Leadership Courses (OL) - Online Graduate

OL 510 Leadership Fundamentals 6 Cr.

This course focuses on differentiating the conceptual and theoretical aspects and models of leadership and leadership studies in order for students to apply leadership skills and principles to their place of work. The fundamentals of leadership are taught within the context of present and past leaders with an emphasis on how to live out these fundamentals in an ethical manner.

OL 520 Emotional Intelligence 6 Cr.

This course provides information about the new way of evaluating intelligence in individuals. This new measure of intelligence is called EQ or emotional intelligence. Students are given the opportunities and tools to evaluate their capacity to think about work through the lens of reflection and introspection as a guide to understanding the behavioral aspects of working together and providing customer service. By examining thinking patterns students will take away new skills in developing intuitive reasoning to enhance professional interpersonal relationships with peers and customers.

OL 530 Leading Change in Organizations 6 Cr.

A leader’s ability to understand and follow the change management process in a collaborative manner is a vital skill to master. This seminar focuses on the strategic leadership of change in organizations. Students learn about change from a leadership as well as a management perspective in organizations, national and multinational. This broad-based seminar differentiates the conceptual and theoretical change models in order to assist the student in understanding the best ways to lead and manage change. Students learn the importance of understanding and following the change management process in a collaborative manner. The seminar helps students learn about and practice leadership skills that foster positive changes in people and organizations.

OL 540 Strategic Communication and Information Leadership 6 Cr.

Strategic communication is a vital skill in today’s demanding, fast-paced, virtual or global workplaces. This course requires students to identify a personal leadership style, tendencies and preferences as a professional, and how one assimilates and applies information. Experiential learning is a large component of this course as students practice their skills at work and relay their experiences through a Leadership Development Portfolio (LDP).

OL 541 Hospitality Leadership Strategies 6 Cr.

This course introduces leadership practices and strategies in the expanding hospitality industry. The core of the course is the study of best practices for hospitality leadership, including the challenges of providing exceptional service with limited resources and changes to the global marketplace. Students study different types of industry best practices, focusing on internal and external stakeholder relationships, and forming strategic directions to ensure success in a chosen type of organization.

OL 542 Human Resources Leadership 6 Cr.

The focus of this seminar is on the history and evolution of human resources leadership, current trends and future needs regarding various leadership strategies utilized within a broad range of organizations. The seminar will examine the impact such factors as globalization, technology, and worker diversity have on achieving the work/life balance needs and capabilities required by organizations and individuals. The seminar also explores the role of the leader in growing its people within the organizational context to develop a value based culture capable of achieving strategic goals and objectives. Through the discussion and understanding of human resource leadership principles and personal reflection and integration, the student will gain the ability to help design, develop and construct worker based strategies at an executive level while concurrently helping workers grow and develop as individuals.

OL 543 Theories and Innovative Practices of Public Sector/Government/Military Leadership 6 Cr.

This course addresses the dynamic economic, social, and cultural transformations faced by contemporary public sector/government/military leaders as they strengthen agencies for tomorrow’s challenges. Combining the latest leadership theories of public sector/government/military leadership with the most effective lessons from the private sector, students will gain theoretical frameworks and practical tools to effectively improve and enhance their skills to manage complex systems, influence organizational context, engage stakeholders, and shape institutional culture. The topics covered include: history and theories of successful public sector/government/military management; contemporary leadership strategies; and innovative response to public sector challenges in a growing global marketplace.

OL 544 Change Management Consulting 6 Cr.

There are two foci for this seminar. The first is on providing students with the theoretical knowledge and foundation on consulting models and methodologies. The second is on providing students with the tips, tools and techniques to be a successful change management consultant.

OL 550 Strategic Organizational Behavior 6 Cr.

This seminar focuses on strategic organizational behavior in organizations. Students learn about the importance of strategic alignment in order to enable effective organizational behavior. Systems thinking and organizational behavior provide a framework that the student can use both to analyze and influence the behavior of individuals and groups within the organization. This broad-based seminar analyzes and applies various holistic strategic organizational behavior models in order to assist the student in understanding the best ways to assess and impact the strategic alignment of organizations. Students learn the importance of a leader’s ability to understand and use various organizational behavior and organizational strategy models. The seminar helps students learn about and practice leadership skills that foster strategic alignment and effective behavior in people and organizations.

OL 551 Hospitality Management Systems: Leveraging Capacity in Service Organizations 6 Cr.

This seminar focuses on various management systems utilized within the hospitality industry to leverage capacity to expand services via human resources and innovative knowledge management. This course introduces students to hospitality management systems and the strategies used to create an adaptive, dynamic and customer-focused hospitality organization. The course examines management tools and tactics geared to improve customer loyalty, employee satisfaction and revenue management. The core of the course is the study of best practices for hospitality management systems, and the science behind the correct utility of those systems.

OL 552 Leveraging Human Capacity for Strategic Results 6 Cr.

The focus of this seminar is on various management systems and best organizational practices to leverage human capacity to achieve strategic goals. The seminar studies how maximized utilization of human capital has become the centerpiece for success in an increasingly complex world, and how human resource leaders must confront ambitious goals while balancing a volatile economic market, environmental and legal risks, advancements in technology and workforce needs evolving at an increasingly rapid pace. The seminar will also explore various measurement tools for assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of management systems methods for developing a blueprint for executing strategic objectives. This seminar builds on the Human Resource Leadership seminar, which was focused on developing a leadership strategy that successfully supports management systems that leverage human capacity for organizations.

OL 553 Influence in the Public Sector/Government/Military: Collaborating Across Organizational Lines 6 Cr.

This course addresses challenges faced by public sector/government/military leadership in developing collaborative relationships spanning across agency borders. Managing adaptation to changing environments and successfully dealing with multi-faceted variables using planning and control strategies, students will learn new people management strategies, implementing fundamentals of strategic and performance management, by leading effective change initiatives within an organization, and fostering teamwork by creating a work culture that values collaboration. The topics covered include: creating operational synergy, and managing internal and external stakeholder relationships to promote information sharing and create collaborative partnerships.

OL 554 Implementing Organizational Change 6 Cr.

The focus of this seminar is on moving from the theoretical realm to the practical application of implementing change initiatives. Students are presented with real-world case studies of successful and unsuccessful change management initiatives. Students analyze and synthesize cases to determine what worked and what did not work.

OL 560 Strategic Organizational Leadership & Developing a Learning Organization 6 Cr.

Students apply principles of Leading Change, Strategic Organizational Behavior and Strategic Leadership to people and organizations to impact performance and ensure future success. This seminar develops an understanding of the implications of strategic alignment and organizational learning to the organization’s success. It differentiates conceptual and theoretical change models to assist students in understanding the best ways to lead change and foster a learning organization while considering individual and group behavior as tied to strategy. The seminar demonstrates how strategic leadership, organizational behavior, and change theories are applied in a collaborative manner and will lead to aligning stakeholder’s interest. Prerequisites: OL530 and OL550 or permission of the program director.

OL 561 Capstone Studies 6 Cr.

This course in capstone studies provides students the opportunity to synthesize learning from all previous seminars and to apply the concepts and principles in two ways: the preparation of a written capstone project that offers a practical or theoretical solution to an organizational challenge or issue of contemporary importance and relevance to the work or career goals of each student; and a 1500- word paper suitable for publication in a professional journal. Students will be required to exhibit indepth critical thinking, organizational analysis, and effective writing. Course assignments will maximize the exchange of student suggestions and comments on the various stages of the capstone project, to include but not limited to topic section, thesis, resources and supporting information. Prerequisites: Completion of all prior required core and concentration courses, or permission of the program director.

OL 588 No Norwich Equivalent 6 Cr.

OL 595 Residency 0 Cr.