University of Technology Sydney

49069 Leadership and Responsibility

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2024 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Engineering: Professional Practice and Leadership
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Postgraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

Description

This subject develops an understanding of the role of engineering and technical managers as responsible leaders in organisations. It focuses on the need to work through other people, not only subordinates and supervisors, but other managers and leaders. The subject provides a comprehensive review of leadership theory by following the timeline of historical development. It teaches that there exist many complex facets of leadership and emphasises the belief that one should not accept a position of trust without accepting the responsibility that goes with it. However, the art of leadership cannot be learned solely from books, virtual cafes or YouTube videos, it needs to be experienced and practised by doing and by interacting with real humans. A central teaching element of this subject is a set of activities that require engagement, motivation, critical thinking, verbal communication, group participation, perseverance and performance under time pressure.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. Apply critical thinking to analyse complex situations, problems and/or requirements to understand options and inform decision-making. (C.1)
2. Apply leadership theory and practice concepts to develop own leadership mindset and methods that adapt to situations and goals pursued. (B.1)
3. Organise teams, manage interdisciplinary and multicultural collaboration, and assess own and other team members' personal, leadership and managerial fit for specific situations. (E.1, F.1)
4. Apply professional written and verbal communication skills to persuasively present ideas and plans to different audiences. (E.1)

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):

  • Socially Responsible: FEIT graduates identify, engage, and influence stakeholders, and apply expert judgment establishing and managing constraints, conflicts and uncertainties within a hazards and risk framework to define system requirements and interactivity. (B.1)
  • Design Oriented: FEIT graduates apply problem solving, design thinking and decision-making methodologies in new contexts or to novel problems, to explore, test, analyse and synthesise complex ideas, theories or concepts. (C.1)
  • Collaborative and Communicative: FEIT graduates work as an effective member or leader of diverse teams, communicating effectively and operating autonomously within cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural contexts in the workplace. (E.1)
  • Reflective: FEIT graduates critically self-review their own and others' performance with a high level of responsibility to improve and practice competently for the benefit of professional practice and society. (F.1)

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies

Students enrolled in the Master of Professional Engineering should note that this subject contributes to the development of the following Engineers Australia Stage 1 competencies:

  • 2.3. Application of systematic engineering synthesis and design processes.
  • 3.1. Ethical conduct and professional accountability.
  • 3.2. Effective oral and written communication in professional and lay domains.
  • 3.5. Orderly management of self, and professional conduct.
  • 3.6. Effective team membership and team leadership.

Teaching and learning strategies

This subject uses a variety of teaching and learning activities. These activities consist of weekly face-to-face lectures and tutorials, individual assignments and a group project with discrete activities that facilitate individual assessment.

The lectures are interactive and students are encouraged to actively participate in them by making comments and raising questions. Lecture notes will be made available either just before or during the lecture. Complementary material – e.g. readings, videos, exercises - will be made available both before and after lectures.

The tutorial activities, project and presentations complement the theory and applications presented in the lectures and online material and represent a key component for realising the aims of the course.

Students will be required to undertake one group project during this course. This project will involve a critical assessment and application of leadership and will require independent research, analysis and comment. Students will work in small teams – within larger groups - to complete the report and presentations required for the delivery of the project. They will be required to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration within the 49069 cohort and with other professionals in other fields.

The primary goal of the tutorial activities is to work through the different facets of leadership from hands-on and reflective perspectives while being able to get feedback from the lecturer, the tutors and fellow students. The aim of this process, is to have students develop good understanding and confidence in contributing to purposeful leadership for the collaborative attainment of common goals.

By scanning current media, students will also be required to analyse present problems in the wider community through the lens of leadership. This weekly exercise aims to emphasise the relevance and applicability of the concepts presented in this subject to current real-life situations.

Because of its comprehensiveness, there will be only one project that will run the full extent of the semester.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Group activities and project

Objective(s):

This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs):

1 and 2

This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):

B.1 and C.1

Type: Project
Groupwork: Group, group and individually assessed
Weight: 50%

Assessment task 2: Case study analysis

Objective(s):

This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs):

1, 2 and 4

This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):

B.1, C.1 and E.1

Type: Exercises
Groupwork: Group, group and individually assessed
Weight: 25%

Assessment task 3: Weekly reflection and posting on discussion board

Objective(s):

This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs):

1, 2 and 3

This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):

B.1, C.1, E.1 and F.1

Type: Reflection
Groupwork: Individual
Weight: 15%

Assessment task 4: Weekly journal

Objective(s):

This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs):

1, 2 and 4

This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):

B.1, C.1 and E.1

Type: Journal
Groupwork: Individual
Weight: 10%

Minimum requirements

In order to pass the subject, a student must achieve an overall mark of 50% or more.

Recommended texts

There is no set textbook. Some of the books used in the crafting of this subject and suggested as useful reading are listed below.

Northouse, P.G., 2018, Leadership: Theory and Practice – 8th edition, Sage Publications USA

Ferraro, J., 2014, The Strategic Project Leader: Mastering Service-Based Project Leadership, CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group) Boca Raton

Epsom, L., 2017, Leading Professionals: Power, Politics, and Prima Donnas, Oxford University Press, Oxford UK

Sylvester, K., 2016, Negotiating in the Leadership Zone, Academic Press (Elsevier), United Kingdom

Cunliffe, A.L., 2014 – A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about management – 2nd edition, Sage Publications, London

Aristotle, 350 B.C., Rhetoric – Books I-III, translated by W. Rhys Roberts is available as a txt file from the MIT Internet Classics Archive at http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/rhetoric.html or as a pdf file from http://www.wendelberger.com/downloads/Aristotle_Rhetoric.pdf

Machiavelli, N., 1532, The Prince, translated by W.K. Marriott is available from the Project Gutenberg at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1232/1232-h/1232-h.htm#link2HCH0001

Hoecklin, L., 1995, Managing Cultural Differences: Strategies for Competitive Advantage, Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, New Jersey, USA

Heath, C., and Heath, D., 2010, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Random House International, USA

Thaler, R.H. and Sunstein, C.R., 2009, Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness, Penguin Books, London

Ariely, D., 2010, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, Harper (HarperCollins Publishers) New York

Fogler, H.S., LeBlanc, S.E., Rizzo, B., 2014, Strategies for Creative Problem Solving – Third edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall

Lewicki, R.J., Saunders, D.M. and Barry, B., 2019, Negotiation - 8th edition, Mc Graw-Hill Education, USA

Brown, B., 2018, Dare to Lead, Random House UK, GB

Gillard, J. and Okonjo-Iweala, N., 2020, Women and Leadership: Real Lives. Real Lessons, Penguin Random House Australia