21725 Organisation Development

Subject level: Postgraduate

Handbook description

This subject develops an understanding of strategies, methodologies, and intervention techniques and skills in managing planned or adaptive organisational change. It consists of two components: a knowledge component and a skills component. The former is presented through normal lecture discussions. The skills component is covered through group involvement in an ongoing or potential organisational change problem, through which a group acts as a team of change agents. The results of their efforts are presented in a two-day non-residential workshop at the end of the semester.

Subject objectives/outcomes

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

1. Demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to manage complex organisational change programs.
2. Understand specific strategies, methodologies and intervention techniques that have been developed to improve total organisation performance and to facilitate the progress of development and change.
3. Apply critical judgments to those who may have the responsibility of advising on, or committing organisations to change.

Contribution to graduate profile

This subject is designed to provide participants with the opportunity to gain relevant knowledge and skills to contribute to the design and implementation of purposive change programs for complex contemporary organisations.

Teaching and learning strategies

The subject consists of two components - a knowledge component and a skills component. The former will be presented over ten lectures for the sequential mode. These sessions will cover the topics listed below. The skill component involves an investigation of an ongoing or potential organisational change program by groups of students who act as teams of change agents.

Content

• Introduction to Organisation change and development
• The Organisation Development Practitioner
• Diagnosing Organisations
• Collecting, analysing and using data
• Models and theories of planned change
• Managing the change process
• Organisation Transformation
• Structural Interventions
• Interpersonal and Group Process approaches
• Employee Involvement Approaches / Work design.

Assessment

Recommended text(s)

Dianne M. Waddell, Thomas G. Cummings and Christopher G. Worley (2000), Organization Development and Change, Pacific Rim Edition, Nelson Thomson Learning

Book of Readings.

Indicative references

Burke, Warner, Organization Development: A Process of Learning and Changing., Reading, MA., Addison Wesley Publishing, 1994

Burnes, Bernard., Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organizational Dynamics, 2nd edition, Pitman Publishing 1996

Carnall, Colin A., Managing Change in Organizations, Prentice Hall, London 1990

Collins, David., Organizational Change: Sociological Perspectives, Routledge 1998.

Cummings Thomas G., Worley, Christopher G Organization Development and Change, 7th Edition, South-Western College Publishing, 2001

Dawson, P., Organizational Change: A Processual Approach, Paul Chapman Publishing Co. London 1994.

Dunphy, Dexter., Stace, Doug, Under New Management: Australian Organizations in Transition, McGraw Hill Book Company, Sydney, 1990

French. Wendell L., Bell Cecil H, Jr, Organization Development, (5th edition), Prentice Hall, 1995

Galbraith, Jay R., Designing Organizations: An Executive Briefing on Strategy, Structure and Process, Jossey Bass Publishers, San Francisco, 1995

Genus, Audley., The Management of Change: Perspectives and Practice International Thompson Publishing, 1998

Hamel, Gary., Prahalad C.K., Competing for the Future, Harvard Business School Press, 1994

Kotter, John P., Leading Change, Harvard Business School Press Boston MA, 1996

McWhinney Will, Creating Paths of Change: Managing Issues and Resolving Problems in Organizations, Sage Publications 1997

Stace, Doug.,Dunphy, Dexter., Beyond the Boundaries: Leading and Re-creating the Successful Enterprise, McGraw Hill, 1994.