Sustainable leadership

The course is a elective programme course given within the Master Programme in Strategic Human Resource Management within the Faculty of Social Sciences. It may also be given as a freestandig course.

The course can be part of the following programme: 1) Master's Programme in Strategic Human Resource Management and Labour Relations (S2HRM)

To be eligible for the course, the student must be accepted to the Master Programme in Strategic Human Resource Management and Labour Relations within the Faculty of Social Sciences, alternatively a bachelor's degree in a social science field.

Organizational change are essential aspects of a manager’s and HR professional’s role due to the dynamic nature of contemporary organizations. External factors such as technological development, market shifts, institutional pressures and sustainability challenges continuously shape organizational conditions. Human resource management plays a central role in supporting, enabling and coordinating organizational learning and change in response to these challenges.

This course focuses on change management as both a strategic and a practical activity. Change is studied as something that organizations do, and leadership is approached as a set of practices enacted in everyday work. Particular attention is given to leadership and change practices related to the HRM function, such as the design of change processes, competence development, communication, employee involvement and the management of resistance.

The course integrates perspectives on organizational learning and change with insights from research on strategy and leadership practices, with a specific focus on how HRM contributes to shaping and sustaining change. The ambition of the course is to prepare students to critically analyse, discuss and evaluate change processes by engaging with academic literature, cases and real-life examples from private and public sector organizations. Particular attention is given to how strategic intent, HRM practices and leadership activities interact in shaping organizational change.

Knowledge and understanding

• Describe and explain central theories of organizational change.
• Explain how theories of change and leadership are linked to organizational strategy.
• Account for the role of Human Resource Managers in organizational change processes.

Skills and abilities

• Independently search for and analyse theoretical and practical knowledge (e.g. literature, scientific articles, professional sources and own experiences) related to organizational change.
• Identify organizational and strategic change challenges, particularly concerning development and renewal, and apply relevant theoretical perspectives to real cases.
• Discuss, analyse and evaluate change processes and leadership practices, orally and in writing.
• Discuss, analyse and evaluate the role of human resource management in relation to change processes.

Judgement and approach

• Critically investigate contemporary approaches to change management, in theory and practice.
• Develop and maintain a learning-oriented and collaborative approach to working with organizational change.

Lectures, seminars and group work.

Language of instruction: English.

Learning outcomes 1–9 will be assessed through a written exam, written assignments and oral discussions at seminars.

A failed assignment may be supplemented to a pass grade.

All learning activities (lectures, seminars and workshops) are mandatory, and students are assigned to take active part. Absence from learning activities can be replaced with alternative assignments.

Individual examinations shall be written individually; cooperation in formulating text, tables, figures etc. is not allowed.

Restrictions regarding the use of generative AI are specified on the learning platform or equivalent. Students are responsible for informing themselves of the current rules for examination elements such as assignments, seminar assignments and exams in the course in question.

If a student who has been failed twice for the same examination element wishes to change examiner before the next examination session, such a request is to be granted unless there are specific reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6 Section 22 HF).

If a student has received a certificate of disability study support from the University of Gothenburg with a recommendation of adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment, an examiner may decide, if this is consistent with the course’s intended learning outcomes and provided that no unreasonable resources would be needed, to grant the student adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment.

If a course has been discontinued or undergone major changes, the student must be offered at least two examination sessions in addition to ordinary examination sessions. These sessions are to be spread over a period of at least one year but no more than two years after the course has been discontinued/changed. The same applies to placement and internship (VFU) except that this is restricted to only one further examination session.

If a student has been notified that they fulfil the requirements for being a student at Riksidrottsuniversitetet (RIU student), to combine elite sports activities with studies, the examiner is entitled to decide on adaptation of examinations if this is done in accordance with the Local Rules Regarding RIU Students at the University of Gothenburg.

The grading scale comprises: Pass with Distinction (VG), Pass (G) and Fail (U).

The course will be evaluated upon completion. The results of the evaluation will be communicated to the students and will function as a guide for the development of the course.