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Leadership in Organizations (303-0-21)

Instructors

Ivuoma Onyeador

Meeting Info

Frances Searle Building 1421: Mon 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

*INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*

The instructor of this course is Ivy Onyeador.

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 create, develop, and enhance your leadership skills. The course is designed to prepare you to lead high-performing, successful firms in the future and to effectively steer your own careers. These will be the twin themes of the course: (1) how to establish, manage, and lead prosperous firms and (2) how to develop a thriving career for oneself.

A key leadership task is to assemble the skills, talents, and resources of individuals and groups into those combinations that best solve the organizational problem at hand. You must manage people, information, and processes to accomplish organizational goals. You must make things happen, often under conditions or time frames that are not of your own choosing. The successful execution of these goals requires leaders to be able to diagnose problems, make effective decisions, influence, and motivate others, manage the diversity of their personal contacts, tap into and motivate the human and social capital of organizational members, optimize cross-functional teams, and drive organizational change.

This course prepares you to achieve these objectives. You will learn fundamental tools from the behavioral and social sciences that will improve your ability to analyze organizational dynamics and take robust action.

Registration Requirements

Prerequisites: ECON 201-0 (Macroeconomics) and ECON 202-0 (Microeconomics) or equivalents.

Evaluation Method

Your final grade is composed of:

Class Materials (Required)

Textbook: TBD

Class Notes

This class does not have a wait list and we do not issue permissions to exceed enrollment capacity. If the class fills up before your registration time, we suggest checking CAESAR regularly for an available seat. Roster changes frequently occur during the first two weeks of registration and just before the start of a new quarter.

For more information about the course, please refer to the sample syllabus on the Kapnick Center website: https://businessinstitutions.northwestern.edu/courses/course-descriptions/index.html

*IMPORTANT DATES for SPRING 2026:

  • First Day (mandatory): Tuesday, March 31, 2026 (Northwestern Monday)

  • Last Day of Lecture: Monday, June 1, 2026

  • Final Exam (In-Person): Week of Monday, June 8, 2026 (regular final exam schedule per the Registrar's office)
 
Please plan accordingly, as the exam date cannot be rescheduled. If you cannot be at the exam, you may take the course in a different quarter.

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area
Attendance at 1st class mandatory

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: PRE-REG:Reserved for Business Institutions Program majors & minors. 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.