Understanding People and Change in Organizations

Catalog description

This course is intended to help students assess events occurring in organizations from a behavioral and human resources perspective and to help them develop strategies for managing these events. The course applies knowledge from the fields of organizational behavior and human resource management to provide an understanding and the skills needed to be effective in organizations. The fields of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management are devoted to the study of how human beings act in organized settings and how organizations can affect human behavior through a variety of policies, practices, structures, and strategies. In today's environment, organizations are faced with high levels of international competition and an increasing pace of technological, market, and social changes. As an organizational member, you are expected to successfully operate within these increasingly complex demands as well as help create and guide change. The purpose of this course is to provide you with the framework and tools needed to analyze and operate in the changing organization. We will examine some of the features that characterize an emerging organizational form and contrast this to its traditional predecessor. The focus of the course will be on the skills you will need to operate in the "new" organization including skills for being a change agent working in entry level and early career managerial roles. Recommended preparation: Accredited Bachelor's in Engineering plus summer job experience. Prereq: Enrolled in the Master of Engineering and Management program.