Managing Strategic Change

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

3 hours per week plus a minimum of 6 hours per week in self directed study.

MGMT20001 Organisational Behaviour

None

Please refer to Prerequisites and Corequisites.

None

For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements for this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject explores different models of strategy making and examines some of the difficulties involved in managing strategic change. Traditional models see strategy making as a straightforward, rational, 'top-down' process. Empirical work shows, however, that the formulation and implementation of strategies is a complex process, which is affected by political, cognitive, and contextual factors. Top managers can formulate a detailed strategic plan; but plans are not always put into practice nor are the plans that are put into practice necessarily successful. The subject commences by reviewing traditional models of strategy making where strategies are formed to derive a competitive advantage that enables the organisation to respond to environmental threats and opportunities. Students will then be introduced to other models, including institutional, ecological, competitive, value-driven and critical perspectives, to explore how strategic change is managed.

• Examine and understand different approaches to strategic change and their underlying assumptions and implications
• Analyse and evaluate the underlying assumptions and implications for practice of the different approaches
• Apply different theories to real and hypothetical situations through the use of case studies

• A take home end-of-semester examination (60%)
• Team-based assignments totalling not more than 4000 words per person to be finalised by week 10 (40%)

You will be advised of prescribed texts by your lecturer.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Arts
• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

• High level of development: oral communication; written communication; problem solving; application of theory to practice; interpretation and analysis; critical thinking; synthesis of data and other information; accessing data and other information from a range of sources; receptiveness to alternative ideas.

• Moderate level of development: collaborative learning; team work.

• Some level of development: evaluation of data and other information; use of computer software.