36 semester credits are required to complete the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership.

ORGL 500 Organizational Leadership (3 credits)
Drawing on material from various social science disciplines, this integrated course focuses on research and models of leadership relevant to defining and achieving collective goals in a variety of organizational settings.

ORGL 501 Methods of Organizational Research (3 credits)
Study of the inquiry process, emphasizing research design and methodologies appropriate to investigation of organizational dynamics and human behavior; both qualitative and quantitative methods are explored.

ORGL 502 Leadership and Imagination (3 credits)
An examination of creativity through analysis of leadership themes in literature, drama, biography, and the arts; emphasizes the role of imagination in forming cultural images and perceptions of leaders and their functions.

ORGL 503 Organizational Ethics (3 credits)
This course is an inquiry into the philosophic foundations of interpersonal relations and values in organizational contexts with emphasis on applications of ethical systems to the responsibilities of people in organizations toward society and individuals.

ORGL 504 Organizational Communication (3 credits)
Students study research findings, theories, and models of communication in organizations and examine the impact of organizational culture and structure on the communication process, including factors maximizing effective communication and overcoming communication barriers.

ORGL 505 Organizational Theory (3 credits)
In this introduction to the study of organizations, students will be exposed to a synthesis and integration of major traditions in organizational theory. Emphasis will be placed on a grounding in theoretical concepts and their practical applications so students can learn to understand the chaotic and constantly changing world of organizations.

ORGL 506 Leadership and Diversity (3 credits)
This course provides students with an opportunity for reflection on experience, examination of theory and practical application of organizational leadership in the context of diversity. Diversity will be studied within the framework of race, culture, gender, orientation and disability awareness. The goal of the class is to assist students in developing their own understanding and skills in becoming more effective leaders in organizations that acknowledge, value, and incorporate differences.

ORGL 510 Renaissance Leadership for 21st Century (3 credits)
This course provides an examination of Renaissance leadership as it applies to contemporary organizations. Course study is designed for an interdisciplinary group of students to explore the power of Renaissance thinking as it applies to renewal, rediscovery, invention and creativity. This course will help emerging leaders develop new perspectives and strategies to bring health, creativity and energy to their organizations. Learners will draw upon the creative processes of artists, painters, architects, musicians, and writers and apply the same dynamics of creative thinking to the practical work of leaders in today's organizations. Special emphasis will be given to the artists of the Italian Renaissance, especially as developed in the city of Florence.

ORGL 516 Organizational Development (3 credits)
This course serves as an introduction to the study of organizational development. The focus of the course is to provide students with a basic understanding of the field, history, approaches and techniques involved in utilizing this approach to system-wide organizational change and improvement. Issues related to ethics, diagnosis, change and uses of training will be explored.

ORGL 518 Transforming Leadership (3 credits)
This course offers a comparison of transactional and transforming leadership by examining past leaders and events. Emphasis is given to determine how contemporary leaders can go beyond the social exchange theory to convert followers into leaders and leaders into moral agents.

ORGL 520 Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (3 credits)
Theory, structure and practice of collaborative negotiation and mediated negotiations. Application of the skills used to present and resolve conflict is emphasized. This application is generic and therefore appropriate for all professions whether formally or informally involved in resolving conflict.

ORGL 522 Leadership, Community, Empowerment, Collaboration and Dialogue (in Valyermo, California) (3 credits)
In this course, students develop an appreciation for and an understanding of the leadership processes of empowerment, collaboration, and dialogue in the context of creating and transforming community. Emphasis is given to understanding individual and group development, structures of collaboration and dialogue, and leadership which is oriented toward process rather than product. This course is taught as a 1-week off-campus experience at St. Andrew's Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Valyermo, California.

ORGL 524 Leadership in Human Resources (3 credits)
In this survey course students will explore the changing role of the human resource leader in organizations. The growing emergence of the human resource leader as an organizational change agent will be examined as well as the skills necessary for success. A unique aspect of the course will involve a visiting panel format in which students will focus on and discuss current special topics in human resource leadership with practitioners.

ORGL 530 Servant Leadership (3 credits)
Students study the foundation, principles and practice of servant leadership.

ORGL 532 Leadership, Justice and Forgiveness (3 credits)
In this course students will begin the process of understanding leadership, justice, and forgiveness in the context of purposeful systems change. Servant-leadership and restorative vs. retributive justice are important aspects of the learning community. The course engages students toward self-responsibility in the context of reconciliation, and the depth of heart, mind, and spirit that leads to healing and growth in community with others. Students will work to apply the interior leadership necessary for discernment and action within oppressive systems.

ORGL 550 Team Building and Leadership (3 credits)
This three-day intensive program is designed to increase students' knowledge and understanding of leadership and team development through a combination of information sessions and active participation in cooperative, challenge activities. Offered summer term only on the Spokane campus.

ORGL 551 Advanced Team Building and Leadership Intensive (3 credits)
This three-day intensive program is designed to increase student's knowledge  about facilitating team building and leadership development activities. summer term only on the Spokane campus.
 Prerequisite: ORGL 550 with a minimum grade of C.

ORGL 660 Readings in Social Systems (1-3 credits)
Individualized study based on readings in a specific topic designed in consultation with the instructor; student discusses the selected readings on a tutorial basis with the instructor and prepares an annotated bibliography or bibliographical essay.

ORGL 661 Readings in Human Behavior (1-3 credits)
Individualized study investigating scholarly research findings in an aspect of the behavioral sciences defined by the student and instructor; student prepares a written report of findings on the research problem selected.

ORGL 670 Projects in Organizational Leadership (1-3 credits)
A formal research project investigating a problem in applied organizational or social research conducted under the tutelage of the instructor.

ORGL 671 Projects in Group Behavior (1-3 credits)
A formal project of original research in a topic of group behavior that proceeds from a research design approved and monitored by the instructor.

ORGL 680 Leadership Seminar (3 credits)
The Leadership Seminar serves as the capstone experience of the master's program in Organizational Leadership. Students create a research portfolio, project, or thesis as evidence of a synthesis of the program.

ORGL 690 Leadership & Storytelling
The point of departure for the course is a focus on understanding the role of stories in our lives. Stories permeate virtually every dimension of our existence as noted in the familiar quote: “Civilizations have existed without the wheel, but no society has ever existed without story.”  With the groundwork in narrative provided, the class focuses on the kind of leadership that is being demanded by the current world situation: Leaders who lead from their real selves or, Authentic Leaders. After exploring an understanding of authentic leadership, the course will shift focus to a key tool for leaders: the leadership story. Noel Tichy (2002) describes three types of stories leaders have access to: Who I Am stories; Who We Are Stories; and, Future Stories. The remainder of the course will involve exploring each story type in terms of: definition, examples, usage, and developing skills for personal use.

To learn more about our online M.A. in Organizational Leadership, request more information or call us at (866) 295-3105.