Unmasking Irresponsible Leadership : Curriculum Development in 21st-Century Management Education

This book is unique given its scholarly angle in unmasking irresponsible leadership (IL) by focusing on its meaning. For the first time the concept of irresponsible leadership (IL) is explored in depth, the plethora of terms used in various disciplines is synthesised, and the ped-andragogy of teaching IL as a threshold concept of responsible leadership (RL) is discussed. The methodological approach adopted is creative and sound.

Following the call for business schools to do more in developing responsible leadership curriculum, the book is the first of its kind devoted to advocating a radical change in the management curriculum. It draws attention to the essence of developing a shared in-depth understanding of IL by addressing the misconceptions of theories and issues that have contributed to the epidemic corporate scandals worldwide. The authors provide a suite of reflective/reflexive tools for RL learning and development, including the first IL definitional framework useful for understanding IL perspectives. In addition the book is the first to introduce the ILRL board game, which increases the learner’s flow state. Thus, the book highlights how various tools can be useful for engagement, and understanding curricula and ped-andragogical issues vis-à-vis corporate leadership practices and sustainability in turbulent times.

Our targeted audience: Academic researchers, final year undergraduates, and postgraduate (including Executive MBA) students and Higher Education Curricula developers/designers. The book provides many benefits, some of which include: Pertinent answers to important questions about responsible leadership and curriculum development; sophistication of qualitative research in management studies; in-depth understanding of irresponsible leadership from a cross-disciplinary perspective; support for leadership employability endeavours and equipping students with in-depth understanding of RL; assisting with developing reflective and reflexive practice; and in terms of ped-andragogy, encouraging innovation and creativity in teaching IL as a threshold concept of RL to reduce unnecessary management curricula bias.