¾«¶«´«Ã½app

USQ Logo
The current and official versions of the course specifications are available on the web at .
Please consult the web for updates that may occur during the year.

MGT3002 Managing Change

Semester 2, 2020 On-campus Toowoomba
Short Description: Managing Change
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts
School or Department : School of Management and Enterprise
Student contribution band : Band 3
ASCED code : 080307 - Organisation Management
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner:

Other requisites

It is highly recommended that this course be taken after the completion of all other human resource management electives.

Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at .

Rationale

In response to ongoing social, political, economic, environmental, legal and technological disruptions and demands, contemporary organisations regardless of their size, type or sector, must be prepared to continually adapt and change in order to maintain legal compliance, sustainability and ultimately viability. To achieve such adaptability, organisations require innovative and skilled change managers. However, as once traditionally thought, this responsibility for change is no longer left to a select minority of change champions within the organisation. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly important for managers and supervisors at every level in the organisation to possess the necessary skills to analyse the organisational environment and be able to select and utilise appropriate change management processes and strategies. In this capacity, managers need to have the expertise to facilitate the people providing talent to the organisation, to accept and engage with the imperative to change, in order for the organisation to survive and thrive.

Synopsis

Students enrolled in this course are exposed to the theories and concepts of organisational change with an overarching objective of examining the forms change can take, why and how change occurs, and how its complexities can be managed. Students will analyse the range of different dynamics that are in play when change occurs, such as the scale of change and the type of change, which influences decisions about selecting an appropriate change intervention. To this end, students will evaluate the merits of the `planned approach' to organisational change and various management change interventions. The learning in this course extends to the processes involved in managing change, including the important task of carrying out system diagnostics and dealing with resistance and challenges to change in order to achieve meaningful and timely change.

The course is arranged on three tiers, with exploration of change conducted at the individual, group and organisation-wide levels of analysis. Personal adaptation to change features earlier in the course, before the focus shifts to the broader organisation context as the course unfolds. This latter aspect of the course considers examples of organisational change and development interventions which are included to give students skills in applying specific change programs.

Objectives

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

  1. describe the context for organisational change and the complex demands that such changes impose;
  2. critically evaluate different models or approaches to planned change and the systems approach to diagnosis at the three levels of organisational functioning;
  3. analyse the reasons for resistance to change and examine solutions for resolving the challenges that such opposition creates for leaders of change programs;
  4. critically discuss ‘interventions’ as they apply to an organisational change context, and the broader issue relating to measuring and evaluating change programs;
  5. develop an artefact (such as a policy, report, account, portfolio or written advice) for an organisational stakeholder that showcases the effective application of a dimension of organisational change theory;
  6. work independently to research, examine and evaluate ideas from a variety of credible sources for the purpose of creating a scholarly script to fulfil the requirements of written assessment.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Understanding models of change and the nature of organisational change 30.00
2. Problem-solving for organisational change 45.00
3. Human attitudes, transitions and responses to change and leadership/management issues 25.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=02&subject1=MGT3002)

Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

Waddell, D, Creed, A, Cummings, T & Worley, C 2019, Organisational change, development and transformation, 7th edn, Cengage, South Melbourne, Victoria.

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Burnes, B 2017, Managing change, 7th edn, Pearson, Harlow, England.
Graetz, F, Rimmer, M, Smith, A & Lawrence, A 2011, Managing organisational change, John Wiley & Sons, Milton, Queensland.
(3rd Australian edition.)
Hayes, J 2018, The theory and practice of change management, 5th edn, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Assessments 50.00
Directed ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 60.00
Private ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 29.00
Workshops 26.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
ASSIGNMENT 1 20 5 04 Aug 2020
ASSIGNMENT 2 100 50 02 Sep 2020
TAKE HOME EXAM 45 45 End S2 (see note 1)

Notes
  1. This will be a take home exam. Students will be provided further instruction regarding the exam by their examiner via ¾«¶«´«Ã½appDesk. The examination date will be available via UConnect when the Alternate Assessment Schedule has been released.

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    Online: There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

    On-campus: It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S2 2020 are: To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks for that item.

    Requirements after S2, 2020:
    To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. (Depending upon the requirements in Statement 4 below, students may not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to receive a passing grade in this course.)

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S2 2020 are: To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

    Requirements after S2, 2020:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

  6. Examination information:
    Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S2 2020 are: An Open Examination is one in which candidates may have access to any printed or written material and a calculator during the examination.

    Requirements after S2, 2020:
    This is a restricted examination. The only materials that candidates may use in the examination for this course are:
    1. an unmarked non-electronic translation dictionary (but not technical dictionary). A student whose first language is not English may take a translation dictionary into the examination room. A translation dictionary with any handwritten notes will not be permitted. Translation dictionaries will be subject to perusal and may be removed from the candidate's possession until appropriate disciplinary action is completed if found to contain material that could give the candidate an unfair advantage.


  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S2 2020 are: The details regarding deferred/supplementary examinations will be communicated at a later date.

    Requirements after S2, 2020:
    Any Deferred or Supplementary examinations for this course will be held during the next examination period.

  8. ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .

Assessment notes

  1. Referencing in assignments:
    Harvard (AGPS) is the referencing system required in this course. Students should use Harvard (AGPS) style in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The Harvard (AGPS) style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide at .

Date printed 6 November 2020