MSc Management and Information Systems: Change and Development

' Aims, history and philosophy of OD
- Ethics, values and OD
- OD and its relationship to HRM and HRD
- The role of internal and external OD consultants
- Understanding organisational change processes from an OD perspective; methods and techniques
- OD diagnosis: methods and techniques
- OD in international applied settings
- Critical perspectives on selected OD literature
- Resistance to change in OD processes.

- To provide a critical understanding of OD as an approach to organisational change and development;
- To enable participants to identify the implications of OD for their own practice as change agents in international settings particularly developing/transitional country context

Knowledge and understanding

·         define OD, and relate it to issues of organisational capacity building in developing countries.

·         discuss the relationship between OD, HRM and HRD theories and practices.

·         explain the philosophy that underpins traditional OD.

·         Identify the stages of an OD process.

·         distinguish between individual, team, and whole organisation based OD interventions and evaluate their relevance to developing countries.

·         identify symptoms and causes of resistance to change in OD interventions, and strategies for dealing with resistance to change.

·         outline the stages in the consultancy process, and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different consultancy styles.

Intellectual skills

·         develop their ability to assimilate and review critically academic literature.

Practical skills

·         work collaboratively with others in order to analyse and written material.

·         develop their ability to present the findings of their work both orally and in writing.

Transferable skills and personal qualities

·         develop the skills which they need to gather data from a range of sources.

·         develop their ability to review and analyse critically contrasting information.

·         develop their ability to empathise with managers who have to manage change in work organisations.

·         develop their self-management skills including their ability to manage time effectively.

·         develop the skills which they need to articulate clearly their point of view particularly in response to questioning.

·         develop their willingness to question and develop their understanding, perspectives and values in response to listening to others

• define OD, and relate it to issues of organisational capacity building in developing countries.
• discuss the relationship between OD, HRM and HRD theories and practices.
• explain the philosophy that underpins traditional OD.
• identify the stages of an OD process.
• distinguish between individual, team, and whole organisation based OD interventions and evaluate their relevance to developing countries.
• identify symptoms and causes of resistance to change in OD interventions, and strategies for dealing with resistance to change.
• outline the stages in the OD consultancy process, and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of OD consultancy processes.

• develop their ability to assimilate and review critically academic literature.

•  work collaboratively with others in order to analyse and written material.
• develop their ability to present the findings of their work both orally and in writing.

• develop the skills which they need to gather data from a range of sources.

• develop their ability to review and analyse critically contrasting information.

• develop their ability to empathise with managers who have to manage change in work organisations.

• develop their self-management skills including their ability to manage time effectively.

• develop the skills which they need to articulate clearly their point of view particularly in response to questioning.

• develop their willingness to question and develop their understanding, perspectives and values in response to listening to others

• One 3,000 word assignment. This assignment may contain more than one distinct section.

Feedback via VLEd/face to face.

Beech, N. & Macintosh, R. (2012) Managing Change: Enquiry and Action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press

 Brown, D. (2010) Experiential Approaches to Organization Development (8 ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall

 Burnes, B. (2017) Managing Change (7 ed.) New Jersey: Prentice Hall

 Cheung-Judge, M. & Holbeche, L. (2015) Organization Development: A Practitioner’s Guide for OD and HR (2 ed.). London: Kogan-Page

 Cummings, T.G. & Worley, C.G. (2019) Organization Development and Change (11 ed). New York: West Publishing Company

Hodges, J. (2020) Organisation Development: How Organisations Change and Develop Effectively. London: Macmillan Education Ltd

Traeger, J. & Warwick, R. (2018) Organization Development: A Bold Explorer’s Guide. Farringdon, England: Libri Publishing