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School of Engineering and Informatics (for staff and students)

Org Behaviour, Leadership and Change (715N1)

Organisational Behaviour, Leadership and Change

Module 715N1

Module details for 2025/26.

15 credits

FHEQ Level 7 (Masters)

Module Outline

Change and Leadership will provide students with the theoretical grounding to understand and appraise different modes of organisational change, their drivers, the responses of staff and other stakeholders, and the role of leaders in leading and responding to change. The relevance of theory will be explored in contexts including cultural change, restructuring, and mergers/acquisitions. The module examines the principles of managing change at a number of levels, building progressively from individual change, to team change, organisational change up to change at the meso-macro level in complex economic systems (e.g., change of sectoral or even national importance). The distinctive roles for leaders and approaches to leadership will explored in relation to these levels. Within the continuum, topics to be addressed will cover six main areas, reflecting positioning of the module between organisational behaviour and strategy:

Behavioural, cognitive, humanistic, and psychodynamic theories of individual change

Teams: their constitution, internal dynamics and role in organisational change

Historical approaches to organisational change (under ad-hoc management, scientific management, human relations, and contigent approaches)

More recent (and emerging) paradigms in organisational change

Planned vs. emergent change: complexity and inter-organisational influences

Leadership: roles choices and constraint: frameworks for managing change

The assessment is a coursework-based task, requiring each student to select a change scenario for a chosen organisation, and to describe how that change process should be undertaken, with specific reference to options for change and appraisal of their suitability, through reference to relevant theories of change. Strengths and weakness of relevant approaches will be identified. Specific attention to the role and style of leadership required for the change process or programme will be a key component of the report.

Module learning outcomes

Demonstrate a critical awareness of relevant approaches in Organisational Behaviour and how internal and external forces influence organisational change

Demonstrate an understanding of the roles of leadership and their inter-relationship with organisational structure, and culture when managing change

Explain personal, team, organisational and/or inter-organisational responses to change

TypeTimingWeighting
Coursework100.00%
Coursework components. Weighted as shown below.
EssayXVAC Week 1 70.00%
Group PresentationT1 Week 8 30.00%
Timing

Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.

Weighting

Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.

TermMethodDurationWeek pattern
Autumn SemesterWorkshop2 hours11111111111
Autumn SemesterLecture1 hour11111111111

How to read the week pattern

The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.

Mr Jim Simpson

Convenor, Assess convenor
/profiles/517329

Please note that the University will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver courses and modules in accordance with the descriptions set out here. However, the University keeps its courses and modules under review with the aim of enhancing quality. Some changes may therefore be made to the form or content of courses or modules shown as part of the normal process of curriculum management.

The University reserves the right to make changes to the contents or methods of delivery of, or to discontinue, merge or combine modules, if such action is reasonably considered necessary by the University. If there are not sufficient student numbers to make a module viable, the University reserves the right to cancel such a module. If the University withdraws or discontinues a module, it will use its reasonable endeavours to provide a suitable alternative module.

School of Engineering and Informatics (for staff and students)

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