Managing Change

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 3
• Convenor: Dr Ioanna Boulouta
• Assessment: a 1500-word individual report/essay (100%)

In this Foundation Year module we examine the role and importance of change and change management in organisations. We explore the background to change, why it occurs, how people react to change, the need for employee involvement, and how we can approach and manage change in organisations. We also explore the mix of attributes, skills and capabilities required by successful change managers and the process involved in managing change.

Indicative syllabus

• An overview of change and challenges it creates for organisations today
• Theoretical models of change and the change management process
• The role and importance of stakeholders in change initiatives
• Responses to change, including resistance to change
• The changing workforce: equal opportunities and diversity in change initiatives
• Communication and change
• Managing and implementing change
• Effective leadership and change management

By the end of this module, you will have a clear understanding and awareness of:

• the causes and the need for organisational change
• the major issues involved in managing change effectively
• how to manage the processes of change management
• the major theoretical tools to inform and guide the change process
• the role of learning and development in effective change management
• changes occurring as a result of issues such as globalisation and the information revolution
• how management practice needs to adapt to lead effective change
• the skills needed by management in order to lead effective change.