Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership Program Features

Students develop the skills necessary to effectively manage and influence people.

Flexibility – With flexible scheduling in the evenings and on weekends, the program is designed to meet the needs of both the working professional and the recent college graduate.

Integration of Theory and Practical Application – The program emphasizes the application of organizational and leadership theories and methodologies to professional practice. Students learn how to apply evidence-based decision making practices to solve organizational problems and address critical issues, including the assessment, hiring, and evaluation of personnel, conflict management and negotiation, and strategic planning and organizational development.

Leader Development – Students develop the skills necessary to impact real, sustainable positive change in themselves as a leader, their teams, and their communities through critical thinking, reflective learning, and evidence-based practices. Other skills include communication skills, decision making skills, m, ethical leadership skills, strategic and change leadership skills , and a comprehensive understanding of interpersonal and intergroup dynamics.

Choose Your Focus – The program provides tailored learning experiences to meet individual career goals. Research projects and elective courses can be tailored for specific career objectives. Consider the following examples:

A student wishing to pursue a career in Talent Management or Human Resources couldtake elective courses in Talent Management, Training and Assessment, and Group Dynamics.
Astudent wishing to pursue a career in Organizational Development could take courses in Organizational Development, Conflict and Negotiation, and Group Dynamics.
Astudent wishing to pursue a career in Social and Community Service Management could take courses in Community Organizations, Grant Writing, and Training and Assessment.

Internships – Practica and internships provide students with opportunities for practical experiences and resume building to enhance competitiveness in the job market.

Ethical Leadership Emphasis – The coursework in the curriculum is designed to develop and strengthen ethical, socially responsible values and decision making.

Early Access Program – Maryville undergraduate students who have a cumulative GPA of 3.6 and a minimum of 100 credit hours completed, with at least 20 credit hours from Maryville, may apply for early admission into the graduate program. Students should consult with their academic adviser for information. Early access students may take up to 12 credit hours of coursework in the Leadership or Strategic Communication core.

Major Competencies (and related coursework):

Strategic Leadership Competencies: Organizational Leadership students will develop skills in the following:

Conflict and /Negotiation—Learn principled negotiation and conflict skills to manage social dilemmas and conflicts, and understand concepts integral to preparing, negotiating, and evaluating the negotiation process and outcomes. (Courses: Conflict and Negotiation; Foundations of Leadership; Organizational Development; Group Dynamics)
Ethical Leadership—Understand and apply ethical principles to develop a coherent ethical philosophy for socially responsible communication and leadership. (Courses: Foundations of Leadership; Professional and Organizational Ethics)
Global and Local Diversity: Understand and address the challenges and advantages of working in an ever changing and increasingly more global and diverse world (Emphasized across the curriculum).
Teamwork and Group Dynamics—Identify principles of group and team dynamics and be able to apply them to enhance motivation, performance, and morale. ( Courses: Foundations of Leadership; Group Dynamics; Organizational Behavior; Organizational Development)
Written and Oral Communication—Write clear, effective, and persuasive communications in a variety of digital, business, and media formats and be able to speak clearly, effectively, and persuasively to individuals and audiences in a variety of settings. (Emphasized across the curriculum)

Evidence-Based Decision Making Competencies: ORGL students will develop the following skills:

Creativity and Innovation: Develop, design, and create new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, and products (Organizational Development, Innovation and Decision-Making).
Critical Thinking and Reflective Judgment: : Use logic, inductive reasoning, and deductive reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative approaches to a problem. In addition, students will learn to understand the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making (Emphasized across the curriculum).
Information Gathering: Effectively gather information from relevant sources, including the acquiring of information from library, government, archival, and internet sources and the ability to actively observe, listen to, and question other people (Emphasized across the curriculum).
Judgment, Decision Making, and Problem-Solving: Identify complex problems and review related information to consider the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one (Evidence-Based Leadership, Innovation and Decision-Making, Conflict Resolution and Negotiation; emphasized across the curriculum).
Problem Monitoringy/Reflective Learning; : Monitor and assess the performance of themselves, others, and the organization to identify when something is wrong or likely to go wrong and to make improvements and take corrective action when potential problems do arise (Courses: Conflict and Negotiation, Training and Assessment , Organizational Development).

Organizational Effectiveness Competencies: ORGL students will develop the following skills:

Social Perceptiveness/Interpersonal Skills: Understand human behavior, social perception, and perception biases. In addition, they will learn to develop constructive and cooperative working relationships with others and maintain these relationships over time (Emphasized across the curriculum).
Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: Be aware of the ways in which they can contribute ethically and pro-socially to their organizations and the community (Emphasized across the curriculum).
Personnel Recruitment and Selection: Perform searches for qualified candidates according to relevant job criteria, to review and evaluate application materials, perform reference and background checks, and use evaluation tools and interviewing techniques to identify and narrow down qualified candidates (Talent Management; Training and Assessment).
Motivation: Apply theories of motivation to the design, planning, organization and directing of leader, team, and organizational development programs (Theories of Organizational Behavior, Organizational Behavior; Group Dynamics; Organizational Development).
Program Evaluation: Evaluate and institutionalize change improvements at the individual, team, and organizational levels. (Theories of Organizational Behavior, Organizational Development; Training and Assessment , Group Dynamics).