The purpose of this course is to gain an understanding of the driving forces for organizational change, selected tools for diagnosing the need for change, and various tactics for leading the change process in contemporary organizations, whether in the public or private sector, or in domestic or international/multinational companies.
Students will be introduced to the theories, concepts and practices associated with leading change, whether planned, incremental and localized, or revolutionary, under conditions of stability or crisis and system-wide. In effect, change theories and contemporary practices will be examined at the individual, group/departmental and organizational levels. Beyond studying the causes and consequences of change, we will also investigate potential sources of resistance to change and tactics for overcoming them.
In brief, after reviewing course material on change and through intensive case analyses, we will study where the need for change is called for (context), what form or type of change and interventions are required (content), how change can be successfully implemented or led (process), and competencies required of effective change leaders and change agents.