MBA556 - Becker

Individual paper and presentation.

Each student will select the memoir or autobiography of a person he/she recognizes to be a leader worthy of emulation.

The memoir or autobiography will be the basis of a brief (5-7 page) paper on that leader. Third-party biographies, histories, articles, and other source materials should also be used to supplement and/or challenge the leader's own words.

Theories, concepts, ideas, etc. from the course should be applied wherever appropriate to make the case that the person chosen was a truly effective leader. (If you change your mind about the person during the course of your research, you can explain why he/she was not an effective leader.)

Short presentations on the paper will be made during the final class session. A proposal indicating the student has chosen a leader, looked over the leader's memoir/autobiography, and identified some other source material is to be turned in with the mid-term exam.

Part of today's class-time will be identifying resources and locating potentially qualifying articles to support your position(s) for this assignment. This activity should get you well on your way to being prepared for the overall project.

Suggested Steps

Locate your Autobiography(ies); Ship Library may have your subject's auto-biography - but also may not. Interlibrary Loan is your friend for this piece.

• Use WorldCat Advanced Search (linked below) to find your autobiography.
  • When Ship has a copy,
    go get it (quick!)
  • When Ship does not have a copy,
    request it by clicking the Blue "Request via Interlibrary Loan" button

Locate scholarly and trade/industry articles which cover your subject and use them to support or contrast with your perceptions.

• Use ABI/Trade & Industry (linked below) for trade articles
• Ise Business Source Premier (linked below) for scholarly articles

Remember to cite your sources (especially the information you get from the autobiography!)