MA Leadership Degree Project Experience
The Major Project focuses on the leadership issues you're interested in, the matters that pertain to your place of work, and the direction you're looking to go. You'll have the whole span of the program to execute and complete your project, and throughout the process you'll work with an advisor. Your advisor is there to guide you with the scholarly requirements of the paper. The best papers are recognized for special mention, public presentation, and possible journal publishing.
There is a world of issues to explore. Take your passion and turn it into a topic. Some topics that have been engaged include: Developing a Leadership Development Plan for Generation X Leaders; Impact of Technology on Organizational Leadership; Employee Retention: A Leadership Issue; Exploring the Difference Between Founders and Next Generation Leaders of International Relief and Development Organizations.
Project resources for current students
A Sample of 2009 Major Projects
"The Disclosure of Harm to Patients in Acute Care: Through the Eyes of a Servant Leader"
By: Nell Vrolyk
Abstract:
Risk management, including multiple patient safety initiatives are a primary focus in health care today, yet adverse events continue to occur in every organization. When system and or medical errors occur, harm is often realized by someone, usually the consumer of the healthcare service - the patient. The healthcare system and health professionals have in the past been very good at concealing the extent of the harm to the patients and their significant others. Since the release of the Canadian Adverse Events Study (Baker, Norton, 2004) five years ago, the extent of errors in healthcare has been a wakeup call for everyone involved. The object of this project is the topic of disclosure, to patients and families of the harm they have realized, in a timely, sensitive fashion, and how one healthcare organization has provided the tools and knowledge to its staff to be able to deal with this all important and legislated requirement.
"How Might Research Impact Professional Growth at Elementary School? Report of an Action Research Project"
By: Susan Dick
Abstract:
The following report is a culmination of an action research project that began in April of 2009 and concluded in July 2009 as part of the Masters of Arts in Educational Leadership requirements at Trinity Western University, British Columbia.
As principal at Elementary School, a large part of my job is to support and encourage staff to engage in significant, sustainable professional growth that will improve student learning. The purpose of this study was to determine how action research might impact future professional development plans and options by determining if it would prove to be meaningful and practical for the participants (teachers and ultimately the students).
The one teacher involved in the study developed research questions based on her previous classroom experiences and used action research methodology to address her concerns about her math program. This was related to her individual professional growth plans that were developed in consultation with me as her school administrator, and we examined the impact of using action research on student learning and as professional growth in our school. This report reviews the steps involved in conducting an action research study and also describes the action research project that I undertook with the teacher. Finally, it also suggests ways in which action research can impact the professional growth of teachers at Elementary School.
"Theory and Practice of Volunteerism"
By: Judy Folkins
Executive Summary:
The primary purpose in developing a manual on The Theory & Practice of Volunteerism is to introduce volunteer coordinators/supervisors within The Salvation Army to the theory and practice of volunteerism. It is designed to be a practical resource every volunteer coordinator will want to utilize. It will introduce, equip, and enhance the volunteer coordinator in understanding their role so they can be an effective leader of the volunteer sector within their ministry unit. My completion of The Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement Audit for The Salvation Army BC volunteer program identified the strengths and weaknesses of our current program, and its findings have served as the introduction to Chapter One of this manual. Chapter Two offers various theories on the motivation of volunteers. Chapter Three provides instruction on how to target and recruit volunteers for the right position, as well as how to identify and remove the barriers that keep prospective volunteers from choosing to volunteer with the ministry unit. Chapter Four explains how a proper orientation equips the volunteer to better integrate and relate within the organization’s culture. This chapter notes the importance of Appendix A, a resource packet that can be utilized in orientating volunteers to the uniqueness of the organization. Chapter Five looks at Volunteer Risk Management and offers practical advice on how to identify, evaluate, and measure the risk within the ministry unit. It also discusses legal issues relevant to volunteerism. It also identifies appendix B, a booklet of policies and procedures relevant to The Salvation Amy. Chapter Six introduces servant leadership principles and explains how to develop a ministry of servanthood to volunteers and those within their influences. Chapter Seven stresses the importance of fostering a learning environment through the development of a shared vision.
"Servant Leadership in Non-profit Board Development"
By: Jacoba A. Vlieg Benoit
Executive Summary
This service improvement project was born out of the results of a recent self-assessment exercise conducted by the board of a non-profit Christian college. In evaluating the responses, it became obvious that a significant area of improvement for this board would be the development of a more formal recruitment and selection process, an improved orientation program for new and returning board members, as well as more intentional board evaluation and assessment programs and a continuing education program for board development that would improve individual board members’ experiences and increase their overall effectiveness.
This project attempted to explore how a board development program (recruitment and selection, orientation, evaluation and assessment, continuing education) can be structured so that it has the potential to change a board culture which will accelerate board members’ growth as effective servant leaders.
The literature researched concluded that a structured ongoing professional development program that supports the work of the board improves performance. Boards that engage in these kinds of programs will attain more competent board members and will be more effective. Competent board members are those who are well-informed, they focus on community building, they analyze the issues that are before them, they value relationships with all organizational stakeholders and they can shape the direction of the organization’s future. Those who want to continually improve their performance as board members will enjoy greater satisfaction in their roles.
By integrating board development activities into the regular operations of the board, the board’s culture can be transformed into a culture of learning where servant leadership qualities can be encouraged.
The servant leadership qualities that encourage board members to serve each other, support open communication, build community and share common values and goals, will also support the development of a culture that improves board effectiveness and increases organizational performance.
Along with the literature review, several orientation packages received from other non-profit organizations were reviewed to provide ideas that can help boards to improve their own programs.
The project also presented suggestions for incorporating several best practices for governance, recruitment and selection, orientation, board development (training), board retreats and evaluation, accountability and assessment into the regular activities of the board.
By adopting the suggestions given for a board development program that is designed to support board members in their roles and responsibilities as leaders, the board culture can be changed to become a learning culture where members can be encouraged to grow as servant leaders. Together with the organization’s executive leadership they will be well positioned to set the direction for a bright future for the organization.
"A Condensed Module for Training Trainers in the Applied Concepts of Servant Leadership"
By: Paul Munnalall
Executive Summary:
The purpose of this project is to produce a practical framework grounded in biblically based servant leadership theory to train trainers. This framework will facilitate and guide trainers to live like servant leaders, to understand foundational servant leadership principles, and to be adaptable to a variety of audiences and modules.
The need for leadership is immense throughout the world. Often people are ushered into leadership positions simply because they possess a certain skill-set, without necessarily having a good grasp of what leadership, especially servant leadership, entails.
This is an applied project designed to begin training anyone who serves, or is planning to serve, in any leadership capacity. It is hoped that it will be useful in training trainers of various leadership modules used in the Masters of Arts in Leadership (MAL) program, people exploring leadership positions worldwide, churches wishing to train up leaders from within, and Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s) who want to develop a culture of servant leadership in their organizations. The framework of this project includes consideration of the following aspects: personal calling, forgiveness, and handling crisis.