ENT203TC
Leadership and Communication
Block 1, Semester 1
Academic Year 2024-2025
Individual Coursework 2 (60% Weight)
Word Count: 1200 (excluding references, Title page, table of contents and executive summary)
Submission Due Date: November 8, 2024 by 2359 (Beijing Standard Time) Method of Submission: Electronic via LMO
Late Submission: Late submissions will get a 5% deduction for each day of delay up to five (5) days. Submissions beyond five (5) days, will be regarded as a non- submission and will not be graded.
Assessment Task – 60%
You are required to leverage your research and analysis to craft a report including integrated marketing communication plan with an emphasis on leadership's influence within an organization of your choice. Focus on the marketing communication strategies employed by one of the following leaders and critically evaluate their effectiveness. Choose ONE leader from the list below to analyze:
1. Satya Nadella – Microsoft
2. Mary Barra – General Motors
3. Zhang Yiming - ByteDance
4. Ma Huateng (Pony Ma) - Tencent Holdings
5. Lei Jun - Xiaomi Corporation
6. Cheng Wei - Didi Global
7. Jinyi Guo – Luckin Coffee
8. Axel Schwan - Tim Hortons (coffee chain)
9. Tim Cook – Apple
10. Sheryl Sandberg – Meta (formerly Facebook)
Develop the contents of your report (detailed below) about that leader while explaining whether he/she is successful or not.
Explain contextual/background information: While analyzing, try to explore real examples and stories to develop contextual background in the beginning of your report identifying what kinds of problems or opportunities has this leader worked on to indicate his/her competence in that leadership role. You should set this context upright in the beginning of your report (HRM, employee turnover, creativity and innovation, teamwork and synergy, sales, marketing, service delivery, or any other case or scenario that he/she faced)
Suggested Report Components:
1. A Context/Background or a combination of multiple scenarios for the Leadership’s Concern (100-150 words)
2. Leadership Qualities and Organizational Influence (300-400 words):
Describe the chosen leader’s leadership qualities, highlighting key attributes, and any relevant leadership principles he/she adheres to.
Explore how these leadership qualities influence organizational activities, culture, and strategies (e.g., innovation, HR practices, employee engagement, and decision- making).
Apply a leadership assessment tool (e.g., leadership competencies, or leadership style(s) e.g. servant/inclusive/humble/shared/transformative/responsible) to evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen leader’s style. in the organization. You Could use this tool during your interview as well.
Justify your choice of the assessment tool and interpret its results in terms of the leader’s impact on the organization, including their influence on stakeholders.
Discuss how the leader’s style. impacts the broader context of leadership within the organization, considering both internal and external challenges.
2. Marketing Communication Plan Analysis (250-400 words):
Situational Analysis: Discuss internal and external factors (e.g., competitive environment, technological advancements, or economic conditions) that may influence the marketing communication plan. Target Market and Positioning: Define the specific target market and how the communication plan is positioned to connect with this audience. How does the company differentiate itself under the leadership of the chosen figure?
Marketing Communication Mix: Evaluate the tools (e.g., advertising, PR, digital marketing, social media, etc.) used to execute the communication plan, and analyze their effectiveness in reaching the target audience.
Integration with Organizational Strategy: Highlight how the marketing communication plan integrates with the company’s broader organizational strategies (e.g., corporate social responsibility, innovation, and HR strategy).
4. Leadership and HR Strategy Integration (200-300 words):
Critically examine how the leader’s approach to leadership influences organizational and HR strategies.
Briefly explore the links between leadership styles and HR practices (e.g., talent acquisition, development, employee retention, and organizational culture).
Provide specific examples of how the leader’s style. is reflected in HR initiatives within the company.
Additional Guidance:
. Leadership Assessment Tools: Consider using frameworks such as the Leadership Style, Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), Gallup StrengthsFinder, Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model or any other suitable method to provide a structured evaluation, there is no limitation.
. HR Strategy Linkages: Focus on how leadership decisions impact organizational policies on talent management, diversity, inclusion, or innovation for employees as individuals and also for teams in departments.
. Send you Interview questions to the leader in advance several days before you interview him/her so that he/she has time to prepare how to answer you properly.
Mapping of How Learning Outcomes are Tested by this Task:
A. Show recognition of the activities, functions, and roles related to being a leader in a variety of organizational contexts, and explain both the rationale for this and the implications for those who are ‘led’ .
Addressed through the expanded Leadership Qualities and Organizational Influence section, which includes a discussion of broader organizational influence.
B. Demonstrate understanding of leadership styles and practices, and their links to organizational and HR strategies.
Directly tested in the Leadership and HR Strategy Integration section, where students must explore how leadership impacts HR strategies.
C. Apply methods for assessing leadership in contemporary organizations.
Addressed by the Leadership Styles and assessment, where students apply and justify the use of specific leadership assessment tools.
D. Demonstrate appreciation of the importance of an integrated approach to the management of marketing communications.
Tested in the Marketing Communication Plan Analysis, where students evaluate the integration of communication tools and strategies.
E. Apply the communications mix as both a strategic and tactical instrument in a competitive environment.
Addressed in the Marketing Communication Plan Analysis, where students analyze the effectiveness of the communications mix.
Format Requirements:
Word Limit: 1200 +/-10% either side of the word count (see above) is deemed to be acceptable. The relevant word count includes items such as executive summary, title page, table of contents, tables, figures, in-text citations and section headings, if used. It excludes your list of references and any appendices at the end of your coursework submission added to support your report.
You should always include the word count (from Microsoft Word, not Turnitin), after the cover page of your coursework submission on the title page.
Cover Page/Title Page: You must include a cover page (provided to you) with your student ID (Do not write your name). The cover page must be the first page within the assignment file and NOT a separate file. You can skip title page if you do not want one after the cover page, but mention the word count excluding references before the start of the report.
File: MS Word only. Name your assignment file with your student ID, e.g., 123456.docx.
Formatting: The word font should be ‘Times New Roman’, ‘Arial’ or ‘Calibri’ and font size 12. The text alignment should be ‘Justify’ . All assignments must be typed, proof-read, and professional in appearance (MS Word only).
References: You should use the APA 7 style. to reference your assignment, this is available at: https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-examples.pdf
Submission Deadline: Please note that the submission deadline is 2359 (Beijing Standard Time) November 8, 2024.
Turnitin Submission: The assignment MUST be submitted electronically via Turnitin, which is accessed via the individual module on LMO.