersonal Communication for Leadership is a core course for Organizational Leadership and Communication majors at Nebraska Wesleyan University. The course is significant for students of all majors as every person participates in interpersonal relationships in a variety of contexts: leadership, family, friends and colleagues. In this course we will explore the dynamics of human interaction, relational sense-making, and the influence of context and individual variables on relationships. Primary emphasis will be placed on the application of interpersonal communication concepts and theory to leadership contexts.

This course focuses on constructive individual and group interaction by providing practical strategies for handling complex interpersonal dynamics. Class content weaves theory with skill building to help students explore the nature of conflict and a range of approaches to resolving differences. Students will discover what influences problem solving and decision-making through the application of negotiation, communication, and perceptual skills.
Offered in the Adult Undergraduate program only.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or permission of the instructor.

Through many contexts in history and through the midst of conflicting forces that arise within organizational systems, leaders are faced with adaptive challenges. The course distinguishes between authority and knowledge, provides a diagnostic framework for assessing the typical mechanisms in which social systems avoid work on critical issues, and explores strategies and tactics of intervention to mobilize adaptive work.
Prerequisite(s): COMM 1100 Introduction to Organizational Communication, LEAD 3100 Introduction to Leadership, LEAD 3200 Interpersonal Communication for Leadership, and LEAD 4100 Group and Team Dynamics.

This course provides a conceptual framework for understanding behavior within the organization. Students explore behavior at the individual, group, and organizational levels. Units of analysis include personality, leadership, conflict, motivation, power, and politics.
Prerequisite(s): Grade of "C-" or better in BUSAD 2500 Principles of Management or permission of the instructor.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

This course investigates ethical issues and moral dilemmas found in the modern business arena. The conflict between an organization's economic performance and its social obligations are studied. Various economic theories, legal regulations and philosophic doctrines are discussed. Contemporary Western moral philosophy, historic and contemporary Christian ethics, and social theory provide a context for the course. Case studies are integrated throughout the semester.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

Students will explore the intersection of the theory and practice of communication in an organizational context. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding how power within and between organizations is shaped by and shapes society. Topics include identity, power, globalization, technology, and ethics.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing and Communication 2301 and Communication 3501 or permission of the instructor.

The course will provide knowledge and skill development relating to essential organizational communication effectiveness including individual, group, organizational and public strategies. Offered in the Adult Undergraduate program only.
Prerequisite(s): COMM 1200 Introduction to Professional and Academic Communication and COMM 1100 Introduction to Organizational Communication.