Lead­ing Change

Course content

Change is a key word in economics and business administration and enables discussion of, for example, topics such as organizational design, economic disruption, and the use of history in processes of change. The overall aim of the course is to introduce the students to the challenge of leading change in organizations through providing them with knowledge of models and theories from business economics (N1) explaining change processes and using those theories to understand the actual challenges leaders face in a volatile corporate context. Selected theories, cases and guest speakers are specifically chosen to address current developments in business and industry.

After providing students with the basic foundation of classical change theories and models, grounded in economics and organization theory, we will explore concepts such as narrative (building on the work of Economics Nobel laureate Robert Shiller and particular his book ‘Narrative Economics’), sensemaking/sensegiving (Karl Weick), leadership, culture and commitment (such exploration is mirrored in the SL course) which are particularly pertinent in situations of high ambiguity and volatility as they help framing these situations in productive ways which support action and encourage students to develop a curiosity about ambiguity (N2).  These concepts and theories will also be put to use to discuss and frame grand challenges (e.g. The Climate Emergency, Generative AI, War/Geopolitical risk) that face organizations and humanity more broadly (N3). The course explicitly incorporates the challenges (ethical and practical) of leading change (N5) whilst also addressing the issue of unlearning/relearning in social dynamics (N8).

Overlap with Strategic Leadership
This course overlaps with Strategic Leadership (SL) in several ways. Both courses focus on theories and conceptual frameworks that elaborate the processes underpinning strategic leadership and change, hereby stressing the active role of organizational actors. They explore concepts such as temporality, narrative, sensemaking/sensegiving, leadership, identity, culture, value, collaboration, and commitment which are particularly pertinent in situations of high ambiguity and volatility as they help framing these situations. The exam and feedback activities for both courses are structured in such a way that constructive collaboration becomes essential whilst constantly honing the students’ critical thinking (N6). Both courses will draw on abductive methods as the foundation for the joint shared student projects.