Leadership in Organizations (303-0-20)
Instructors
Hatim Rahman
Meeting Info
Frances Searle Building 1441: Tues 2:00PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
*INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*
The information for this section is for Professor Hatim Rahman's section.
This course provides students with the social science tools needed to solve organizational problems and influence the actions of individuals, groups and organizations. It prepares managers to understand how to best organize and motivate the human capital of the firm, manage social networks and alliances, and execute strategic change. This is accomplished through knowledge of competitive decision making, reward system design, team building, strategic negotiation, political dynamics, corporate culture and strategic organizational design.
The goal of this course is to help you understand what an organizational leader does and to help
you develop skills to be an effective leader. The course draws on theories and empirical work
from psychology, sociology, and organizational behavior relating to organizational dynamics,
motivation, teams, power and culture. The course is based around the idea that a leader does not
need formal power or authority to lead. Rather, leadership arises from the ability to mobilize
people around a particular challenge and commitment to take action.
In addition to developing skills, as students of the world, we want to have a lens that helps us
evaluate the contributions and consequences of leaders. Sadly, not all leaders are effective, and
given the wrong motivations or circumstances, leaders can be quite destructive. Thus, as we go
through our weekly readings, I will often ask you to reflect on particular leaders and assess what
they did well or not so well. Leaders assemble the skills, talents, and resources of individuals and
groups into combinations that best solve those organizational challenges. Effective leaders are
able to solve these challenges, improve their teams, cultivate new leaders, accomplish
organizational goals, and (hopefully) improve society in the process. In order to accomplish so
many things, they must be able to diagnose problems, make effective decisions, influence and
motivate others, manage diversity, tap into and motivate the human and social capital of
organizational members, optimize cross-functional teams, and drive organizational change. We
will particularly develop your understanding by confronting how leaders are dealing with issues
at forefront of the "future of work."
Registration Requirements
Prerequisites: ECON 201 & 202
Class Materials (Required)
Textbook info is TBD. Study.net course packet will cost approximately $70.45. Other class material will be available to students via Canvas.
Class Notes
There are no waitlists for BUS_INST courses. If the class closes before your registration time, please check back.
For more information, please view sample syllabus: https://businessinstitutions.northwestern.edu/courses/course-descriptions/index.html
Class Attributes
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Prerequisite: Any combination of ECON 201/ECON 311/AP-IB Macro AND ECON 202/ECON 310/MMSS 211-1/AP-IB Micro credit is required to register for this course.