DEPARTMENT OF PEOPLE & ORGANISATIONS

MSc International Management, MSc Management with HR,

MSc Marketing Management, MSc Marketing Management
(Retail), MSc Marketing (Digital), MSc Organisational Project
Management, MSc Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship,
MSc Management with Business Analytics, MSc Medical Imaging
with Management

Leadership Essentials

UNIT HANDBOOK

2022-23

Unit Leader:
Name: Maureen Kehinde
Tel: 01202 968195
Email: [email protected]

Disclaimer
Information contained within this unit handbook is correct at the time of going to press (Sept 2022). However, some information may change
and Bournemouth University reserves the right to make changes to procedures, regulations and processes subject to maintaining equivalent
standards.

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 1

CONTENTS PAGE

1.0 Welcome from the Unit Leader

1.1 Your teaching team 3

2.0 Unit Aim 5

3.0 Learning Outcomes 5

4.0 Learning Environment 6

4.1 Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies

5.0 Outline of Lecture and Seminar programme 8

6.0 Unit Assessment Strategy 9

6.1 Referencing and Academic Integrity

7.0 Brief for Assignment 10

8.0 Unit Resources 14

Appendix 1: Assignment Rubric 15

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 2

1.0 WELCOME FROM THE UNIT LEADER

Welcome to the Leadership Essentials Unit. We hope you find this an interesting and valuable
unit which will be useful, not just in your MSc programme of study, but also in your future
career. We believe leadership is a process that involves working with others (followers)
combined with critical self-reflection and analysis to develop self-awareness. Within this unit,
we expect you to act as self-managed learners, in other words, to show self-leadership, work
with others and reflect on your own leadership skills and abilities.

1.1 YOUR TEACHING TEAM

Maureen Kehinde – Unit Leader

Maureen is a senior lecturer in the Business School and

a Senior Fellow of the HEA. She has taught on various
units both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels,
including subjects such as Sustainability,
Organisational Behaviour, Responsible Management,
CSR and Business Ethics, HRM, Leadership and
Culture.

She holds BSc in Business Administration, MBA in

Management and MSc in Human Resource
Management. She has recently defended her PhD in
Management with a thesis on Institutionalisation of
Environmental Sustainability in North-East Scottish
Universities: Factors of Decoupling and Tight-
Coupling. Her research interest is in Sustainability,
Green Human Resource Management and Leadership,
Culture Change, and Rural Community Development
with a focus on qualitative research. She has several
active research works in progress which addresss
environmental and social sustainability issues in the
areas of water, waste, energy, transport, biodiversity
management, behaviour and community development
for sustainability with a focused on Higher Education
Institutions, Faith-Based Organisations and rural
communities. Her research ties closely to the United
Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals connected to
the environment as well as sustainability.

Surgery Hours: By Appointment

[email protected]

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 3

 Dr Debbie Sadd

Debbie is a Chartered Manager and Senior Fellow of

The Higher Education Academy. She currently teaches
Strategy and Leadership on both the undergraduate and
postgraduate programmes. She also has undertaken
guest lectures within other Management programmes
both in the UK and overseas. Her current research
interests include stakeholder management, systems
thinking in decision making and legacy planning. Other
activities include being part of the ESRC funded Sports
Tourism initiative (STORMING) to undertake research
into Sports Tourism opportunities and challenges, and
the F.A.M.E. framework of event evaluation (HEIF
Funded) and the FestiM project using social media to
measure event reach. More recently she has been
involved in commercial training for organisations in
relation to improving their mobile marketing initiatives
and is a regular contributor to both the BU Festival of
Learning and the Festival of Enterprise. She has
extensive leadership experience both within and outside
the University and brings her own unique take on 21st
leadership styles. Currently she is also Director of the
Help to Grow Management Programme at
Bournemouth University, delivering training to SME’s
for the British Government.

Dr Parisa Gilani

Parisa is a principal academic in the People and

Organisations department, within BU Business School.
She currently delivers courses in Human Resource
Management, Organisational Behaviour and Leadership,
and has previously delivered courses in Cross-Cultural
Management. Parisa is also the Programme Coordinator
for the MSC in Management with HR. Having
completed her PhD in 2014, Parisa’s research interests
lie primarily in leadership development and leadership
and gender, but also extend to organisational culture,
employee engagement, change and identity. Having
lived and studied in France and the Middle East (as well
as the UK) she is also interested in exploring issues
surrounding global leadership. Parisa is continually
fascinated by her students’ experiences and is passionate
about developing a dynamic and supportive learning
environment.

Searchmore Muridzo

Searchmore is a passionate and enthusiastic

interdisciplinary educator and researcher. Part of his
Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 4
 background is in media, journalism and marketing and
he has taught in BU’s media department at both UG and
PG. In BUBS he teaches DMC, Organisational
Behaviour and Organisational Leadership units. He has
recently become Level 5 Programme Coordinator: BA
(Hons) Business and Management.

His PhD is on how Zimbabwe’s public service

broadcaster is deals with influences from politics, the
profession, and the market and how this influences
organisational behaviour. A major finding of the study is
the presence of a hybrid organisation stirred by hybrid
professionals. This is a significant finding in explaining
how in modern times and during major world
phenomenon such as Covid pandemic organisations and
professions are changing and encompassing several,
sometimes contradictory, functions or values to survive
and fit into the new business landscape with leaders
needing to adjust. Searchmore’s research interest
include institutional logics perspectives, hybrid
organisations, hybrid employees, the future of work,
leadership, media management and media business.

2.0 UNIT AIM

Organisational life is increasingly complex with the business world characterised as volatile,
uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Within this context, effective and sustainable leadership is
increasingly important. This unit aims to provide students with a critical understanding of
leadership theory and how it relates to practice in a variety of global business contexts and in
tackling global ecological challenges. Self-awareness is key to leadership effectiveness and
therefore students will engage in a range of pedagogic approaches to developing greater self-
awareness, for example, reflexivity, working with teams, combined with a theoretical
understanding including emotional intelligence, resilience and well-being. The unit aims to
provide a critical understanding of leadership theory and practice through developing students
personal leadership skills.

3.0 LEARNING OUTCOMES

Having completed this Unit, the student is expected to:

1. critically evaluate contemporary leadership theories and emerging leadership trends

2. demonstrate key transferable leadership skills which inform professional practice
3. communicate business solutions and recommendations effectively
4. examine how leadership theory impacts practice in a range of contexts and situations

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 5

4.0 LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

The formal learning programme normally consists of lectures, seminars, a weekly online Q&A
assignment session and curated learning materials and resources. You will access many of the
learning and teaching materials for this unit via ‘Brightspace’. It is essential that you
familiarise yourself with the resources and structure of the unit on Brightspace and that you
subscribe to any Discussion Forums. Please check Brightspace, as well as your university
email, regularly for updates.

Each week we will post to Brightspace:

• Resources to support your learning. This could be in the form of video links, TED talks,
journal or newspaper articles, LinkedIn Learning resources etc. It is critical that you
read or watch these as they form part of your formal learning.
In addition to this:
• Each week you will have a one-hour seminar and a 2-hour lecture to be delivered face
to face1. Please see your timetable for details of when this is scheduled. There may be
pre-work for the seminar, please make sure you complete this in advance

• There will be a one-hour weekly assignment Q&A session for the whole cohort. This
session will be delivered online via Zoom This is the opportunity for you to ask
questions about the assignment and the unit. In this session, one of the lecturers may
also discuss study skills that are relevant for the unit. Currently this is timetabled on a
Mondays at 9-10am (please note – it is not every Monday so check the timetable each
week.) We will record this session and post it to Brightspace
We want to highlight that there is an emphasis on YOU to drive the learning process. The more
you engage with the unit, materials, and activities, the more you will gain from the unit. If you
expect to be a passive learner, you will not gain the benefits of this unit. Therefore, we
recommend you spend an additional 6 hours of self-study per week working on the unit. We
will give you advanced notice if there is pre-work or reading to be completed before the
seminar. You MUST complete this before attending.

Indicative Content

• Critical understanding of leadership theory

• Leadership practice and emerging trends
• Leading self – self-awareness, emotional intelligence and resilience
• Leading others – leading teams, leadership and diversity, ethical leadership,
followership.
• Leadership impacts in different contexts and in tackling global sustainability
challenges.

1
Assuming Government Covid-19 restrictions stay the same. These may change given the nature of the Pandemic and cases

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 6

4.1 Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies

4.1.1 The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)

The AACSB Assurance of Learning (AOL)

AACSB basis accreditation judgment through 15 standards. A critical area of

learning and teaching addresses Curricular Management and Assurance of Learning
(AOL). We assess Assurance of Learning through a set of generic Learning Goals
(listed below) that are mapped against your programme learning goals.

Our graduates possess an array of knowledge, skills, attributes, behaviours and

values, which enable them to succeed. We believe they stand out in four key areas in
particular. We express these through our AACSB Assurance of Learning Goals and
Objectives.

For our postgraduate students:

The AOL Goals are listed below, with those introduced, reinforced or assessed in this
unit’s assessments as indicated below:

Goal 1: Our graduates will be highly competent communicators ✓

Goal 2: Our graduates will be capable, independent researchers ✓

Goal 3: Our graduates will have a critical understanding of responsible business ✓

practice
Goal 4: Our graduates will have an in-depth understanding of their subject specialism in ✓
a global context

During your time with us in the Bournemouth University Business School you will
find that a number of your assignments will be assessed using both BU marking
criteria and the AOL assessment criteria. The marking scale that we use for AOL is
as follows:

BU mark
0-49.9% 50-69.9% 70-100%
(at Postgraduate Level)
Does Not Yet Meet Exceeds
AOL assessment rating Meets Expectations
Expectations Expectations

It is important for you to be aware of the distinction between passing under BU

assessment regulation and still ‘not yet met’ the AOL assessment threshold. If this is
the case, you will still be able to progress, as you meet BU assessment requirements.
However, you will be able to receive feedback to enable you to benchmark your
performance against the AOL goals.

If you have any questions about how AOL has been incorporated into the marking of
one of your assignments, please contact the Unit Leader.

If you would like to learn more about The AACSB, you can visit their website at
http://www.aacsb.edu/

Alternatively, you can contact our Accreditations Team

[email protected]

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 7

5.0 OUTLINE OF LECTURE AND SEMINAR PROGRAMME

Teaching Schedule

Week commencing Activity Lead Academic

26/9/22 Intro to unit and leadership Maureen Kehinde

3/10/22 Contemporary leadership theories Maureen Kehinde

10/10/22 Power and influence Maureen Kehinde

17/10/22 Self-awareness, EQ and resilience Searchmore Muridzo

24/10/22 Unethical/dark side of leadership Searchmore Muridzo

31/10/22 Leadership and followership Dr Parisa Gilani

7/11/22 Edfest (experience & development week -

14/11/22 Leadership development Dr Debbie Sadd

21/11/22 Sustainable, global leadership Maureen Kehinde

28/11/22 Leadership, gender and diversity Dr Parisa Gilani

5/12/22 Generational differences in leadership Maureen Kehinde

approaches

Please note, this schedule indicates planned unit content but may be subject to change. All
materials will be posted in advance on Brightspace. Please check Brightspace regularly for
updates and materials you must read or prepare before class.

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 8

 Lecture and Seminar Programme and Links to
the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Teaching Schedule
Week Activity Topics and it link to UNSDGs
commencing
26/9/22 Intro to unit and -
leadership
3/10/22 Contemporary -
leadership theories
10/10/22 Power and influence

17/10/22 Self-awareness, EQ
and resilience

24/10/22 Unethical/dark side of

leadership

31/10/22 Leadership and -

followership
7/11/22 Edfest (experience & -
development week
14/11/22 Leadership
development

21/11/22 Sustainable, global

leadership

28/11/22 Leadership, gender

and diversity

5/12/22 Generational
differences in
leadership approaches

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 9

6.0 UNIT ASSESSMENT STRATEGY

Summative assessment

ILO’s 1-4 will be assessed through 100% coursework.

Assessable Coursework:

Individual assignment: Produce a 3000 (+/-10%) word individual written assignment.

Deadline for submission: Monday 9th Jan 2023 at 12 noon

The details of how the assessment strategy relates to the Intended Learning Outcomes
for the unit are as follows:

ILO’s Assessment
Critically evaluate contemporary leadership theories and Individual written assignment
emerging leadership trends
Demonstrate key transferable leadership skills which Individual written assignment
inform professional practice
Communicate business solutions and recommendations Individual written assignment
effectively
Examine how leadership theory impacts practice in a range Individual written assignment
of contexts and situations.

HELP AND SUPPORT

The assignment will be discussed in detail at the initial lecture for this unit. We have also
dedicated a one-hour online ‘live’ Q&A session every week where we will discuss the
assignment and you have an opportunity to ask question. We will record the session but please
make sure that you attend as this will be your main support with assignment questions. We
have set up a discussion forum on Brightspace for assignment questions – please post ALL
questions to this forum and check it regularly. Make sure you subscribe to the forum for
updates.
6.1. REFERENCING AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

The University takes Academic Integrity very seriously. It is imperative that you ensure the
work submitted for assessment is entirely your own work, or where it includes the work of
others every instance has been fully and appropriately referenced in accordance with the BU
Harvard scheme of referencing. Without correct paraphrasing and referencing your work could
be deemed to include errors that could constitute an Academic Offence.

The most common Academic Offences are outlined below:

• Plagiarism - taking elements of someone else’s work or thinking and presenting it as
your own. You must acknowledge your source every time you refer to others’ work,
using the BU Harvard Referencing system (Author Date Method). Failure to do so
amounts to plagiarism which is against university regulations and is classified as an
academic offence. Please refer to http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/how-
to/citing-refs.html for the University’s guide to citation in the Harvard style
• Self-Plagiarism – using substantial portions of your own work for more than one
assessment. BU’s regulations do not allow you to gain credit more than once for the

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 10

 same piece of work. Building on similar ideas is permitted; Refer to: How to avoid
academic offences’ page (http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/how-to/academic-
offences.html ) for further details
• Collusion – unauthorised group working on an individual assessment. Make sure your
work is your own. It is natural that you may discuss your assessments with your peers,
but we would advise that you do not send your draft work to your classmates or
exchange thoughts on the final writing to ensure that your submission is totally in your
words and representing your ideas;
• Contract Cheating – asking or even paying someone else (including commercial
services) to construct all or part of your assessment for you. This is taken most seriously
and may lead to immediate withdrawal from the university

The University has sophisticated AI tools to assess the originality of your assessments which
means that detection of Academic Offences is high.

The university library offers a wide range of tools and support materials to guide you through
the correct underpinning and referencing of your work. You can find these on the library tab
on Brightspace if you select study skills and then referencing and plagiarism, you will find a
wealth of resources to guide you through the appropriate construction of your work, such as:
How to avoid plagiarism and other academic offences. The short video linked here outlines
these issues more fully.

You must follow our guidance on how to cite and reference sources in BU’s version of the
Harvard style. Use these Referencing – BU Harvard instructions.

Penalties for Academic Offences can be very severe. If you have any concerns about meeting
a deadline or the originality of your work, please do discuss them with the relevant Unit Leader,
a Librarian or your Level Tutor / Programme Coordinator at the earliest opportunity.

• The first and second markers have the right to ask for an oral viva if they are suspicious
of the quality and originality of the submitted assignment, in accordance with BU
Policies and
Procedures:https://staffintranet.bournemouth.ac.uk/aboutbu/policiesprocedures/acade
micregulationspoliciesprocedures/
• Students who require learning support may contact Additional Learning Support on
http://studentportal.bournemouth.ac.uk/learning/als/index.html
• General academic support is available via the Academic Skills community on
Brightspace.
• Additional support is provided by the school. International postgraduate students
should contact their Programme Leader and/or Administrator
• If you have any valid exceptional circumstances that mean you cannot meet an
assignment submission deadline and you wish to request an extension, you will need
to complete and submit the Exceptional Circumstances Form for consideration to your
Programme/Framework Administrator together with appropriate supporting evidence
(e.g., Doctors note) normally before the coursework deadline. Further details on the
procedure and the exceptional circumstances form can be found at
https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/students/help-advice/looking-support/exceptional-

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 11

 circumstances Please make sure you read these documents carefully before submitting
anything for consideration

Finally, as you develop your work it is possible for you to check that you have appropriately
paraphrased and analysed your work through the use of the Turnitin try it out box. You can
find this on the Brightspace home page. You can load your work here at any time to get an
originality report.

Communication Tips:

A key factor for successful completion of this unit is effective communication, so please:
▪ check your timetable weekly, as sessions may not be same time / same place every
week.
▪ Think carefully about the most appropriate communication channel for raising any
queries - in class, during the online drop-in Q&A session, discussion forum or via
email?
▪ Due to tutors having to deal with large volume of emails we encourage students to
use emails only as the last resort. Take advantage of live sessions i.e., lectures,
seminar, drop-in session etc. to ask questions.
▪ Always use your BU email address when emailing us, as emails from private email
addresses may be ‘spammed out’; ensure that your email is professional.
▪ Keep copies of all unit-related communications, e.g., emails, texts, social media
posts, until all assessment has been marked and returned.
▪ Ensure that you have subscribed to all of the Discussion Forums on Brightspace,
so that you don’t miss out on any important information.

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 12

7.0 BRIEF FOR ASSIGNMENT(S)

Bournemouth University
Business School
Assignment Brief
Programme: MSc International Management, MSc Management with HR, MSc Marketing
Management, MSc Marketing Management (Retail), MSc Marketing (Digital), MSc
Organisational Project Management, MSc Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship, MSc
Management with Business Analytics, MSc Medical Imaging with Management.

Level: 7

Unit Name: Leadership Essentials Unit Leader: Maureen Kehinde

Assignment marker: Maureen Kehinde/ Dr Parisa Gilani/Dr Debbie Sadd/Searchmore

Muridzo

Member of staff from whom advice can be sought about the assignment: Maureen
Kehinde

Assignment title: Using examples from ONE organisation of your choice, examine how
leadership theory and practice has impacted upon organisation sustainability.

Feedback method: electronic via Turnitin

Issue date: September 2022

Submission date: Monday 9th January 2023 at 12 noon

Weighting of this assignment: 100% (as % of total coursework assessment for the unit)

Note:
It is your responsibility to be aware of University Regulations relating to academic offences
and to avoid committing them. The BU definitions and the penalties are listed in: Academic
Offences: Policy & Procedure for Taught Awards.

If you are unable to submit your assignment on time due to medical or other mitigating
circumstances you must complete a Exceptional Circumstances form PRIOR to the deadline
and submit it for approval.

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 13

Details of what you are expected to do:

1. Rationale

The assignment requires students to demonstrate that they can use academic theory and relate
it to practice in the area of leadership. By asking students to examine leadership practices
within one organisation, students will be required to relate academic theory to practice and
demonstrate an understanding of how leadership impacts on organisational sustainability.
2. The learning outcomes being assessed

The individual assignment assesses Intended Learning Outcomes 1-4.

3. Overview of assignment

Students are required to submit a 3000 (+/-10%) word individual written assignment.
This is an academic assignment and you will be expected to draw on a range of academic, peer-
reviewed literature (e.g. journal articles, book chapters) to support your assignment.
As a guide, we would recommend that 80% of the contents of your assignment is drawn from
peer-reviewed literature (journal articles and books) and 20% is related to the organisational
context (using sources such as the company website or good quality business websites – BBC
news/Forbes etc).
Students scoring in the higher marking bands will have demonstrated a good understanding of
the literature and that they have read beyond the scope of what is covered in the lectures and
seminars. We are NOT looking for an assignment which focuses predominantly on the
organisation.
Drawing on a range of academic literature to provide supporting evidence for your discussion,
the individual assignment must address the following:

Using examples from ONE organisation of your choice, examine how leadership theory and
practice has impacted upon organisation sustainability2.

To do this, you must:

a. Critically evaluate one leadership theory and demonstrate how the theory relates to
leadership practices occurring within the chosen organisation.

o You can draw on other theories to demonstrate critical analysis, however, we are
looking for a sound theoretical understanding of one theory

2
In terms of conceptualising ‘organisational sustainability’, we draw upon Lozano, (2019) colloquial definition of
sustainability being about addressing:
1. Negative economic disparities i.e., to keep the business going (Colbert and Kurucz 2007) &/or “future proofing”
of organizations (Wales 2013).
2. Environmental degradation i.e., the non-exploitation of natural resources for short-term goals (Van Marrewijk and
Werre’s 2003) &/or zero impact of organisational activities on the planet (Hansmann, et.al., 2012)
3. Social inequalities I.e., Leadership embracing socio-psychology aspects such as, support for people diversities,
social capital development including, knowledge, skills, values, physical health & Personal wellbeing

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 14

 b. Drawing on academic literature, discuss and critically evaluate three of the following
topics for leadership practices and sustainability in the organisation of your choice:

o Power and influence

o Unethical leadership/ the dark side of leadership
o Leadership, gender and diversity
o Leadership self-awareness and resilience
o Leadership development
o Generational expectations of leadership
o Leadership and followership
o Sustainable, global leadership

Credit will be given to those who demonstrate a comprehensive understating of contemporary

leadership issues and literature which draws on a wide scope of materials covered within this
unit.
The individual assignment will be marked in accordance with the marking guide, see Appendix
1 for the full guide. Please make sure you read this guide and have a clear understanding of the
criteria and expectations.
However, please be aware that there are 4 elements to be covered in this assignment – the
leadership theory element and the 3 leadership topic areas – please make sure you balance your
assignment to reflect these (i.e. do not allocate too much of your word count to any one area
but divide word count equally between the 4 elements).
Assignment Format
Your paper must comply with the following criteria:
• The overall word limit for the assignment is 3000 +/- 10%, excluding references
• You may add a content page if you wish and this is not included in the word count
• Arial or Times New Roman, 12 font type, 1.5 spaced, 2.5cm margins, justified and
appropriate use of paragraphs
• You do not need an abstract or executive summary
• You may use headings/sub-headings where appropriate throughout your assignment.
• Spell checked and grammar-checked with no track changes
• Written in an appropriate, clear style of English
• Well structured, organised, logical and coherent
• All references must be cited correctly and listed in the reference list using the BU
Harvard system. The updated guide can be found by following the link below:
https://libguides.bournemouth.ac.uk/bu-referencing-harvard-style

4. Deadline for submission: Monday 9th January 2023 at 12 noon

Please note that this is the final time you can submit – not the time to submit! Your feedback
and mark for this assignment will be provided via return of the assignment.

If a piece of coursework is not submitted by the required deadline, the following will apply:

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 15

 • If the assignment is submitted within 72 hours after the deadline, the maximum mark
that can be awarded is 50%. If the assessment achieves a pass mark and subject to the
overall performance of the unit and the student’s profile for the level, it will be accepted
by the Assessment Board as the reassessment piece. The unit will count towards the
reassessment allowance
• This rule will apply to the first attempt only (including any subsequent attempt taken
as a first attempt due to mitigation)
• If coursework is submitted more than 72 hours after the deadline, a mark of zero (0%)
will be awarded; · Failure to submit/complete any other types of coursework by the
required deadline will result in a mark of zero (0%) being awarded
• If the unit team has doubts about the originality of the submitted work, the student will
be asked for a viva about the submission

5. Assessment criteria and weightings

Please see the separate rubric for a guide for assessment marking criteria (Appendix 1).

Feedback for the assignment will be provided within three weeks of submission via Turnitin.
Individual marks will be released via Grade Centre.

In your interest, a sample of work is second-marked; the sample normally includes all
Distinctions and Fails, as well as a selection of other work.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this assignment brief (version number: 1) is correct
at time of publication. In the unlikely event that any changes are deemed necessary, they will
be communicated clearly via e-mail and/or via Brightspace and a new version of this
assignment brief will be circulated.

8.0 UNIT RESOURCES

Check the ‘Reading List’ link on this Unit in Brightspace for a full and updated electronic list
of resources to help you get started with reading and research.

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 16

Appendix: Marking rubric

Poor Fail (0-39%) Fail (40-49%) Pass (50-59%) Merit (60-69%) Distinction (70-79%) High Distinction (80-
Insufficient Basic Good Good Excellent 99%) Exceptional
Subject Feedback - The work Feedback - The work Feedback - The work Feedback - The work Feedback - The work Feedback - The work
knowledge and demonstrates limited demonstrates a lack of demonstrates some in- demonstrates a very demonstrates excellent demonstrates an
understanding or no evidence of in-depth knowledge depth knowledge good in-depth in-depth knowledge exceptional in-depth
understanding of the across specialised and across specialised and knowledge across across specialised and knowledge across
(60%) subject. The applied areas. The applied areas. The specialised and applied areas. The specialised and
leadership theories leadership theories leadership theories applied areas. The leadership theories applied areas. The
and topics are poorly and topics either lack and topics are leadership theories and topics are very leadership theories
developed or content and academic covered however and topics are well well covered and and topics are
descriptive and rigour or may be there may be some covered and balanced. There is exceedingly well
anecdotal in content. heavily balanced in areas that are better balanced. There is clear evidence of covered and
There is little or no limited areas. There is developed than clear evidence of extensive independent balanced. There is
evidence of extensive insufficient evidence others. There is some extensive independent study and thinking. clear evidence of very
independent study and of extensive evidence of extensive study and thinking, The work is at, or extensive independent
thinking, or relevant independent study and independent study and and of working at, or informed by, the study and thinking.
reading or research. thinking. The work is thinking. In places the informed by, the forefront of theoretical The work is informed
The work not at the forefront of work is informed by forefront of theoretical understanding in the by the forefront of
demonstrates limited theoretical current understanding understanding in this field of study. theoretical
evidence of being at understanding in this in their field of study. field of study. understanding in this
the forefront of field of study. Feedforward - A field of study. Shows
theoretical Feedforward - In Feedforward - In deeply analytical and considerable mastery
understanding in this Feedforward - Further future work more future work extensive critical approach to of facts and concepts.
field of study. reading, research and detailed knowledge knowledge could be reading and research
independent study and needs to be demonstrated with could help develop Feedforward - Future
Feedforward - In thinking are needed to demonstrated with even greater subject knowledge and work could offer even
future work develop future work greater consistency to consistency to show conceptual further broader and
significant further and demonstrate the demonstrate detailed understanding understanding further. deeper understanding.
reading, research and work is at the understanding of the of the current
independent study and forefront of theoretical current knowledge in knowledge in this
thinking are needed to understanding in the the field of study. field of study.
develop and field of study.
demonstrate detailed
theoretical
understanding in the
field of study.

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 17

 Intellectual skills - Feedback - The work Feedback - The work Feedback - The work Feedback - The work Feedback - The work Feedback - The work
including analysis, demonstrates limited has demonstrated demonstrates some demonstrates a very demonstrates a high demonstrates an
evaluation and or no evidence of insufficient ability to limited ability to deal good ability to deal level of confidence in outstanding ability to
critical judgement appropriate analysis. deal with complexity, with some complexity, effectively with dealing effectively deal with complexity,
Current contradictions and contradictions and complexity, with complexity, contradictions and
(30%) research/knowledge incomplete incomplete contradictions and contradictions and incomplete
does not appear to be information in the information in the incomplete data. incomplete information.
independently knowledge base. knowledge base. Independent critical information. The work Independent critical
critically analysed. Independent critical There is evidence of analysis of current shows evidence of analysis of current
The work contains analysis of current some independent research/knowledge is independent critical research/knowledge
unsubstantiated research/knowledge analysis of current demonstrated, and analysis of current and cogently argued
opinions that appear to and alternative research/knowledge arguments consider research/knowledge, alternative approaches
reflect a lack of approaches is limited, and alternative alternative clearly argued are present. Confident
familiarity with key as is the ability to approaches. Some approaches. alternative approaches, and independent
concepts. There is a assess own and others’ independent Assessment of own and the ability to assessment, with clear
lack of ability to relate work with assessment of own and others’ work with reason in a clear and justifications and
theory to practice in justification. There is and others’ work with clear justification and effective manner. The sound judgement, is
the organisational limited ability to relate justification and sound judgement is ability to demonstrated. There is
context. theory to practice in appropriate judgement evident. There is good independently assess an exceptional ability
the organisational is demonstrated. There ability to relate theory own and others’ work to relate theory to
Feedforward - Future context. is evidence of being to practice in the with very clear practice in the
work needs to able to relate theory to organisational context. justifications and organisational context.
demonstrate a much practice in the sound judgement is
greater level of critical Feedforward - Future organisational context. demonstrated. There is
analysis, backed up work needs to Feedforward - Future an excellent ability to Feedforward - Future
with the appropriate demonstrate a greater work could relate theory to work could offer an
use of literature. level of critical Feedforward - Future demonstrate practice in the even deeper and more
analysis, backed up work should confidence in organisational context. extensive critical
with the appropriate demonstrate further handling complex approach with
use of literature. ability to deal with ideas and extended analysis and
complex ideas and contradictions. Feedforward - In evaluation.
contradictions. Skills Extensive skills of future work further
of analysis and analysis and synthesis synthesis and critical
synthesis need to be could be developed analysis could be
developed along with along with well- demonstrated, along
well-judged evaluated assessment with providing further
assessment of your of own and others’ evidence of the ability
work and that of work. to handle complexity.
others.

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 18

 Transferable Feedback - The work Feedback - The work Feedback - The work Feedback - The work Feedback - The work Feedback - The work
skills - including is very poorly does not communicate effectively is clearly demonstrates an ability is effectively
communication structured and the content communicates ideas to communicated to to present confident, communicated to
and presentation presented in effectively. The work specialist and non- specialist and non- tightly structured, specialist and non-
inappropriate English. is poorly structured or specialist audiences. It specialist audiences, stimulating, and specialist audiences.
(10%) References may be limited arguments presents structured with tightly structured, rigorous arguments The work is tightly
presented poorly or may be present. arguments that show a rigorous arguments that show a high level structured, highly
missing. The work level of development. which show a high of academic ability. stimulating, and
may be incomplete or Feedforward - A level of academic contains rigorous
too brief. clearer structure is Feedforward - In development. Feedforward - Future arguments that are
needed, along with a future work more work could likely to be at the
Feedforward - In more appropriate use clearly structured and Feedforward - In demonstrate very upper limits of what is
future work a much of English. effectively future work could be tightly structured, expected at this level.
clearer structure is Developing skills in communicated ideas communicated in a highly stimulating and
needed, along with a referencing is strongly are needed to stimulating and very rigorous Feedforward - Future
more accurate use of recommended demonstrate a higher rigorous style which arguments and work could offer even
English. Developing level of academic demonstrates a high reasoning. further well-structured
skills in referencing is skill. level of academic and well-
strongly skill. communicated
recommended. arguments.

Unit Handbook: Leadership Essentials (Level 7) page 19