The individual essay is used to evaluate to what extent you know and understand the main theoretical perspectives on organizational change. The individual essay is based on the study materials described in section 6 of this course manual.
- Describe and comparetwo of the below perspectives on organizational change:
- Episodic / radical change
- Continuous / incremental change
iii. Top- down change
- Bottom-up change
- Middle- in and middle-out change
- a) Describethe chosen perspectives and detail the main underlying assumptions of the two approaches – name and explain at least3 underlying assumptions for each perspective
- b) Compare the two chosen approaches by outlining their main differences andin terms of the dimensions of change that are changing under the perspectives (g. routines and practices, cognitions and identities, power relationships) – discuss at least 3 differences anddiscuss all the 3 dimensions of change as they relate to your two chosen perspectives based on the literature.
- Applyyour chosen perspectives to a business case of your own choice and critically reflect on their value for making sense of the change in the case. The business case needs to be a “real” example, i.e. and actual organization needs to have undergone the change. You need to have sufficient detail on the case to be able to reflect on the change, i.e. you need to know what triggered the change, who was involved in initiating and implementing the change, how the change unfolded and what the outcomes of the change were. The business case can be either one of the cases discussed as part of the course, a case from the study material or a case of your own choice (from the news for example).
- a) Briefly describeyour chosen business case by focussing on the following: what triggered the change, who was involved in initiating and implementing the change, how did the change unfold and what were the outcomes of the change.
- b) Applyyour chosen two perspectives to the business case and explain how the change from your case can be understood by applying the chosen perspectives. Critically reflecton the value of the chosen perspectives for the business case – which perspective is better suited to explain the change that unfolded in your business case and why? Explain at least three reasons why you think your preferred perspective is better suited to explain the change.
Please note that the maximum word count is 3,000 words (excluding references) – you cannot use more than that (no 10% rule – please note: more words does not necessarily make a better assignment). It is up to you to decide how many words you need for each part.
Assessment criteria: 60 percent of overall grade; see assessment scheme in the appendix for more information about the assessment criteria. Use Times New Roman, font size 12, line spacing 1.5 for the assignment. Please use the Journal of Management style guide for referencing.
Submission: Hand in your assignment via Canvas before Thursday, October 22, 18:00. A hardcopy is not required.
