OLCU603 RESEARCH PAPER

OLCU 603 RESEARCH PAPER

Length: 8-10 double-spaced pages (Times Roman 12 point), excluding title and reference pages.

8-10 double-space (Times Roman 12 point) page APA-formatted research paper that examines servant-leadership as a leadership practice and strategy.

This literature-based, research paper will provide you with the opportunity to examine servant-leadership as a leadership

philosophy or strategy. The paper will draw upon multiple sources (including sources external to required course

readings), including research articles, books, professional references such as associations and websites. The paper is

written in APA style and follows guidelines of professionalism as outlined in this syllabus.

The paper will include three major sections: Overview (where you pose basic research questions), Discussion (where you

discuss how the literature addresses your research questions), and Conclusions and Recommendations (where you

answer your research questions and address any recommendations you might have for organizations).

The Overview section should include a general history and overview of your selected focus of research including your

basic research questions. It should include a discussion of why your research questions were selected, i.e., what is the

significance of this study? This section is expected to demonstrate your general understanding of where you are headed

with this research project, and provide an overview of the topic. NOTE: do not select more than 1 or 2 research questions.

The Discussion section should discuss how the literature addresses your research questions. Who says what about the

various topics? Compare and contrast various authors’ thesis. Feel free to include interviews to add to the literature-based

discussion. This section is expected to demonstrate your ability to draw from the literature and present a discussion of

your topic.

The Conclusions and Recommendations section will answer your research questions, based on the literature discussion.

It will address your “findings.” It will also address any recommendations you might have for organizations pursuing this

area of study (i.e., implementation ideas.) And it should address any recommendations for further investigation of the

topic. It will conclude with any questions you are left with. This section is expected to demonstrate your ability to draw

conclusions based on the literature and provides recommendations for implementation and/or further investigation.

You will need to develop your research questions early in the term to guide you in your research process. Utilize graduate

level research methodologies, i.e., pose 1-2 questions that you respond to via literature-based research, utilizing multiple

sources (minimum of 6 including at least two academic journal articles, as well as the three assigned texts.) These

sources may include research articles, books, professional references such as associations and websites, as well as

personal interviews. Use APA style and follow guidelines of professionalism as outlined in this syllabus.

Examples of Research Questions:

? What does servant leadership look like at an individual/team/organizational level?

? What do servant led organizations do to incorporate this philosophy into their culture?

? What “myths” surround the concept of servant leadership? How do these myths maintain a sense of “mystery” about

servant leadership?

? A number of respected writers in the field of leadership (Senge, Wheatley, Covey, and others) have cited servantleadership as an influence on their thinking. What are the philosophical and academic sources of servant-leadership,

and how has servant-leadership (particularly as applied in corporate settings) influenced subsequent thinking about

leadership?

? The concept of servant-leadership seems to have spread largely by word of mouth. How do people (both as

individuals and within organizations) come to the idea of practicing servant-leadership? Within organizations that

practice servant-leadership, what conditions have existed that enabled servant-leadership to take root and grow?

? In those corporations that are practicing or attempting to practice servant-leadership today, what formal learning or

training methods and materials are being used? Is it more a matter of providing training in skills/behaviors (for

OLCU 603 Research Paper and Grading Rubric 050616 Page 2

example, the ten characteristics of servant-leaders), or of developing a state of mind through encouraging dialogue

and reflection among organization members?

? Compare and contrast servant-leadership with Behavioral Leadership Theories (e.g., Ohio State and University of

Michigan studies; Blake& Mouton’s Leadership Grid), Transformational Leadership (Burns); and Women’s Way of

Leading (Rosener).

? Do community leadership programs (e.g., Leadership Orange; Leadership Tomorrow (Irvine); National Association of

Community Leaders) promote servant-leadership?