BTEC Level 7 Managing Change Research Project
The Managing Change /
Project Management
assignment
Consider a change within your organisation that is happening now, or
has happened recently.
1. Taking it as a case study consider how well the change was
managed, and compare it with the taught models on how change
should ideally be managed. What was good, and what could have
been done better?
2. Then analyse the change management in terms of project
management and make recommendations as to how its management
could be improved using project management techniques. Finally,
show how you would have planned the project, using Gantt charts
etc, and explain how this would have helped.
Write up the above as a 3000 word report.
Part 1 of the assignment: – Managing Change
Your case study and analysis will need to include three areas
1) Explore the background to change affecting the current situation and the
organisation itself. This will be concerned with the issues that have made
the organisation consider the need for change. This could be internal – such
as a need for restructuring because the present structure does not meet the
needs of the market. Or it could be external, to match the needs of a
changing business environment that requires greater market flexibility, a
move away from a mechanistic approach – we always do it this way – to a
more organic approach – what does the market require. This could be driven
by changes in demography or economic changes. Strategies may have
John Andrewes and Chris Croft
www.chriscrofttraining.co.uk/content
BTEC Level 7 Managing Change Research Project
changed to meet new emergent markets, such as the East European labour
market or growth into the BRIC countries. Or it may be that the change
occurs because of changes in the product life cycle may mean a need to
introduce now areas of growth or other products and services may be in
decline.
2) You need to consider systems for understanding and involving others in
the process. Some of the following techniques could be used to analyse the
people involved:
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Stakeholder analysis
Cultural Webs
Different methods of communication
Management styles like tells/consults, and readiness to listen
Organisational development models – what structures does it have for
developing itself such as the management of ideas.
Does the organisation have any element of being a learning organisation
Finally were the staff ‘managed’? Did they have any involvement or
ownership of the decision making and implementation? Was there
enough consultation and did the organisation use their expert power? In
the implementation were the staff sufficiently empowered to deliver
the change?
3) Looking at models that are concerned with the implementation of change.
There are various ‘vehicles’ that may or may not be relevant in your
analysis of change. This section could be speculative – what if they had
approached things in a different way, the benefit of hindsight – such as
needing a different structure or communication system to make the change
work. Some of the models that you might consider would be:
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Are there bottlenecks in the organisation that restrict change – does it
need delayering or structural change.
Consider other forms of organisation such as Matrix models.
Forcefield analysis, unfreezing/refreezing
The change curve
Styles of management appropriate for the change – pull push or
Better use of empowerment and the talent of staff as a result of the
change.
The analysis could reflect on whether there was enough structure to the
change and whether they considered any resistance to the change by using
Lewin’s models. Also did it consider the whether the organisation was
suited to supporting the change using the Nadler and Tushman model.
Was there a vision of what the benefits of the change would be? Was there
a clear plan - or was progress in the form of unplanned steps and
consequences?
John Andrewes and Chris Croft
www.chriscrofttraining.co.uk/content
BTEC Level 7 Managing Change Research Project
Assessment Criteria for part 1
The final checklist will be whether you have covered the BTEC Assessment Criteria,
so you might want to bear the following in mind as you write your assignment.
For this module (first part of the assignment) these are:
Outcomes
1. Explore the background to
change affecting the current
organisation
2. Develop systems for
understanding and involving
others in the process of change
3. Plan to implement models for
ensuring ongoing change
Assessment criteria for a pass
To achieve a pass in each outcome the
assignment must demonstrate the ability
to: Discuss the background to
change that exists in today’s
economy
 Evaluate the strengths and
weaknesses of bureaucratic
organisations
 Compare alternative forms of
organisational development
 Develop systems to involve
appropriate stakeholders in the
introduction of change
 Analyse and evaluate these
systems
 Develop and adapt appropriate
models for change
 Plan and implement process
and outcomes
Part 2 of the assignment
This section covers three BTEC areas, which all MUST be mentioned in your
assignment, and they are as follows,
1) The development of a new product, service or process
This is about assessing the context of the project and a lot of this will be
covered in Outcome 1 in Change management. You don’t have to write this
twice! From the project management point of view it could involve project
definition, any primary or secondary sources of research you can draw on
from other similar projects, business case / cost justification, and how the
project will impact other areas or projects.
John Andrewes and Chris Croft
www.chriscrofttraining.co.uk/content
BTEC Level 7 Managing Change Research Project
2) Necessary resources
Were budgets and costs sufficiently analysed in conjunction with the change
you have examined? What about levels of, and efficiency of, resources –
skills, time, staff, cash flow, and equipment. Was there sufficient training?
What about workforce planning – availability of staff now and in the future?
Was there a resource profile done for the project. Are resources for
multiple projects planned in a bigger picture view?
3) Implementation of the product, service or process and the measures for
monitoring and evaluating success.
This section reviews all the key project management techniques. Your
answer should review whether they were included, and if they were how
well were they used? You need to recommend how you could relate and use
these project management techniques to better manage the change you
have described. The project management techniques that you could use
are,
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The likely lifecycle of the project and any added value it may bring
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How did it relate to the planning process – was it included in the
business plan / how did it fit with the strategy?
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Any contingency involved
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Risk analysis
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Implementation – any market testing or pilots.
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Project breakdown, network diagrams, Gantt charts etc.
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Any quality systems included
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HR factors how or if a team was set up for the project and how this was
done.
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Progress meetings, and corrective measures,
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Review of finished project, both immediately after completion and
then a while later to assess whether expected benefits were achieved.
* The items in italics will be covered in the project management module.
John Andrewes and Chris Croft
www.chriscrofttraining.co.uk/content
BTEC Level 7 Managing Change Research Project
Outcomes and assessment criteria for part 2: the project
Outcomes
Assessment criteria for a pass
To achieve a pass the assignment must
demonstrate an ability to,
1) Identify the development of
a new product, service or
process in terms of overall
profitability
* Develop a business case for a new
product, service or process. build
upon recent research – You will have
covered a lot of this in the 1st part in
the background to the change.
* Review current theoretical debate that
supports this business case.
Again most of this will be covered in
the background to the change.
* Incorporate into this business case
information on market
competitiveness and activity
Mostly covered in the background to
change
2) Calculate and plan for the
necessary resources required
for the project
* Identify and costs all materials,
equipment. Labour and other
resources required for developing the
product or process
* Identify and cost the training and
development of staff required
* Identify sources of all resources
required
3) Plan and agree the
implementation of the
product, service or process and
the measures for monitoring
and evaluating success
* Plan and agree the timescale for
management and implementation of
the project, service or process
* Plan and develop an appropriate
marketing strategy for this
implementation
* Develop appropriate measures to
monitor and evaluate progress
John Andrewes and Chris Croft
www.chriscrofttraining.co.uk/content