Managing Change and Complexity

Managing Change and Complexity

Unit code: BMO7003

Credit points: 12 

Prescriptions on "best" ways to change organisations are in abundance. Yet what most organisations experience when they attempt to change is not as straightforward as the prescriptions suggest. Change, whether internally generated or externally confronted, is not a neat and clearly marked journey from a present state to a desired state. The complexity that surrounds organisations is not in designing the change journey but in dealing with complex relations with human behaviour. As such, the central debate in the field is, can employee behaviour and attitude be "managed and controlled" during change implementation? This unit will focus on the debate and will provide students with an opportunity to critically evaluate and articulate various models of change and help appreciate the complex and paradoxical nature of managing organisational change. Students will have an opportunity to learn from real life case examples that will include both success and failure stories of managing change. Using insights from the case examples, students will be able to analyse problems and challenges relating to managing change in their own organisation.

Learning outcomes

 

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

  1. Critically analyse and understand the complexity that surrounds managing change in organisations; 
  2. Appraise and critique the theoretical knowledge underlying organisational change management and infer on the ways organisations develop change and communication strategies in organisations; 
  3. Critically evaluate the complexities that surround technological change and organisational change when implementing new ideas and technology in Australian and global contexts; 
  4. Inquire and collaborate effectively in resolving complex challenges surrounding employee behaviour during change implementation in local and multi-national organisations. 
  5. Analyse and compare real-life case studies and evaluate the why some organisations are successful while implementing change while others fail and recommend a sustainable change framework; and, 
  6. Contextualise strategically from the perspective of senior management in leading organisational change. 
  7. Participate in an academic community through reflective and critical engagement in academic texts and understanding of principles of academic integrity.