EXASB - CE - Alberta School of Business

Course begins with emotional intelligence self-identification; how beliefs, values, and principles impact leadership. Participants will complete an emotional intelligence assessment (EQi) with integration of outcomes. Strategic thinking will also be explored as a compelling way to explore the future of municipalities; going deeper than frameworks into the thought processes that allow effective strategy to form. Participants will learn by doing; using individual and group activities reflective of municipal challenges.

Exploration of leadership starts with self and progresses to interaction with others. Completion of a DiSC assessment is required prior to course start. The assessment is of personality traits, behaviours, and interpersonal relationship styles designed to assist with communication, conflict resolution, motivation, and problem solving. It identifies four primary personality aspects; dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness to enhance teamwork and productivity. Handling difficult conversations will also be covered in additional to coaching skills.

This course offers the theories of change with practical application to championing and creating change. Participants will be provided with ideas, tools, and resources to assist and support through change, with an emphasis on practical application. Participants will first be equipped with change management tools and theory, and then challenged using a Change Management simulation tool.

Delve into working in the public sector and the unique challenges of meeting the needs of citizens, elected officials, and other levels of government, including land based governments. Participants will have opportunities to discuss and understand how administration can work more effectively with its political and community partners. The principles of 'interest based negotiations' will be explored through interactive case review. The differences between positions and interests will be explored, including how emotions impact communication.

This course is the final piece within the ECML; focused on helping leaders understand how the context and culture in which they apply their leadership impacts results. Exploration includes organizational culture, engagement, and the impact of diversity in the workplace. Mechanisms and processes to sustain the learning gained through the ECML will also be offered. Recommended prerequisites: EXASB 6101, 6102, 6103, and 6104

The first part of this course examines the formation of business strategy. It recognizes the complexities and messiness of strategy formation and explores how organizations actually develop strategies. The second part examines the evolution, determinants, and relevance of alternative ways of organizing. Contemporary ideas (e.g. re-engineering, the learning organization, virtual organizations) are critically reviewed.

This course examines business strategies for sustainable development. Business sustainability is defined as managing the triple bottom line - designing mission driven enterprises that provide a thriving future for business, society and the planet. To achieve this, managers must adopt a fresh understanding of the role of the business enterprise. The course will draw from successful sustainability efforts of leading business organizations, both locally and internationally, by identifying key success factors that encourage sustainable business practices. It will also place current understandings of sustainability in a wider context by exploring the historical roots of current sustainability practices and examining their implications for key stakeholders of the business enterprise.

Examines how public policy is implemented in organizations. Topic areas will include: using new knowledge to develop policy; influencing policy; and the role of managers in effectively implementing policy. There will be a strong focus on how public sector managers can effectively design and implement change strategies that take into consideration the organizational structure, systems, leadership, culture and politics. Combines classroom discussion of theoretical concepts with practical application in organizational settings.

Strategic management in the public sector comprises defining public value, building consensus and support, making decisions, deploying organizational capacity to implement, and managing performance to achieve the desired mission and goals. Addresses the unique complexities, ambiguities and messiness of strategic management in the public sector.

Nearly all research on leadership has focused on the private sector. This course will concentrate on the unique features of leadership in the public and non-profit sectors. The course will examine the senior management structures in the different orders of government but the focus will be transformative leadership in areas of current policy interest including examples from environment, health, education, and social services.

The role of business in the public policy process: How business organizations influence public policy and its administration, and how public policies affect business. Processes of change are of particular interest. Attention is placed on the motivation, behavior patterns, and the dynamics of the interaction of different stakeholder groups, policy makers, and managers responsible for the implementation of public policies. Develops a framework for analysis of the effectiveness and efficiency of different fiscal, regulatory, and promotional policies; consideration is given to the impact of technological, economic, and social change on policy choice in the long run.