MGOB865: Leading Change
Office hours – by appointment
Office: Dean College
Phone: 978-897-4562
wgobrien@live.com
Course Overview:
This course examines the nature and process of organizational change in the contemporary
business environment and its importance to business results. It focuses on the challenges posed
by managing both planned and unplanned change. We will look at successful change as a
process involving organizational strategy, culture, people, structure and technology as well as
individual, interpersonal and organizational processes and dynamics. We will pay particular
attention to assessing the need for change, developing change strategies, implementing those
strategies, overcoming resistance to change within the organization, and assessing the impact of
change on the organization, its members, and other stakeholders.
We will employ discussion, case analysis and decision-making simulations; e.g., role-playing.
Students will develop requisite change agent skills and capabilities as well as an understanding
of the technical, organizational and competitive dynamics associated with change.
Application areas include such initiatives as:
 Change required for major corporate initiatives:
o Quality; e.g., TQM or Six Sigma
o Lean production
o Ethical behavior
o Sustainability
 IT-Based Process Change; e.g., ERP implementation
 Restructuring
 Mergers & Acquisitions
Learning Objectives:
By applying and integrating the knowledge, skills, and attitudes acquired in the course to a realworld business problem, students will achieve the following learning objectives:
Knowledge

Understanding of the principles, best practices and processes in change management

Comprehension of the business case for change within organizations.

Fluency with models for developing, implementing, and evaluating policies and programs
in support of change.
Skills

Analyze key factors relating to the success or failure of major initiatives involving
change.

Synthesize large volumes of information to identify key issues and risks as well as to
develop strategies for managing these risks thoughtfully.
Attitudes

Appreciation of the need for leadership and functional collaboration in order for
organizations to succeed.

Appetite for investigating and addressing complex problems in an ethical and broadminded manner.

Recognition of the global demand for change in individuals as well as corporate business
practices to preserve the environment for future generations.
Texts:
Kotter, John P. (1996), Leading Change, Cambridge, MA, Harvard Business School Press.
Articles & Cases:









Jim Collins, "Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve,"
Harvard Business Review (reprinted July-August 2005). HBSP No. 5831
Eric Abrahamson, "Change Without Pain," Harvard Business Review (July-August
2000), HBSP No. 6498
Robert Kaplan and Eric Norton, "New Strategy Without Disrupting Your Organization,"
Harvard Business Review (March 2006), HBSP No. R0603G "
John Smithers at Sigtek." HBS Case No. 491-035
"Sears Auto Centers," HBS Case No. 394-009
"Iggy's Bread of the World," HBS Case No. 801-292
“Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Strategy”, HBS Product#: OIT71
"Andrea Jung: Empowering Avon Women," HBS Case No. 406-095
"Gillette Singapore: Managing Global Business Integration on the Ground," HBS
Case No. 897-102
Recommended Reading:
Esther Cameron, Mike Green, (2004) Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete
Guide to the Models, Tools & Techniques of Organizational Change, Sterling, VA, Kogan
Page Limited
Noel M. Tichy (1986, 1990) The Transformational Leader… New York: John W. Wiley & Sons
University Disability Statement
Suffolk University is dedicated to a full university education for all its students and
ensures that all students have access to university services. If you have a learning,
physical, medical, or psychiatric disability that may impact your coursework, and are
seeking classroom accommodations under the American with Disabilities Act, you are
required to 1) meet with your instructor to discuss possible needs, and 2) register with the
Dean of Students Office, 73 Tremont Street, 12th floor, 617-573-8239. The instructor
must receive verification from the Dean of Students Office before accommodations are
granted. All information and documentation is confidential.
Academic Dishonesty
University policies regarding student conduct as specified in your Student’s Handbook
apply. In particular, please note that you are expected to follow an honor code whereby
class members are invited to study and prepare together for most aspects of the course.
However, where individual effort is expected, it must be unique for each person and
without consultation. You may receive help on English grammar and syntax, but the final
written product must be entirely your own written work. Please consult citation guides,
cite thoroughly, and give credit where credit is due.
Evaluation and Grading:
Grades will be determined on the following basis:
Cases (6)
Class Preparation, Attendance & Contribution
Team-based Project
Total:
30%
20%
50%
100%
Case Write-ups:
Each case write-up should consist of a maximum of two typed, double-spaced pages of narrative
in 12-point font. The “8 Step Assessment Tool” should be used to determine areas that have been
or need to be addressed in the case. It should be attached as an exhibit.
Other exhibits in the form of calculations, tables, charts, graphs, etc., may be added to the twopage narrative to enhance your discussion. However, these exhibits should not be in the form of
prose extensions of your narrative.
LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Class Preparation, Attendance & Contribution:
To achieve the course goals and learning objectives outlined above, it is essential that each student:
 be prepared for class; i.e., has done the assigned readings, etc.
 arrive to class on time and
 contribute to class discussion
Each student will be graded at the end of the semester in terms of the quality and quantity of his/her
contribution to class discussions, etc. Class preparation, attendance and contribution are worth three
points per class toward your final grade.
Class contribution will be reported and verified at the end of each class. On the back of each
student’s name card is a table with the number for each class session. Reporting will be
accomplished by the student placing a check mark for the class verifying that he/she: was prepared
for class; i.e., has done the assigned readings, etc., arrived on time, and contributed to class
discussion.
On the other hand, if a student is late for class or called upon and it is clear that he/she is unprepared,
this will be recorded by the lecturer and reflected in the student’s final grade.
Lastly, laptops will not be required during class. Therefore, class will begin when all laptops are
closed.
PLEASE COME PREPARED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CLASS DISCUSSION.
Team-based Project – Change Management Plan & Presentation:
2-3 person teams, students will develop a plan for an initiative focused on change management for a
corporation, non-profit organization or municipality. The team is to focus on an organization that is
planning to execute a business initiative requiring change management.
Objectives of the project are to:
- Apply the knowledge gained in the course to an organizational setting
- Accelerate development of the skills outlined above
- Provide material for study in future delivery of this course
The deliverables of team-based project will be a Change Management Plan (CMP) and an oral
presentation of the plan to the class. The organization selected for the project may be a local,
national or global company or not-for-profit organization. Below is described the process to be used
in development of the CMP.
The CMP should consist of a maximum of fifteen typed, double-spaced pages of narrative in
12-point font.
Below are listed the projects and team members:
Home Depot
Project
Team
Members
Kristy Muccini
Magda Marczyk
Raytheon SAP
Implementation
Jeff Grandmaison
Bill Queenan
United Way
Marie Peeler
The team is required to use the process and structure below.
Change Management Plan
1. Purpose
a. The purpose of the Project is to have student teams apply knowledge about
executive leadership and management to an actual organization. This
project requires students: I) to assess the leadership climate of an
organization; 2) to diagnose problematic areas; 3) to plan changes in
leaders, their groups, and the situations they find themselves in, and 4) to
plan for follow-up evaluation of their proposals. The expected output is
Change Management Plan (CMP), broadly organized as shown below.
b. Students are required to assess one or more aspects of a company's
executive management system using the “8 Step Assessment Tool” to
guide analysis. The tool is available on the Blackboard.
Teams of students or a committee of the whole in small classes will
perform this assessment. Resulting CMPs are to be objective in nature,
and supported by theory, research publications, and observation. The study
must be performed from a positive point of view that seeks improved
performance, rather than simply pointing out flaws without
recommendations for improvement.
c. Your purpose is to create a useful CMP that could be, and may be,
implemented. The team may select a real organization/situation, or a case
study provided by the professor.
d. The CMP may focus on an entire company, or on one of its primary
functional areas such as operations, marketing, logistics, finance, HR, or
IT. If a functional area is chosen, particular emphasis must be placed on
practical integration of your CMP with other units at the same level. Do
not go below the vice-presidential level when building the action portion
of your CMP.
e. Before proceeding with your term project, coordinate your topic selection
with the professor. Additionally, the professor may ask teams to provide
brief progress reports during the course.
2. Format
a. Setting the problem. Describe the problem you have chosen to study, and
list the three or four critical issues that must be solved to fix the problem.
In this section, you are charged with initially "setting the problem," to
include identifying its measures, and its short and long-term effects. Be
sure to use the 8 Step Assessment Tool to structure your response. If you
find no information about a specific element, you may either say no
information is available, or cite a theory to support the probability of a
certain element occurring. For example, if low quality, poor performance,
or high costs are noted, one may cite an observation that employee
confidence in the plan may be quite low.
b. Critical Assessment. The intent of this section is to analyze the issues,
integrate information needed to solve the problem, and present your wellsupported opinion on the topic. Most importantly, it should conclude with
the ramifications of your observations, and an opinion on the best decision
to be made. Quality and depth of thought, as well as the need for a
succinct, organized presentation, should drive length. Consider yourself to
be a consultant whose fee depends on both convincing a CEO/Board of
Directors, yet not wasting their valuable time. Clarity of thought, brevity
of expression, and simplicity of recommended actions are desirable.
c. CMP Presentation. In this section, you are to present your detailed plan
to correct organizational problems you encountered in your research.
Here, the key is to take a long-range, yet pragmatic, position. Again, use
the 8 Step Assessment Tool as your standard. If you have already used the
tool, you will know immediately which deficiencies need to be addressed
within the overall context of your assessment. Be sure to justify each
element of your recommendations since assertions are not considered
sound bases for executive decision-making.
3. Grading Criteria
a. 30%: Setting the problem
1. Did you identify the important (not trivial) factors contributing to
"the problem” by using the 8 Step Assessment Tool?
2. Did you describe “the problem” clearly
3. Did you formulate 2-4 issue questions whose answers would help
solve "the problem?"
4. Did you identify measures & standards that must be met to solve
"the problem?"
5. Did you support your observations with appropriate theory and
facts?
b. 30%: Critical Assessment
1. Did you use broad management thinking & consider all relevant
aspects of the problem?
2. Is your approach consistent with the elements of Kotter’s 8
steps?
3. Are your recommendations pragmatic in light of the
organization's leadership, its culture, and the constraints of
resources, ethics, law, and competition?
c. 40%: Oral Presentation
1. Does the paper follow a logical format?
2. Is it clear and succinct?
3. Are you specific?
4. Are there spelling, grammatical or typing errors?
5. Did you incorporate professional presentation tools; e.g.,
PowerPoint?
Attribution:
This syllabus is based on the valuable work done by Andrew McLean, Adjunct Professor
of Management at Bentley College, in the course entitled “Managing Organizational
Change”. The course has been modified to focus on business results derived from
successful change management.
Class
Date
Discussion
Readings & Assignments in Preparation for Class
Topics
June
7/11
1
9
AM
>
5 PM
7/18
2
9
AM
>
5 PM
7/25
3
9
AM
>
5 PM
8/1
4
9
AM
>
5 PM
5
8/2
9
AM
>
Noon
Assignments
Due
It is essential that you read Leading Change by John P. Kotter and submit prior to July
11th the analyses of two cases listed below for class #1 These two cases = 10% of your
final grade.
Course
Introduction:
 Introductions
 Syllabus
 Texts
 Projects
 Reasons for
failure
 Kotter &
Audios
 Case
discussion
 Next class
Leadership:
 Tichy
 Collins
 Case
discussion

Leading Change by John P. Kotter

"Sears Auto Centers," HBS Case No. 394-009

John Smithers at Sigtek." HBS Case No. 491-035




The Transformational Leader by Noel M. Tichy
Jim Collins, "Level 5 Leadership..”
James C. Collins, “Building Your Company’s Vision”
"Andrea Jung: Empowering Avon Women," HBS Case
No. 406-095
"Iggy's Bread of the World," HBS Case No. 801-292
Cameron & Green – Chapter #4 (Leadership) – Peter
Senge
Change Without Pain, Eric Abrahamson
"Gillette Singapore: Managing Global Business
Integration on the Ground”
“Wal-Mart's Sustainability Strategy”


Planning &
Strategy
 Abrahamson
 “The 11th
Hour”
 ERM Model
 Case
discussion
Executing
Strategy:
 Performance
Management
 Balanced
Scorecard
 Teams
 Project
Management
 Wow Project





New Strategy Without Disrupting Your Organization,
Robert Kaplan and Eric Norton
Cameron & Green – Chapter #2 (Team Change)
Project Managers as Change Agents
The Wow Project, Tom Peters
Presentations of
Change Mgmt.
Plans (CMP)



Home Depot
Raytheon SAP Implementation
United Way

www.erm.com
Case
analyses for
both Sears
and Sigtek
Case
analyses for
both Avon
and Iggy’s
Bread
Case
analyses for
both Gillette
& Wal-Mart
CMP:
Statement of
Problem

Performance Management: Balanced Scorecard
www.thepalladiumgroup.com/about/hof/Pages/overview.aspx

Submit
Problem
Definition
for CMPs
Change
Management
Plans:
45 minutes
each