AVATARS MEET FACE-TO-FACE: Learning Leadership Online: A Thematic Analysis of East-African Perspectives

Abstract

It can be difficult for students to digest and learn complex theories of organizational culture and change without being able apply the steps to a real or imagined scenario. Oftentimes, they lack experience and can't imagine the components of each phase or step without a practical example. This article discusses the theoretical background of leading positive organizational change and then uses a case study to help students apply their knowledge. It highlights the fictional leadership dilemma of a young Army officer, First Lieutenant Jordan Baker, upon arrival to her new duty location. Instructors can use the case to teach the 4-Phase Leading Change Framework which incorporates Kotter's eight-step model to enact positive change. The purpose of this case is to give instructors a framework to teach students in a stepwise fashion, making concepts easier for students to visualize. The case describes the situation of a new Army officerin-charge (OIC) of a military troop medical clinic (TMC). Upon arriving to her new duty location, the OIC injures herself and seeks medical care from the medical clinic she will soon lead. The OIC's first experience with the medical clinic is negative. The clinic's policies and staff behaviors are focused on internal efficiency and not compassionate patient care. The OIC realizes that the organizational culture must change. She has a challenge ahead that may require significant effort to positively change the organization's culture. The case highlights how a leader who is new to an organization can assess the extant culture, identify any issues, and then design a method for implementing change in that culture. It utilizes the 4-phase Leading Change Framework which incorporates Kotter's 8-step model to ultimately enact positive and needed change within an organization. The paper will first introduce the theoretical background of organizational culture and change to

REFLECTING BACK AND GOING FORWARD: Promising Pedagogical Practices for Culturally Relevant/Sustaining and Equitable Online Leadership Education

“…For this work, we engaged in a review of articles published in the Journal of Leadership Education since its founding that intersected with online leadership education-12 articles emerged, and the pieces highlighted below are aligned with our positionalities as educators. In two of these articles, Manning-Ouellette and Black (2017) and Ann and Aziz (2022) compared online leadership education with in-person (i.e., face-to-face (F2F)) leadership education. Specifically, Manning-Ouellette and Black conducted a directed content analysis of 53 students' assignments to explore differences in student learning in the online and F2F class environments.…”

“…However-as COVID-19 so clearly illustrated-students still face significant challenges in online learning given the very real digital divide that creates inequity and potential dehumanization (Richards et al, 2021). In their Kenya-based study, Ann and Aziz (2022) found that students faced accessibility issues in their online classes due to a lack of reliable internet connection and affordable devices. Students in the United States have encountered similar accessibility issues (Means & Neisler, 2021;Mize & Glover, 2021).…”

“…In tandem with Manning-Ouellette and Black (2017) and Ann and Aziz (2022), Moore (2008) offered deep guidance for creating quality online environments. They focused on fostering students' sense of community in online classes by providing learners with the opportunity to integrate personal experiences into the course via a small group project.…”