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ONLINE MASTER’S IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Fast facts

Fact 1

Credit Hours

36

Fact 2

Per Credit

$730

Fact 3

Duration

2 yrs

Right column

Program Benefits

  • Clustered Curriculum Design
  • Cohort Study Format
  • Digital Badging and Graduate Certificates Available
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Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership

The Master’s in Organizational Leadership program requires a total of 36 graduate-level credit hours delivered in six clusters of leadership classes over 24 months. The program is organized by themes. The clusters of skills and knowledge are combined to create a contemporary organizational leader. A cohort of students moves through the program together, taking courses in sequential order.

  • Cluster I: The Learning Leader reflects on individual experience, preferences, and attitudes to build a growing awareness of how a leader influences outcomes with personal style and skills.
  • Cluster II: The Connected Leader builds the relationships and connections essential for successful organizations.
  • Cluster III: The Global Leader understands and maneuvers among the cultural, economic, political, legal, and social spheres that influence work.
  • Cluster IV: The Organizational Leader considers both the art and science of managing talent and exploring the dynamics of power and influence to create a positive and progressive environment in organizations.
  • Cluster V: The Change Leader considers both organization development and organizational effectiveness to address opportunities for positive impact on organizations and their missions.
  • Cluster VI: The Adaptive Leader synthesizes and applies leadership principles from the previous clusters to create a strategic, innovative, and competitive organization.

Click the course names below for more details:

Cluster I: The Learning Leader: 6 cr. total

This course cluster examines individual experience, preferences, and attitudes in developing a leader's personal competence.

Emotional intelligence and critical and strategic thinking are introduced as vital development skills throughout the program.

Formulating significant questions within the discipline become the foundation for research methods in organizational leadership.

OL 614 Leadership and Ethics (3 credits)

This course focuses on theories and styles of leadership and the ways in which outcomes are influenced through increased awareness of personal style and skills. Personal and professional ethics are analyzed, and ethical issues in organizations are explored.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Evaluate personal leadership strengths and opportunities for leadership success.
  2. Analyze the role of the leader in the context of organizational issues.
  3. Analyze one's learning and communication style as it applies to leadership in a technological world.
  4. Distinguish emotional intelligence competencies that contribute to leadership success.
  5. Analyze ethical principles that affect decision making.
  6. Analyze ethical dilemmas within organizations.
  7. Synthesize the individual, organizational, and systemic issues in ethical situations.
  8. Construct a process for ethically responsible decision making and apply this model to ethical decision points.

OL 615 Critical Thinking and Research (3 credits)

This course focuses on exploring, analyzing, and evaluating information in order to think critically when creating leadership strategy.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Assess the foundational criteria, assumptions, and sources of beliefs and values.
  2. Use creativity and innovation as an aspect of critical thinking for leadership practice.
  3. Articulate the complexity inherent in controversial issues.
  4. Analyze an issue from several points of view.
  5. Create a research design and protocol for a research question.
  6. Synthesize information from multiple sources in planning for change.
  7. Engage constituents in using research to address organizational needs.
  8. Apply ethical considerations in research.

Cluster II: The Connected Leader: 6 cr. total

This course cluster focuses on building relationships and connections necessary for leading successful organizational operations.

Communication strategies and approaches for influencing, negotiating, advocating, and teambuilding are emphasized.

Collaborative relationships are examined.

OL 624 Collaboration and Teambuilding (3 credits)

This course focuses on collaboration skills in developing high performing teams. Personal power, conflict, and influence are examined. Team building communication techniques are also included.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Develop strategies for high-performing teams.
  2. Evaluate the role of influence and personal power in building relationships.
  3. Analyze and apply appropriate conflict management approaches.
  4. Evaluate collaboration skills for team building.
  5. Assess cultural situations in organizations.
  6. Evaluate supportive communication techniques.
  7. Analyze an emotional competence framework and apply it to teams.
  8. Apply systems theory, team collaboration, and shared vision to organizations.

OL 625 Communication Strategies (3 credits)

This course focuses on tools, techniques, and strategies for effective communication in organizational excellence. Presentation, negotiation, and advocacy are examined.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Evaluate how communication tools, channels, and techniques affect strategy.
  2. Demonstrate interpersonal communication to manage relationships via technology.
  3. Demonstrate effective and supportive listening skills in respectful engagement of others' ideas, behaviors, and beliefs.
  4. Demonstrate the use of narrative and storytelling as a communication strategy.
  5. Demonstrate successful negotiating skills.
  6. Match vocabulary and voice to audience needs.
  7. Argue for and influence an audience on a critical topic.
  8. Present material in a visually appealing manner.

Cluster III: The Global Leader: 6 cr. total

This course cluster examines all spheres—cultural, economic, political, legal, and social—that influence an organization's domestic or global mission. World politics and corporate social responsibility are addressed.

OL 634 Economic and Political Contexts (3 credits)

This course focuses on global, economic, and political issues influencing today's organizations. Contextual factors and trends in world economics and politics are examined.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Analyze the factors influencing the international political economy and the management of organizations.
  2. Analyze the viewpoints identified in global politics.
  3. Analyze the influence of organizational beliefs and policies on global economies.
  4. Synthesize the cultural, economic, political, and social perspectives that impact organizations.
  5. Evaluate global trends important for effective local management.
  6. Articulate the challenges unique to organizations that operate globally.

OL 635 Social and Cultural Perspectives (3 credits)

This course focuses on the ethical stewardship of an organization within a contextual environment. Increased awareness of social responsibility and global citizenship is addressed along with cultural influences that impact organizations.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Demonstrate appropriate cultural and contextual communication.
  2. Evaluate components of and influences on organizational culture.
  3. Evaluate strategies for an organizational culture of diversity and inclusion.
  4. Respect viewpoints that differ from the view most dominant in cultures.
  5. Evaluate the choices and decisions required for social responsibility.
  6. Synthesize ethical requirements with organizational ethical frameworks.
  7. Analyze compliance issues and principles that affect an organization operating internationally.

Cluster IV: The Organizational Leader: 6 cr. total

This course cluster focuses on managing talent and exploring the dynamics of power and influence to create a positive and progressive environment in organizations, utilizing holistic thinking and technical skills.

OL 640 Power and Influence (3 credits)

This course focuses on the dynamics of power and influence within organizations. It explores the role of power in leadership and how to appropriately exercise it. An overview of the nature and types of power in leadership roles are examined, along with the relationship between power and influence. Communication, relationship building, and organizational politics is also addressed in relation to power and influence.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Analyze the role that power plays in leadership within today’s society
  2. Describe the relationship among leadership, power, and influence.
  3. Evaluate the connections between power and leadership as they relate to ethical conduct.
  4. Define the nature and characteristics of power, as it exists in the workplace.
  5. Articulate how power influences leadership abilities, including communication, conflict management, and decision-making.

OL 644 Talent Management (3 credits)

This course focuses on talent analysis of the whole organization while advancing development of its mission delivery. Performance management principles are examined.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Analyze organizational talent demands.
  2. Assess an organization's life cycle stage and plan for growth.
  3. Evaluate talent management models to address organizational needs.
  4. Evaluate recruitment and retention strategies for alignment with organizational values.
  5. Distinguish between talent management and leadership development.
  6. Synthesize intellectual capital issues related to talent management and knowledge management.

Cluster V: The Change Leader 6 cr. total

This course cluster focuses on organization development and organizational effectiveness and the skills and strategies to address opportunities for positive impact on organizations and their missions.

OL 646 Organization Development (3 credits)

This course focuses on an overview of the fundamental components of organization development. It is designed to provide students with different perspectives on organization development at the individual, group, and organizational levels of analysis. Students learn theoretical models to evaluate organizational performance, as well as techniques that develop the organization's ability to manage change.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Describe the theoretical components of organization development and theory.
  2. Analyze challenges and opportunities of an internal/external consultant.
  3. Articulate the dynamics of the change process and resistance to change in organizations.
  4. Assess opportunities for planned and emergent change within an organization.
  5. Evaluate various organization interventions at the individual, group, and organizational level.

OL 650 Organizational Effectiveness (3 credits)

This course focuses on assessing the overall effectiveness of various organizations and their approaches to change. Students learn how to apply theoretical models to evaluate organizational performance, techniques to manage interventions, and methods of evaluating and institutionalizing change.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Apply an organization development model to a design change strategy that may promote organizational effectiveness.
  2. Articulate organizational problems at the individual, group (including team or unit), and organization levels of analysis.
  3. Recommend solutions to address organizational problems.
  4. Identify institutionalized evaluation techniques for planned change.

Cluster VI: The Adaptive Leader 6 cr. total

This course cluster focuses on synthesizing and applying leadership principles from the previous clusters to create a strategic, innovative, and competitive organization. The previously studied areas of personal, collaborative, global, and change awareness are integrated into a comprehensive view of contemporary leadership.

OL 654 Strategy and Innovation (3 credits)

This course focuses on strategic thinking and creativity in organizational leadership. Innovation is examined as a process to develop the strengths of a system or organization, and to deliver positive results. Evaluation, analysis, and integration based on previous course learning is expected.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Evaluate the creative process.
  2. Apply the principles of strategic thinking, planning, and development.
  3. Evaluate the processes for developing a strategic initiative.
  4. Analyze the blocks and enhancements to developing creativity.
  5. Integrate creative thinking strategies in a system or an organization to build and/or foster its capacity to innovate, change, and develop.
  6. Analyze trends in technology which influence innovation and leadership.
  7. Assemble thoughtful, innovative strategies with creative practices for organizational/systems learning.

OL 655 Capstone Symposium (3 credits)

This course focuses on integrating the knowledge, skill, and experience from all leadership coursework through research, writing, and a proposal for creative change.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Integrate, synthesize, and apply coursework in order to assess the role of the leader and leadership practice, and its interconnection with organizational/systems functioning.
  2. Evaluate information and its sources critically.
  3. Synthesize knowledge, skills, and experiences with leaders and leadership.
  4. Evaluate peer presentations using a supportive communication style.

Graduate Certificates

Credits from the following Saint Mary's graduate certificates can also be applied toward the M.A. in Organizational Leadership degree program. Click the program name below to learn more.

Find out more about the unique online Master’s in Organizational Leadership courses at Saint Mary’s University: call us at 877-308-9954 or request more information.

Current Degree Requirements

For current degree requirements, visit the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Course Catalog.