Business Administration Division

Service Leadership

The Service Leadership class, known as BA598, is a required course taken by undergraduate business administration majors in accounting, business, and international business. The course is designed to blend academic study with community service. In this course the students form consulting teams to serve non-profit organizations by applying business concepts and skills to mutually agreed-upon projects. In this approach, all parties to the arrangement are seen as learners and teachers as well as servers and served.

In addition to the consulting experience, the students explore Robert Greenleaf's concept of Servant Leadership. The servant leadership model puts serving others -- including employees, customers, and community -- as the number one priority. Servant Leadership emphasizes increased service to others, a holistic approach to work, a sense of community, and shared decision-making power. The course is designed with the intention that the students will have an opportunity to apply the servant leadership theory in their working relationship with their team and as a consultant to a non-profit organization. Outside of their consulting role, they also write several papers, maintain a reflective journal, and facilitate the class discussion as part of the learning community that is the Service Leadership class.