MGMT 447 Leadership and Motivation

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:  MGMT 447 01 (2558)
 CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a Management course for undergraduate students by Bathild Junius “June” Covington, PhD, at California State University, Chico. The open textbook provides the students with learning content in a fiction novel format to use, along with other materials.  The main motivation to adopt an open textbook is to provide as many zero cost resources to the students as possible. Most students will access the open textbook available in the course files that can be uploaded as a pdf or Word file.

MGMT 447 – Leadership and Motivation
Brief Description of course highlights:  The purpose of this course is to develop an understanding of leadership and motivation in organizations. This course explores contemporary leadership thought, including approaches to leadership development, leadership models, leadership in specific contexts, and the relationships between leadership and organizational power, authority, and management. We also investigate the connection between leadership and motivation, motivation theories, and motivational programs for complex organizations. 3 hours lecture. (MGMT 447, California State University, Chico, Department of Management, 2025)

Student population: MGMT 447: Leadership and Motivation at CSU, Chico primarily serves upper-division Business Administration majors, especially Management Option students, while also attracting those from Marketing, HR, Project Management, Organizational Communication, Psychology (I/O), and occasionally Music Industry, Sociology, or Entrepreneurship. Typically taken in the junior or senior year, students are expected to have completed MGMT 303 and general education in writing, critical thinking, and social sciences, entering the course with foundational knowledge of motivation, leadership, group dynamics, and problem-solving, often supplemented by internships or work experience. Each section enrolls about 35–49 students, mostly seniors, reflecting Chico State’s diverse population, including first-generation and Latinx/Hispanic students. Students tend to prefer experiential, narrative, and project-based learning and often view the course as preparation for capstones, career readiness, and refining their personal leadership style. (CSU Chico, Department of Management, 2025)

Learning or student outcomes: MGMT 447: Leadership and Motivation emphasizes interaction, collaboration, and applied learning through individual, paired, team-based, and professional engagement. Students progress through learning objectives aligned with Bloom’s taxonomy—creating, evaluating, analyzing, applying, understanding, and remembering—across five core areas: leadership, motivation, communication, participation, and content knowledge. By course completion, students will be able to self-assess leadership strengths, facilitate discussions, and recall key leadership constructs; analyze intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; apply effective communication across formats; and generate, refine, and evaluate conceptual possibilities around leadership and organizational dynamics. They will also demonstrate active participation, investigate their own engagement styles, and build a solid understanding of leadership and motivation in organizations. Additional outcomes include asking theory-based questions of guest speakers, recalling core content, comparing leadership models, interpreting data, and critiquing motivational programs in complex organizational settings. (CSU Chico, Department of Management, 2025)

Key challenges faced and how resolved: In the two previous semesters when I switched to this approach, I taught MGMT 447 without A Mere Window: If You Have a Soul because it wasn’t completed. Instead, I used the concepts and format as a project template for the students to use. The initial reactions of the students were mixed. I think some of the negative reactions were from the students working in teams where others on the team weren’t contributing their fair share of the work. The first semester I had the students in the classes all work on the novel with their roles defined. The second semester I have them form teams, pairs, or choose to work individually. From the experience of teams with many members (one team had 10 members) this F25 semester the teams will be limited to five or less, with the option of working individually to remain in place.

OER Title: A Mere Window: If You Have a Soul. A Novel. by Bathild Junius “June” CovingtonBrief Description:  A Mere Window is a narrative-based, zero-cost textbook alternative designed specifically for upper-division undergraduate students studying leadership and motivation. Set during a fictional merger between two companies in 2019, the novel follows three primary characters—each representing different leadership and organizational behavior paradigms—as they navigate personal and organizational transformation. The epilogue, set in 2020, reflects on the outcomes of their choices amid shifting organizational and societal conditions.

Concepts Covered:
- Leadership theories (transformational, servant, authentic, adaptive leadership, and more)
- Motivation frameworks (self-determination theory, expectancy theory, job characteristics model)
- Organizational culture and change management
- Power, ethics, communication, and trust in leadership
-  Sociocultural integration in mergers and acquisitions

Pedagogical Approach:  The novel uses a narrative inquiry and case-based learning model, encouraging students to analyze characters and decisions through theoretical lenses. Students are assigned to write their own short novels within the same fictional universe, using a shared timeline and characters to reinforce learning and cultivate creativity. This approach fosters deep engagement with course material through reflective writing, peer feedback, and critical analysis.

Problem Sets and Activities: Each chapter includes guided reflection prompts, leadership analysis questions, and scenario-based exercises designed to apply motivational and leadership theories. Students also complete a capstone project in which they author a companion narrative that demonstrates mastery of course content and critical thinking.

Structure and Platform Features: The text is provided via a digital PDF or Word document. The students are trained in the classroom to use ChatGPT EDU and Notebook LM, AI-supported study platforms included with student tuition. Additional zero-cost AI resources are provided, but do not include in-class training. The platform allows students to ask contextual questions about the text, explore character motivations, and cross-reference leadership models in real-time. Optional annotations and instructor supplements are included to support both independent and guided learning.

AI-Supported Content: The description was co-authored by Bathild Junius “June” Covington and ChatGPT (OpenAI), August 2025.

Authors: Bathild Junius “June” Covington, PhD,

Student access:  The text will be provided in the course modules and other materials will be provided in the course modules and through the CSU, Chico library. I will continue to explore additional ways for the text to be shared. Additional information on how to access A Mere Window: If You Have a Soul will be provided when it is available.

Supplemental resources: Students have access to the following required resources, available through the CSU Chico Library:
- Covington, B. J. J. (2012). Sociocultural integration of acquisitions as experienced by veteran organizational development consultants: A qualitative exploratory inquiry. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
- Trocchia-Balkits, L. (2017). A hipstory of food, love, and chaosmos at the rainbow gathering of the tribes (Order No. 27603134). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection. (2326118374). Retrieved from http://mantis.csuchico.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/hipstory-food-love-chaosmos-at-rainbow-gathering/docview/2326118374/se-2
- Vance-Borland, K. and Holley, J. (2011), Conservation stakeholder network mapping, analysis, and weaving. Conservation Letters, 4: 278-288. https://doi-org.mantis.csuchico.edu/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2011.00176.x
To request a pdf copy of the resource email me at bcovington@csuchico.edu

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  
- Leadership: Theory and Practice Ninth Edition. by Peter G. Northouse (Author)
Paperback $66.54 To $140.55
-  Leadership - International Student Edition: Theory and Practice.  Paperback – March 29, 2021.  by Peter G. Northouse (Author) Paperback $324.99

License:   CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. 

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option.  I wrote the novel that serves as the textbook for this course. This novel is intended to provide a transdisciplinary approach for students to explore, engage with, and learn more about leadership using business communication and mergers and acquisitions topics as primary themes. To help frame the story I am using my unpublished master’s thesis, A business-savvy role-hopping option: Developing communication dexterity in your professional life. (2004) and my doctoral dissertation, Sociocultural integration of acquisitions as experienced by veteran organizational development consultants: A qualitative exploratory inquiry.[1] 

The primary characters in A Mere Window are Kamai Anand[2], Chandice Vaughan[3], and Hjörtur Moller[4]. I chose these names based on the meanings of the names to support the themes of the novel.

The acquired and acquiring companies are in different locations in the US. The primary themes also include trust, communication, purpose, and knowledge. The novel has stressful situations but relies on solutions to issues to model potential ways to resolve difficult situations.

To help in development for this project I successfully completed two Chico State Professional Development courses, Publish and Flourish and Reducing Costs for Students: OER and Other Affordable Learning Solutions Online Training. With A Mere Window I am strictly focused on working on it as a part-of course design at CSU, Chico. I don’t want rights to it or to publish it on my own.

AI-Supported Content: The Explanation and Motivation for Zero-Cost Adoption section was co-authored by Bathild Junius “June” Covington and ChatGPT (OpenAI), July 2025.

[1] Covington, B. J. J. (2012). Sociocultural integration of acquisitions as experienced by veteran organizational development consultants: A qualitative exploratory inquiry. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
[2] Meaning: Earn; Gain; Acquire Gender: Unisex. Anand is a Hindu lineage name derived from the Sanskrit word ‘anada,’ which means joy. It was initially a given name but is now popular as a surname. India. https://linguistics.illinois.edu/hindi/home/about-hindi
[3] Chandice. It has a Jamaican origin, and it means 'one who is talented and smart. ' Vaughan It is a derivative surname of the Welsh word bychan that means something small or tiny. Jamaica.
[4] The name Hjörtur is a boy's name meaning "deer". A handsome Icelandic nature name also used in very small numbers in Sweden and Denmark. Moller - A common family name in Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish. Moller means Miller. 

Sharing Best Practices: : I recommend starting with topics or areas that you are most passionate about, whether it is your own interests or your ideas that you think would resonate well with the students. It has been a lot of work for me to get MGMT 447 to a zero-cost for materials. So, my passion was the driver that kept me going when I was overwhelmed or behind schedule.

Describe any key challenges you experienced, how they were resolved  and lessons learned. Challenges and lessons learned. Each class is different, has its own personality. The modality is also influenced by the delivery of the class, in-person, online, hybrid, etc. Even the classroom set up impacts the delivery of and receptiveness of the course activities and deliverables. If there is group work and the room has the traditional rows of desks that are hard to move, it is very challenging to incorporate group discussions. There also has been some resistance/pushback for using a transdisciplinary approach.

Instructor Name - Bathild Junius “June” Covington
I am mainly a management instructor and teach multiple courses for the College of Business, the OMBA, and the OBSBA programs at CSU, Chico. 
Please provide a link to your university page.
https://apps.csuchico.edu/directory/Employee/bcovington
Please describe the courses you teach   I also teach online business courses in the BACTE department at Shasta College, Redding, CA. This is a partial list of courses I teach for CSU, Chico for the last five years.
MGMT-303 Survey of Management (Fall ‘20, ‘21, ‘22, ‘23, ’24)
MGMT-443 Organizational Design and Change (Spring ’21, ‘22, ’23)
MGMT-447 Leadership and Motivation (Spring ‘21, ‘22, ‘23, ’24)
MGMT-447 Leadership and Motivation (Fall ‘20, ‘21, ‘22, ‘23, ‘24, ’25)
OBSBA MGMT 443 Organizational Design and Change (Spring ’25)
OBSBA MGMT 447 Leadership & Motivation (Summer ’23, ’24)
OMBA BSIS 501 Advanced Excel (lead instructor) (Spring ’21, ’22, ’23, ’24, ’25)
OMBA BSIS 501 Advanced Excel (lead instructor) (Fall ’21, ’22, ’23, ’24, ’25)
OMBA MGMT 647 Leadership and Ethics Seminar (Spring ’21, ’22, ’23, ’24, ’25)
OMBA MGMT 647 Leadership and Ethics Seminar, (Fall ’21, ’22, ’23, ’24, ’25)

Open textbook for this course: I decided to write this open text myself so that I could manage the cost for students. There is a novel I recommended my students read in past semesters, Mergers and Acquisitions by Dana Vachon. Dana Vachon is also the co-author, with Jim Carrey, of the novel Memoirs and Misinformation. His essays and journalism have appeared in The New York Times, Slate, and Vanity Fair. He lives in Brooklyn. Mergers & Acquisitions by Dana Vachon: 9781101218020 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

I opted to use my own doctoral dissertation as a framework for an original novel for the students to use as a guide to write their own. Here are some other options for published books on M&A: The Top Five M&A Books Recommended By Experts (2025)

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  One of my favorite aspects of teaching business and leadership is that the knowledge, skills, and attitudes we develop are transferable beyond school and work into everyday life—whether in fitness, leisure, or time with friends and family. I believe challenges are a natural part of the learning process, and an important aspect of my teaching philosophy is collaborating with students to find constructive solutions when obstacles arise. My teaching emphasizes experiential learning, interaction, and flexibility, allowing students to demonstrate their learning in different formats, from notes and illustrations to spoken word, often through transdisciplinary approaches like exploring business through literature. Alongside course content, we will practice collaboration, interpersonal communication, problem solving, and strategic thinking to build both critical thinking and work readiness skills. 

My research interests center on neuroscience, innovative transdisciplinary teaching methods, and understanding the values and priorities of the emerging generation of students I work with.