MGMT-537: Organization Development Foundation

MGMT-537: Organization Development Foundation

Course Description and Prerequisites

Students will be introduced to the foundational ideas of organization development (OD) theory, informed by historical roots and current strategies. Case study analysis and discussion reveal fundamental concepts of OD; examination of change tools and strategies form a baseline understanding of change principles and approaches. Learning is both theoretical and applied and students will form the basis for a change in their context, including identifying stakeholders and sponsorship, information gathering methods, feedback approaches, and handling complexity.

Prerequisites: none

Student-Centered Learning Outcomes

Students will describe and compare different approaches to organization development over time; discuss case studies and examples to demonstrate the application of theory to practice; employ OD techniques for a simulated change experience to enhance team cohesion and responsive leadership skills; and practice and modify techniques for facilitating organizational change sessions.

 

Textbook(s) and Technology Requirements

Required Texts

e-book freely available at the Champlain College library:

Organizational Development: A Practitioner’s Guide for OD and HR, Second Edition, (Links to an external site.)

Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge, Linda Holbeche, Pub. Kogan Page, 2015,  ISBN: 9780749470173

Harvard Coursepack Case Study Material (Required):

To create an account with Harvard Business Publishing, go to https://hbsp.harvard.edu/registration (Links to an external site.)

After you have registered, you can access the coursepack here: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/710726 (Links to an external site.). This link is unique to this course. You may wish to bookmark this site for quick access throughout the semester.  Students will purchase the coursepack directly from HBSP.

 

Topic Outline

• Week 1 – What is Organization Development?
• Week 2 – Key Organization Development Theories
• Week 3 – The Organization Development Process
  – Part 1 (The Entry, Contracting, and the Diagnostic Phases)
• Week 4 – The Organizational Development Process
  – Part 2 (The Intervention and Evaluation Phases)
• Week 5 – Change
• Week 6 – Team Development
• Week 7 – Developing Leadership
• Week 8 – Case Study – WestJet: Building a High-Engagement Culture

Methods of Assessment

Students will be assessed through participation in weekly discussion forums and various types of individual and/or group assignments. Assignments will include scholarly literature reviews and writing on historic and current examples of OD, analyzing examples of interventions, and designing short-term and/or long-term approaches to change work utilizing different tools to show alignment with different diagnosed needs.

Your final grade will be determined based on:

Graded Elements	Percentage
Discussions	35%
Weekly Assignments	40%
Case Study	25%
Total	100%
Extra Credit Course Evaluation	1%

 

Discussions

Weekly discussions are an integral part of learning at Champlain College and represent a significant portion of a student’s overall grade. In order to be successful, students should:

1. Post a thorough, well-crafted initial response that fully addresses and develops all aspects of the prompt by the due date.
2. Engage substantively throughout the discussion period by responding to others with questions or comments that demonstrate interest, build upon the ideas of others, and encourage elaboration.
3. Apply and integrate concepts from this course as well as from quality resources including journals, websites, readings from another class, relevant work or life experience, etc.
4. Demonstrate attention to style, structure, grammar, etiquette, and proper citation of references to maintain academic integrity.

Discussion grades are determined using the rubric below. The descriptions show what exemplary work looks like for each aspect of an overall discussion.

 

Assignments

Graduate Assignment Rubric
Criteria	Ratings				Pts
Appropriate and Relevant Experience	Submission is articulate and relevant to course learning objectives. The submission provides clear evidence from the course readings and lecture information that demonstrate sound interpretation and reasoning. All opinion-based comments relate to the assignment and are fully supported by evidence from the course resources and research. 30.0 pts	Submission is articulate and is generally relevant to course learning objectives; Submission may lack a few appropriate details, but most required elements are addressed. The submission provides some evidence from course readings and lecture information but may include some flawed logic in justifying the answers. Opinion-based comments generally relate to the discussion but may not be fully supported by evidence from course resources /research. 15.0 pts	Submission is not particularly relevant to course learning objectives; Submission is difficult to interpret and lack significant detail. Several required elements are missing. Submission is weak and fails to provide sufficient and accurate evidence from the course readings and lecture information in justifying the answers. Opinion-based comments are generally not relevant and/or not supported by evidence. 12.0 pts	Fails to answer the directive being asked. OR No response. 0.0 pts	30.0pts
Innovation and Critical Thinking	Submission expands the analysis beyond the scope of presented materials by providing evidence of reflection and insight, as well as the integration of original ideas. The submission provides solutions or positions based on well-supported conclusions (i.e. evaluated relative to the issues of the assignment); Submission explores sound ideas in nontraditional ways. Submission recognizes the interrelatedness of stakeholders and identify that are crucial to the analysis and clearly address alternative points of view through integration of various perspectives. 50.0 pts	Submission attempts to expand the analysis beyond the scope of presented materials by including some evidence of original thinking but contain mostly routine ideas. The submission proposes some unique combination of solutions for addressing the issues of the assignment but may lack some supported conclusions; Submission attempt to present new ideas; Submission begin to explore ideas in a new or different way. Submission tentatively addresses alternative points of view, although aspects are not fully developed or supported. 40.0 pts	Submission adopts a single, limited, and/or obvious view with no evidence of original thinking; Submission includes only the most apparent ideas. Submission proposes obvious solutions for addressing the issues of the assignment with little support provided for any conclusions drawn; Submission discuss ideas in a more conventional manner with little or no creativity. The submission fails to identify significant relationships and instead focus on a single point of view with little or no integration of various perspectives. 30.0 pts	Fails to answer the directive being asked. OR No response. 0.0 pts	50.0 pts
Professional Language and Style	Submission is free of spelling and grammar errors Language of submission clearly and effectively communicates ideas. The submission style is consistently professional. APA style is used for references and contains no errors. 10.0 pts	Submission contains some grammatical and/or spelling and punctuation errors that do not detract from the overall paper. Language of Submission generally communicates intended ideas, although occasionally is awkward or vague. Submission style may be inconsistent but generally is professional. APA style is used for references but contains significant errors. 7.0 pts	Submission contains multiple significant errors in grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation that detract substantially from the paper and obscure the intended meaning. Language of Submission is very difficult to follow and fails to clearly communicate ideas. Response style is poor, inconsistent and/or lacks professional voice. APA style is not used for references. Requirement 5.0 pts	Fails to answer the directive being asked. OR No response. 0.0 pts	10.0 pts
Overall outcome	Excellent 10.0 pts	Good 7.0 pts	Fair 4.0 pts	Poor 2.0 pts	10.0 pts
				Total Points:	100.0

 

Student Resources & Policies

Academic Honesty Policy

Champlain College students are expected to be familiar with and adhere to the College’s policy for Academic Honesty. (Links to an external site.) Academic honesty entails creating original assignments, using your own words, and when using the words and ideas of others, documenting those sources using the method specified in this course. Please consult with your instructor if you are in doubt. Violations of the policy could result in a grade of F on the assignment or in the course as well as dismissal from the College.