Art of War Group Presentation Assignment

“Art of War” Group Presentation Assignment (W21)

In your groups you are to create and deliver a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation that conforms to the following criteria. Google Slides is an acceptable alternative.

You Must Provide  speaker’s notes for the majority of your slides. Search YouTube using the following search phrase if you’ve never created speaker’s notes in a presentation before:

how to make speaker notes on powerpoint 

See the W21 course outline for the category for this graded assignment. 

Due to COVID-19 online learning conditions groups will be allowed to present without having their web cams on. The consumption of bandwidth by web cams has caused issues in the past, and I’d rather that your presentation be viewable and that your voice be heard and understood without interruption. Presentations will be conducted in the Bb Virtual Classroom. Your presenter(s) will be made “presenter” in the classroom and must share the group’s presentation by enabling sharing of a group member’s computer screen that displays the PowerPoint application. Speak loudly enough so that all members of the virtual class can hear what you are saying.

Focused upon and using the Minford edition of Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” (hereafter, AoW) present the following information in the order detailed below. As usual correct and complete elements are required for your work. Spelling, grammar, logical progression, clarity of presentation, and an absence of errors are important elements.

You are invited to use images (but not video or audio) to enhance your slides and to aid your information delivery in the presentation. Additional research may be necessary - and is welcome, however the Minford edition of AoW was chosen because it is likely a sufficient resource in-and-of itself. The commentary that makes up about half of the book may prove useful. You will need to refer to and use the Northouse textbook in creating your presentation.

Use the order of and the details of the requirements shown below to complete the work of creating your presentation. Once you’ve created, edited, and rehearsed your presentation, you should send your “best” or most proficient group member to make the presentation during the scheduled class time(s). All group members may take part in the actual presentation however you can opt to just choose one person to make the presentation on behalf of your group.

Required information (use at least one (1) full slide for each numbered element detailed below):

The Required Information

1. Cover slide giving the name of the presentation, full names (first & last) of all group members, the course code (MGMT267-4431) and section letter (A or B) and the due date (05-April-2021)
2. Introduce Sun Tzu - provide a brief set of bullet points to present Sun Tzu’s name(s), the meaning of his name, birth-death years, where Sun Tzu lived and “worked”, a few details about his occupation(s)
3. How did AoW as a written work come to be? When, how, and why was it written
4. As a written work, what use has been made of it throughout history? One or two examples after a brief overview here will work
5. Leadership: overall what are Sun Tzu’s ideas about the practice and purpose of leadership (note: avoid saying “war” or similar ideas here, this is about Sun Tzu’s perception of leading and leadership)? 
6. Leadership: What role does the activity of planning play in Sun Tzu’s perception of leadership? Give two (2) clear and correct examples by quoting from AoW. Use the in-text citation format: (AoW, p. xx) or (AoW, pp. xx-xx) and replace xx with the actual page number(s) from the Minford edition.
7. Leadership: Name and briefly describe two (2) consequences of waging war. You can think of these as outcomes of organizational activities. Support each consequence that you name with a quote (cited) from AoW. Why is each worth mentioning for Sun Tzu? What aspect of leadership is Sun Tzu suggesting or describing or recommending by mentioning each of the two consequences? Use Northouse as needed here.
8. Select one of the “Five Pitfalls” (chapter: “The Nine Changes”) - you can consider it like an element of Trait Leadership. Why might a leader fall prey to the pitfall? Why are the consequences listed as an outcome of a leader’s actions (what is the cause and effect)?
9. In the chapter named “On the March” Sun Tzu, and from the learning this semester, what is being described? HINT: Throughout the semester we’ve talked about leadership, followership, and X. Sun Tzu is describing X here, so what is he describing? Why does this matter regarding the practice of leadership (not the list but the construct that Sun Tzu is detailing the elements of)?
10. One aspect of the chapter “Espionage” is seeking and obtaining information. When considering leadership, a leader’s vision for change and the risk associated with those change efforts, how do activities in the chapter help to address risk in leadership? Explain briefly. Use quotes (cited) from the “Espionage” chapter to support your answer.
11. Summarize the overall intent and main point(s) of AoW in four (4) quotes (cited) from AoW. Use significant and relevant quotes.
12. Overall, would your group conclude that Sun Tzu is portraying a transactional leader or a transformational leader? Provide a group consensus answer and support it with two (2) significant quotations (cited) from AoW that supports your collective answer.

1. Practice, timing, familiarity with the content as well as clear, logical content will increase the ease of your delivery and make your presentation worthwhile to your audience
2. Slides: choose very simple colors for backgrounds. Avoid distracting and/or overwhelming backgrounds (especially images)
3. Ensure good contrast between your slide color and font color. Be sure your content is NOT LOST in the background
4. Font size: minimum 20 point font
5. Font face: plain and easily readable is essential. Just because you like a font doesn’t mean it is the best one for your audience
6. Less is more: don’t overwhelm a slide (or the audience) with too much text on any one slide. Use more slides as necessary
7. Spelling matters, so does grammar. Be logical. Don’t be wrong.
8. Rehearse.