| Unit name | Re-thinking Change, Systems and Organisation |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EFIMM0126 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Southerton |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Management - Business School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit introduces perspectives on change, critically engages with how processes of change can be understood and examines the implications of change for organizations of various shapes, size and form. It does so by ‘zooming out’ from immediate organisational problems to locate them in their wider systems, enabling the design of more effective and enduring strategic responses. The unit will examine: how change is ‘framed’ as challenges, problems and opportunities; different ‘rates’ (or speed) and timeframes (short and long-term) of change; the unevenness of change across organisations, systems and groups (or different ‘actors’); incremental and radical change; change across multiple scales (e.g. global-local; macro-micro); unintended consequences of strategy; and, path dependencies (or lock-in). This unit identifies concepts, tools and strategies from ‘systems thinking’, ‘social practice theories’ and ‘multi-level perspectives’ and applies them through a range of case studies drawn from public and private sector organisations.
By the end of the course students will be able to:
1. Understand and critically engage with perspectives on change processes.
2. Identify how these perspectives can be applied to different forms of organisation and organisational challenges.
3. Apply insights from systems thinking, multi-level perspectives and social practice theories to develop strategic responses to complex problems.
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions including lectures, seminars, drop-in sessions, discussion boards and other online learning opportunities
Summative assignment by individual essay of 3,000 words (100%)
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EFIMM0126).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
