Assignment Requirements
Step 1: Core Reading
- Read John Kotters What Leaders Really Do (Harvard Business Review).
- Identify and critically analyze Kotters key insights into leadership roles and functions.
Step 2: Select a Leader
- Choose a real-world leader engaged in a negotiation or conflict resolution scenario (e.g., a business negotiation, labor dispute, corporate merger, international peace process, labor-management conflict).
- The leader may come from the corporate, nonprofit, political, or international sphere.
Step 3: Scholarly Analysis (2,000 Words)
In a double-spaced, 2,000-word paper, address the following:
- Background and Context
- Provide an overview of the leaders background, qualifications, and leadership role.
- Describe the negotiation or conflict resolution context and the leaders specific role in it.
- Application of Kotters Insights
- Apply Kotters ideas from What Leaders Really Do to assess how the leader approached negotiation and conflict.
- Identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas of alignment/divergence from Kotters framework.
- Broader Theoretical Integration
- Integrate at least two additional leadership frameworks (e.g., Transformational vs. Transactional Leadership, Negotiation Theory from Fisher & Ury, Hofstedes cultural dimensions in conflict, Adaptive Leadership).
- Use these frameworks to deepen your critique and commendation of the leaders style, decision-making, and effectiveness.
- Global & Cultural Lens
- Analyze how cultural context (organizational, national, or global) influenced the leaders negotiation and conflict resolution approach.
- Consider cross-cultural dimensions of communication, decision-making, and outcomes.
- Critique and Commendation
- Evaluate the leaders leadership style, decision-making processes, communication strategies, and conflict management effectiveness.
- Highlight what worked, what failed, and why.
- Recommendations
- Provide executive-level, actionable recommendations for how the leader could enhance their effectiveness.
- Recommendations should integrate Kotter, additional scholarly frameworks, and your own analysis.
Citations: Minimum of 810 scholarly references (HBR, course texts, peer-reviewed journals). APA format required.
Step 4: Executive Briefing (10 Slides)
Develop a 10-slide PowerPoint presentation that distills your findings into a boardroom-ready executive briefing. This is not a student presentation; frame it as if you are consultants advising senior executives.
Slide Format:
- Title Slide: Project Title, Student Name, Course Name/Number, Date.
- Introduction: Purpose and scope of the presentation.
- Leader Background: Brief profile and context of negotiation/conflict.
- Kotters Key Insights: Summary of Kotters concepts and their relevance.
- Leadership Approach: Analysis of strengths/weaknesses using Kotter.
- Communication Strategies: Effectiveness in managing negotiation/conflict.
- Decision-Making: Alignment with best practices; strengths/limitations.
- Conflict Management: Strategies used and their impact on resolution.
- Recommendations: Actionable, evidence-based improvements.
- Conclusion: Key findings, implications for leadership in conflict, final insights.
Each slide should include concise bullet points, visuals, and at least one supporting citation. A reference slide (APA format) must be included.
Submission Requirements
- Paper: 2,000 words, double-spaced, APA format, 810 scholarly references. Submit as a Word document.
- Executive Briefing: 10-slide PowerPoint presentation with citations and a reference slide.
- Presentation: You will present your briefing to the class during Week 6, demonstrating executive presence, clarity, and analytical rigor.
Academic Integrity
Your submission will be checked for plagiarism. A zero-tolerance policy is in place:
- Similarity Index above 30% requires immediate resubmission.
- Continued issues will result in point deductions or failure.

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