Online Microcredential in Business & Management

Management of Change: Organisation Development and Design

Discover tools and concepts of human centred management and design, and develop skills to manage and lead in the 21st century.

477 enrolments

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The Open UniversityThe Open University

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Lead and implement effective organisational development in a digital world

The workplace is changing. With increasing digitalisation, it is essential that you and your organisation are equipped with the right tools, skills and understanding to effectively manage and lead organisational development.

Starting with an introduction to organisational development and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), you’ll learn how to design a people centred strategy for change as well as implementing professional strategies to address the challenges of developing organisations and teams in changing environments.

Be proactive in the face of digital disruption

Organisations are under enormous pressure to stay ahead of the competition as AI, automation, and digitalisation change how we work as well as what our workforces look like.

On this microcredential, you’ll develop essential analytical skills to help you harness the opportunities of technology as digital disruption continues to reshape industries.

You’ll learn the importance of being active in reorganising and instilling resilience and agility in your team and wider organisation.

Develop management and leadership skills using human centred design and a holistic approach

Designed by experts from The Open University, you’ll consider current working practices and how AI within a digital era will require us to adapt to new ways of working.

You’ll consider the effect of radical change on organisations, such as a global pandemic, the impact of government policy, or resourcing issues, and how to minimise negative impacts.

You’ll also develop your understanding of the relationship between organisational change, redesign, and organisational development and effectiveness, from both an individual perspective and on a wider strategic level.

By employing a human-centred design thinking approach, you’ll develop your emotional intelligence, cognitive, and social skills to the level required for the leaders of tomorrow’s workplace.

Learn the design thinking process from industry practitioners

Design thinking is a process for creative problem solving. It requires you to take a human-centred approach to innovation in order to transform the way you develop products, services, processes and organisations.

Through video and audio interviews, and industry case studies, you’ll benefit from the real-world experience of practicing professionals from a range of disciplines and sectors who successfully embrace holistic design thinking principles to understand customers’ and users’ wants and needs.

You’ll utilise the newly developed Design Thinking Toolkit to develop and implement practice-based solutions to problems and issues. This will help your organisation remain resilient through periods of significant change and digital disruption.

Throughout the course you’ll take part in weekly activities to support and consolidate your learning. At the end of the course, you’ll submit an assessment which is marked and graded by subject matter experts.

What skills will you learn?

  • Applying behavioural insights
  • Human-centred management and leadership
  • Creating a change strategy
  • Applying design thinking principles
  • Critical thinking and analysis
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Decision making
  • Understanding policy
  • Developing resilience
  • Problem solving
  • Design of innovative, human-centred processes and practices

What you will achieve

By the end of the microcredential, you’ll be able to...

  • Reflect on and develop your own capacity for management and leadership within disruptive contexts 
  • Understand and analyse assumptions critically within the development of organisation design and development in order to develop a greater resilience in the face of disruptive change
  • Take a critical perspective on the impact of disruptive change with a focus on artificial intelligence, within organisation design
  • Demonstrate a critical and ethical awareness of how change impacts individuals, organisations and society and how your actions as a manager can support this
  • Understand the relationship between organisational change, redesign, and organisational development and effectiveness
  • Understand how disruptive contexts impact future work skill requirements and how this needs to be incorporated in organisation development
  • Understand management of change and critically apply techniques that can be used to help an organisation achieve its desired future state

Are you eligible for this microcredential?

To study this postgraduate microcredential you will ideally have:

  • A Bachelors degree or an equivalent level qualification
  • Experience of working in a professional or managerial role
  • A strong interest in human centred organisational development and design

The course material does not assume that learners are currently working. Past experiences will be just as relevant.

If you do not have a degree or equivalent level qualification you may find the postgraduate level assessment challenging.

Is this microcredential right for you?

This microcredential is designed for professionals, managers or leaders, or those who aspire to move into management roles. It is particularly relevant for:

  • Professionals working in roles that involve driving human centred organisational development and change
  • Professionals working in rapidly changing industries where digital developments and artificial intelligence is changing the way we work

The course has a global focus and delivers transferable skills for diverse sectors and organisations.

Syllabus

What happens before, during, and after your microcredential

  • Before learning

    You’ll have access to our online welcome area where you’ll be able to read any information relating to your microcredential.

  • Course

    From 11 Mar 2024

    Management of Change: Organisation Development and Design

    Discover tools and concepts of human centred management and design, and develop skills to manage and lead in the 21st century.

    12 weeks

    13 hours per week

  • After learning

    Your submitted assessment will be marked and graded by subject matter experts. You’ll continue to have ongoing access to the course materials.

What you will receive

15 UK Credits at Postgraduate level from The Open University and a Certificate

Academic credits are awarded on passing the final assessment. These will be at postgraduate level 7 of the Framework for Higher Education (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) / level 11 of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.

Find out how credits work and where you can use them in our FAQs.

What is a microcredential?

Microcredentials are designed to upskill you for work in rapidly-growing industries, without the time and cost commitment of a full degree. Your microcredential can stand alone as an independent credential, and some also offer academic credit to use towards a degree.

Learn online with expert instructors

Complete online courses led by experts over multiple weeks with a dedicated group of professionals.

Complete project-based assessments

Test your understanding with online tutor-marked assessments and exercises.

Earn a professional credential

Finish your learning and pass your assessments to gain an accredited credential.

Advance further in your career

Use your microcredential as evidence of your specialised skills and progress further in your industry.

Career-focused learning by The Open University

As the UK’s largest university, The Open University (OU) supports thousands of students to achieve their goals and ambitions via supported distance learning, helping to fit learning around professional and personal life commitments.

  • Established

    1969
  • Location

    Milton Keynes, UK
  • World ranking

    Top 510Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020

Delivered by experts

Hilary is a senior lecturer in executive education with research interests in the economic and cultural role of the creative industries. She researches academic identity and the future of work.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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When would you like to start?

Enrolment for this microcredential is closed. We aim to run our microcredentials every few months. Register to find out more about this microcredential and future start dates.

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    FAQ

    We can accept payments made by card (Visa, Mastercard and American Express) or PayPal via our online system.

    You will have 14 days from the day the course starts to apply for a refund. If this Microcredential has any non-refundable costs they will be stated in the ‘Overview’ section above. You can find more information in our cancellation and refund policy.

    Microcredentials are designed to fit around your life and timezone.

    There may be live events as part of your studies, but these will be recorded and can be watched afterwards if you aren’t online for the live broadcast.

    No, microcredentials are designed to be taken anywhere in the world. You won’t need the right to study in the country where the university offering the microcredential is based.

    Microcredentials are stand-alone courses designed to meet specific learner and employer needs. Those awarded by The Open University have academic credit value at either undergraduate or postgraduate level, and, if appropriate, this may be used towards selected Open University qualifications. For more details, including eligible qualifications, visit The Open University’s Counting microcredentials towards OU qualifications page.

    The credit awarded may potentially be used at another university, subject to the agreement of the receiving institution.

    Want to know more? Read the microcredential FAQs, or contact us.