Covid-19 imposed a lot of restrictions particularly for companies that do not feel at ease with remote working environment. Universities have shifted towards online teaching which despite the opportunities that have been created, online teaching led to challenges for both the managerial boards and students. E-leadership has become a new reality not very welcomed however by so many companies particularly in the MENA region where the leadership style is still to a certain extent traditional, autocratic style. Based on B628 course material, the above 5 articles and additional resources if needed, you are to define different types of leadership and e-leadership and discuss the main differences between them. Discuss how the change towards e-leadership has impacted businesses in general and universities in particular at the level of context, structure, processes and needed skills. Support your discussion with example from your institution and your experience in online teaching and how this has shifted the leadership style at your university (Word limit: 2000 words).

Hint: in your essay, you need to consider the following:

- B628 relevant course material: chapter 7 by defining different types of leadership and explaining leadership context and skills needed for leaders .

- Refer to the above 5 articles to define e-leadership and explain how and why it has emerged and critically discuss how it differs from other types of leadership and when and why it is needed (discussion of context, processes, skills).

- Explain relevant course material in a comprehensive way; i.e. no listing making sure that explanation is an integrated part of the answer.

- You need to refer to the above 5 articles. When needed you can search for additional external sources to refer to supporting your discussion.

- Your answer needs to be supported with an example from your university on how the shift towards online teaching has encouraged e-leadership or not. In both cases, your answer needs to be supported with evidence (interviewing someone at the university, etc.).

- YOUR ANSWER NEEDS TO BE BASED ON BOTH B628 COURSE MATERIAL AND THE AVOVE 5 ARTICLES. RELYING ON ONE SOURCE ONLY IS NOT ENOUGH. ADDITIONAL EXTERNAL RESOURCES ARE NOT MANDATORY.

- You have a plus or minus 10% with regard to word count.

Pay attention

- Pay attention: do not to copy information as is whether from the course material or the 5 articles. You are to provide a discussion and demonstrate understanding of various concepts and not just list and describe.

- YOU MUST REFER TO B628 COURSE MATERIAL AND TO EXTERNAL RESOURCES. REFERRING TO THE 5 ARTICLES ABOVE IS A MUST IN ADDITION TO B628 COURSE MATERIAL.

- Remember to cite your sources in the text and to prepare a table of references at the end.

- Referring to course material alone is not enough. Referring to external resources/ the 5 articles alone is not enough. You need to use the course material as the base to explore and explain the information in the chosen external resources.

GUIDANCE:

- Your answer should be written in an essay format.

- In the introduction, you may reflect on an overview about the topic along with an outline of your answer.

- The body text may be divided into two parts; one part defining different types of leadership from the course material and defining e-leadership from the 5 articles and/or additional articles of your choice while discussing the shift towards e-leadership (reasons and implications); the second part where you will compare between different types of leadership and identify pros and cons while referring to the changes in context, skills needed, processes, structures, etc. with the shift towards e-leadership. Your answer needs to be supported at this level with a practical discussion of changes done at the level of leadership style at your institution/university. You need to provide practical evidence from your experience students and discuss whether e-leadership has been applied in the context of your institution.

- The conclusion can summarize the discussion and open a discussion towards the emergence of a new style of leadership and how it will be dealt with particularly in a Middle Eastern context.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDENTS

1. Cut-off date: Specific date to be specified later by deanship. If you feel that you are unable to meet the cut-off date of the TMA because of unusual circumstances, please contact your tutor as soon as possible to discuss a possible extension to the cut-off date. The exact cut-off date will be assigned in due course.

TMA weight: 20% of total course grade.

2. Course material:

- Chapter 7 + the assigned 5 articles.

3. Format: Write your answers in essay format. Failing to do so could result in grade deduction from presentation marks up to 5 marks. You may, however, use bullet points, diagrams, tables, or any graphs to support your arguments.

4. Plagiarism: Write your answers using your own words. Plagiarism will be penalized depending on its severity and according to AOU plagiarism policy (Enclosed after these instructions you will find the Arab Open University Rules of Cheating and Plagiarism).

5. Word count: Answers are expected to be within +/- 10% of the word limit. Answers that fall below or above this range can lose up to 5 marks.

6. Referencing: Use Harvard referencing style for in-text citation and make a table of references at the end. Failing to do so could result grade deduction of referencing marks up to 5 marks.

7. Research: Use a minimum of two additional sources of information. It is strongly recommended that you use scholarly articles found in the E-library at LMS. You can lose up to 5 marks if you do not use at least two external sources. In addition, although text books assigned in the course may be used freely as references, you are required to use a minimum of 2 external sources. It is recommended that you use scholarly studies found in the E-library link at the LMS. Failing to do so could result in grade deduction of referencing marks up to 5 marks. If you do not find required additional information at the e-library, you can always refer to Google scholar.