The final paper will focus on YOU as a leader - your values and beliefs, your own present or future power and authority, your vision of social change, and your role as a possible agent of change.
There are several ways in which this can be written and presented, such as:
1. Your Wildest Dream: Write the paper as a description of your "wildest dream." If you could have your dream job or dream position in a group of people or an organization, that could affect social change, what would it be and how would you see your role?
2. Personal Reflection Now If you want to be more pragmatic, you can write this paper as an analysis of your present circumstances. You can describe a current work or social situation that exists now and what tools and concepts you can use to achieve a particular goal.
3. Evaluate PSU: You can apply all of the concepts we have used in class on a particular department or program at PSU. This only is helpful if you are involved in the department. Your view of mission statements, organizational structures, drivers and leadership characteristics need to be described in detail.
4. Community of Change: If you do not want to write just about yourself, you may write the paper from the point of view of a community. For example you can write about you as a group of students or as a religious or social community. How can you as students lead in the field of education or politics? This is a little trickier, but it can be very powerful and perhaps more useful for you at this stage in your lives.
5. Team Presentation Topic: If you like, you can take the topics and concepts from your team presentation and adapt them to your future role in social change. If you do so, please let me know by Week 8!
The paper should include the following requirements/concepts.
o At least FIVE pages in length:
Double-spaced, 12-point font, proper margins.
This does NOT include pages used for diagrams of Models or Org charts.
o Your latest definition of leadership:
• It is fine to use someone else's definition as long as you say whose it is and explain why you like it in your own words.
o A description for the social change with which you would like to be involved:
This can be very specific, but keep in mind that the change should be broadly social in nature.
o A description of the field in which you would like to be involved and the change you would like to see happen:
Try to be as specific as possible. For example, don't just say "Business," but perhaps investment banking or the restaurant business.
This is not limited to your professional life. You could choose your social or even personal life, i.e. family, hobbies, religious organizations, etc.
o A description of your relationship with others in the organization as a leader, follower or member of the audience:
For example what would your title be? If you choose a work setting this might be partially explained in an organization chart, but perhaps not.
o A description of your personal Internal Drivers in that field:
Why is it important to you as a person (or community)?
Why would others want to follow you or work with you to follow someone else?
o A description of the External Drivers (social, political, economic, etc. ) in that field. What drivers are there in Society that will either help or hinder you in that social change?
o A description of your leadership style and attributes and why they would work well in that field:
What are your skills, personality type, authority or sources of power that you could use?
Why is your most likely leadership style and whose definition are you using?
o A description of your personal Model for Social Change and/or an Organizational Chart for an organization that you might create or join in order to affect that change. The diagrams for your Model or Org Chart do not count for the 5 pages of written
o The paper is relatively free of misspelling and grammatical errors.
o You have at least two citations that do not include the textbook, but can be from pretty much any other source.
Your grade will be based upon:
(1) Completeness in describing the concepts above and connections to discussion/readings
(2) Evidence of critical thinking - strengths and weaknesses identified, critical questions raised, connection to your own ideas - especially where you disagree with the text or discussions in class.
The paper is due the final Thursday or Friday of the 11th week - this will be announced in class. You can upload it to D2L or hand it in by 5 pm of that day to my mailbox in the University Studies Office in Cramer Hall 117. It might also be a good idea to email me that you have done so!