Organisational Change (Autumn 2021)

Abstract

This course examines organizational change in light of contemporary challenges with digitalization and IT. It explores how organizational theories can help us better understand, and critically reflect upon, such profound challenges, while also offering hands-on approaches and strategies to managing them. Furthermore, it investigates questions of structure, culture, leadership, management, and organizing in order to make students both knowledgeable about, and skilled in the practice of, engaging with organizational change.

Description

This course takes as its point of departure classical organizational and managerial themes but considers them in light of contemporary organizational and managerial challenges. For this reason, both the problems and promises concerning digitalization and IT are at the heart of the course. To be able to understand, analyze, and subsequently develop solutions to support organizational changes related to digitalization, IT, and work, this course especially draws on organizational theory and change management perspectives. The former will furnish students with a conceptual vocabulary drawn primarily from organizational theory, enabling students to critically and reflectively consider problems related to digitalization, IT, and work. The latter shifts the focus of attention away from problems towards the development of relevant solutions, introducing students to a variety of change management theories and leadership approaches designed and developed to support organizational change.

Formal prerequisites

This course is aimed at students enrolled in the program Digital Innovation & Management. The student must always meet the admission requirements of the IT University. With that said, this course requires a high level of reading ability in the English language, and the capacity to analyze and synthesize texts.

Intended learning outcomes

After the course, the student should be able to:

• Describe and account for at least two organizational theories and change management perspectives introduced in the course curriculum in relation to digitalization, IT, and organizational change
• Identify and make use of appropriate concepts from organizational theories in analyzing empirical problems related to IT and digitalization
• Select and make use of appropriate change management perspectives in developing relevant solutions to IT and digitalization related challenges
• Discuss the relevance and applicability of different organizational theories and change management perspectives to contemporary organizational change issues related to digitalization and IT
• Discuss and reflect upon your analytical choices and present their implications in a concise manner.

Learning activities

The course is based on readings, lectures, seminar discussions, and workshop exercises focused on working with analysis, reflections, and a variety of empirical cases. Students will also try working with game simulations during exercise classes. Students will be expected to do the class reading before class, and be prepared to participate in active discussion and debate, exercises, and demonstrations. There will also be invited some guest lectures, from academia as well as industry.

Mandatory activities

No mandatory activities will be planned for this course. Assignments, however, will be an integral part of the course and its learning trajectory.

The student will receive the grade NA (not approved) at the ordinary exam, if the mandatory activities are not approved and the student will use an exam attempt.

Course literature

TBA

Student Activity Budget

Estimated distribution of learning activities for the typical student

• Preparation for lectures and exercises: 20%
• Lectures: 20%
• Exercises: 15%
• Assignments: 15%
• Exam with preparation: 15%
• Other: 15%

Ordinary exam

Exam type:
C: Submission of written work, External (7-point scale)
Exam variation:
C22: Submission of written work – Take home

reexam

Exam type:
C: Submission of written work, External (7-point scale)
Exam variation:
C22: Submission of written work – Take home

Time and date