Course syllabus

Course-PM

TEK660 Managing change in the construction industry lp4 VT25 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the Department of Technology Management and Economics, Division of Innovation and R&D Management, Vera Sandbergs allé 8, Vasa, Johanneberg campus.                          

Contact details

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

Course assistent: Dominika Kłopotek (DK), dominika.kloptek@chalmers.se

Main teachers: Pernilla Gluch, Petra Bosch-Sijtsema (PB), Ida Gremyr (IG)

Supervisors: Pernilla Gluch, Petra Bosch-Sijtsema, Dominika Kłopotek

Other lecturers from academia and industry: Jan Lenning (Chalmers), Peter Fredriksson (Skanska), Mats Färnstrand (Change management consultant, Kvadrat), Elisabet Stadler (Peab), Anna Kadefors (KTH), Ulf Däversjö (Akademiska Hus).

Ladok administrator: 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.

Schedule

TimeEdit

A detailed schedule can be found here and also under the Module 'General course documents'. 

Course literature

Main textbook:

Hallin, A., Olsson, A., and Widström, M. (2021) Change Management, Studentlitteratur. Available on Chalmers Store.

All course participants also study a common body of literature posted on Canvas, consisting of 25 academic articles and documents related to individual lectures and exercises. The reading list is found here.

In addition each project assignment group specialises in a selected area including literature relevant for their assignment.

The theoretical content of the course is discussed in the perspective of cases/experiences from change projects in the construction industry and the built environment.

Extra: Pinto, J.K. (2020) Project management: Achieving Competitive advantage, Pearson. E-book available on Chalmers Library.

Course design

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

The course consists of the following elements: 

• 8 theoretical lectures
• 4 guest lectures
• 4 compulsory exercises
• A project assignment in groups including compulsory attendance at project assignment workshops, final presentation and writing a research report and an individual reflection.
• 4 supervision meetings related to the project assignment.
• Literature reading
• Oral exam

All formal information regarding course content as well as unforeseen changes are communicated on Canvas under Announcements.

The course uses Modules where you can find documents and hand-ins related to different course elements (general course documents, lectures, guest lectures, exercises, project assignment, literature, and oral exam).

Teaching (lectures, guest lectures, project assignment workshops, exercises) will mainly be on Johanneberg campus (see Timeedit for rooms) if not stated otherwise in the detailed schedule.

Supervision will be carried out online. You make meeting arrangements with your supervisor on e-mail minimum 3 workdays before each meeting.

Changes made since the last occasion

• The number of exercises has increased from two to four to better support the students’ learning of analytical skills required to manage change in complex situations.
• The maximum score on the individual reflection on each exercise is increased from 3p to 5p to better reflect the exercises' scope and purpose for student learning.
• Lecture content has been slightly revised to improve the overall content of the course.
• One theoretical lecture is removed and replaced by an exercise.
• One guest lecture is removed and replaced by an exercise.
• Project assignment topics are changed from previous years to reflect current challenges in the construction industry and the built environment.

Learning objectives

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

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen: https://www.chalmers.se/en/education/your-studies/find-course-and-programme-syllabi/course-syllabus/TEK660/?acYear=2025/2026

Examination

The examination is based on the following compulsory elements:

• An oral exam that tests your theoretical knowledge within the subject of change management. To prepare for the exam you will get a list of 20-25 questions minimum 3 weeks ahead of the exam. The oral exam is 21 May and you will be given an 1h time slot when you have to attend. (max 15p, min 8p for pass)
• Active participation and written reflections on four exercises supports student learning with practical and analytical skills on how to lead and manage change and continuous improvement work in complex situations. (max 20p, min 10p for pass)
• A project assignment in groups with focus on a contemporary challenge in the construction industry. The project assignment tests the students ability to investigate, understand and critically evaluate a contemporary organisational change phenomenon in the construction industry. It also tests the ability to collect, analyze, assemble and contrast various literature and theories on organizational change in relation empirical examples from the construction sector. (max 26p, min 13p for pass)
• Active participation in a group presentation which tests the ability to communicate and discuss organisational change related to organisational change in construction. (max 8p, min 4p for pass)
• An individual reflection which tests the ability to reflect on the project work process, on the outcomes of the project, and on one's own role and future learning from the project, and also on diversity, equality and ethical aspects in relation to the project assignment. (max 9p, min 5p for pass)

In addition, active participation in and written reflections on guest lectures can affect the final grade. (max 12p, optional)

Late hand-in of compulsory assignments (project report, individual reflection, and reflections on exercises) gets minimum points after approval. For example: A report handed in late and thereafter approved gets 13p regardless of quality.

Late hand-ins of guest lecture reflections (optional) will not be graded.

Your course grade will be based on the sum of your points on the different course elements described above. Detailed assessment criteria for each course element can be found here and in the module 'General documents'.. There are no opportunities to ‘plussa’, i.e. to improve scores after deadlines.

Grade limits:

• Grade 3: 40 – 57
• Grade 4: 58 – 74
• Grade 5: 75– 90

All texts handed-in must be authored by the submitting students and must follow Chalmers policy on academic integrity and submissions will be checked for plagiarism.

Usage of generative AI is allowed under the following conditions:

• The author(s) is always responsible for the work and accountable for its accuracy, integrity, and validity.
• Generative AI/Chatbots can be used to improve grammar and readability.
• Generative AI/Chatbots are not permitted for generating full texts. 
• You must make a statement on how you have used it in the method chapter of your report as well as making a claimer that the work is original in the end of the report.
• You must reflect on the usage in your personal reflection.