Dr Hayley German

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (Organisational Behaviour). This course is available on the MPA in European Public and Economic Policy, MPA in International Development, MPA in Public Policy and Management, MPA in Public and Economic Policy, MPA in Public and Social Policy, MPhil/ PhD in Employment Relations & Org Behaviour, MSc in African Development, MSc in Development Management, MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (Human Resource Management/CIPD), MSc in Human Resources and Organisations (International Employment Relations and Human Resource Management), MSc in Management Science (Decision Sciences), MSc in Management Science (Operational Research), MSc in Management of Information Systems and Digital Innovation, MSc in Management, Organisations and Governance and MSc in Public Management and Governance. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course adopts a psychological framework to explore the content, process and outcomes of organisational change. The aim of the course is to provide students with different psychological theories to understand the process and consequences of organisational change and in doing so addresses the following issues: type of organisational change, creating readiness for organizational change and leading change, the change agent, strategies for change, resistance to change and evaluation of and institutionalization of organisational change. Models and frameworks for analyzing and diagnosing change; the role of the change agent, leading change from the top, bottom up change specific interventions; strategies of change; ethical decision making; a justice perspective on organisational change; understanding recipients reactions to change; theory and methods of evaluation of organisational change and reinforcing change interventions.

21 hours of lectures and 9 hours of seminars in the LT. 2 hours of lectures and 1 hour and 30 minutes of seminars in the ST.

The teaching is highly participative and includes lectures and seminars. Group working is an integral part of the course and students are expected to actively contribute to their syndicate group throughout the year. The course is demanding of students and depends partly upon commitment and willingness to participate fully. The course is taught in the LT. Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy. 

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the LT.

The course relies heavily on journal articles (for example, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, and Journal of Applied Behavioural Science) and the use of case studies.  The following book is also useful Oreg, S., Michel, A., & By, T. B., (Eds.) (2013), The psychology of organizational change: Viewing change from the employee's perspective, Cambridge University Press.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.