Course Title: Managing Relationships
Part A: Course Overview
Course Title: Managing Relationships
Credit Points: 12.00
Course Coordinator: Dr Michael Segon
Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 5950
Course Coordinator Email: michael.segon@rmit.edu.au
Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities
As this course requires an understandingof key competencies approaches, students are expected to have completed the Leadership and Management course in the MBA(Exec) program prior to undertaking this course.
Course Description
This course aims to deepen participants’ understanding of the relationship and interconnectedness of intra and interpersonal skills, together with individual and organisational performance. Utilising the competency frames of Pedler et al. (2001); Boyatzis (1982); Quinn et al. (2003) and Goleman et al. (2002) students are encouraged to examine and develop capabilities in the key areas of managing others. The focus is improving the specific knowledge and skills required of managers when managing individual perfromance, addressing discipline issues, attempting to manage and resolve conflict, managing diverse and cross cultural teams, and on enabling managers to provide specific and focused feedback to colleagues and direct reports. The course will also consider some of the systems, processes and resources that relate to performance management.
Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development
This course is designed to increase an individual’s reflective practice capabilities with a focus on managing others. Competency approaches are presented as diagnostic models to enable participants to identify those capabilities that are of greatest relevance to their individual management practice.
Students will:
• Develop and demonstrate increased self awareness of the capabilities required of you as a manager when managing people, relationships and performance;
• Determine and develop individual and team-based performance improvements;
• Design and implement targeted feedback, conflict resolution, and discipline management initiatives;
• Determine performance management systems and processes matched to current and potential future organisational needs;
• Determine and implement innovative and creative solutions to performance problems ;
• Develop practices in dealing with diversity and cross-cultural management issues;
• Successfully lead and manage others through developing their relationship using a range of communication and interpersonal processes; and
• Act with integrity and frame judgements and position managerial practice within professional, legal and ethical frameworks
Students will be able to demonstrate:
Increased self awareness of your own capabilities required of you as a manager in managing individuals and groups;
Ability to develop and demonstrate key intra and interpersonal skills of communication with the managing of people context;
Ability to identify and practice skills of resolution in conflict management;
Ability to determine performance management interventions so as to address poor performance issues;
Ability to provide effective feedback to others;
Understanding of and ability to manage and build effective teams;
Recognition of the impact of industrial regulation and application in organisational contexts;
Awareness of cultural diversity and impacts on relationships and performance; and
Ability to act with integrity and frame judgements and position managerial practice within professional, legal and ethical frameworks understanding of the importance of ethical practice and integrity strategies when dealing with others.
Overview of Learning Activities
Students will participate through a variety of activities including class discussion, roleplays, case studies and seminars. The use of competency frameworks, as the basis for management development, emphasizes the need for participants to engage in reflective practice identifying critical areas related to working with and through others for their further development.
Students are expected to discuss and analyse events and incidents from their own working experience that pertain to managing people, including formal processes such as discipline and performance appraisals and informal discussions and day to day performance management issues.
Overview of Learning Resources
Students are provided with courseware that contains preclass activities and links to key readings and research. In addition a DLS site is available for this course. This site features access to course materials, a detailed course information document, due dates of assessment tasks and a discussion board. It also features links to the RMIT Library and databases, e-journals and e-books.
Students who have completed Leadership and Management are encouraged to revisit that course content as this course uses the same competency frames and references as an analytical and developmental strategy.
Overview of Assessment
Assessment tasks associated with this course may include any of the following:
Individual business reports or essays
CLN Group assignment reports or presentations
In class role plays, mini simulations and debriefs
Reflection reports on managerial practice
Case analyses
On line discussions and tasks
Tests of theoretical concepts applied to real world situations