Time Schedule:
Mala Sarat Chandra
IMT 581
Seattle Campus
Practical application of the critical roles and aspects of information and information processes in the management of organizational change. Topics include organization learning, knowledge management as a process, business process change, change project management, business/competitive intelligence, benchmarking, and best practices. Prerequisite: IMT 580.
Class description
“We live in an era of wrenching change: a world in which the future is less and less an extrapolation of the past” . Ubiquitous network connectivity, rapid adoption of mobile devices, digitization of content, unfettered access to global marketplaces and the proliferation of social media are just some of the forces that exert pressure on organizations to continuously learn, adapt and change to remain viable now and in the future. Many recent innovations in business models, products and services have been brought to market by newcomers who have significantly eroded the competitive advantage of established companies. To be successful today business leaders must be skilled change agents who guide their organizations to respond effectively to new competitors and technologies, changing customer expectations and demand, or changes in regulatory requirements. They must continue to deliver on short term performance objectives, while ensuring that their organizations thrive in the long term. There are many facets to organizational change. It may be planned or un-planned, top down or emergent. It may be reactive and need to be implemented rapidly or proactive and implemented gradually. The business impact of change could be felt immediately, e.g., layoffs or incrementally, e.g., rolling out new IT systems. This course examines the three fundamental pillars of organizations - its people, business processes and technologies - that must work well independently and together as they adapt to meet changing requirements. Using case studies, we will examine major types of organizational change, what makes some transformations succeed while others fail, the impact on people, sources of resistance and how leaders must be involved from start to finish. We will learn how to design, develop and implement change strategies and plans that result in organizational agility.
Student learning goals
Understand • What the prevailing theories and concepts of organizational change management are. • How important information is in formulating strategies and plans for organizational change. • How to identify the key stakeholders and their influence on the successful implementation of organizational change.
Analyze • The influence of operations and financial performance, market forces, economic conditions, technology advances and regulatory pressures in stimulating organizational change. • The risks involved with different change strategies contemplated and develop evidence-based input to guide change management planning and implementation processes.
Develop • A change management strategy for a real world organization you identify (e.g. your current or former employer or one you are familiar with), including an implementation plan and key performance indicators to monitor progress. • A Book Review of “Breaking the Code of Change” by Beer and Nohria, presented by student teams in class. Each team will be randomly assigned to a chapter from the book. Do original research to illustrate and augment the ideas and concepts described by the authors. • A final paper using the concepts learned in this course, on a change management activity you have been involved with or a change management topic you are interested in.
General method of instruction
Each session will comprise two sections: formal lecture/class discussion on session topic, student team presentation and discussion on assigned readings from Beer/Nohria. Students will work in groups and actively engage in research/readings to come prepared for class discussions and in preparing assignment deliverables. Active individual engagement in class and in team projects is essential for satisfactory performance in this course as is regular attendance in class sessions.
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
Leading change in organizations is a group activity, requiring excellent communication skills, telling compelling stories that resonate, listening and responding to questions and objections. It requires good teamwork, working effectively with people of varied experience, skills and seniority. These assignments are intended to achieve two objectives: (1) provide students with subject matter expertise and (2) develop good communication and teaming skills. 1. Group Project, with 4 to 6 members. This assignment will be in 2 parts - (1) A 2-3 page write-up on the proposed project, including the name of the real organization, change management topic focus, description of the approach, signatures of all group members indicating agreement and commitment and (2) a paper on change management for the target organization per (1) above. Each student in the team must read and integrate two additional articles (8 to 12 additional papers in total) in addition to the required course material and provide tailored recommendations. Paper length, not including references, appendices, figures or tables, is 15 to 20 pages double-spaced, with appropriate attribution. This material will be delivered as a presentation to the class at the end of term, with each member of the team participating in the presentation. Including Q and A, each team will have 30 minutes (strictly timed) for their presentation. 2. “Breaking the Code of Change” by Professors Beer and Nohria of Harvard University is a compendium of current thinking on seven change topics, the outcome of a conference they organized on Change Management. Expert change management practitioners and academic leaders write about each change topic from two different perspectives, with a third that tries to take a balanced view. Students will be randomly assigned to each chapter in the book, to cover the three perspectives. Students are expected to present each point of view to the class, doing original research to find cases that shore up the author’s point of view. They will lead the class in discussions. Each side (the two opposing views and the balanced view) will take 30 minutes, including Q & A. 3. Each student will write an individual paper on a change management topic , selected from the list in Appendix A below, or a topic of their own interest, which has to be approved by the instructor. Topic selections are due no later than September 30th, no exceptions. 4. At the end of each class session, students are expected to submit a “minute paper” to the instructor, describing their major learning from that session. It should be no more than a brief paragraph and submitted in an email to the instructor.
Grading There is a total of 100 points for course assignments. Each assignment will be marked in points, which will be add to a total that reflects your earned grade, based on University of Washington’s grading system.
