Organizational Leadership
Rosemary Osso, Assistant Dean
Vision Statement
The M.S. in Organizational Leadership (MSOL) offers working professionals a rich foundation and deep understanding of leadership theory and skills to further define themselves as burgeoning leaders within their personal and professional organizational environments. The MSOL degree program allows students to complete their graduate work through either a blended and/or online format, with a schedule that is flexible and conducive for working professionals. The program seeks to cultivate leaders who are professionally skilled and civically minded.
Mission Statement
The M.S. in Organizational Leadership (MSOL) degree program is for growing and established leaders in corporate, not-for-profit, service-based, and sports-related environments to build upon and improve existing professional skill sets. This graduate degree aims to provide new and seasoned professionals with the knowledge they need to develop their competencies in leadership theory and strategy and advance themselves as leaders in their personal and professional organizational environments.
The master’s degree in Organizational Leadership provides students the opportunity to build on established competencies and professional experience. Through course activities and assignments, they can implement and test the strategies learned in the classroom to the workplace and develop solutions to real-world business problems for corporate and organizational partners. This program aims to cultivate administrative leaders who are professionally skilled and civically minded.
Organizational Leadership courses are offered in an accelerated format in the evenings and weekends. Courses are completed in seven-week terms and all courses require 20 hours of coursework per week. Students may choose from one of two different program tracks: online or blended.
For the online track, classes do not meet on campus and can be offered as either synchronous (classroom lectures and other activities are delivered in real-time during pre-scheduled sessions) or asynchronous (all course activity is done online with no pre-scheduled sessions)
For the blended track, course activity is done asynchronously online, but there are required real-time (synchronous and classroom-based) instructional activities, such as lectures, discussions, or other face-to-face learning activities. The students enrolled in the BSOL blended track will have scheduled weekly sessions on campus and in person.
Program Learning Goals
By the completion of the program, students will:
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Use essential leadership tools and techniques to plan and implement complex projects and initiatives.
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Produce personal leadership philosophies that competently incorporate relevant approaches and strategies for administration.
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Apply advanced communication skills to articulate complex ideas to diverse audiences.
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Acquire methods to support diverse teams and build inclusive organizational cultures effectively.
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Identify and navigate ethical dilemmas in varied organizational settings.
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Analyze the efficacy of different leadership techniques to achieve successful outcomes.
Program Summary
The Master of Science degree in Organizational Leadership is a 30-credit program. The program consists of eight three-credit core courses and two three-credit elective courses. Currently, the elective courses offered are in four areas: General Organizational Leadership, Human Resources, Public/Non-Profit, and eLearning and Training.
All graduate students in the organizational leadership master's program must sustain a minimum of a 3.0 (B) for each core course. Failure to do so will result in retaking the core course over.
Organizational Courses (M.S.)
| MSOL 601 | Fundamentals of Organizational Leadership | 3 |
| MSOL 605 | Leadership Communication and Coaching Essentials | 3 |
| MSOL 610 | Leading Across Cultural and Global Boundaries | 3 |
| MSOL 615 | Metrics for Today's Leader | 3 |
| MSOL 620 | Shaping the Learning Organization | 3 |
| MSOL 642 | Collaborative Project Management | 3 |
| MSOL 690 & MSOL 691 | Capstone-Consulting Project and Capstone Consulting Project | 6 |
| Students may select any 2 courses from the following list of electives to fulfill the degree requirements. | 6 | |
| General Organizational Leadership Electives | ||
| Ethics and Spirituality in the Workplace | ||
| Special Topics:Foundations of Professional Leadership:Developing the Leader Within | ||
| Global Dilemmas of Leadership: Race & Religion | ||
| Social Media Marketing for Sports & Entertainment Leadership | ||
| Human Resource Electives | ||
| HR Issues in the Workplace | ||
| Talent and Performance Management | ||
| Employment Law for Organizational Leader | ||
| Public Service Electives | ||
| Organizational Planning, Administration and Governance | ||
| Non-Profit and Government Leadership | ||
| Issues in Civic Engagement | ||
| eLearning & Training | ||
| Train & Devl:E-Learning Design | ||
| Instructional Systems Design for the Organizational Leader | ||
| Collaboration Technologies | ||
| Total Credits | 30 | |
MSOL Academic Plan At a Glance
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| MSOL 601 | 3 | MSOL 610 | 3 | MSOL 620 | 3 |
| MSOL 605 | 3 | MSOL 615 | 3 | MSOL 642 | 3 |
| Open Elective | 3 | Open Elective | 3 | ||
| 9 | 9 | 6 | |||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall | Credits | ||||
| MSOL 690 | 3 | ||||
| MSOL 691 | 3 | ||||
| 6 | |||||
| Total Credits: 30 | |||||
Courses
MSOL 600. Special Topic. 3 Credits.
An introduction to a topic, theme, or issue related to leadership. The subject will vary from semester to semester. (Cr. 3).
MSOL 601. Fundamentals of Organizational Leadership. 3 Credits.
This survey course will provide an overview of the topic. Problem solving, ethics, conflict resolution, delegation, empowerment as well as general principles of leadership will be explored in this course. This will be overlaid by the practice of reflection.
MSOL 605. Leadership Communication and Coaching Essentials. 3 Credits.
This course focuses on the persuasive communication techniques and strategies that can be used when one must or chooses to rely on influence as opposed to formal authority. Situations include: how to gain commitment; how to overcome resistance; and how to effectively manage conflict. Students will use their organizations as cases, employing communications technologies as appropriate. The role of ethics is considered throughout. Prerequisite: MSOL 601 or permission from Instructor.
MSOL 607. Management and Sustainable Development for Organizational Leaders. 3 Credits.
The focus of this course is on coordinating and sustaining cooperative activities across various types of international and cultural boundaries. This course is offered and delivered in an international setting, exploring development and management concepts and the appropriate leadership skills needed in a worldwide context. The course covers the practical realities of leading across cultural differences and national boundaries.
MSOL 610. Leading Across Cultural and Global Boundaries. 3 Credits.
The focus of this course is on coordinating and sustaining cooperative activities across various types of international and cultural boundaries(including generational, gender, and regional). The course covers the practical realities of leading across cultural differences and national boundaries. Students will explore differences domestically and globally. Prerequisites: MSOL 601 and MSOL 605 or permission from Instructor.
MSOL 615. Metrics for Today's Leader. 3 Credits.
The foundation of this course is the application of metrics to performance improvement and process reengineering. The balanced scorecard as well as other metrics approaches are the key elements of this course. Students will learn the essential tools and technologies required for this effective leadership technique. Prerequisite: MSOL 601, MSOL 605, and MSOL 610 or permission from Instructor.
MSOL 620. Shaping the Learning Organization. 3 Credits.
Students will learn how to create stimulating environments that are efficient, flexible and encourage personal growth. This course will cover techniques for challenging the organization and increasing its capacity. Prerequisites: MSOL 601, MSOL 605, MSOL 610, and MSOL 615 or permission from Instructor.
MSOL 625. Ethics and Spirituality in the Workplace. 3 Credits.
This course approaches the study of organizations from a holistic viewpoint. It focuses on how leaders may utilize the canons of ethics and spirituality to enhance performance at the individual, group and organizational levels. Prerequisite: MSOL 601.
MSOL 630. Organizational Planning, Administration and Governance. 3 Credits.
The essence of effective organizational leadership is planning. This course prepares current as well as future leaders in the areas of operational and strategic planning. The course also equips students with tools and techniques for maintaining governance in an organization. Prerequisites: MSOL 601, MSOL 605, and MSOL 615 or permission from instructor.
MSOL 641. Talent and Performance Management. 3 Credits.
A comprehensive talent management system is key for organization. This course covers best practices as well as evaluation tools that contribute to organizational effectiveness. Prerequisite: MSOL 601 or permission from Instructor.
MSOL 642. Collaborative Project Management. 3 Credits.
This course goes beyond basic project management. Students will learn advanced PM technology tools and techniques for managing complex projects and programs. Cases and simulations will allow students to learn how these advanced skills are applied to produce business/organizational results that require collaborative relationships. This course builds toward the capstone course. Prerequisite: MSOL 601 or permission from Instructor.
MSOL 651. HR Issues in the Workplace. 3 Credits.
In this course, students are introduced to the principles of human resource management (HRM). The course balances the theoretical and practical approaches to HRM. Emphasis is placed on the four primary HR functions: recruitment, selection, performance management, and governance. Other topical areas that are covered include compensation and benefits as well as the challenge of international HRM. Prerequisite: MSOL 601 or permission of Instructor.
MSOL 652. Employment Law for Organizational Leader. 3 Credits.
This course introduces the non-legal professional to laws that govern workplace personnel. Students are provided with an overview of legal issues affecting human resource management. The primary concentration is on the practical application of employment law on individuals in organizations and its impact on HR decisions. Prerequisite: MSOL 601 or permission from Instructor.
MSOL 661. Non-Profit and Government Leadership. 3 Credits.
This introductory course provides in-depth discourse on the unique challenges and issues of nonprofit and government agency leadership. The course provides insights and skills for leadership in these non-corporate sectors. Prerequisite; MSOL 601 or permission from Instructor.
MSOL 662. Issues in Civic Engagement. 3 Credits.
This course balances the study of contemporary theory and empirical research on civic engagement. It examines contemporary research from the perspectives of individual identities and backgrounds, personal motivations as well as political and social institutions. Prerequisite: MSOL 601 or permission of Instructor.
MSOL 671. Special Topics:Foundations of Professional Leadership:Developing the Leader Within. 3 Credits.
The demands of business today require a range of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that lead to success. An individual's success in business often hinges on his or her self-awareness and self-management. Here the ability to build trust, communicate, manage relationships, and build effective teams, as well as ones political savvy and ethical use of power, requires management skills for everyday life. This course will dive deeply into these topics as learners reflect upon how they "show up" as people. (3 cr.).
MSOL 672. Global Dilemmas of Leadership: Race & Religion. 3 Credits.
The significance of issues of diversity, inclusivity, and cultural sensitivity are of pressing urgency in today's globalized and transnational world. As leaders, it is even more important to understand theoretical global dynamics of race, religion, and conflict in reflection to today's workplace. This course provides a vibrant intellectual journey of global discovery in closely thinking through historical and contemporary issues of race and religion that enables one to think differently about these issues in regard to one's workplace environment in fostering civic engagement and social responsibility.
MSOL 674. Social Media Marketing for Sports & Entertainment Leadership. 3 Credits.
Basic and advanced principles and understanding of social media and various social media marketing channels. Understanding how organizations use, implement and execute social media strategies to drive business goals and objectives including: revenue generation, increase sales and exposure, brand awareness, promote products and solutions, measure consumer behavior, etc. Students will learn current social media practices for thriving organizations in the sports and entertainment industry.
Exposure to social media channels to include but not limited to: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and emerging networks.
MSOL 680. Train & Devl:E-Learning Design. 3 Credits.
This course provides participants with background about key principles in designing training through e-learning. It provides opportunities to design instruction that is effective, efficient, and engaging. Course content will focus on determining learner needs, define goals of the instruction, and creating a process that may take place in an asynchronous e-learning environment. E-tools and e-learning will be integrated into learning strategies and organizational planning. Participants will produce deliverables that can be used for online training and development.
MSOL 682. Instructional Systems Design for the Organizational Leader. 3 Credits.
This course is designed to provide training for Organizational Leaders who require knowledge of the instructional systems design process. Instructional design is a systematic approach to developing teaching and learning activities within the organizational environment. There are several design models that are used when developing instruction. Using elements from design models and theory, students will establish skills to apply learning outcomes, activites, and assessments in their marketplace setting.
MSOL 683. Collaboration Technologies. 3 Credits.
The ways in which we communicate today have a tremendous impact on our society and are changing everything we do. How groups of people come together has transformed over the past ten years. Technologies afford individuals the tools to cluster and connect with others around ideas, interests, and beliefs.
This course looks to study and enhance organizational and teamwork synergies through the use of digital collaboration tools. It introduces theories and methods related to collaborative technologies that are increasingly critical to the management of modern organizational settings and participation in interactive teams. In today's complex global economy, group projects and teamwork take on increased significance.
Technologies for collaboration can enhance team and workplace cooperation and effectiveness. When used formally they offer the ability to communicate and edit complex information within groups and to customers, organize thoughts and ideas, coordinate learning, and manage information for meetings, presentations, projects, and proposals. This course strives to apply the principles of organizational communications to the topics of collaboration and teamwork. Students will have various opportunities to utilize collaboration technologies throughout the course in virtual teams.
Credits : 3
Graduate Elective Course.
MSOL 690. Capstone-Consulting Project. 3 Credits.
This two-term capstone course is a faculty led consulting project for an external client. This engagement draws on the knowledge and skills gained throughout the program and requires student teams to perform a comprehensive analysis of an actual organizational issue and develop appropriate methods to address said issue. The result is a deliverable for the client organization. Pre-requisite: All required courses in the program must be completed.
MSOL 691. Capstone Consulting Project. 3 Credits.
This course is a continuation of MSOL 690. During this segment, students will finalize their reports and presentations for the client organization.