Unit Outline

Discourses of improvement often drive the practice of leadership. Rapid changes to technology, increasing globalisation, and issues of organisational structure, culture and power impact on improvement agendas, as well as the quality and effectiveness of such improvement in practice. In this unit, models of organisational improvement and the change process are considered, with attention given to strategies for managing and evaluating change effectively in educational, training and other organisational contexts. By the end of this unit, you will have developed advanced knowledge and skills in managing and evaluating change through the study of modules on: change contexts, organisational contexts, learning contexts, and the global context. One of the aims of this unit is to enable you to have a better understanding of how leaders can lead organisations with a strong focus on improvement.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Demonstrate a body of knowledge and understanding of recent developments in leadership skills and strategies required for strategic leadership with a focus on continuous improvement in a rapidly changing environment
2	Apply leadership understandings with reference to relevant analytical frameworks and insights from research and other writings to working environments including your own professional practice
3	Critically analyse the work of leaders in organisational improvement
4	Identify and evaluate an organisational problem in practice and devise leadership strategies for improvement

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	ESM710

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Annotated Bibliography	Week 6	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Case Study	Week 13	50 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Reflection	Week 13	10 %	LO1, LO2, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Annotated Bibliography

Task Description:

Construct an annotated bibliography of THREE research based and/or theoretical journal articles on any aspect of the leadership of organisational improvement (i.e., change, culture, learning, etc). For each entry in the annotated bibliography (i.e. one entry per article), the following aspects are to be included/addressed.
Full reference
Include the full reference of the article at the start of the entry. For this genre, you do not need to repeat this full reference in a “Reference list”. Nor do you need to refer to the work of other authors in your critique.
Summary
In this section, provide a summary of the following: what is the article about/main argument/s; key findings
Evaluation
In this section, provide an evaluation of the article. Consider whether the findings/argument are reliable/plausible; strengths and limitations of the article.
Reflection
In this section, reflect on how the key findings/ideas from the article could inform the work of leaders in your organisational context
Other requirements:
The journal articles can be selected from the e-journals on the UTAS library site. Each entry should be approximately 500 words. Referencing and academic writing to follow APA convention. The use of first person is acceptable in the “Reflection” section.

Task Length:

1500 words maximum (penalty will apply if exceeded)

Due Date:

Week 6 (30/Aug/2024)

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identification and articulation of key issues identified in the materials	LO1, LO2
2	Synthesis and evaluation of key issues identified in the materials	LO1, LO2
3	Application of critical analysis to examine issues in practice	LO3
4	Presentation of ideas – follows specified genre/structure and APA convention for academic writing and referencing	LO1

Assessment Task 2: Case Study

Task Description:

This paper requires you to identify an aspect of your workplace/organisation that you consider as problematic and needs improvement, and then you are to put forward a proposal on how leaders can work towards improving this aspect of the organisation. You are encouraged to draw on the key learnings from across the modules for this assignment.
Your proposal should include the following aspects. You may wish to use these headings to help you frame your response:
Introduction
Literature Review
Context of the organisation and problem
The Proposal
Conclusion
Other requirements
Include at least 10 reputable sources to support your points (e.g. refereed journal articles, textbooks from UTAS library site). Higher quality papers tend to draw on a wider literature base. Referencing and academic writing to follow APA convention.

Task Length:

2000 words maximum (penalty will apply if exceeded)

Due Date:

Week 13 (25/Oct/2024)

Weight:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identification, articulation, synthesis and evaluation of key issues related to leadership of organisational improvement	LO1, LO2
2	Critical analysis and evaluation of literature relevant to those issues	LO1, LO2
3	Analysis of particular organisational context and organisational improvement problem	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
4	Application of critical analysis of literature to examine issues in developing a proposal for organisational improvement	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
5	Presentation of ideas – follows specified genre/structure and APA convention for academic writing and referencing	LO1

Assessment Task 3: Reflection

Task Description:

This task requires you to complete three inter-related tasks, culminating in a final reflection activity. First, you are required to engage in the Discussion Forums that are set for each of the four modules in EDP714 by posting a comment to present your viewpoint, and/or responding to another’s comment in a constructive way. You are required to complete a total of 4 discussion forum questions throughout the semester. This involves 1 discussion forum question per module. (Please note you are encouraged to complete more than 4 posts over the course of the semester but you will be assessed only on 4). Second, you are required to complete the two engagement tasks: 1. Introducing yourself to fellow students by the end of Week 2; and 2. Posting to the discussion board the name of one of the journal articles you are considering for your first assignment (by the end of Week 4). Third, you are asked to write a short reflection on one of the discussion forum activities you participated in (either your own or a peer’s) that concerned a problem of practice and devise leadership strategies for improvement (Use at least two references).

Task Length:

500 words

Due Date:

Week 13 (26/Oct/2024)

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identification, articulation, synthesis and evaluation of key issues related to leadership of organisational improvement	LO1, LO2
2	Application of critical analysis of literature to examine issues in developing a proposal for organisational improvement	LO4
3	Presentation of ideas – follows specified genre/structure and APA convention for academic writing and referencing	LO1

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

Jones, G. (2012). Organizational theory, design and change (7th ed.). Pearson Education.
Please note this textbook is available in print and e-copy.

Reading Lists provide direct access to all material on unit reading lists in one place. This includes eReadings and items in Reserve. You can access the Reading List for this unit from the link in MyLO, or by going to the Reading Lists page on the University Library website.