Module Directory

This module is designed to encourage students to think and reflect upon the nature of change in organisations. In particular, the module will build awareness of key theories and debates in understanding organisational change. Students will explore the process and consequences of introducing change in organisations while recognizing the complexity inherent in changing organisations.

The emphasis of the module is providing the analytical skills to understand the broad principles underlying the key stages in a change process that could be then applied to a range of different types of changes within organisations. The course is not driven by providing recipes but more realising the value of critical analytical and reasoning skills that can be applied to the practicalities of different organisational change interventions.

The aim of this module is:

• To enable students to appreciate and analyse organisational change and how this can best be understood and managed.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Understand change management theories and approaches and how these impact organisations and their environment.


2. Appreciate the levers and complexities of organisational change and the barriers which organisations face in achieving and sustaining change.


3. Critically analyse the psychology of change and the reactions of organisational members.


4. Discuss various techniques and practices which managers can employ to enable employees to have a meaningful voice in organisational decision-making.

Indicative syllabus content

• Introduction and Drivers of Change: This session will introduce the module programme and the organisational change. We will begin the module by giving an overview of what we mean by change in organisations and considering why organisations seek to change.


• Theories and models of change: Planned change and Organisational Development: In this lecture we will take a look at some of the different models of change. We will focus on approaches to planned change and various proposed frameworks for understanding the stages of change. We will understand the organisation development perspective.


• Theories and models of change: Emergent change and complex systems: In this lecture we will take a look at some of the alternative models of change. We will focus on approaches of emergent change where change is viewed as a continuous process. We will discuss what it means to consider a system-level approach to change and how this is enhanced by complexity.


• Leading change: This week we will consider what it means to 'lead' change, who should do this and how they might influence others. We will explore the influence of leadership styles on achieving organisational change by creating vision and shared understanding.


• Middle managers enabling change: This week we will consider the role of key individuals in the change management process. Moving on from traditional leaders we consider the supporting cast: change agents, project management teams, middle managers, front line champions, and how their influence is also crucial in achieving successful change.


• Reactions and readiness to change: In this session we will consider the implications of change for employees and consider both positive and negative reactions to change and how these can be managed. We will debate the question of whether resistance to change is inevitable and necessary.


• Communicating and interpreting change: In this session we will consider how change is communicated. By whom, when, and how should change be presented to employees and what should (and shouldn't) they be told. We will discuss how change might be interpreted by organisational members.


• Changing culture: This lecture will consider the necessary conditions needed to achieve wholesale culture change within organisations. We will explore how to identify and understand an organisation's culture and how this presents both an obstacle and a resource for change.


• Organisational learning: We begin to round up the module by considering how organisational learning can enable change in organisations. How can learning be effectively captured and used to inform future organisational activity?


• Institutionalizing and embedding change: We will conclude the module by recapping some of the themes from the previous weeks and considering how these practices can help to embed change into an organisation

This module will be delivered via:

• 15 hours teaching lecture-seminars combined, in 1-week block teaching