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2023/2024  KAN-CCDCO1001U  Organisational Change

English Title
Organisational Change

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory (also offered as elective)
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Second Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc and MSc in Business, Language and Culture, MSc
Course coordinator
  • Dennis Schoeneborn - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
Main academic disciplines
  • Communication
  • Organisation
  • Project and change management
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 03-07-2023

Relevant links
Learning objectives
  • Identify and describe an organisational change challenge related to diversity issues
  • Analyse the change challenge by drawing on the pertinent academic literature and theoretical approaches to organisational change (incl. research papers, reviews, and case studies)
  • Argue for the choice of an empirical methodology to investigate the organisational change challenge and explain the data collection and data analysis procedures
  • Design an intervention plan in relation to the organisational change challenge. The plan should specify tasks relevant to preparation, implementation, and communication
  • Critically reflect and evaluate the strengths and limitations of the chosen theoretical approach and intervention plan in relation to the identified organisational change issue
  • Demonstrate good academic writing skills (clear and accurate writing style in English language, correct use of relevant terminology, coherent structure of arguments, proper use of references)
Prerequisites for registering for the exam (activities during the teaching period)
Number of compulsory activities which must be approved (see section 13 of the Programme Regulations): 1
Compulsory home assignments
Students must present the findings of their project to the case organisation at a mini-conference organised by the course-coordinator. This mini-conference usually takes place in calendar week 2 in January and participation by the students is compulsory.

Students who due to illness or other excused absence cannot participate in the mini-conference shall send a doctor’s note or application for exemption to exemption.cbs.dk and exams@cbs.dk. If the absence is approved, students shall instead individually hand in a three pages executive summary of the project.
Examination
Organisational Change and Diversity Management:
Exam ECTS 15
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance, see also the rules about examination forms in the programme regulations.
Individual or group exam Oral group exam based on written group product
Number of people in the group 3-5
Size of written product Max. 35 pages
The length of the case report depends on the size of the group. Groups of 3 students have to deliver no more than 25 pages, groups of 4 no more than 30 pages and a groups of 5 no more than 35 pages.
Assignment type Project
Release of assignment Subject chosen by students themselves, see guidelines if any
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
15 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
There are four different scenaria for the re-exam:
1) if a student is absent from the oral exam due to documented illness but has been part of handing in the report s/he does not have to submit a new project report, but MUST hand in the same project report AGAIN for the re-exam.
2) if an individual student fails the oral exam she/he does not have to submit a new project report, but MUST hand in the same project report AGAIN for the re-exam.
3) if a whole group fails they must hand in a revised report for the re-take.
4) If you haven't handed in anything for the ordinary exam. You will hand in a project report for the re-exam.
Description of the exam procedure

Students that wish to do an individual oral exam should apply for exemption at dispensation.cbs.dk prior to handing in the group case report.

 

The course is a joint examination between the Diversity Management and Organisational Change courses.

The exam is a group exam based on a group case analysis. The paper shall combine the two courses of Diversity Management and Organisational Change. The students will be confronted with a diversity or equality related problem from a case organisation. Based on this problem the students shall make an analysis with focus on the needs for diversity management and diversity work in the organisation or on the existing diversity management and diversity work with the use of theories from the course. To continue, based on the analysis of the diversity related organisational change challenge the students shall design an intervention plan to solve it the issues based on the theories from the course. About half of the paper should address the diversity management issues and about half organisational change issues.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

This course is concerned with the challenges of initiating and implementing change within and across organisations. The course covers a wide range of topics such as change management models, resistance to change, change communication and interventions, etc. Furthermore, the course will look at how organisations are affected by contemporary changes in broader society (e.g., increased expectations regarding corporate responsibility or workforce diversity). To investigate actual change challenges in organisational practice, students will be trained in how to craft a research question and how to make methodological choices.

 

With this course, we contribute to three of CBS’s “Nordic Nine” educational goals in particular: First, with the course’s focus on applying methodological rigor in ambiguous practical contexts (e.g., change for diversity in organizational settings), we directly address NN2 “You are analytical with your data and curious about ambiguity”. Second, we sensitize students for ethical decision-making in organizations and provide them with dialogue-centered tools for driving organizational transformations; in this way, we directly address NN5 “You understand ethical dilemmas and have the leadership values to overcome them”. Third, the main assignment of this course is a live case study in collaboration with an organization from practice where students learn to find constructive solutions while preserving critical-analytical distance to the case at hand; in this way, we directly address NN6 “You are critical when thinking and constructive when collaborating”.
Description of the teaching methods
The course involves lectures, (methodology) workshops, case studies (incl. practitioners), and in-class discussions.
Feedback during the teaching period
Students will receive continuous feedback from the lecturers throughout the course, e.g. interactive teaching formats, in-class case discussion, and in the dedicated group project supervision sessions. Furthermore, the representatives of the case organizations will provide students with feedback on whether their suggested solutions from the live case project are going into a fruitful direction. Lecturers will also strive for being readily available for individual or group-wise feedback in both lecture breaks and following each lecture session.
Student workload
Lectures 30 hours
Preparation for lectures 76 hours
Project work 100 hours
Exam, incl. preparation (transferred from Diversity Management) 30 hours
Total 236 hours
Expected literature

To be announced on CBS Canvas
Last updated on 03-07-2023