Unit Title: Managing Organisational Change Unit Code: MOCD

and Development
Level: 6 Learning Hours: 210
Learning Outcomes and Indicative Content:

Candidates will be able to:

1. Critically evaluate the importance of setting the strategic direction

of an organisation

1.1 Define mission, vision, goals, objectives and core values of an

organisation
1.2 Critically assess the wider marketing and environmental
perspective
1.3 Use models to examine the external and internal environments
that impact on organisations, including globalisation
1.4 Define both the nature and purpose of strategic planning
1.5 Understand the implications when strategic planning is ignored
and/or the chosen strategy is ineffectual. Evaluate corrective
action by identifying options for survival and/or growth
1.6 Critically examine mechanistic and organic organisations and
understand the strategic differences
1.7 Evaluate the impact of globalisation and critically examine
different business ‘types’ in the business sectors that comprise
most social market economies
1.8 Understand the culture of an organisation and its impact on
organisational change
1.9 Examine the relevance and importance of stakeholder analyses

2. Demonstrate the ability to design effective human resource

strategy

2.1 Evaluate a strategic approach to human resources

2.2 Formulate an HR strategy that integrates all areas of HR
(reward, relations, resourcing and learning and development)
2.3 Understand the importance of the link between the HR strategy
and the corporate strategy, structure and culture of the
organisation
2.4 Examine mis-alignment of HR and corporate strategies and the
implications
2.5 Define a business partnering role of HR to achieve
organisational effectiveness
2.6 Assess strategies that promote high performance and develop
discretionary behaviours that lead to a world class organisation

3. Critically assess the role of recruitment and selection in human

resource strategy

3.1 Understand the background to recruitment and selection and the

significance of authentic recruitment and selection strategies

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 3.2 Examine the problems associated with special recruitment and
selection categories, for example expatriates, graduates, and
subcontracting (outsourcing) agencies
3.3 Examine the different approaches to ensure the ‘best fit’ of
employees to the organisation’s current and future requirements.
3.4 Critically assess the different methods and techniques of
recruitment and selection
3.5 Examine different strategies that promote cultural change and/or
reinforce changing company strategies to survive/grow in the
organisation’s business sector
3.6 Understand the benefits of the ‘employer of choice’ paradigm

4. Critically examine the factors that influence the employment

relationship

4.1 Understand the different factors that influence employee

relations in the organisation
4.2 Understand the psychological contract and the differences
between ‘transactional’ and ‘relational’ employee expectations
4.3 Understand employee values and ‘engagement’ (and/or lack of
engagement and impact on the organisation)
4.4 Discuss the reasons why engagement is an important goal of
the employee relations process
4.5 Examine employee ‘engagement’ and why this is vital to
organisational effectiveness and understand cultural and diverse
differences in the achievement of engagement
4.6 Examine a business-like approach and define methods to
motivate people to remain with the organisation
4.7 Define, evaluate, implement and sustain the ethical principles
that should govern the strategies and practices of employee
relations

5. Critically evaluate the principles of the management of human

resources

5.1 Understand high performance and how/why organisations can

achieve an environment that promotes willingness/ability of
people to achieve high performance
5.2 Understand how to create a world class organisation with
talented people to achieve high performance and be able to
respond to changing circumstances in the organisation’s life
cycle
5.3 Apply appropriate management and organisational theory to
improve the use of human, physical and financial resources to
maintain competitive position within the business sector
5.4 Examine technology in its varying forms and its impact on
people, processes and systems
5.5 Explain the significance of power, authority, accountability and
responsibilities as well as influencing strategies in organisations

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6. Critically evaluate the role of managing performance in
organisations

6.1 Evaluate the importance and relevance as well as the value of

aligning the human resources activities and behaviours to
organisational objectives
6.2 Understand the link between performance management and
reward
6.3 Set departmental and individual objectives aligned to the
business objectives
6.4 Examine the different methods of assessing performance
6.5 Monitor and review performance
6.6 Examine poor performance and review options to solve the
problem of under-achievement by individuals or groups of
employees
6.7 Understand why organisations need to develop people,
processes and systems to survive and to remain competitive
within their business sector
6.8 Evaluate individual behaviours when outcomes/targets have
been achieved so that motivation is maintained

7. Critically evaluate the need for organisational change

7.1 Examine why change has become a central issue for

organisations. The impact of change on customers, suppliers,
stakeholders and employees
7.2 Identify why organisations need to continually re-invent
themselves: the need for organisations to innovate
7.3 Identify the factors associated with organisational stability,
turbulence, growth, decline and collapse
7.4 Evaluate corporate strategies for survival and/or expansion,
including benefits and hazards associated with
mergers/acquisitions
7.5 Understand the need for structural change
7.6 Identify and solve issues surrounding cultural change, which is
vital to organisational growth and development, or in some
instances to survival

8. Critically examine the essential factors in planning for change

8.1 Set the goals, purposes and objectives of organisational change

8.2 Make judgements about the allocation of tasks and the abilities
and willingness of people to effect the change
8.3 Understand the impact of the pressures and resistors to change
using reliable research models
8.4 Plan the change by using project techniques, time line charts,
graphs and models to ensure that critical paths are identified,
and buffer time and contingency planning are included

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 8.5 Examine models to understand the reasons for chaos and
confusion when pressures and resistors meet, with specific
reference to the force field analysis approach

9. Analyse the importance of managing people in the change

process

9.1 Explain emotional reactions to change, resistance and traumas

experienced in the change process
9.2 Compare and contrast the psychological barriers to change
9.3 Solve problems regarding motivation during the change process
especially where redundancies might occur
9.4 Identify why it is sometimes difficult to manage change
9.5 Re-establish the ‘equilibrium’ (internalisation) of individuals after
the change has taken place
9.6 Analyse critically how a team evolves and how different
expectations within teams can be managed

10. Demonstrate the ability to manage conflict

10.1 Understand different conflict situations, both explicit (articulated

conflict) and subversive (latent and spontaneous conflict)
10.2 Identify tactics to challenge inertia
10.3 Solve problems in difficult situations, especially during the
change process
10.4 Establish the significance of mediation as a means for
generating positive outcomes
10.5 Classify and evaluate the range of strategies which can be used
to resolve dissension and lead to consensual results

11. Examine the power of leadership and leading change

11.1 Examine the differences between managers and leaders

11.2 Describe the importance of leadership qualities in the context of
organisational change
11.3 Understand the different dimensions between leadership skills,
managerial skills and operational skills in managing change
11.4 Examine the importance of adapting style to meet different
situations
11.5 Understand leaders in action: an empirical review of the
approaches used by leaders in order to achieve effective
change
11.6 Understand the appropriateness of decisions to achieve
effective change

12. Critically evaluate change

12.1 Examine the effectiveness of change

12.2 Identify future strategies to continuously improve organisational
effectiveness

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 12.3 Understand change as a constant phenomenon
12.4 Identify change ‘champions’ to encourage others to approach
change in a positive way
12.5 Analyse the need for continual communication and knowledge
sharing within organisations

Assessment Criteria:

• Assessment method: written examination

• Length of examination: three hours
• Candidates should answer four questions from a choice of eight, each
question carrying equal marks

Recommended Reading
Cummings TG, Worley CG, Organisational Development and Change (2004),
Thomson Learning
ISBN: 0324260601

Carter L, Giber D, and Goldsmith M, Best Practices in Organisational

Development and Change (2001), Jossey Bass
ISBN: 0787895666X

Additional Reading
Any Harvard Business Reviews on the topic areas by:
Dave Ulrich, A New Mandate for Human Resources, Harvard Business
Review, 1999 January/February
Dave Ulrich and Bookbank W, 2005, Higher Knowledge for Higher
Aspirations, Human Resource Management Journal Vol. 44 No. 4
Ulrich D and Smallwood N, 2005, HR’s ROI; Return to Intangibles, Human
Resource Management Journal, Vol. 28 No. 3
Julia Kirby
A Maister
J Welch
John Kotter, Leading Change – Why Transformation Efforts Fail, Harvard
Business Review, January 2007
Colin Carnall

Warren Bennis, Competencies of Exemplary Leadership, published by CIPD

for Harrogate Conference closing speech, 2004.

CIPD quarterly update, specifically issue 16, 1 August 2006, Going the Extra
Mile

CIPD ‘People Management’ Articles

Thomas and Kilman’s Conflict Model

CIPD ‘Factsheets’ – specifically Employee Engagement (March 2007) and

Developing Managers for Business Performance

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