Department of Applied Information Technology
The Volgenau School of Engineering
George Mason University
Course Syllabus: IT 697.001 Leading Organizations Through Change
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Details: IT 697, Section 001, 3 Credits – CRN: 79627. Fall 2013 (Asynchronous Format)
Instructor: Steven P. Bucci, Ph.D. (buccisp@gmail.com; (202)-439-0365)
Office Hours: Email for an Appointment
GTA: NA
Catalog Description:
IT 697.001. Leading Organizations Through Change (3:0:0)
Prerequisite: Registered student in MS, Applied IT or by Instructor’s permission
This course introduces students who understand fundamentals of unit leadership to the
critical tools for leading organizations through sustainable change. Through selected
readings, discussions, and team projects, students learn how to prepare the
organization, plan the details, execute a change process across an organization and
measure the plan’s effectiveness and the change it brings to achieve continuous
improvement. The asynchronous format will allow for maximum interchange between
the students and professor, and between the students themselves.
Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, students will:
 Know the essential elements of leading organizations through sustainable change,
 Understand how to mobilize an organization.
 Know how to frame and sustain in an organization, a sense of urgency.
 Be capable of aligning all dimensions of an organization to create a culture of
continuous, healthy change.
Required Texts:
 Kotter, John P., Leading Change, Harvard Business School Press, 2011, ISBN:
978-0-87584-747-4 (ISBN 13)
 Blanchard, Ken. Who Killed Change. Polvera Publishing. 2009 ISBN: 978-0-06177893-3
 Forbes, Steve and Prevas, John. Power, Ambition, and Glory. Crown Business.
2009. ISBN: 978-0-307-40844-0
Course Structure: The course is an asynchronous online dialogue format. Students are
expected to have prepared all materials for each class so that they can actively and
enthusiastically participate in the on line discussion each week.
Grading:
Participation
Assignments
Total
75%
25%
100%
Rquinn1@gmu.edu; (703) 993-3565
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The numerical score translates to a letter grade using the following scale:
A = 94 – 100
A- = 90 – 93
B+ = 85 – 89
B = 80 – 85
C+ = 75 – 79
C = 74 – 70. 69 and below is Unsatisfactory.
Attendance: Virtual class attendance is required and noted. If you are unable to
participate in a given week, or expect to be significantly delayed in your postings, please
email the Instructor explaining the reason. It would also be appropriate to email
teammates if it involves one of the group projects.
Assignments: All assignments are posted on the class website (courses.gmu.edu), and
sent to Dr. Bucci. All assignment submissions must be delivered though that site,
unless specifically directed by Instructor. All will be created using MS Office 2007,
unless otherwise directed by Instructor.
Questions: All questions should be asked and resolved sometime during the week of
each class, especially those concerning upcoming class assignments. Those involving
personal matters should be addressed in private by appointment with Instructor or
through Email.
Dress: N/A.
Class Preparation: Students are expected to be prepared for each class discussion.
Class format is an Asynchronous online Socratic Dialog so your contribution is a vital
ingredient in the class success. Be prepared, be enthusiastic, volunteer; ask
questions.
Each Sunday throughout the semester, one or more online discussion questions will be posted
on the Blackboard class site. Students will post written responses to these weekly forum
questions. You are required to make one (1) Initial Response for each Discussion Question and
respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts for each Discussion Question. The forum
responses can be viewed by other students as well as by the instructor.
Initial Responses should be posted by 11:59 PM each Thursday to allow time for your
colleagues to consider and adequately respond before the end of the week. If there are several
questions posted by the instructor, one paragraph containing four to five well-crafted sentences
should be sufficient to answer one main question. More may be required to adequately respond
to the question. Students, who believe they will be making their initial post after the Wednesday
deadline, need to inform the professor before that day. Follow Up posts are more free form and
conversational than the Initial Responses. Conciseness is valued but they must be substantive
and edited to avoid superfluity.
Make it a routine to draft and save your Initial and Follow-Up responses to your personal
computer before posting in the class. All weekly online assignments are due by 11:59 PM on the
last day of each school week (Sundays). While new forum Discussion questions based on the
week's assigned readings will be posted each Sunday, the online forum discussions of a previous
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week may well continue for several weeks, or indeed through the entire semester. The issues we
will examine deserve serious attention and our discussions of them will not be limited to only
one week.
The Blackboard online environment permits fellow classmates to engage in a virtual dialogue –
to discuss the readings and the content of the postings, to respond to previous postings, to pose
additional questions, and to request clarification or further information about the responses
others have given. This virtual dialog is an essential component of the course.
The DISCUSSIONS area in your online class contains the weekly forum discussion questions
posted by the instructor, and students Initial and Follow-up posts. The DISCUSSIONS area is
where the class virtual dialogue is established. Students should engage each other in a spirited
online debate and dialogue, by asking questions and/or by making appropriate comments and
observations.
Students are encouraged to express their point of view as well as to respect the points of view
expressed by others. They should bring to bear the knowledge, expertise and practical
experience they have gained outside the virtual classroom, and they should always provide
evidence to support the positions they take and / or the assertions they make.
Regular attendance in the online forum is required. Regular attendance means that students
should visit the course's Blackboard site frequently through the week and should post relevant
comments and observations on a regular basis. The number of times you log into the class
weighs more heavily than the length of time you stay logged on. Students who are habitually late
in posting, will likely be less involved in the program and will probably have their overall course
grade lowered. Attendance and active participation are key components of the final grade
assessment.
Your participation in this course is contingent upon your compliance in keeping all
discussions, class materials and class related activities confidential. Posts that are
made in the Discussion Board or chats (if held) are not to be discussed with anyone
else outside of the class.
Team Work: Two of the Projects are done in teams. Your participation in the team’s
work is a critical factor of your grade and your team’s success. Conflicts should be
resolved quickly through team leadership and the Instructor, if necessary. This is a
leadership course, use these opportunities to lead!
Ethical Integrity: We seek to educate students to be IT leaders of ethical integrity.
Ensure all your work is your own thought unless properly cited. Lying and plagiarism
are serious breeches; they will be resolved under Mason policy
(http://academicintegrity.gmu.edu/honorcode/).
Office of Disability Services: If you are a student with a disability and you need
academic accommodations, please see instructor and contact the Office of Disability
Services (703) 993-2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through the
ODS (http://www2.gmu.edu/depts/unilife/ods//).
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Format for written products: All written papers will follow the same basic structure.
- No separate title page.
- At the Top Left: Name(s), with the Title below it.
- At the top right, IT 697.
- Single spaced; - Indent for paragraphs
- Use parenthetical citations, (for example “Bucci, pg 147”), with the full citation for the
source in a bibliography on a separate page at the end of the paper. The bibliography
is not included in the page count.
- Write in short concise sentences; - Double check your spelling and grammar (DO NOT
depend solely on Spell / Grammar Check)
- Always have an introduction that says what you want to communicate and sets the
stage. - Always have a conclusion that ties it all together at the end; a “therefore…”
- It is fine to state your opinions, but you must show the evidence that leads you to that
point
Graded Projects (The Professor will assign the teams):
Project # 1 (Lsn #5)– A Case of Organizational Failure: Pick a business case where a
major change failed. (Individual Project) – No more than a 2 page paper.
1. State the situation: “Company A did X, Y, and Z in 2004 and the result was …”
Add a sentence or two as historical background.
2. Identify the Problems: “The Major errors or problems in this change attempt were
1, 2, and 3.”
3. Identify Alternative actions: “The leaders of Company A should have considered
I, II, and III to have better addressed the changes they attempted.”
4. Conclusion: “This case clearly shows how the failure of leaders to properly
address key issues during organizational change can lead to an inability to reach
the goals of the change.
Project # 2 (Lsn # 10) – Leadership Challenges In History: Read the sections of
Forbes & Prevas assigned to your group and produce a 3-4 page paper Answer the
following questions:
1. What were the keys to success (or failure) of the historic figure? Give examples
from the readings or from your own research.
2. Elaborate on at least one business example that makes your point. Use one of
the examples given in the readings, or chose your own.
Readings: Tm 1 – pp 13 – 47, Tm 2 – pp 51 – 99, Tm 3 – pp 51 – 63, 100 – 140,
Tm 4 – pp 143 – 189, Tm 5 – pp 193 – 251, Tm 6 – pp 193 – 211, 252 – 279
Project # 3 (Lsn # 14) – You Are Now In Charge: Plan a Merger Using Kotter as a
guide. Produce a 5 page Team paper. Pick two companies that would realistically
merge (same industry, size comparison, complimentary skills, etc)
1. Introduction of the two companies – culture, purpose, etc (approx. 1 page)
2. Lay out a plan on how you will walk through Kotter’s 8 steps to bring about a
successful merger (approx. 3 pages)
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3. Conclusion on the usefulness of Kotter’s model in the real world. (approx. 1
page)
SCHEDULE
Class
1 / 26
Aug
2/ 2 Sep
3/
8 Sep
4/
15 Sep
5/
22 Sep
6/
29 Sep
7/
6 Oct
8/
13 Oct
9/
20 Oct
10 /
27 Oct
11 /
3 Nov
12 /
10 Nov
TOPICS
Introductions,
Syllabus
Change Today
“Pop” Change
Leadership
Why Change
Fails
Project #1
Organizational
Failure
Urgency:
The Key
Leaders in the
Real World
Guiding
Coalitions
Vision &
Strategy /
Communicating
the Vision
Project # 2
Things Do Not
Change Much:
Tm paper
Empowerment
& Short Term
Goals
Consolidating
Gains & Using
Culture
13 /
17 Nov
The Future
14 /
Final Project
You Are In
Charge: Plan a
Merger.
Team Paper
1 Dec
COLLATERALS
Scan Books
Scan Blanchard
Review Blanchard
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READINGS
Syllabus
Thought Piece (TBD)
Read Blanchard pp 126144
Kotter: Chps 1-2
ASSIGNMENT
Introduce yourselves in the
Student Lounge.
Questions
Questions
Questions
Questions
None
2 page paper
Kotter: Chap 3
Questions
Harvard Business Review
articles
Kotter Chap 4
Questions
Kotter Chap 5-6
Questions
Selected Sections from
Forbes & Prevas
Questions
3-4 page Team paper
Kotter: Chp 7-8
Questions
Kotter: Chp 9-10
Questions
Kotter: Chp 11- 12
Course Evaluation
Questions
5 page Team Paper on a
Merger
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