Jon Simon Sager, Fall 2011 SOWK: 669: Managing Change and OD
University of Southern California School of Social Work
Sowk 669
MANAGING CHANGE AND ORGANIZATION Development
Fall 2011
Instructor: Jon Simon Sager, Ph.d, Clinical Associate Professor
Office: MRF 333
Telephone: Office: 213 740-8003
Office hours: Tuesday 12:00pm -1:00 pm & 7:00pm – 8:00pm;
Saturday City Center 12:00pm--1:00pm (see Saturday course schedule for exact dates)
E-mail:
Section: 60501
Location: WPH 107
Day/Time: Tuesdays, 4:10pm to 7:00 pm
I. Course Description: Managing Change and Organization Development
This course is designed to provide students with a conceptual framework addressing the strategic importance of managing change and organization development (OD) in various agencies, human service organizations, community organizations and other settings. Uncertainty, complexity and rapidly changing organizational environments create the necessity for organizations to respond to and effectively deal with turbulence and instability. The capability of an organization's human resources to adapt to such conditions, adopt and successfully use new practices, technologies and develop ways of performing organizational tasks is vital to proactive and sustainable human service organizations. Managing change and OD are essential to these processes.
The management of change and organizational development is a dynamic process. This course focuses on understanding how to plan and implement change in various organizations and other settings. Effective change management and OD maximize the congruence between an organization's mission, goals, strategies, environment, technology, structure, processes, people, culture and reward systems. Managing successful change requires an understanding of the systemic interrelationships among these factors and how changes in one affect another. Within the context of this organizational complexity, students will examine the role of change agents at various levels of the organization and the integrative competencies and interpersonal skills required of individuals who initiate, manage and are affected by change. Managing change and OD is also a sense making and creative process; it requires the ability to discern new patterns and relationships both inside and outside the organization as well as openness to new ideas and possibilities.
This course is designed to provide students with both the conceptual framework and the practical skills needed to design, implement and evaluate effective change and OD programs. Creating effective change and OD programs for organizations begins with a diagnosis and assessment of the needs in the context of the organization's strategy. This also entails an analysis of the organization’s human resources, culture, organizational design and structure among other things. Once assessed and analyzed, the task becomes to design and develop interventions to achieve change and OD objectives. To accomplish the objectives also requires an understanding of: a) the roles of change agent(s)--internal and/or external change management or OD consultants, b) the importance of the political, cultural and technological contexts, and c) the effective development of customized change and OD intervention strategies as well as the familiarity with and ability to use and adapt existing techniques for effecting change.
The course will be taught from the perspective that students will one day be a stakeholder involved in some aspect of managing change and OD, whether as an employee, manager, or internal or external consultant delivering (or creating, or enabling) programs for organizational clients. This practical orientation drives the structure of the course which will involve experiencing not only the stages and activities of change management and OD, but includes exposure to the various tools, techniques and approaches that professional change management and OD specialist’s use. Some of this will involve actual participation in change and OD activities the instructor has used in his professional practice. Students will also become familiar with some of the most frequently used and popular interventions utilized by organizations as they embark upon the 21st century. Students will also learn how to obtain change management and organization development materials, as well as customize materials for particular organizational change and development purposes.
II. Course Objectives
1) Understand the major theories and perspectives concerning organization development and change.
2) Understand the application of the theories and perspectives concerning managing change and organization development in the context of human service organizations, community settings and large and small systems.
3) Understand the role of the internal and external environment in driving or restraining change and OD, as well as the importance of the political, cultural and technological contexts.
4) To diagnose the need for organizational change and OD interventions.
5) To be able to formulate the strategies and tactics for organizational change and OD interventions.
6) To understand the dynamics and issues in implementing and executing a change strategy or an OD intervention
7) Understand why people resist change and learn techniques for overcoming resistance to change.
8) Understand techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of change and organization development.
9) Understand the nature and challenges of developing learning and high reliability organizations that maximize the ability of the organization to effectively adapt to and cope with change and turbulent environments.
10) Understand the challenges for Organization development specialists and change agents at different levels of, and in different relationships to, the agency or human service organization.
11) Students will demonstrate competency in applying principles of managing change and organization development to human service organizations and social systems at all levels of practice.
III. Course Format
Lectures, experiential exercises, role plays, videos, power-point presentations, overheads, instrumentation and guest lectures (if available) will comprise the delivery format for the course. The course will be taught from the perspective that students will one day be a stakeholder involved in some aspect of managing change and OD, whether as an employee, manager, or internal or external consultant delivering (or creating, or enabling) programs for organizational clients. This practical orientation drives the structure of the course, which will involve experiencing not only the stages and activities of change management and OD, but includes exposure to the various tools, techniques and approaches that professional change management and OD specialists use. Some of this will involve actual participation in change and OD activities the instructor has used in his professional practice. Students will also become familiar with some of the most frequently used and popular interventions employed by corporations as they enter the 21st century. Students will also learn how to obtain change management and organization development materials, as well as customize materials for particular change and organization development strategies.
My lectures are designed to supplement and go beyond the assigned readings. I will be glad to answer questions about the readings, but expect my lectures to extend, provide insight and describe actual examples of the application of concepts covered in the readings and lectures.
Last, we will be flexible. Although I intend to follow the structure of the syllabus and course outline, like any good change agent and OD practitioner we will change and adjust in order to conduct deeper explorations of pertinent topics, accommodate the schedules of speakers, the access of videos and other equipment and so forth.
IV . COURSE EVALUATION AND GRADING
All students are expected to regularly attend class and be on time. A student with more than two unexcused absences during the course of this seminar may receive a no credit. A student who is tardy three or more times to seminar may receive a grade of no credit. If a student receives a no credit grade in this seminar, they will be required to repeat this seminar. Seminar grades will be based on the following:
Assignment percent Date Due
Change Analysis Paper: 30 Session 8, 9 or 10
Self-Selected Assignment 30 Sessions 9-14
Final Analysis and Planned
Change Intervention 30 May 4
Participation 10 Each Class
Class grades will be based on the following:
93 – 100 A
90 – 92 A-
87 – 89 B+
83 – 86 B
80 – 82 B-
77 – 79 C+
73 – 76 C
70 – 72 C-
3.85 – 4 A
3.60 – 3.84 A-
3.25 – 3.59 B+
2.90 – 3.24 B
2.60 – 2.89 B-
2.25 – 2.59 C+
1.90 – 2.24 C
Class PARTICIPATION (No more than 10%)
University Grading Policy
Within the School of Social Work, grades are determined in each class based on the following standards which have been established by the faculty of the School:
(1) Grades of A or A- are reserved for student work which not only demonstrates very good mastery of content but which also shows that the student has undertaken a complex task, has applied critical thinking skills to the assignment, and/or has demonstrated creativity in her or his approach to the assignment. The difference between these two grades would be determined by the degree to which these skills have demonstrated by the student.
(2) A grade of B+ is given to work, which is judged to be very good. This grade denotes that a student has demonstrated a more-than-competent understanding of the material being tested in the assignment.
(3) A grade of B is given to student work, which meets the basic requirements of the assignment. It denotes that the student has done adequate work on the assignment and meets basic course expectations.
(4) A grade of B- denotes that a student’s performance was less than adequate on an assignment, reflecting only moderate grasp of content and/or expectations.
(5) A grade of C reflects a minimal grasp of the assignments, poor organization of ideas and/or several significant areas requiring improvement.
(6) Grades between C-and F denote a failure to meet minimum standards, reflecting serious deficiencies in all aspects of a student’s performance on the assignment.
Note: Please refer to the Student Handbook and The University Catalogue for additional discussion of grades and grading procedures.
Description of Graded Assignments
The Organization or Community Change Intervention or OD Project
Students are to write a midterm and final paper applying what they have learned about managing change in organizations and OD to a specific setting. You can plan a change intervention of limited or extensive scope depending on the setting and the problem or situation you are trying to change. You should use your field placement or an organization or community setting which you have enough familiarity with to plan a change intervention and implement it (you do not have to actually implement the change, though you are welcome to do so, but I do not merely want a planned change with little or no attention to its implementation). The planned change or OD project drives the majority of the written work in the course. It is broken into two parts. The first comprises your midterm paper and the second comprises the final. To write these papers you will have to attend class, do the readings and have intensive one on one discussions with me about your project. I want you to first present your idea for a project and get my feedback and approval before you begin working on it. You will get a lot of support and attention from me throughout this endeavor.
The Change Project Analysis Paper (midterm assignment):
In this first paper, you are asked to conduct a force field analysis of an agency, problem or situation in which you desire to initiate change. Other analytical techniques may be used to help analyze and assess the need for change (e.g., stakeholder analyses, Weisbord’s six box model—I will give you a handouts and discuss this in lecture). All students may use current, preferably, or past field work settings. However, you are not limited to your field placements. The setting can be another agency or community you have familiarity with, perhaps you work there or worked there in the past. All students will discuss the choice of settings with me. There will be a lot of attention placed on this assignment, as well as, attention devoted to reworking it to become part of the final paper you submit at the end of the course. I am open to team projects.
The midterm paper is the prelude to the final paper. So, I will give you extensive feedback both in writing and in face to face consultation.
I will give you more information in class about this assignment as well as detailed written guidelines.
The Completed Change Project Paper ( final assignment):
The final assignment will involve, in most case, reworking the analytical paper submitted for the midterm assignment. Then you must plan your change and/or intervention. Based on your analysis you will choose and tailor an intervention to the agency, situation or problem you wish to change. The intervention can involve action research, change strategies that are custom developed from your analytical work, as well as extant OD interventions, such as survey feedback, appreciative inquiry, team building, six sigma and so forth. I will work with you individually to help craft your change intervention and suggest strategies and tactics to implement and induce change. I will give you more information in class about the final assignment and provide you with detailed written guidelines.
Managing Change and O D Self-Selected Assignment
This assignment is extremely flexible. It can take the form of an individual presentation to the class, a team presentation or an individual or team paper.
For example, you may be interested in learning more about appreciative inquiry or future search. You can study this and present something to the class or write a paper. You may find others that are interested in the same topic and decide to work together, either on a paper or an oral presentation. You can decide you would like to conduct a training session with the class and teach us all about an intervention involving diversity or team building. Our text has simulations and exercises at the end of the chapters, which you may use. I also will be exposing you to a voluminous amount of change agent tools that I have used in my practice.
The topic you choose must be relevant to the course and approved by me, as well as the delivery format, presentation, paper or training or individually or with others. We will also need to decide on the amount of time, if you decide to involve the class and also coordinate your presentation, simulation, or experiential exercise with the topics I plan to cover. I will try to adjust so I can accommodate you, but there are certain things that need to be covered at certain points in the course in order for you to complete your midterm and final change and OD intervention paper.
We can meet and discuss this during class, as well as during my office hours or other appointments. The goal is for you to get something enriching and useful our of the assignment. In the past, this assignment was a team oral presentation and I provided a list of topics to stimulate student thinking about a topic. For your convenience, I’ve reprinted this list as the end of this syllabus, but you are by no means bound by those topics and the delivery format is wide open, though I do want to approve of what you decide to do and how you decide to do it. I am flexible and want to be supportive. I imagine this type of assignment represents a change from the types of assignments you have been given in the past, but that’s what the class is about. If you are uncomfortable with the lack of structure, think of it as in part relevant to understanding change. Regardless, don’t worry. I won’t let you do anything but succeed or fail forward. The due date for this assignment is open and negotiable.