• University of Exeter Business School
• Module

Managing Change and Crisis in Organisations

Module description

This module examines how organisations manage change and cope with crisis.  The complex cultural, political and ethical issues faced by leaders, managers and change agents will be examined in detail.  In addition, we will examine the role leaders, managers and consultants play in designing and facilitating organisational change.  Consideration will be given to how managers can be better prepared for the unpredictability, unintended outcomes and possible harmful consequences of change.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to provide an understanding of both particular approaches and techniques for managing change, and the limitations of these approaches/techniques when applied in practice.  The module aims to pay particular attention to the role of the leaders, managers and consultants in the change management process.  There will also be a focus on how change is communicated within an organisation.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Understand different approaches to the management of change
• 2. Critically evaluate change concepts and techniques
• 3. Identify the characteristics of different change programmes
• 4. Understand change agent skills and be capable of facilitating a change intervention

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Critically evaluate current management concerns in the areas of change management, crisis management and innovation management against the background of research in organization theory

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Review and critically assess academic literature and change management techniques
• 7. Write concise and reflective research- based reports

Syllabus plan

• Introduction to organisational change
• Organisational structure and change
• Individuals and change
• Resistance to change
• Organisational culture and change
• Leadership and change
• Communicating change through managers and change agents
• Mergers & acquisitions and change
• Innovation and change
• Understanding and managing crises

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

A full reading pack is supplied to students for this module (on ELE) Selected readings include:

Amabile, T., & Kramer, K. (2011).The Progress Principle. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press

Cameron, E. & Green, M. (2015). Making Sense of Change Management. London, UK: Kogan Page.

Coleman, S., & Thomas, B. (2017). Organizational Change Explained: Case Studies on Transformational Change inOrganizations. London, UK: Kogan Page.

Kotter, J.P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.

Hodges, J. (2016). Managing and Leading People through Organizational Change. London, UK: Kogan Page.

Senior B., & Swailes, S. (2016). Organizational Change. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

As provided and recommended during classes and via ELE.

Key words search

Organisational change, crisis