Competency 8: Understanding Organizations

a.   Students will be able to clearly articulate the significance of organizational mission and vision statements and compare/contrast those of a variety of organizational types (i.e. academic, corporate, non-profit, government, civic, religious, etc.)

b.   Students will be able to define organizational culture, describing such topics as environmental influences, power sources and networks, historical context, competing interests, allies, tangential agendas, and the importance of position. 

c.   Students will be able to describe the role of the individual in shaping and driving the organizational mission and vision.

Suggestions for Learning:

• Attend a professional conference related to your major
• Conduct informational interviews with leaders within the university or community
• Attend the Student Leaders Retreat
• Become involved in strategic planning and assessment at the university
• Analyze the mission statement and vision of student organizations in which you are involved; work to develop such documents if they do not exist
• Enroll in organizational development, political science, and/or sociology courses
• Participate in an internship or co-op
• Interview faculty members and student affairs administrators on campus; Compare and contrast their understanding of the institutional environment
• Attend a workshop in the Career Center
• Attend a Career Fair
• Evaluate BGSU’s strategic plan
• Reflect upon your experience in a student organization
• Analyze the role of leadership in a company or organization that has successfully transformed itself to meet changing market conditions

 Recommended Readings:

Review the TGCI document entitled “How to write a mission statement” at http://www.tgci.com/magazine/98fall/mission.asp
Covey, S. R. (1995). First Things First: To Live, To Love, To Learn, To Leave a Legacy. New York: Simon and Schuster.

 Competency 9: Improving Communities

a.   Students will be able to articulate the role of leadership in driving community change and will demonstrate familiarity with models for creating change (i.e. organizational, rational, behavioral, etc.).

b.   Students will be able to assess the context and culture of a community in which individuals and organizations function.

Suggestions for Learning:

• Enroll in one of the many leadership or sociology courses at BGSU
• Participate in an alternative winter or spring break trip
• Participate in a service learning experience as part of a class or student organization
• Attend LeaderShape
• Participate in an internship or co-op; reflect upon this experience in light of your understanding of the organizations relationship to the community
• Interview respected community leaders; Shadow a community leader
• Become involved in a political campaign or politically-oriented issue

 Recommended Readings:

Bobo, K., Kendall, J., & Max, S. (2001). The fundaments of direct action organizing. In Organizing for Social Change. Santa Ana, CA: Seven Locks. 

Covey, S. (2004). The Eighth Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Green, G., & Haines, A. (2002). The process of community development. In Asset Building and Community Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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