Course Title：Perspectives on Leadership Development

This programme will look at the emergence of leadership as a distinct area of study, charting the development of leadership theory since the beginning of the 20th century. It will consider the relationship between leadership and management theories over this period, particularly the extent to which the strategic thinking and ‘soft skills’ of management have increasingly been appropriated by leadership theorists.It will consider the role played by leaders and leadership in key theories of communication, motivation, group dynamics and team-building, and in the management of change. It will also consider whether current leadership models and approaches are essentially western conceptions, based in western cultural assumptions about social and work relationships, and if and how these models might need to be modified in the Chinese cultural context.