With Proficiency in Leadership
University of Exeter Students from across the Streatham Campus* can get ‘with proficiency in Leadership’ added to their degree title, thanks to the Business School’s degree enhancement pathway.
While we are facing an uncertain future full of complex global, social, and environmental issues, more and more employers are looking for graduates in all fields who have additional leadership skills, and the WPI-L pathway has been designed to help you achieve this no matter your career path.
The With Proficiency in (WPI) Leadership pathway offers students with the capacity for modularity an opportunity to incorporate the study of leadership into their programmes whilst retaining the focus of their chosen academic discipline. By successfully completing 60 credits* (four 15 credit modules) in leadership during their degree a student can opt in to the programme and request that WPI Leadership is added to their degree title.For example, Sociology With Proficiency in Leadership, or Anthropology With Proficiency in Leadership. Condoned modules will not count towards qualification for the proficiency degree title.
Gaining an understanding of leadership models, challenges and competencies, exploring the big themes in leadership, such as managing change and crisis, leading teams, managing equality and diversity at work, is vital for graduates from all disciplines. Developing your own leadership skills and experience, and learning how to apply them, is a signal to employers that you have prepared yourself to become a leader and have taken steps to ensure you are workplace ready. It is also a chance to diversify your learning and join vibrant, challenging and topical modules that engage in the ongoing debates surrounding leadership in our ever-changing and complex world.
The WPI Leadership pathway is comprised of ten modules with several options for each year of study. Most are taught in the Business School, although one option is currently offered in Law. Students should complete four modules from this list across their programme, being aware that some modules specify pre-requisites (see details for BEM3051).
Below is a list of the modules you can select within the With Proficiency in Leadership Pathway.
For further details on module content and structure please contact the listed module convenors.
For further information about the pathway please contact Chris Reedthomas
*All efforts have been made to make the programme available across colleges and within Streatham campus. Students are responsible for opting into WPI Leadership and ensuring their course allows for the flexibility to complete the required module set.
In this module we will explore team dynamics and how the role of leadership in influencing the effectiveness of teams. Each week, using various sources (e.g. videos, activities and readings), we will review theories and models of topics like group dynamics, communication, motivation, diversity etc., and consider their implications for leadership in a team environment. In seminars/webinars participants will have the opportunity to discuss these topics with colleagues and tutors and engage with the material.
Additional Information:
Internationalisation
This is a diverse module with a specific session explicitly considering cross-cultural dimensions of teams and leading across boundaries.
Sustainability
Some of the lecture materials cover sustainability issues and students have the opportunity to explore these further in their group work.
Employability
Students develop a number of transferable skills including critical and reflective thinking, independent research, as well as getting insight into leading teams, group dynamics, followership and team-building skills.
This module aims to introduce you to the key issues and concerns of leadership and leadership studies. You will examine insights from cutting edge research on the nature and character of leadership across a range of disciplines. Each week, we will explore a different leadership theory, using it as a ‘lens’ which can bring some aspects of leadership into focus, and make other aspects blurred. The module reading and discussion will focus on several questions, beginning with the most fundamental: “What is leadership?”
Additional Information:
Internationalisation
Leadership and globalisation issues are embedded in the course content. This module engages with different international leadership issues using international examples throughout, drawing from politics, current affairs or history as well from film, fiction and popular culture.
Sustainability and ESG
Sustainability and ESG issues are integrated into the module content. The module convenor’s research on the environment, sustainability and governance, and the challenges faced by leaders looking to improve ESG business practice also informs the content of this module. The lecture, tutorial and reading list information is available on the ELE (Exeter Learning Environment).
Employability
Students develop a number of valuable transferable skills including collaboration, communication, the ability to link theory to practice in different organisational contexts, critical thinking, an awareness of the wider social context and contemporary issues, self-awareness and the capacity for personal reflections, confidence, assertiveness and independent study skills.
To work, lead, and thrive in today’s diverse and globalised business environment, it is more vital than ever for students to have ample and robust opportunities to expand their international horizons. The module “Leading in International Contexts” is designed to provide students with the knowledge, analytical capabilities, and (soft) skills needed to practice leadership in modern, international organisations.
After introducing systematic ways of understanding cultures, we will examine how national cultures influence team, managerial, and organisational performance. We will then explore the nature of leadership in terms of how individuals influence others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it and how they facilitate individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives.
The module will highlight theory and research that accounts for how leaders acquire and exercise social influence in a manner that contributes to their credibility and the motivation of their followers across cultures. We will reflect on individual and cultural differences in leader behaviour and examine in what instances situations determine the salience of these differences. We will explore the implications of diverging and converging cultural norms in the workplace, and address how leaders might act responsibly and effectively to resolve challenges in emerging and developed economies.
Leadership Challenges and Practices addresses the more practical, active and vocational aspects of leadership. You will be encouraged to draw on your own experience of leadership in practice, and to engage in activities which enable you to develop your own leadership capacity. In this way, the course aims to enhance your employability, and to allow you to develop an action-oriented understanding of leadership as a response to personal and organizational challenges, which can be taken into your future work and organisation.
The course therefore combines practical approaches to leading with a head-on approach to some of the tricky questions about leadership.
The aim of this module is to provide students with the opportunity to actively participate in a series of discussions which focus on three key contemporary leadership issues. In doing so, the module looks to challenge student’s implicit conceptions of leadership and to develop a more sophisticated understanding of real-world leadership. This will allow students to participate in advanced dialogue, grounded in critical engagement with a selection of relevant academic literature and a practical case study/perspective. Each topic will be explored through engagement with theory and research, case study analysis and real world examples. Particular attention will be paid to how a given topic plays out in society and organizations. The overarching aim of this module is to elaborate and develop your academic knowledge, inquiry and reasoning skills.
Additional Information:
Internationalisation
This module focuses on contemporary workplace issues, recognizing the increasing breadth and diversity of workplaces, the interdependence of public, private, and community sectors, and the dynamic interplay between global and local factors. All topics and discussions highlight the importance of being mindful of the key stakeholders for a particular issue, and the need to develop an informed and considered understanding of who it is that will be influenced/impacted by the decisions that you (and others) may make when in a leadership or management role. With all topics we will ensure that we work to take global perspectives into account, both in terms of our understanding of the issue and by drawing on the different backgrounds and perspectives of class members.
Sustainability
The notion of leading responsibly, factoring in the environment, society and corporate social responsibility is embedded throughout the module.
All of the resources for this module are available on the ELE (Exeter Learning Environment). External Engagement:
For each topic we will draw from real world examples to consider the implications of a given contemporary leadership issue for those working within organizations and society more broadly. Case studies will also be utilized to allow for a greater depth of understanding around a given case context.
Employability
This module equips students with the ability to apply critical thinking when exploring issues of relevance to contemporary workplaces and the implications of such issues for leading and being led. This ability to ask critical questions is an essential higher order thinking skill that will underpin all future management practice.
This module is a blend of practical workshops, critical inquiry and field work. Working with a range of academics and current change agents, students have the opportunity to explore the nuances of change in themselves, organisations and communities. Using experiential and critical reflection students will explore how to become a successful change agent. Throughout the module students are asked to embark on a journey of self-development; they are invited to critically inquire change agents and they are tasked with immersing themselves in field work.
Additional Information:
Internationalisation
This is an interactive module that helps students develop their leadership skills which they can later use to lead change in organisations around the globe. Also, a Kenyan change project is discussed in detail as a case study
Sustainability
Sustainability is a theme that runs throughout the module. The notion of change is underpinned by encouragement for the development of sustainable changes.
External Engagement
Students will have the opportunity to engage with external projects from the community. Also, practitioners and change agents will be invited to a question and answer session with the students.
Employability
Students develop a number of transferable skills which are valued by employers. These include skills in presentation, problem- solving, writing a report, field work, and team working. Each student also has an opportunity to lead and be evaluated by their group. This will help develop their leadership and team management skills, as well as their ability to give and receive constructive criticism. Further, students are able to work on their personal development in this module through setting and monitoring personal goals.
This module introduces students to the techniques and practices of organisational development. It explores ways in which organisations can develop in order to achieve improved performance by drawing on social psychology to understand how to maximise the potential of employees and ensure they are aligned with organisational objectives. It builds on concepts found in organisational behaviour and human resource management and would particularly appeal to students who anticipate taking on a managerial, consultancy or human resource focused career or with an interest in organisational change and change management.
Pre-requisites: BEM2020 Organizational Behaviour and BEM2021 Human Resource Management.
This module examines how organisations manage change and cope with crisis. The complex cultural, political and ethical issues faced by leaders, managers and change agents will be examined in detail. In addition, we will examine the role leaders, managers and consultants play in designing and facilitating organisational change. Consideration will be given to how managers can be better prepared for the unpredictability, unintended outcomes and possible harmful consequences of change.
In this module you will learn about the various ways in which the employment relationship is regulated in the UK. We will also draw on examples from other countries (particularly EU countries). The module is very practical in its orientation, focusing primarily on what managers with direct responsibility for recruiting, supervising and dismissing employees need to do in order to avoid breaching employment law and having to defend their organisations in the courts. We will also focus on the process of settling cases ahead of a formal hearing. You will gain a good understanding of all the main principles that underpin employment law in the UK, the principle statutes and leading cases. We will also explain how employment regulation has evolved and how it is likely to continue evolving in the future.
No pre-requisites for students taking this module. While it will be of particular interest to those who have completed BEM2021 in Year 2 and who are considering a career in human resource management, this is not essential. No prior knowledge of the UK legal system is required as this will be introduced in the first lectures.
This module is not available in the 2023-2024 academic year. We hope it will be available again next year.
This module is designed for Law, Psychology and Business students and intends to provide a perspective on equality and diversity that incorporates insights about the legal framework, the business environment, and the psychological dimension. You will build on your knowledge acquired in your discipline specific subjects so far, broadening your knowledge to include an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and tackling real life issues of equality and diversity. You will cover a range of equality issues and explore how and why problems arise, how these should be managed, and how you apply your broader critical perspective to enhance equality and achieve diversity. In this module you will focus on key equality themes and will give you the opportunity to engage with current critical arguments at the juncture between law, psychology and business.
Contact
If you have any questions or you would like to discuss the 'With Proficiency in Leadership' Pathway, please contact the WPiL lead, Chris Reedthomas
