Course syllabus

Note: Changes may be made due to unforeseen circumstances. Last revision: 210406.

Course-PM

TEK660 Managing change in the construction industry lp4 VT21 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Technology Management and Economics, Division of Service Management and Logistics.

Contact details

Examiner and course responsible: Pernilla Gluch, pernilla.gluch@chalmers.se

Course assistant: Stina Månsson, stina.mansson@chalmers.se

Teachers: Pernilla Gluch, Ingrid Svensson, Petra Bosch-Sijtsema, Henrik Eriksson, Stina Månsson

Tutors: Pernilla Gluch, Ingrid Svensson, Petra Bosch-Sijtsema, Stina Månsson

Guest lecturers: Peter Fredriksson (Skanska), Mats Färnstrand (Core Change Management Consultant), Steve Cook (Norconsult), Anna Kadefors (KTH), Ulf Däversjö (Akademiska Hus), Daniella Troje (KTH), Kristina Gabrielii (SmartBuilt).

Administrative support (Ladok): Jenny Weijland, jenny.weijland@chalmers.se

Course purpose

The overall aim of the course is to train students to actively participate, as leaders and co-workers, in various organizational change processes in the construction industry. The course seeks to develop analytical skills required to manage change in complex situations. This involves raising the students' knowledge and stimulate a critical thinking related to organizational change theories, change management practices, continuous improvement and ethical conduct.

Course outline and schedule

TimeEdit

Location: The course will be given online. A link that give you access to a Zoom meeting for each scheduled lecture is continuously posted in the Canvas calendar.   

Tutoring will be carried out online. You make arrangements with your tutor on e-mail. Tutors are assigned after Workshop 1 on 24 March.

Course literature

Cameron and Green (2020) Making sense of change management, Kogan page. Available as e-book at Chalmers Library (you have to login with your CID to get access). Link: https://proxy.lib.chalmers.se/sso/skillport?context=145450 (Links to an external site.)

20-25 academic articles related to lectures (available in Chalmers Library’s databases). Reading list.

Course literature also includes handouts from lectures continuously posted on Canvas.

Additional readings for your project work.

Course design

The course consists of: 

• 11 lectures
• 5 guest lectures
• 2 workshops (compulsory)
• 2 exercises
• a major part of the course is a project assignment in groups including writing a research report and an oral presentation (compulsory)
• 3 tutor meetings related to the project work

Changes made since the last occasion

• Change management theories presented earlier in the course to better support the project work.
• The continuous improvement element in the course have been revised to better align with the course objectives.
• Number of words in research report is extended from max 4000 words to 5000 excl references.
• Longer time for oral exam.
• Deadlines for hand-ins are set within working hours (8.00-18.00).

Learning objectives

• Define, describe, review and interrelate core theories on organizational change processes
• Describe and discuss phenomenon and/or problems related to change management in the construction sector
• Describe and apply management practices related to organizational change and continuous improvement, eg. ISO9001
• Develop analytical skills required to manage change in complex situations
• Have a sustainable and ethical understanding and approach to organizational change
• Discuss and critically engage with the theoretical ideas of other writers
• Assess the quality of existing research within the subject of organizational change
• Collect, analyze, assemble and contrast various literature and theories on organizational change in relation empirical examples from the construction sector
• Critically review and discuss peer students work
• Read and write academic texts
• Assemble, present and discuss academic work

Project assignment

A large part of the course is a project assignment in groups. The project work contains five compulsory activities:

1) A research report written in groups of 2-3 students.  

2) Start-up workshop (24 March)

3) Peer group discussions (12 May).

4) Final presentation (26 May)

5) Individual reflection on the project work.  

The research report shall be within 4-5000 words excl references, written in Word format and include:

• Title
• Well-motivated problem statement
• Method/approach
• Results and answers to the problem by using concepts, frameworks and theories covered by the course.
• Discuss and suggest solutions for change
• Literature references

Examination

The students are expected to be main drivers of their own learning. The keywords of the course are participation, responsibility and commitment. 

The examination is based on an oral exam, a research report written in small groups, a group presentation and an individual reflection exercise. In addition, active participation in guest lectures and exercises can affect the final grade.

The oral exam tests your theoretical knowledge within the subject of change management. To prepare for the exam you will get a list of 20-25 questions appr. 3 weeks before the exam.

Grade limits:

• Grade 3: 25 – 39
• Grade 4: 40 – 53
• Grade 5: 54 – 65

Your course grade will be based on the sum of your points on six different course elements as described below.

Course elements	Scales Max points	Assessment criteria	Compulsory/ optional
Research report	25	Demonstrated understanding of the area of change management and sound argumentation for given standpoints. Ability to assess the quality of existing research within the subject of organizational change Shown ability to discuss and critically engage with the ideas of other writers Shown ability to collect, analyze, assemble and contrast various literature and theories on organizational change in relation empirical examples from the construction sector Support by empirical data (eg. interviews, survey, documents, trade press articles, documents) Critical evaluation and insight. Coherence – a clear and logical flow in text- and clarity in presentation.	Compulsory Min 12 for pass
Oral exam	10	Demonstrated understanding of the subject in hand with sound argumentation for given standpoints. Active participation in follow-up discussions	Compulsory Min 5 for pass
Final presentation	10	Clarity in presentation Demonstrated communication skills Critically review and discuss peer students’ work	Compulsory Min 5 for pass
Individual reflection	6	Ability to summarize the project work process Ability to describe experiences gained from the project work process Ability to reflect on future personal learnings from the project	Compulsory Min 3 for pass
Guest lecture reflections	10	Ability to summarize the guest lecture content Ability to summarize the main personal learnings from the guest lecture	Optional: Bonuspoints, max 2p/lecture
Exercise reflection	4	Ability to summarize the exercise content Ability to summarize the main personal learnings from the exercise	Optional: Bonuspoints, max 2p/exercise