Course Descriptions
Required Core Courses
NPLD 786 Nonprofits in a Changing World: This fall semester course examines the role and value of nonprofits in society. Using an interdisciplinary perspective, it delves into the body of theory on how individuals and organizations contract with each other for the exchange of goods and services, and how individuals respond to incentives, other than financial profits, to give of their time and money. This course provides a "big picture" of the value of these organizations in promoting social capital and providing services in society. Readings are drawn from the literature in economics, law, history, political science, and public administration. Classroom discussions are framed in terms of prevailing policy issues involving nonprofits, especially in their relationships with the for-profit and public sectors.
NPLD 787 Leadership for the New Economy:This fall semester course is for individuals whose careers will call upon them to be visionary thinkers, sophisticated system thinkers and enlightened strategic thinkers. It is for women and men who will take transformative leadership actions that can be successfully implemented by people and groups at all levels of organizations and social enterprises. Recent events have shown that established leadership models need to be revitalized, given the complexities of the contemporary world. Hence this course emphasizes the skills needed to engage in leadership acts relevant to the 21st century, competencies centered on building green technologies, creating sustainable energy, preserving the sanctity of water, fostering environmental-friendly policies, and constructing an economics predicated on principles of abundance rather than scarcity. Case studies of Lincoln, Gandhi, and Mandela will highlight that many of the key leadership lessons required for this era were elegantly crafted by these giants of history in conditions of extreme adversity not unlike the challenges of today. Key topics are decision making under conditions of uncertainty, building meaningful authority systems, using power creatively, harnessing the latent potential contained within conflicts and partnering with competitors and adversaries.
NPLD 788 Envisioning and Realizing Possibility: This fall semester course, which addresses strategic planning and resource development for civil society organizations, is dedicated to helping participants become sophisticated strategic thinkers. Resilient organizations engage in a continuous process of self-review and refocusing. This process, referred to as "strategic planning," requires the active participation of a broad range of "stakeholders" who, in their work together, seek to realign the organization's goals, structures, programs and funding patterns so they can be responsive to the changing needs of their service populations and key constituencies. Building on the content of the program’s other core courses, Envisioning and Realizing Possibilities is designed to strengthen students’ leadership competencies, in light of the need to maintain an organization’s ability to be innovative, steady and flexible.
NPLD 790 Accounting for Asset Development: This fall semester course introduces a comprehensive set of core competencies for the financial management of third-sector organizations, including not-for-profits, NGOs, cooperatives, community development financial institutions, and alternative enterprises operating in the United States and globally. The teaching method is designed to promote discussion, theoretical understanding, critical judgment and practical applications of basic financial and accounting concepts, methods and standards. Students will gain experience with the basic terminology, tools and practices for reading and analyzing financial statements of a wide range of organizations. Financial accounting is like a language; fluency comes with practice. This course has no prerequisites and assumes no knowledge of finance or accounting. This course (not appropriate for those who already have experience in reading and understanding financial statements) is designed for those who plan (a) to take leadership roles on the staffs or boards of third-sector organizations; (b) to engage in third-sector consulting and; (c) to think critically about issues of ownership, equity, sustainability and development.
NPLD 792 Transformational Reasoning: This spring semester course consists of an integrated set of three modules: (a) a study of several historically significant social movements such as advancing women’s rights, “free” trade, preserving the environment, ending colonialism; (b) an exploration of successful cross-sector collaborations in different regions of the world and in different societal arenas (health, energy, sustainable livelihoods, education, etc.); and (c) constructing new organizational forms (described as the “fourth sector”) that simultaneously engage in business, governmental and civil society activities, such as “Newman’s Own” or “Phillycarshare.” This is structured as a seminar, which means that the bulk of the readings, the core content of classroom conversations and the dominant domains explored are determined by participants’ interests, choices, inputs and work (within the parameters defined by the course). To create the essential richness of this seminar participants have to engage the dynamic nature of the learning process and push the envelope of their reasoning powers.
Core Options
NPLD 785 Group Dynamics and Organizational Politics: This intensely experiential course, offered in the fall semester, is designed for those providing group and institutional leadership at any level of a human enterprise, managing work groups, serving on special task forces, chairing committees, teaching in classrooms, conducting support groups, facilitating groups in clinical settings, etc. Students will focus on two topics: (1) an in-depth understanding of group dynamics while they are in action, and (2) the organizational relationships between groups with power, groups that experience themselves as powerless and those caught in the middle. With group and inter-group relations it is easy to see what went right or wrong in hindsight, or when observing from a distance, but tuning into these dynamics when caught up in them and taking constructive actions when it can have a meaningful impact, requires complex cognitive and emotional processing and the use of multiple logics simultaneously. This educational format also explores the mysteries of counter-intuitive principles, such as “to grow, cut back,” and “to strengthen self, augment other,” are examined. The experiential events that are at the center of this leaning occur over two weekends, one in October and one in November.
NPLD 795 Applied Leadership Workshop Series A (Social Entrepreneurship, Strategic Persuasion, Influence and Negotiation and Nonprofit Law): This spring semester course consists of three (3) modules, each structured as a two-day (Friday and Saturday) workshop. This is a core elective within Penn’s Nonprofit/NGO Leadership program and is open to students from all graduate programs.The workshops, taught by faculty from around the University on the above themes, provide students with leadership aspirations opportunities for hands-on practical skill development. (a) The Social Entrepreneurship Workshop explores the thesis that many societal problems, if attacked entrepreneurially, create opportunities for launching businesses that generate profits while simultaneously alleviating the societal problem, producing both societal and entrepreneurial wealth. The course is distinguished from both public sector and typical business initiatives. (b) The Strategic Persuasion, Influence and Negotiation Workshop offers a theoretical and an experiential foray into the art and science of negotiation. Participants engage in a number of simulated negotiations ranging from simple one issue transactions to multi-party joint ventures, and explore the theoretical models of bargaining, while also honing their negotiation skills. (c) The Nonprofit Law Workshop examines the legal framework within which non-profits operate, the ways they are held accountable, the various monitoring and accountability mechanisms employed in the nonprofit sector, comparing and contrasting how not-for-profit firms and governmental entities are held accountable.
NPLD 796 Applied Leadership Workshop Series B (Governance, Ethics and NGOs): This spring semester course consists of three (3) modules, each structured as a two-day (Friday and Saturday) workshop. This is a core elective within Penn’s Nonprofit/NGO Leadership program and is open to students from all graduate programs. These three workshops are taught by the same professor. (a) The Nonprofit Governance Workshop addresses the responsibilities and accountability of the voluntary board of directors (under increased scrutiny due to recent legislative reforms) and the factors that promote or obstruct the boards' performance in its fiduciary and oversight role. (b) The Ethics Workshop goes to the coreissue of creating and maintaining the public trust, including the increasing demand for transparency in all domains such as salaries, conflicts of interest, use of resources, and issues around unpaid labor. Case studies are used to examine the ethical questions that arise due to the particular nature of non-profit functioning. (c) The Workshop on Non-Governmental Organizations explores the role of microfinance in alleviating poverty. This module examines the trade offs made by NGOs as they partner with microfinance institutions and become embroiled in the tensions inherent in their relationships with banks, government, and many other actors in this sector.