MO314, Managing Change

This course develops the skills you will need for leading change. Change is a basic ingredient of life. Recommending, planning, managing, enacting, surviving and evaluating personal and organizational change are challenges that concern everyone. If the ability to execute timely change differentiates successful individuals – and successful organizations – from also-rans, then taking this course will give you an important competitive advantage as a leader.

In this course, we will analyze the forces that drive organizations to change, examine impediments to change, and survey a range of approaches for making organizational change more effective. OB314 develops your understanding of change processes and provides you with practical skills for managing and leading change.  Change occurs in many forms from minor transitions to major transformations and upheavals. Effectively managing change involves different activities depending on the scope of change and the organization’s readiness for it. Special attention will be given to managing disruptions from transitions and the inevitable losses that radical change brings.  The course structure/philosophy is as follows. You will begin with an individual change project. You will also work on a team with an organization in the local community throughout the term, establish a client relationship, collect data, analyze it, and propose implementable changes.