Building Student Competency to Develop Power and Influence Through Social Capital

The course discussed in this article uses an integrative approach in presenting the concept of social capital and power to Executive MBA students at a large public university in the southwestern United States, where a majority of the students are members of non-dominant racial, gender and ethnicity groups. The article describes the theoretical constructs of social capital, power, and influence; notes how ascribed characteristics such as race and gender affect social capital and power; discusses how the application of these constructs can be understood in the context of organizations; and presents examples of student writings used to assess learning outcomes.