B Mgt 680 Syllabus
B Mgt 680 Managing Organizational Change
Spring, 1997
Instructors
Dr. Cecilia Falbe (442-4958 falbe@cnsibm.albany.edu) (Hours: W 4:30-5:30)
Dr. Tom Taber (442-4937 tdt11@cnsibm.albany.edu) (Hours: Th 1-2:30)
Dr. Gary Yukl (442-4932 gy755@cnsibm.albany.edu) (Hours: W 1-2; Th 4:45-5:45)
(Fax for Falbe, Taber, & Yukl 442-4765)
Three professors for the price of one! Why? Because successful organizational change requires
multiple levels of action. Cecilia Falbe has special knowledge of large scale systems change related
to the strategic course of the organization. Tom Taber is concerned with the process of
organizational change and the skills of change agents. Gary Yukl is experienced in organizational
diagnosis, managerial training and development.
Rationale
Businesses are being challenged by dynamic forces such as international competition, increasing
quality demands of consumers, changing work-force demographics, declining markets, and
innovations in automation and information technology. The forces combine to create a "hyper-
competitive" environment. To survive in an age of hyper-competition organizations must continually
change--sometimes dramatically. Therefore, to survive as a manager or consultant, you need to
understand basic processes for organizational change and methods for managing change effectively.
Purpose
The purpose of this course is to learn about change processes and programs aimed improving the
total organization, groups, and individuals. You will be introduced to the idea of "the learning
organization" and learn skills and techniques used by consultants to create such an organization.
Activities
You are expected to acquire both content knowledge of organizational change and basic skills of the
change agent.
Reading. Readings will be taken from a variety of practitioner and scholarly sources. The readings
will be available at Shipmates at least two weeks prior to their use in class. Readings are to
be completed before class.
Team Project. Teams will be formed to research organizational change programs such as TQM,
cultural change, team-based management, and so on. Each team will make oral and written
presentations of their project. Detailed instructions for the project will be provided.
Competency Demonstration. During the final examination period you will be given the opportunity
to demonstrate your knowledge of organizational change theory and methods.
Skills and Techniques Workshops. Many classes will have workshops on basic tools and skills used
by organizational consultants (e.g., Hoshin Planning, Balanced Scorecard, Needs Analysis,
Force Field Analysis, 360 Feedback, Survey-guided change, Nominal Group Technique,
etc.). You will get hands-on experience with the skills and tools. Generally, you will write an
analysis of each tool or technique you use. Late papers are not accepted.
Participation and Attendance. Everyone is expected to attend all classes and to contribute actively
to the class learning. Each student's contribution will be evaluated by the instructors.
Excessive absenteeism will result in a lowered grade.
Grading
Grades will be determined according to the following weights:
Team Project (40%)
Competency Demonstration (30%)
Written Analyses of Change Techniques (20%)
Participation and Attendance (10%)
Topic Schedule
Week Date Topic
Weds Thurs
1 1-22 1-23 Overview of Large-Scale Organizational Change
Reading: Making Local Knowledge Global
2 1-29 1-30 The Learning Organization (Parts I & II)
Reading: Senge,P. (1990) The fifth discipline. NY:Currency/Doubleday.
3 2-5 2-6 The Learning Organization (Parts III, IV, & V)
Reading: Senge,P. (1990) The fifth discipline. NY:Currency/Doubleday.
4 2-12 2-13 Change Process: Contracting and Entering the Organization
5 2-19 2-20 Change Process: Organizational Diagnosis
6 2-26 2-27 Change Process: Developing the Organizational Vision
7 3- 5 3- 6 Change Process: Planning for Change
8 3-12 2-13 Change Process: Implementing and Managing Change
9 3-19 3-20 Individual Development Interventions
10 3-26 3-27 No Class--Spring Break
11 4- 2 4- 3 No Class --Team meetings
12 4- 9 4-10 No Class-- Team meetings
13 4-16 4-17 Team Presentations
14 ----- 4-24 Team Presentations
15 4-30 5- 1 Team Presentations
16 5-7 ---- Team Presentations
17 5-14 5-15 Competency Demonstration
Types of Team Projects for Change Management 680
1. Survey of Change Practices
Design an interview schedule and supplementary questionnaire to survey a wide range of change
practices in organizations. Information would be gathered from top management on the types of
changes being made, how they are implemented, how they are evaluated, and the results for the
organization. Examples of changes include reorganization (e.g., de-layering, restructuring into small
autonomous units), downsizing, re-engineering of processes, TQM and other quality programs,
self-managed groups and other employee involvement programs, systematic use of major employee
development interventions (e.g., 360 degree feedback, mentoring programs), and culture change
interventions. Pilot test the interview and supplementary questionnaire in a few companies. Design
a report format to present the results, and use it for the results from the pilot survey.
2. Review and Analysis of Large-Scale Organizational Interventions
Select an intervention program aimed at changing the organization as a whole. Examples are TQM,
cultural change, team-based management, worker-ownership, downsizing. Review the applied
literature to learn about organizations' experiences with the intervention; review scholarly literature
to determine the effectiveness of the intervention; interview an organization that has applied the
intervention; develop a step by step description of how the intervention should be carried out in an
organization.
3. Case Analysis of an Organizational Change Program
Conduct interviews with several members of an organization that has made a major change in the
past two years, and survey attitudes and perceptions of the change with a short questionnaire.
Provide detailed background information about the reasons for change. Document the change
process and consequences (including information about any change in organization performance).
Identify and document the role of champions or sponsors. Identify the processes used to influence
people to support the change. Identify opponents of the change, describe their actions, and describe
how they were handled. Analyze the change process and identify use of effective and ineffective
practices in implementing change in this organization. Write a detailed case (like the ones
developed by Harvard Business School).