HW-8

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Donald Tironi

Concepts of Leadership

ABM. Kamal

11/28/99

HW-8

Introduction

There are four purpose to this draft. The first purpose of this draft is about the class we are about to complete. Part one will discuss the objectives, as I understood them. Part two will discuss what I have learned in this class that I did not know prior to taking this class. Part three will discuss improvements that I see for this class. Finally part four will outline an idea for a class project to be completed over next semester. Two annexures will also be attached to this draft. The first annexure will give a list of questions that I feel should be on the evaluation for this class. The second will detail the class project for next semester.

Facts

There are many things that are very important when one takes a class, but there are two crucial factors to any successful class. One of those things is to clearly understand the objectives of the class. This is crucial for success in the class, since the objectives are the key to understanding the class. The other crucial factor comes at the end of the class. This factor is the answer to the question of what have I learned. A class is not successful, unless it teaches new lessons. This portion of the draft will be split into two different sections. The first section will deal with the first objective in the draft, and the second part with the second objective.

The Objectives

There were four basic objectives for this class. Those four objectives were:

To teach the class about leadership
To teach the class how to draft
To practice public speaking
To create and maintain a webpage

These objectives were attained in a variety of ways. The first objective was done through a variety of lectures, books and presentations. We started the class with a few basic lectures that set the tone for the class. We then completed two presentations. One was the Heifitz book, and the other was the Gardner book. Both books explained, defined, and set the ground rules for leadership. We learned the qualities of leadership, and these qualities were later applied to the case studies that we presented. The second objective was to teach us how to draft. The ability to create this draft is an example of how the class achieved this goal. All the homework assigned were written in draft form. Drafting is a way of communicating, but it also teaches people to organize their thoughts. The ability to organize your thoughts in a systematic and logical order is a very important skill. Public speaking is another important skill for any leader. Another of the objectives was to practice our public speaking skills, and this was accomplished through numerous presentations. The presentations raised the comfort level with speaking in public, as well as practiced the skill of organizing thoughts. The question and answer period sharpened another skill, the skill of thinking quickly. No one knew the questions, so you had to know your subject. If the subject was known, answering the questions were not any problem, but you had to organize your thoughts quickly. This part of each presentation practiced thinking on your feet. The fourth objective dealt with the Internet. In today’s society, the Internet is becoming a huge part of life. It is important to know how to use the Internet, since it is a very easy way for people to find information. We had to learn how to create and maintain an Internet webpage.

What I Learned

There were many lessons learned in this class, but first and foremost, I learned that I can speak in public. Public speaking is a skill that takes a lot of practice to develop. Prior to this class, I had a fear of speaking publicly. This class taught the tricks of public speaking. I learned how to clearly organize my thoughts, and also how to pick out the most important points of a long passage. I always had problems focusing my reading, but this class helped better that skill. Another lesson learned in this class were the qualities of a leader. I had an idea of what a leader was, and how to define a leader. However, there was no known criteria as to who a leader was. I did not know that there were certain things to look for in a leader. Qualities such as a vision and the social contract between the leader and the led were new concepts. The most useful part of the course was learning how to draft. This was also a useful skill in Business Management class. Both classes required drafting skills, but our class actually taught those skills. Drafting is a very useful way of communicating, and was very helpful to learn.

Changes

I feel the class was very good, but there are a few changes that I feel have to be made. The first deals with the webpage. The entire class did not know how to create a webpage. A class taught by Jacek, devoted to this would have been useful. Secondly, I would like to see more use of the Internet and the laptops in class. Leadership is a topic that is in constant flux, and the Internet is the most effective way to keep up with the changing topics. An idea is for us to read articles in class, and then discuss them. The third change would be to discuss the formatting of papers earlier. While it was possible to research your topic early, it was difficult to start writing until just recently. It would be better to start discussing the formatting of the paper a bit earlier. Then if a student wants to start writing, they have a better chance. On the subject of the paper, it would be very helpful for Jacek to show us how to put the pictures in the text. Once again, this is not an act most professors require. Some of us are unsure exactly how to do this, or if we can do this after we already type the text. These are unnerving questions, that could be answered in one class. The final suggestion, all be it impossible, is to make the class a little later. It is very difficult for commuters like myself to arrive on time. I am in the heart of rush hour, and some days it is virtually impossible to arrive on time. These are my suggestions, but overall I am very pleased with this class. I feel it was very useful and I enjoyed it a great deal.

A Class Project

The best way to learn how to be a leader is to practice leadership. One of the ways for our class to do this is by deciding on a class project. The project should be informative and an example to the school and the community. One such proposed topic has been the Adopt-A-Minefield project. I feel this would be a good project. It would be along the lines of international relations, but I do not feel this would be an example to the school or the community. It would be very likely that no one but this class would know if we adopted a minefield or even where it is. I feel a better project would be to coordinate an information week. There are weeks such as Human Relations Week or Minefield Awareness Week. During these weeks, there are information sessions, guest speakers, and activities to make people aware of a certain problem, and also how to help correct the problem that exists. My idea would be a Refugee Awareness Week. Refugees cause a huge crisis in the international arena, and with Kosovo so recent it is a topic that most Americans have heard of. This week would have guest speakers and other lectures on the topics of refugee-caused crisis as well as case studies and solutions to the problem. It would be an informative week that would discuss a huge problem in the international arena. It is a problem that affects everyone, especially when there are mass exoduses occurring around the world. The topic is very recent and very interesting. We would show our leadership to the rest of the school and the community.

Annexure One—Class Evaluation

Was the teacher informative, punctual, and friendly?
Was the class useful?
Was the teacher available for questions, comments, and other aid?
Does the class aid in the advancement of your major?
What do you feel was most useful in the class?
What do you feel was least useful in the class?
What suggestions do you have for the class?
Was the teaching aid helpful, friendly, etc.?
Did the professor and teaching aid understand the topic?
Were you comfortable with the professor?(for example when he delivered criticism)
Were the books useful?
Did the assignments pertain to the class? Did they teach you lessons discussed in class?
Were the assignments properly explained? Did you know what was expected of you?
Were the course objectives completed?
Was the grading policy clearly explained? Was it fair, and was it followed?
Was the class fun, boring, informative, etc.?
What would be useful for this class?

Annexure Two--Class Project Outline

The Goals

The idea I proposed for our class project was Refugee Awareness Week. The week would address the refugee problem and also solutions on how to help this problem. The basic goal of the event would be to address the lack of understanding about the Refugee crisis around the world. Many people see these problems on television, but do not fully understand the impact it has on a global scale. This week would be an opportunity for people to learn more about this problem. Also this week would show people that this problem does not just effect other parts of the world. This week would show people that the refugee problem in Kosovo does effect us here in the United States. The second goal would be to raise awareness about this problem. As I stated earlier, refugees can become a very large problem, and very quickly. Mass exoduses can occur quickly and at any time. This week would help raise awareness as to the problem. If people know that there is a refugee problem around the world, that is half the battle. We cannot expect to help with the refugee problem when people don’t even know the problem exists. It was very successful when we hosted the Minefield Awareness Week. It raised people’s knowledge about the minefield problems that are still out there. It also talked about ideas such as the Adopt-A-Minefield program. Once people fully understood the magnitude of this problem, they were willing and hoping to help. The same can be said about the refugee problem. If people fully understand the magnitude of this problem, I feel they would want to help. There is no clear solution for this problem, but there are ways to help. Such as giving things to send to the refugees or just contributions to the correct groups.

Organization

This type of event would be a large undertaking and our class would need a lot of help to accomplish this. However we have the resources available to do it. First of a small group from the class, about two or three, would be selected as the chair committee. These would be the head officials. The rest of the class would then be delegated into smaller groups that would have specific tasks. Some examples would be an activities committee, lecture committee, and a fundraising committee. There of course would be other topics that these groups would cover. The Dean, as well as you would have to be involved. With the connections the two of you have, we would be able find the proper speakers for the lectures. It would be a great undertaking but if the chair committee ran the event and planning properly, this would run smoothly. Finally, the entire class would have to devote itself to promoting the events. We would have to talk about it in our classes, and even consult the Political Science department about co-sponsoring the event. I feel that this event would be very informative and worthwhile. Even if our class doesn’t do this, I would like to see someone attempt to, and I would love to be involved.

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