Select an organisation you are familiar with (perhaps your current employer) or one for which you have a good knowledge of background, organisational culture, management style and communication processes, and write up a specific case of organisational change. We strongly suggest that you use an organisation you know, rather than one selected from the public domain (e.g. Google).
Your work should highlight the complexities of managing change and the difficulties that organisations and their employees face during change processes. You need to analyse the situation using relevant concepts and models, to draw learning points from the case, and to suggest how the change might have been better managed (or if it were perfect, why was that so?). Use your personal knowledge, the internet, media, and journals to write the case.
The following are suggestions to guide your report:
Concentrate on three main phases - background of the change, the process of change, and ongoing change. The background includes brief organisation's history, the reasons leading to the change, the affected population, those leading the need for change, what the change aimed to achieve (e.g. technological innovation, company structure improvement, competitive advantage). Include a brief summary of the research you undertook to help justify your selected change. Include SWOT analysis to help justify why you have selected this option.
The process refers to the organisation's stakeholders and its culture. How was it planned? What were the organisational systems involved? Who were the main organisational members/units in this case? How was the change managed?
What were the phases of the process (e.g. shock, denial, understanding.... integration)? Which theory/theories covered in PHE5HOR is/are relevant to the situation you have described? What other models or tools could have been used to bring about change in the organisation? What were the resulting changes in organisational behaviour?
The ongoing change section draws conclusions based on the background and process. What are the main learning points from this case? What was done well and what could be done better? What models would be useful for the structure, management, leadership, and planning for the future? Any major risk factors to the organisation as a result of the change?
The marking criteria for this assignment are:
Paper Structure
Organisation: Structure is important to present information effectively and to express arguments in a logical and systematic way. Was the paper well organised in a manner consistent with academic/consultancy paper writing? Did the paper conform to the word limit?
Expression: Higher written communication skills include an ability to write in a clear style, with appropriate grammatical structure and vocabulary, correct spelling and punctuation, and well-structured sentences. Was the written expression of an acceptable standard?
Citations and List of References: Whenever you quote, or use an idea or data from a source, you must indicate its origin. Did the paper include an adequate list of references with meticulously cited sources?
Paper Content
Sources: Were sources used to strengthen the argument where required? Was background reading and knowledge of the relevant theories evident in the paper?
Descriptive Content: Descriptive content provides the reader with the understanding of the situation. Were the descriptive aspects of the topic dealt with sufficiently?
Analytical Content: To rise above the basic level, a paper needs sound analytical content. Was this evident in the paper? Was there sufficient evidence of application of the concepts and theories of this unit?