2021/22 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

LUBS5994M Corporate Leadership, Strategy and Performance

15 creditsClass Size: 65

Module manager: Jatinder Sidhu
Email: J.S.Sidhu@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2021/22

This module is not approved as an Elective

Module summary

Why some firms perform better than others is the central question that strategic- management researchers seek to answer. An important part of the answer to the question is that performance differences across firms are often connected to differences in firms’ corporate leadership as reflected in the person of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and those who comprise the firm’s Top Management Team (TMT) and Board of Directors (BOD). This module offers participants the necessary theoretical and empirical knowledge to analyse and determine how the experiences, personalities, styles and values of a firm’s corporate leaders can be expected to affect strategic decisions, thus affecting the firm’s competitive advantage position vis-à-vis competitors in the international world. The module familiarizes participants with the influential upper-echelons framework and the literature on corporate governance. To sharpen participants’ understanding and enhance their diagnostic skills, the module draws on actual business cases and illustrations to elucidate the challenges and possibilities of bringing together a CEO, TMT and BOD that can manage and balance the expectations of a firm’s shareholders and stakeholders.

Objectives

The corporate leadership of a firm has a huge impact on its vision, strategy and performance. Not only the spectacular success of global companies as different as Apple and Uber, but also shocking failures such as the collapse of Thomas Cook and the accounting fraud at Worldcom can be traced to these companies’ corporate leadership. This module seeks to impart a solid understanding of corporate leadership from a global perspective, by examining the influence a company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Top Management Team (TMT), and the Board of Directors (BOD) have on the strategy process and strategic decisions. To this end, the module bridges the upper- echelons literature on CEOs and TMTs with the literature on corporate governance to throw light on why organizations do what they do and with what consequences. One key objective of the module is to build participants knowledge of how the experiences, personalities, styles and values of corporate leaders can shape the dynamics among them to affect strategy and outcomes. Another key objective is to develop a critical understanding of how corporate leadership affects a company’s ability to address important contemporary issues particularly in a global environment, such as, business model innovation, contribution to the attainment of grand social challenges, and attention to and preparedness for the Industry 4.0 revolution.

Learning outcomes
Knowledge related outcomes:

Upon completion of the module, participants will be able to,
1. Critically evaluate the upper-echelons theoretical framework to gain appreciation of executives’ influence on firm’s strategy and performance
2. Examine and evaluate a clear grasp of the corporate governance system for monitoring the executive function and for providing counsel and resources that contribute to decision making
3. Show application and analysis with regard to how the dynamics between the CEO, TMT and BOD affect a firm’s strategic decisions

Skills related outcomes:

Upon completion of the module, participants will be able to,
4. Appraise and critically evaluate the likely impact of CEO and TMT variables on performance outcomes
5. Demonstrate whether the composition of the BOD is aligned with the firm’s context and vision
6. Critically apply the knowledge acquired to provide recommendations to improve firm’s strategic decision-making

Syllabus

- The roles and responsibilities of a firm’s CEO and TMT
- Impact of executives’ experiences, personalities and styles on strategy
- Corporate governance – monitoring and advising the executive function
- Selecting, evaluating, and compensating the CEO to achieve corporate purpose
- Company purpose, grand social challenges, and values of corporate leaders
- Corporate leaders and firm’s readiness for the Industry 4.0 revolution
- CEO, TMT, BOD interactions and business model innovation

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Workshop	9	1.00	9.00
Individual Support	1	1.00	1.00
Lecture	11	2.00	22.00
Private study hours			118.00
Total Contact hours			32.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			150.00

Private study

Private study will consist of students completing set required and recommended reading, and where appropriate they will work on materials in preparation for workshops and coursework.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students will receive formative feedback on coursework (group project) which is outlined as a 2000-word report. In workshops, groups will have the opportunity for more informal feedback from the module leader on their understanding of concepts, theories, examples, etc. being discussed.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Assignment	3,000 word assignment	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Resit for the module will be 100% by 3,000 word assignment.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 18/03/2022 14:23:19

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