printer friendly pageOB 331: Leadership Fellows II
This course is the continuation of Leadership Fellows I, an 8-unit course that begins in Autumn Quarter. During this quarter Fellows will continue to deepen their coaching and mentoring skills, and will focus exclusively on in-depth 1:1 coaching with three MBA1 coachees (who were not members of their MBA1 squad.) Classes and clinics continue as in Autumn Quarter.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
Instructors:
Robin, C. (PI)
OB 336: Insight to Outcome
Getting from "strategic insight" to "desired outcome" (achieving the right result) continues to be a core challenge for many organizations and leaders. In this course, we develop a framework and approach for the "insight to outcome" sequence, study some of the key levers available to managers, and learn from some common pitfalls. The bulk of the course will be devoted to the practical application of the approach to a number of important business processes, such as merger integration, corporate and business unit transformation, and strategy development. Some class sessions will involve class visits by topical experts in these applications. The course is designed for second-year MBAs. It will appeal to students interested in an exploratory course - more of a "how to think about it" course than a "toolkit" course. Grades will be based on class participation and a group project. Class size is limited to 30.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
Instructors:
Wurster, T. (PI)
OB 372: High-Performance Leadership
This course asks the question: "What does it take to build high-performance?" The focus is on middle and upper-middle management in contemporary organizations that have complex tasks, exist in a rapidly changing environment, and have highly skilled subordinates. The premise of the course is that traditional methods of management may produce adequate levels of performance but prevent excellence from developing. New approaches to leadership will be presented that are more likely to lead to a truly high-performing system. Time will be spent discussing the components of effective leadership, what a manager can do to build a compelling vision, strong tea,s, and mutual influence sideways and upwards as well as with direct reports. Also, what members can do to support the leader who wants to initiate such changes. In addition to class, students will meet for 2 1/2 hours each week in a Skill Development Group to apply the course material to their own personal development. (While there is minimal overlap in content between
OB 372 and
OB 374 and these two classes are highly complementary, both require Journals and an evening group. We recommend against taking both classes in the same quarter for workload reasons.) Students will have a choice as to when their SDG will meet. The expectation is full attendance at all SDG meetings. Only one excused class absence. Class on 2/23/15 is required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
Instructors:
Bradford, D. (PI)
OB 374: Interpersonal Dynamics
PRE-QUALIFICATION IS REQUIRED BY THE DEADLINE (APPROXIMATELY FIVE WEEKS BEFORE THE QUARTER BEGINS). The focus of this course is to increase one's competencies in building more effective relationships. Learning is primarily through feedback from other group members. This course is very involving and, at times, can be quite emotional. However, this course is not a substitute for therapy; we deal more with inter-personal issues than with intra-personal ones. If you are in therapy, please talk this over with your therapist and get their advice before enrolling in this course. The students are divided into three 12-person T-groups that meet the same evening of the class. It is very important to note that when you decide to take this course, you make an explicit contract to be actively involved. Attendance to the first class is required for the 1-day/week sections of this class. Attendance to the first two classes is required for the 2-day/week sections of this class. Failure to attend the first class will result in an automatic drop. Students who are waitlisted must attend the first meeting of each section they are waitlisted for in order to secure a place in the course should space open up. It is the student's responsibility to notify respective
OB 374 faculty of your attendance and wish to fulfilling your waitlist requirement. T-group meetings for all sections will meet for 3 hours the same evening as 1-day/week class and the same evening of the first day of the 2-day/week section. The class has a weekend retreat the seventh or eighth week (check your specific section) of the course. Because of the highly interactive nature of this course, it is very important that all students attend all sessions. Missing class, class T-group, evening T-group, or any portion of the weekend will negatively influence your grade and may result in a student's grade being dropped one grade level (for each absence). Arriving late on Friday to the weekend will negatively influence your grade level - missing any more of the weekend beyond that will result in a U. Students must pre-qualify before taking this course. Qualification assignments are due approximately five weeks prior to the quarter. For exact due dates and complete assignment details, see:
https://sites.google.com/a/stanford.edu/ob374-prequalification/
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 5
Instructors:
Bristol, S. (PI)
;
Corney, A. (PI)
;
Dexter, G. (PI)
;
Francisco, R. (PI)
;
Robin, C. (PI)
OB 377: The Paths to Power
Power and influence processes are ubiquitous and important in organizations, so leaders need to be able both to understand power and to act on that knowledge. This course has three objectives: 1) increasing students' ability to diagnose and analyze power and politics in organizational situations; 2) increase students' skills in exercising power effectively; and 3) helping students come to terms with the inherent dilemmas and choices, and their own ambivalence, involved in developing and exercising influence. Topics covered include: the sources of power, including individual attributes and structural position; dealing with resistance and conflict; obtaining allies and supporters; maintaining power; how and why power is lost; living in the limelight--the price of having power; preparing oneself to obtain power; and the use of language and symbolism in exercising power.nnnThe class involves a reasonably large number of written, self-reflective assignments as well as two individual projects (doing a power diagnosis on an external organization that is important to the person) and a doing-power project (using the class material during the quarter to gain power in some group or organization). The class emphasis is on both learning the conceptual material and also incorporating it into one's own strategies and behaviors.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
Instructors:
Pfeffer, J. (PI)
OB 383: Lives of Consequence: How Individuals Discover Paths to Meaningful Engagement
This Bass Seminar will examine the lives of extra-ordinary individuals who have made exceptional contributions to society, either through their impact on business, politics, science, social activism, or the arts. We will take a close look, for example, at creative individuals such as Steve Jobs, George Lucas, and Pixar's Brad Bird; political achievers such as Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Margaret Thatcher; business leaders such as Bill and Melinda Gates, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, and Starbuck's Howard Schultz (to name just a few). We will use these examples to develop useful ideas about the narrative unfolding of creative and extra-ordinary lives. In addition, using theories and evidence from the social and behavioral sciences, we will develop a conceptual framework for thinking about individuals' "paths to extra-ordinary achievement." Drawing on psychological and philosophical theory and research, we will also examine how human achievement relates to happiness and the perception of meaning in one's life. You will have a chance to work in small groups to study individuals or domains of special interest. Students will also have an opportunity to apply the framework to their own lives using a series of enjoyable reflective exercises, including writing and public speaking exercises. The seminar will be very discussion oriented and quite lively. The goal of the seminar is to change how you think about your self and your life!
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Kramer, R. (PI)
OB 522: Managing Social Networks in Organizations
This course is designed to improve your effectiveness a manager by introducing you to both the concepts and tools that are part of the "new science of social networks" as they apply to organizations. In this course, you will develop the skills to understand social networks and recognize social capital, both offline and online, as well as be able to identify key elements of your own and others? social networks that enhance competitive capabilities. Topics to be covered include how social networks affect power and influence, leadership, innovation and the generation of novel ideas, careers, organizational change and competitive advantage. Additional topics to be covered include the increasing importance of online social networks in organizational life and the importance of social cognition and how it can be used to enhance social capital. At the conclusion of this course you will have the skills to map out social networks, diagnose features of the networks that either help or hinder the performance of individuals, groups and companies, and be able to manage important features of social networks in organizations.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Hasan, S. (PI)
OB 555: Mastering Life's Moments: The Challenge of Optimizing your Experience
Our personal and professional lives are made up of a series of moments. Some of these moments present great opportunity, with the prospect of personal change and even transformative growth. Other moments contain the seeds of setback and even derailment of our most coveted plans. Some of life's moments are planned, while others catch us completely by surprise. Whatever moments we are afforded, we must make the most of them. This new seminar will explore what we know about the psychology of "optimal experience." We will examine how and why some individuals harvest so much joy, zest and sense of attainment from their moments, while others squander their moments or dig themselves into deeper holes when trying to respond to them. We will also examine how and why some people respond brilliantly to adversity, mastering even the most tragic moments that life presents, while others flounder and fold. To inform our thinking on this vital topic, the seminar will include a series of rich and provocative readings from psychology, behavioral economics, organizational theory and philosophy. Additionally, the seminar will include a series of compelling video cases illustrating both optimal and suboptimal responses to experience. To make the seminar more personally involving and useful to you, you will also engage in a series of reflective writing and experiential exercises. Whenever I offer a new course, I make a promise to the students who take it. For this course I promise you an intellectually deep and personally meaningful exploration of what it means to "use up" your life well. Put another way, I promise you some great educational moments in your GSB life!
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Kramer, R. (PI)
OB 581: Negotiations
This course is designed to improve students' skills in all phases of a negotiation: understanding prescriptive and descriptive negotiation theory as it applies to dyadic and multiparty negotiations, to buyer-seller transactions and the resolution of disputes, to the development of negotiation strategy and to the management of integrative and distributive aspects of the negotiation process. The course is based on a series of simulated negotiations in a variety of contexts including one-on-one, multi-party, and team negotiations. When playing a role in a simulated conflict, you will be free to try out tactics that might feel uncomfortable in a real one. You will get feedback from your classmates about how you come across. You will have an opportunity to reflect on your experience in your negotiation paper. In sum, you can use this course to expand your repertoire of conflict management and negotiation skills, to hone your skills, and to become more adept in choosing when to apply each skill. nnnThis course represents a shorter, more intense version of
OB 381-Conflict Management and Negotiations. Students should not take both courses, as there is considerable overlap in course content. Attendance and participation in the negotiation exercises is mandatory.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Halevy, N. (PI)
;
Neale, M. (PI)
OB 601: Organizational Ecology (SOC 366A)
This seminar examines theoretical and methodological issues in the study of the ecology of organizations. Particular attention is given to the dynamics that characterize the interface between organizational populations and their audiences.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Hannan, M. (PI)
Filter Results: