6WBS0017 (SDL)/6WBS0016 (ONL) Leadership in the 21st Century: A Critical Examination of the Development of Leadership to Meet the Needs of Contemporary Organisations, Singapore

Assessment Criteria

Learning Outcomes: Knowledge and Understanding assessed in this assignment:

1. Discuss the origins and contemporary applications of management and leadership theory.
2. Evaluate aspects of management and leadership practice.

Learning Outcomes: Skills and Attributes assessed in this assignment:

1. Assess different approaches to leadership and management.
2. Discuss factors that influence the behaviour of individuals and leadership practice in organisations.
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of particular organisational leadership styles.

Feedback /Marking criteria for this Assignment

• Performance will be assessed using HBS Grading Criteria (Rubric)
• Feedback for improvement will be given in writing via your Canvas module site within 4 weeks of submission
• Lateness Penalty: For each day or part day up to five days after the published deadline, coursework relating to modules submitted late will have the numeric grade reduced by 10 grade points until or unless the numeric grade reaches the minimum pass mark (UG 40%). Where the numeric grade awarded for the assessment is less than the minimum pass mark no lateness penalty will be applied. If the coursework is submitted more than 5 days after the published deadline, it will not be marked and a grade of zero will be awarded.
• Extensions: Students do not have an automatic right to an extension. If you require an extension, this must be requested seven (7) days in advance of the submission deadline. Please give your reason(s) for needing an extension and provide supporting evidence.

Detailed Brief for Individual / Team Assignment

Assignment Title: Leadership in the 21st century: A critical examination of the development of leadership to meet the needs of contemporary organisations.

Description of the assignment, task, content and structure:

Contextual Background

Over the past century, leadership theory has evolved significantly, reflecting changing societal values, organizational structures, and cultural norms. Organisations today are shaped by innovation, technology, the rise of remote working and evolving business landscapes.

With change being a constant for organisations, leadership has evolved to become more flexible and highly adaptable. There has also been a shift towards a more collaborative style of leadership where employee input is often viewed as integral to decision-making processes and employee motivation is an important principle of human resource management.

In order for organisations to flourish it can be argued that leaders today must adapt to the practical considerations for leadership and change processes such as communication, stakeholder management, engagement, power and motivation. As we navigate the uncertainties of the current business landscape, the ability to lead through uncertainty has become a critical skill. Leaders are focusing on fostering organizational resilience and preparing teams to thrive in unpredictable environments and many leaders are finding new approaches that place greater emphasis on factors such as emotional intelligence, adaptability, and inclusivity in navigating complex and diverse environments.

Many recent publications discuss the need for leadership development to meet the requirements of the current business landscape and modern workforce. It is recognised that leadership skills and organisational capabilities are now different from those that leaders have relied upon in the past and that a new leadership style must evolve.

Task

You are tasked to create a report that includes:

• The evolution of leadership including the main developments in relevant theoretical perspectives
• Analysis of three current business leaders of your choice that adopt differing leadership styles, discussing the benefits and limitations of these approaches
• Evaluation of which of the three leadership styles you feel is most suitable for the current business landscape and how this approach may be further developed to provide effective leadership in the modern workplace.

You are required to work individually for this assignment and complete each of the tasks listed below:

Task 1: The Development of Leadership (25%)

Explore how leadership in organisations has evolved from an autocratic approach towards a more collaborative approach fostering greater teamwork, productivity, innovation and creativity.

Guidance

You should use theoretical insights to provide a clear narrative that explores how leadership has evolved in organisations in a business context e.g. not political, religious, sporting etc. You should aim to include key theoretical principles covered in the module and discuss how, when and why these changes occurred with examples from business to illustration. You are expected to demonstrate significant breadth and depth of research to support your claims and analyse the impact of these developments.

Task 2: Analysis of three different leadership styles (30%)

By conducting suitable research, explore the use of three (3) different leadership styles adopted by current business leaders. You may select leaders that have been discussed in the module or those that you have a personal interest in.

Guidance

You should select three suitable current business leaders who each have a different approach to leadership and analyse the strengths and limitations of these approaches in their respective business contexts. You should use relevant academic and industry insight to support claims made within the discussion. Approaches you may wish to include are covered in the module such as transactional, transformational, situational, distributed etc.

Task 3: Evaluation of 21st Century Leadership (25%)

You should select ONE of the three approaches discussed in Task 2 and provide a justified rationale as to why you believe that this is the most suitable approach to leadership in modern organisations. You should then evaluate your selected leadership style to determine how this approach may be further developed to provide effective leadership in the modern workplace.

Guidance

You are expected to demonstrate sound justification of your selection of leadership style and rationale for why this has been selected. As part of your justification, you are encouraged to observe current challenges in the business landscape such as technological advancements, evolving work cultures, global challenges, and shifting societal expectations. Finally, you should consider if and how this leadership style needs to evolve further to meet future needs.

Presentation and Structure 10%

Ensure your report includes the following:

• A front cover with student ID, title, module name/code and word count.
• Contents page.
• Introduction to the report
• Main body of the report as outlined above (Task 1-3) – the discussions should examine some of the content suggested above and include a range of leadership theories, examples, data and illustrations where appropriate.
• A full list of references should accompany the report in Harvard Referencing format.
• Write report in a logical structure and in an articulate & fluent academic writing style with no grammatical / spelling errors.
• The report must be 1.5 spacing and a font size of 12 using Ariel or Calibri font style.
• Please use the link to CASE provided under Units for additional guidance with writing is a report format

Word Count

• Word count is 1500 +/-10% – this means 1350 minimum and 1650 maximum word count allowance.
• Marking will stop at 1650 words and any content after this will be ignored.
• Word count will not include front sheet, content page, reference list and relevant figures such as images, diagrams and frameworks that are used to support your discussion.
• Figures may not be used as a means to gain additional word count. Any writing contained within should be concise and limited to essential information upon which the discussion should be expanded within the main body of the report text. Marks may be deducted for figures that are heavily loaded with written content.

Submission: by uploading a Word document onto Canvas

Intellectual curiosity (quality of academic sources), use and presentation of Harvard Referencing, 10%

Core-Text for this module:

Mullins, L.J., (2016) Management and Organisational Behaviour, 11th Edition Pearson Education Limited.

• You are expected to include a minimum of twelve (12) sources, eight (8) of which should be academic
• Use appropriate sources to evidence your writing, ensure you follow the Harvard Referencing protocol
• Please use the link to CASE provided under Units for additional guidance with referencing

Overall guidance

• You are strongly advised to attend the live briefing session on this assignment. You will be informed of the schedule in good time.
• You must spend time and make sure you understand the tasks and the key elements you need to deliver.
• You must plan your work before embarking on writing your report– this will save you a lot of time later on.
• You must not copy and paste segments of theory, frameworks and models into your report. Instead you must paraphrase the content and sources you use. If you are not sure about this see CASE.

Use of Turn It In:

You must check your draft for plagiarism by using the Turnitin system. This checks the originality of your work. The Turn It In system is available in the module under Assignments and you should use this to check the originality of your work before submitting your attempt via the Canvas portal. Instructions will be provided in the Module site in the Assignment section. University regulations are strictly applied in the area of plagiarism. When you submit your report you will confirm the following: ‘I certify that this piece of assessment is my own work that it is has not been copied from elsewhere, and that any extracts from books, papers, or other sources have been properly acknowledged as references or quotations’.

Tips:

always refer to the Assessment and grading criteria

You will be assessed on:

• Coverage and application of relevant theory
• Explanation, illustration and description of benefits of suggested techniques
• Evidence of reading and research (including sourcing and referencing using the Harvard referencing system throughout, accompanied by a reference list)
• Overall structure and presentation of a report (including requirements listed above)

Academic Integrity, Plagiarism and Essay Mills

• You are NOT allowed to copy any information into your assignment without using quotation marks and a reference – this is ‘plagiarism’ (a type of academic misconduct).
• You are NOT allowed to copy from other students (or allow other students to copy from you) – this is ‘collusion’.
• You are NOT allowed to copy from your own assignments on other modules – this is ‘self-plagiarism’.
• You must NEVER buy assignments from websites (essay mills) – this is called ‘contract cheating’ and it is now illegal in the UK.
• If you commit academic misconduct, your mark will be reduced, and you will face disciplinary action for repeat offences.

Contact academic-skills@herts.ac.uk if you are unsure of the rules or how to avoid academic misconduct, and you will receive help.

Student Support and Guidance

• For further help on module content and assignment details, contact your Module Leader in his or her drop-in / office hours or by email.
• Use the Learning Outcomes and HBS Grading Criteria (Rubric) to help inform you of the expectations of the assessment.
• Use CASE (Centre for Academic Skills Enhancement) website resources: http://go.herts.ac.uk/CASE_. Attend CASE workshops and drop-ins to develop academic skills to meet HBS expectations (see timetable on CASE website homepage or drop-in to CASE in L064, in the LRC).
• Visit the Academic English for Business Programme Site for tips on developing your academic English and contact hbsacademic-endish@herts.ac.uk if you have any questions.
• For help with Turnitin, look for the ‘Check your work’ (Turnitin Originally Report) practice assignment in the Assignment section of all of your modules. For help with understanding plagiarism and how to make changes to your assignment, contact hbsacademic-endish@herts.ac.uk.
• Use the Online Library to access quality business information resources:
  • Library Search will help you find books, journal articles and more.
  • Use the Subject Toolkit for Business to access to industry standard databases.
  • Use Library SkillUP for guidance for searching and referencing.
  • Get help: use SkillUP module chat, visit the Study Success Hub, or book an 1:1 with a librarian.

The relevant HBS Grading Criteria (Rubric) for your assignment should be added as a table immediately below the assignment description. If you are unable to find the Grading Criteria (Rubric), please contact your Module Leader.

UG Grading Criteria for HBS Coursework (Individual Report): Coursework 1