Background Module Change Management 

Most organizations simply cannot sustain excellent performance unless they are capable of managing the paradoxical forces of continuity and change. This is also true on a more human level. People like to feel stable and yet survival demands change, thus the manager is faced with a paradox that is difficult to resolve to everyone’s satisfaction. Moreover, just as opposing atoms of change and stability can alter their own polarities, depending upon the context, people can perceive a single factor as an enabler in one instance and as a constraint in another. Therefore, people in positions to influence change must do so with utmost care, informed by best practice in the ways of change management as scholars and educators prepare students of management studies for the true complexity of change.

Purpose

The purpose of the module is to reflect on one’s own management practice based on the following three main topics: (1) Personal assumptions about what motivates people to change, (2) Assumptions underlying the involvement of people in change, and (3) Assumptions underlying the (combination of) strategic interventions to change unwanted dynamics.