Leadership and Change Management (minor)

The minor in Leadership and Change Management aims at developing knowledge and skills in (a) planning and implementing organizational changes in technology-based start-ups and large companies, a) leading people during changes.

If you take this minor, you will learn how leadership is connected to organizational change and about the implementation of organizational change initiatives. You will learn about organizational change, organizational resistance to change, and the different sources of power and change mechanisms leaders can draw on to overcome obstacles and instill change in organizations. Furthermore, you will become familiar with various leadership and communication styles. Therefore, the competence and capabilities learned in this minor prepare you for a career as a manager who can plan and implement changes successfully.  

The Leadership and Change Management minor emphasizes the role of leaders in managing employees during planning and implementing organizational changes. The students minoring in Leadership and Change Management will 

• Understand the role of leaders and leadership in change/strategy implementation.
• Understand different sources of power and political capital during change/strategy implementation.
• Knowledge of various influence styles and ability to apply them in organizations.
• Understand different aims of organizational change and how change/strategy is typically implemented.
• Understand resistance to change and the challenges employees face during strategy/change implementation.
• Understand how to lead and support employees during organizational change.
   

This knowledge will allow students to get ready for the following tasks in work-life:

• planning organizational changes (creation vision, communication changes, creating commitment to changes) 
• implementing changes—monitoring the psychology of employees (e.g., a threat to identity, fear of changes, etc. ) and taking corrective actions to avoid the resistance to changes
• organizing teams to achieve common organizational goals 
• enhancing teamwork and collaboration among members of teams in the context of start-ups and established organizations 
• ensuring wellbeing at the workplace 
• ensuring sustainable personal and company growth 
   

Code: SCI3111

Extent: 20–25 ECTS

Language of instruction: English

Level: Masters

Theme: Global business dynamics ICT and digitalisation

Curriculum: 2022–2024

Target group: All Aalto students

Teacher in charge: Natalia Vuori

Administrative contact: Tarja Timonen

Organising department: Department of Industrial Engineering and Management

Prerequisites: TU-C1010 Ihminen ryhmässä (5 op)/TU-C1011 Ryhmätoiminta ja organisointi (5 op)

Quotas and restrictions: No quotas for the minor, but some optional courses may have space for a limited number of students. 

Application process: Open for all students of Aalto University

 

Content and structure of the minor

The minor in Leadership and Change Management aims at developing knowledge and skills in (a) motivating and leading people in technology-based start-ups and organizations and (b) planning and implementing organizational changes in technology-based start-ups and established companies.

The Leadership and Change Management  minor emphasizes the role of people in technology-based start-ups and existing companies. The students minoring in Leadership and Change Management  will learn to lead and inspire people in technology-intensive environments. In particular, they will learn about:

• Various ways to motivate people and how and when to use each of them
• Various leadership approaches and how and when to use each of them
• Different types of organizational changes
• The challenges that managers and employees face during every type of organizational changes
• How to manage employees during organizational changes
• The role of emotional intelligence in leadership and change management

This knowledge will allow students to get ready for the following tasks in work-life:

• organizing teams to achieve common organizational goals
• enhancing teamwork and collaboration among members of teams in the context of start-ups and established organizations
• ensuring wellbeing at the workplace
• ensuring sustainable personal and company growth
• planning organizational changes (creation vision, communication changes, creating commitment to changes)
• implementing changes—monitoring psychology of employees (e.g., a threat to identity, fear of changes, etc. ) and taking corrective actions to avoid the resistance to changes

The minor will add value to the student's careers, helping students integrate people-related knowledge into their special technical and engineering skills. Therefore, the competence and capabilities learned in this minor create opportunities for a career as a manager in technology-based start-ups and companies.

^{Note: TU-E0100 is recommend for students planning to do their Master's thesis in the minor. Please contact the responsible professor prior to selecting the course to discuss about the thesis. Possibility to do thesis is subject to permissions from student’s degree program and the minor.}

Code:  SCI3111

Extent: 20-25 cr

Language: English

Organizing Department: Industrial Engineering and Management

Teacher in charge: Natalia Vuori

Administrative contact: Tarja Timonen

Target group: All students with sufficient prerequisite knowledge

Application procedure: Open for all students of Aalto University

Quotas and restrictions: No quotas.

Prerequisites: TU-C1010 Ihminen ryhmässä (5 op)/TU-C1011 Ryhmätoiminta ja organisointi (5 op)

Content and structure of the minor

The minor in Leadership and Change Management aims at developing a student’s capabilities in organizing successful teams able to explore and exploit new venture opportunities, in enabling effective collaboration among team members under conditions of uncertainty and time pressure, and in developing leadership skills in driving and transforming technology-based organizations.

The minor places emphasis on the role of people in the success of new and existing companies, as well as on public organizations and society at large. The minor introduces students to knowledge, frameworks and practices, which could resolve crucial challenges encountered at the nexus of engineering and innovation. The primary interests of the minor are leadership and self-leadership, interaction, knowledge sharing, learning, collaboration, wellbeing and the attitudes of people in the context of work. 

The students doing a minor in Leadership and Change Management  will learn to lead and inspire people in technology-intensive environments. They will learn skills and knowledge required to

• organize groups of people to achieve common goals by using proactive behavior
• lead and manage change within a dynamic and uncertain environment for the benefit of new and existing organizations
• enhance teamwork and collaboration among members of entrepreneurial teams in the context of start-ups and of established organizations
• create and utilize knowledge in emerging forms of organizations.

Students pursuing this minor will learn to understand human behavior and gain skills and knowledge required to

• analyze and utilize individual and organizational knowledge,
• evaluate and develop teams, organizations, and work practices,
• explore human potential and growth and create better collaboration in teams and in organizations.

The minor will bring added value to the student's careers, helping students to integrate people-related knowledge to their special technical and engineering skills. Therefore, the competences and capabilities learnt in this minor create opportunities for proceeding to a number of areas of expertise and management.

^{Note: TU-E0100 is recommend for students planning to do their Master's thesis in the minor. Please contact the responsible professor prior to selecting the course to discuss about the thesis. Possibility to do thesis is subject to permissions from student’s degree program and the minor.}