ORDV - Organizational Development

Course Descriptions

ORDV 5000 Practicing Organizational Development (3)

To introduce experienced middle managers and other professionals to the theories, skill-sets, and interventions of change management and organization development (OD). The students will learn about the latest approaches and best practices and begin to experiment with interventions in their own organizations. This course constitutes the first course in a competency-based graduate certificate that will prepare managers to lead, execute, and evaluate change management and related interventions.

ORDV 5100 Change Leader Self-Mastery (3)

This course focuses on the student's self-awareness and self-understanding at the deep level required for change agents to be effective. Managers who facilitate change methods and processes need to be aware of their management styles, personality profiles, and core interpersonal skills in order to learn how to leverage these with different stakeholder groups. This is personal work done by the individual, in a classroom, with the assistance of peers and instructors. The goal is to increase intra-personal insight and integration so that the change manager can face their blind-spots, build on their strengths, and behave with maximum agility in their change-related work roles. Prerequisite: ORDV 5000.

ORDV 5200 Organizational Development Consulting Practices (3)

This course is concerned with the dilemmas faced by the manager or change leader as they attempt to develop partner relationships with their employees and their stakeholders. Participants go beyond techniques to negotiate expectations, diagnose interpersonal dynamics, and continually deal with normal resistance to change. Participants will learn how to build stakeholder partnerships, create a safe climate for risk-taking, and effectively confront resistance. Prerequisite: ORDV 5000.

ORDV 5300 Data-Driven Approaches to Organizational Development (3)

This course provides core skills needed in data-driven change management and measurement. Data-driven action research entails systematically gathering either quantitative or qualitative data, or both, analyzing the themes and patterns in that data, feeding back a summary and analysis of that data in some participative form, and then taking action based on the results of that diagnosis and analysis. The purpose of the data-gathering, feedback, and discussion is the understanding of the organizational system and its dynamics so that model-driven, measurable changes can be implemented at the organization system and environmental levels. Organization surveys, multi-source feedback, focus groups and individual interviews, process observation and consultation, action learning, appreciative inquiry, and large scale interventions all fall within this framework. So do the change management aspects of more traditional work tools such as project management. The students are expected to participate in action learning exercises in the classroom and in change management activities in their own work place. In the process they learn how to think about the types of client data they will need, how they will process that data, and the skills and techniques needed to facilitate engaging dialogue and action planning with individuals, teams, and the members of the larger organizational system. Students learn the importance of measuring against goal performance. Prerequisite: ORDV 5000.

ORDV 5400 Designing, Building, and Leading Effective Teams (3)

To utilize teams effectively, attention must be pain to how and why teams are assembled, launched, managed and rewarded. This course is designed to immerse the student in these content areas. The course provides fundamental principles and methods required to create high functioning work, project, and problem-solving teams. Topics covered will include: moving from group to team; stages of team development; identifying the key competencies for successful team functioning; critical roles and responsibilities on a team; ensuring team productivity; aligning corporate culture with team culture; techniques for using a systematic problem-solving methodology; and troubleshooting common team problems. Prerequisite: ORDV 5000.

ORDV 5450 Managing Communication During Change (3)

The purpose of this course is to understand how organizations create, perpetuate, and encourage formal communication during times of change. Standard communication channels don't always work as intended. This course will cover the topic of communication in organizational change and development and how it is dealt with among business leaders, organizations, OD professionals, and management. Prerequisite: ORDV 5000.

ORDV 5600 Leveraging Diversity and Inclusion (3)

This course will prepare middle managers and others to influence and position their organizations to maximize employee engagement through diversity and inclusionary practices. To compete in a global environment, organizations must continually innovate and utilize the full potential of their workforce. In addition, given changing demographics, change leaders must be able to help their organization tap into the diversity that already exists. Prerequisite: ORDV 5000.

ORDV 5700 Designing and Facilitating Organizational Development Interventions (3)

To introduce experienced middle managers and other professionals to the basic facilitation tools required for change management and organization development practice. To provide significant opportunities to develop and practice process facilitation and workshop design competencies. Prerequisite: ORDV 5000.

ORDV 5800 Achieving Breakthrough Results (3)

This course provides a conceptual and pragmatic framework for students to understand three different levels of change: (1) developmental; (2) transitional; and (3) transformational change. It helps students to understand which consulting and leadership tools are required to bring about each type of change. The course further clarifies the ways in which transformational change differs significantly from developmental and transitional approaches, achieving breakthrough business results. Personal and leadership transformational practices are demonstrated as essential to the organizational development effort. Prerequisite: ORDV 5000.

ORDV 5900 Organizational Development in Emerging Situations (3)

This course focuses on the models and behaviors required to work with bottom-up, emergent responses to change in the context of a long-term change project. The organization is metaphorically conceived as a jazz ensemble; disciplined, creative, and improvisational. Students learn to create improvisational leader behaviors, which build on the organization dynamics that emerge. Prerequisite: ORDV 5000.

ORDV 5950 Organizational Development in a Global Context (3)

This course is designed to facilitate student awareness of the issues confronting the field of Organizational Development around the world. The course will provide an overview of the elements and trends related to all major aspects of global organizational development. Effects of the national culture on approaches to OD is an example. Prerequisite: ORDV 5000.

ORDV 6000 Capstone Project in Organizational Development (3)

This course is designed to integrate the theories, models, and skill-sets acquired during the course of the MA in organizational development. This is accomplished through an organizational development practicum project or an integrative course study. Prerequisites: Completion of all other required courses in the major.