Project

COURSE PROJECT

 

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· LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Project Preparation

In Unit 10 you prove your mastery of the competencies of this course by completing a project in which you demonstrate how you would use your understanding of leadership theory and your personal leadership style to advance an important public cause.

Throughout the course you build the content of this project through assignments in many of the units, using the many exercises in the Crosby Bryson text to gather the information that you will need. Keep in mind that you are required to synthesize the information from these assignments into your final project.

Read the Policy Action Plan course project description to learn the requirements for your course project.

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Policy Action Plan

For this project, identify an issue of public concern that interests you and use it as the basis for developing a policy action plan. This plan will give you the opportunity to apply what you have learned about leadership in public administration by demonstrating how you would use your personal leadership style to advance an important public cause. To demonstrate these competencies include a profile of your leadership style as well as references to leadership theories you have explored during the course. You will also develop a problem statement, identify key stakeholders who could be rallied to support the plan, and devise a proposal suggesting how the problem should be addressed.

To successfully complete this project, you will be expected to:

1. Analyze leadership theories and their evolution.

2. Illustrate methods of applying leadership theories.

3. Evaluate the impact of systems theory on leadership in the field.

4. Assess strategies for change in a diverse community based on leadership theories.

5. Apply critical thinking and communications skills to leadership theories in the field.

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Project Requirements

To achieve a successful project experience and outcome, you are expected to meet the following requirements.

For your course project you will synthesize the knowledge of leadership theory and practice you have acquired throughout this course to create a policy action plan and recommend a strategy for implementing it. Your final project should include:

· An executive summary (1 page).

· A literature review of leadership theory and its application to public administration (4 pages).

· A problem statement (2 pages synthesized from Unit 3 assignment 1 and Unit 8 assignment 1) that includes:

· An analysis of the overarching problem your action plan will address.

· A definition of the specific problem you are addressing within the overarching context.

· A statement of the scope of the specific problem you are addressing.

· An evaluation of how systems theory influenced your problem definition (Unit 8 discussion 1).

· An action plan that includes (3 pages):

· A stakeholder profile summary in narrative form (synthesized from Unit 7 assignment 1).

· A plan for organizing a coalition that reflects a synthesis of the information from:

· The stakeholder profile summary (Unit 7 assignment 1and Unit 7 discussion 2).

· Your study of the implications of cultural diversity on determining leadership approaches (Unit 5 discussion 2).

· Additional leadership theories that might aid in coalition building.

· A policy recommendation and an evaluation of how systems theory influenced the chosen solution.

· An implementation proposal that focuses on leadership strategies.

· A personal leadership profile (5 pages) composed of:

· Your personal vision and its relationship to the needs and values of the constituents affected by your policy action plan (synthesized from Unit 2 assignment 1).

· An assessment of your strengths and weaknesses as a leader (synthesized from Unit 5 assignment 1).

· A description of how you will use your personal leadership style to support the policy action plan.

· Conclusion and recommendations, including a discussion of leadership strategies to ensure long term viability (2 pages).

· References.

· Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.

· APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to  APA (6th Edition) style and formatting .

· Number of resources: Minimum of 12 resources.

· Length of paper: 17 typed double-spaced pages.

· Font and font size: Times New Roman, 10 point.

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Project Grading Criteria

Policy Action Plan Scoring Guide Grading Rubric
Criteria	Non-performance	Basic	Proficient	Distinguished
Analyzes leadership theories and their evolution.  20%	Fails to analyze leadership theories and their evolution.	Describes but does not analyze leadership theories.	Analyzes leadership theories and their evolution.	Evaluates leadership theories and their evolution.
Illustrates methods of applying leadership theories to a public problem.  20%	Fails to illustrate methods of applying leadership theories to a public problem.	Identifies leadership theories and relates them to a public problem but fails to demonstrate application of the theories to the problem.	Illustrates methods of applying leadership theories to a public problem	Illustrated methods of applying leadership theories to a public problem and demonstrates advanced critical analysis skills.
Develops an approach to resolving a public problem that incorporates a systems theory approach.  20%	Fails to describe an approach to resolving a public problem that incorporates a systems theory approach.	Describes an approach to resolving a public problem that does not incorporate a systems theory approach.	Develops an approach to resolving a public problem that incorporates a systems theory approach.	Develops an approach to resolving a public problem that incorporates a systems theory approach . Contrasts with other theoretical approaches.
Assess strategies for change in a diverse community based on leadership theories.  20%	Fails to assess strategies for change in a diverse community based on leadership theories.	Identifies community diversity but does not apply specific leadership theories toward change.	Assess strategies for change in a diverse community based on leadership theories.	Synthesizes strategies for change in a diverse community based on leadership theories.
Presents a coherent analysis of the integration of theory, policy, and leadership practice.  20%	Fails to present a coherent analysis of the integration of theory, policy, and leadership practice.	Insufficiently integrates theory, policy, and leadership practice.	Presents a coherent analysis of the integration of theory, policy, and leadership practice.	Presents a seminal and cogent analysis of the integration of theory, policy, and leadership practice.

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Project Components

Project Component	Course Grade Weight	Unit Due
Constructing a Personal Vision	5%	2
Defining the Problem	5%	3
Stakeholder Profile	10%	7
Problem Statement	10%	8
Policy Action Plan	15%	10
Total:	45%

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