CHANGE MANAGEMENT
GM 0806
Kajsa Lindberg e-mail: Kajsa.Lindberg@gri.gu.se
Elena Raviola, e-mail: Elena.Raviola@gri.gu.se
Week
Date
Time
18
Wed
11-13
120502
Room
Content and teacher
Group
Intro to Change Management, Preparing for
group task
All
Elena Raviola
L1 Perspectives on change
19
Tue
9-11
120508
L2 Organizational development (OD) and
long-term change
All
Torbjörn Stjernberg
Wed
11-13
Thu
Tutoring
Elena Raviola
120509
9-11
120510
L3 Guest lecture: Technology in
organizational change
All
Martin Holmberg, GP
20
Mon
9-11
All
Fredrik Lavén
120514
Fri
L4 Translating organizational change
11-13
Seminar 1: Practicing change
All
9-11
L5 Culture in organizational change
All
120518
21
Tue
Elena Raviola
120522
Thu
9-11
All
Elena Raviola
120524
Thu
L6 Resistance and leadership in change
14-17
Tutoring
Elena Raviola
120524
G1
G2
22
Tue
11-13
Seminar 2: Discussing Change Management
14-17
Presentation of group task
120529
22
23
Thu
120531
Elena Raviola
Mon
Exam
120604
120825
Re-exam
All
Lecture 1 Perspectives of change
The aim of this lecture is to present a historical overview of different perspectives of change and change
management, but also different “lenses” one can use in order to understand change processes. Thus, the complex
and dynamic process of change are in focus.
Literature:
Dawson, Chapters 1-3
Lecture 2 Organizational development (OD) and long-term change
Literature:
Stjernberg, Torbjörn and Åke Philips (1993) Organizational Innovations in a long-term perspective: Legitimacy
and souls-if-fire as critical factors of change and viability. Human Relations 46(10): 1193Shani, Rami and Torbjörn Stjernberg (1995) The integration of change in organizations: alternative learning and
transformation mechanisms. Research in Organizational Change and Development, Vol. 8: 77-121.
Lecture 3 Technology in organizational change
In this lecture Martin Holmberg from the local newspaper Göteborgs Posten will present some of the
organizational changes that the newspaper has undertaken as a consequence to the spread of digital technologies
and changes in news consumption. Martin is leading the Digital Development Group at Göteborgs Posten, the
fourth largest newspaper in Sweden. GP is a pioneer newspaper in Sweden, with regard to web and especially
mobile services development. Thus, he will talk about the organizing of digital development at GP, focusing
especially on the challenges of bringing change in an old organization and putting together journalists, marketers
and technicians around digital development initiatives.
Literature:
Orlikowski, W. (1992) The duality of technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations.
Organization Science, 3(3): 398-427.
Lecture 4 Translating organizational change
In this lecture we will discuss two perspectives on change and innovation that are prominent within studies of
organization and management: the “diffusion model” and “translation model” (Latour, 1987).
In the past, studies of change in general and innovation in particular have predominantly followed one particular
framework: Their main focus lay with comparing the intentions of the actors participating in the change process
with the achieved results. However, during the past decade the translation model has gained a lot of interest - it
has become a fashionable concept - and many organizational scholars in Gothenburg are part of this movement.
From such a perspective change, change management and innovation have been treated as ideas, which, when
transformed into objects, circulate in and between organizations from one time/space to another (see e.g.
Czarniawska & Sevón, 1996). The main point here is that ideas do not diffuse. Instead of the transmission of the
same idea, which according to the diffusion model can merely be deflected or slowed down by friction, but
remains essentially the same, the translation model proposes a continuous transformation of the idea. In doing
so, the ideas contribute to the construction of many other things: new identities, new institutions, new products,
new practices, new technologies or new structures. There is no master plan for innovation and no initial energy
which moves a new technology or a new set of practices along a trajectory from Point A to Point B. There is no
automatic diffusion, but there are plenty of uncontrollable translations.
Literature:
Bergström, O. (2007) Translating socially responsible workforce reduction – A longitudinal study of workforce
reduction in a Swedish company. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 23: 384-405.
Nicolini, D. (2009) Medical innovation as a process of translation: A case from the field of telemedicine. British
Journal of Management.
Lecture 5 Culture in organizational change
The lecture focuses on organizational culture and its role in organizational change. It aims at discussing the
complex interplaying between organizational culture and change management. We will discuss different
perspectives on organizational culture, particular in relation to the political, symbolic and material dimensions
of organizational change.
Literature:
Meyerson, D. and Martin, J. (1987) Cultural Change: An Integration of Three Different Views. Journal of
Management Studies, Vol.24(6): 623-647.
Hatch, M.J, (1993) The Dynamics of Organizational Culture. The Academy of Management Review, 18(4): 657693.
Lecture 6 Resistance and leadership in change
The lecture focuses on the complexities of organizational change implementation. It aims at exploring how
change unfolds throughout organization, by looking at the same time at change and resistance to it and by
presenting different theoretical perspectives focusing on resistance to change. The lecture will also deal with
leadership in organizational change by discussing the multiple and varied role of leadership in organizing for
change from different perspectives, in particular in connection to resistance.
Literature
Alvesson, M. (1992) Leadership as social integrative action. A study of a computer consulting company.
Organization Studies, 13(2): 185-210.
Battilana, J. (2006) Agency and institutions: The enabling role of individuals’ social position. Organization,
13(5) 653-676.
Piderit, S.K. (2000) Rethinking resistance and recognizing ambivalence: A multidimensional view of attitudes
toward an organizational change. Academy of Management Review, 25(4): 783-794
Seminar 1: Practicing change
During the first seminar we will practice organizational change through a game. The instructions will
be given in class. This game will serve as a base of discussion in class.
Seminar 2: Discussing change management
For the second seminar, the students will be required to watch an online lecture on an issue of change
management (from a specific website whose address will be given to the students). Every student
should reflect on the connections between the lecture (observed online) and other theories and issues
discussed in the course. During the seminar students will discuss the main points of the lecture with
other students.
Grouptask:
Learning outcome 2,3 and 4 includes identifying organizational problems, critically analyse and evaluate change
processes in organizations.
This will be done through a “case study”. The students will work in groups of three.
Focus on one aspect/theme and seek for relevant literature in order to analyse the selected theme. The
aspect/theme should be illustrated with a case. The case can be a “real” change project or a case presented in
literature (e.g. a case study in a thesis or from a novel) or in media.
The group work will be presented in the end of the course both by handing in a written report (amount for 40%
of the final grading) and by an oral presentation.
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May 7, e-mail a draft (1/2 – 1 page) to Elena presenting an idea of what aspect your group will
address
May 21, e-mail a first version of the paper to Elena
May 30, e-mail the final version of paper to Kajsa and Elena
May 31, presentation of the paper
App. 20 000 characters (with blanks), text size 12 pts, 1,5 space (app. 8 pages).