This interpretive research study examines peer leadership in a distributed online MBA community of practice at New States University (NSU pseudonym, based in USA). It explores ways in which faculty members in a global business course, NMBA616 (pseudonym), negotiate relationships, meaning and identity in their efforts to be effective teachers and address their own needs for professional growth and development. The research participants provide insights about community formation and function in a virtual domain where they work together at a distance without meeting face-to-face. The study appears to be a new application of culture code methodology, symbolic interactionism and social learning theory as they conjoin on social, psychological and organizational levels. To my knowledge it is the first study of an MBA virtual community of practice. Research interviews were conducted primarily by distance using web-based technology, teleconferences and email, as well as some face to face discussion. The central questions are: 1) To what extent does a distributed faculty team in an online global business management course constitute a community of practice? 2) What is the nature of faculty relationships in the online global business management course? and 3) What are the leadership issues in a virtual practice setting? Findings reveal that online community practitioners are resourceful in creating peer leadership that is embedded within the group and its relationships. The study is motivated by my personal interests and professional experience, as well as by the quest of online colleagues for ways to assess, support and improve themselves and their practice. Building on personal experience as an online business communications instructor, the thesis presents an example of peer leadership in a virtual global business community of practice and in its completion stands as a case study.

TITLE: Manpower Management Specification AUTHOR: Hana Spurná DEPARTMENT: The School Management Center SUPERVISOR: Mgr.Irena Lhotková, PhD. Abstract: (angl.) The final thesis deals with the issue of leadership management by means of selected examples from literature, documents, internet, study of opinions and questions of both international and Czech experts in the field of leadership management and finally by means of analysis of the term leadership management with focus on development and taking into consideration the life and professional context. The goal of the project is to understand the sense and formulation - definition of the term leadership management, overview of historic development of the term on the ground of theoretical information, a comparison of experience in the field of leadership management in the view of selected experts. This research is based on induction. On the ground of analysis of expert publications of people who were or still are active in the field of management and who have the necessary knowledge and experience in the field of leadership management. The final thesis strives for a more extensive research of opinions on the widely defined term of leadership management, and aims at bringing as much information about it as possible. Key words: leadership management, leadership,...

Research (Sartain et al., 2006) indicates that engagement demands a more thoughtful way to address the everyday realities of organisational life. The current research endeavours to elucidate the relationship between emotional intelligence and work engagement amongst leaders in a financial service organisation undergoing change.

Research (Sartain et al., 2006) indicates that engagement demands a more thoughtful way to address the everyday realities of organisational life. The current research endeavours to elucidate the relationship between emotional intelligence and work engagement amongst leaders in a financial service organisation undergoing change.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk., 2003.

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This study explores educational leadership development and social change strategies pioneered by one programme, the Educational Leadership Management and Development (ELMD) programme of the University of Fort Hare. The programme seeks to model a way of doing social and educational transformation through educational leadership development. Conceptually, the model was meant to draw together a number of education stakeholders operating at various levels of the schooling system to undergo the same programme of leadership development. The programme participants, who included district education officials, schools principals, members of school management teams, educators and members of School Governing Bodies, were to enrol as teams. They would work on learning tasks that were both academic and practical in nature, with an emphasis on experiential learning that leads to the creation of district and community networks of partners, development teams or forums and communities of practice, as well as the production and implementation of district and school development plans. Informed by this conceptual position, the study was structured by two underlying questions. First, whether the ELMD was re-inventing educational leadership beyond the traditional focus on principalship towards one that is inclusive of other education stakeholders. Second, how leadership development as a vehicle for social and educational change can be carried out. The research process was guided by a multi-paradigm perspective which drew heavily on the interpretive and critical science orientations. This led to the crafting of research methods that looked for data that would assist in an understanding of what was happening in the programme, as well as what power dynamics were at play and with what consequences for innovation. The evidence emanating from the study suggests a number of possibilities for consideration by future leadership development programme designers. First, the ELMD programme delivery design shows what can be done to draw participants from various levels of the schooling system, district, school and community and teach them educational leadership together in a mode that mobilizes them for change. Second, how social distance separating different levels of the education hierarchy and status consciousness may disappear gradually as people are brought together to work on tasks of mutual concern. Third, after a year of engagement with ELMD ideas and approach, the participants in the programme appeared to have started a journey of selftransformation towards becoming qualitatively different people who saw themselves as teams capable of tackling education and social problems in their schools and communities. These participants had begun to forge working networks, but the extent to which these could be characterized as knowledge ecosystems and communities of practice remains a question to explore. Fourth, that the current higher education accreditation policies and practices do not accommodate innovative learning approaches of the kind that the ELMD is developing. In this regard, the ELMD experienced difficulties in coming up with an assessment policy and practices which meet the academic as well as the practical developmental concerns of the programme. Fifth, programme instrumentalities and mandates that are put in place do not, in themselves, bring about change. The actual change comes about through the actions of human leadership capable of navigating between structural enablers and constraints.

“When a system gets cold, then images can warm it up - a vitalising journey using storytelling as part of a management system”. This essay wants to show that the rational language used in management and governance needs to come alive. I have spent a long time in business, moving from a rational programming mind to becoming a reflective storyteller, and I now use the metaphorical language of storytelling to add life and vitality to organisations. The form of an essay is used to reflect on practical knowledge and one’s own proficiency. I used storytelling in a workshop to deepen the significance and meaning of a company’s vision. The method reveals, through the process, the management team’s practical knowledge. The method and my own practical knowledge are in a hermeneutic spirit compared to contemporary philosophers. The development of rational thinking and its counterforces are explored. The possibilities of leadership within an organisation’s structures is compared to management research. It leads to the conclusion that the metaphorical language is a language that opens spaces in-between, “the nothingness” and as such opens a tear to the vitality of leaders. / ”När systemet är kallt kan bilder värma – en vitaliserande resa med storytelling i ledningssystem” vill visa att det rationella språk som används för ledning och styrning behöver få liv. Jag har börjat använda storytellings bildspråk för att tillföra liv och vitalitet i organisationer efter ett långt arbetsliv där jag rört mig från rationell programmerare till reflekterande berättare. Essän som form används för att reflektera över den praktiska kunskapen, det egna yrkeskunnandet. Med storytelling som metod har jag genomfört en workshop hos en ledningsgrupp för att fördjupa innebörden av organisationens vision. Metoden synliggör i processen lednings-gruppens praktiska kunskap. I en hermeneutisk anda ställs både metoden och min egen praktiska kunskap mot nutida tänkare. Det rationella tänkandets utveckling och motkrafter utforskas. Ledarskapets möjligheter i organisationers strukturer ställs mot ledarskapsforskning. För att slutligen se på bildspråket såsom ett språk som öppnar upp ett mellanrum, intet, revan som leder in till ledarnas vitalitet.