MAN 5147 Leading in Digitized Workplaces
MAN 5147 Leading in Digitized Workplaces
As digital technologies advance, the pace, scope, and complexity of change experienced in organizations has reached unprecedented levels. Given the growing presence of digital technology, its rate of change and advancement, and its importance to business strategy – developing the capabilities for leading in the digital age is essential for both companies’ and leaders’ success. This course aims to equip leaders at various levels with the skills needed to adapt to the change and challenges faced in fast-paced, increasingly digitized work contexts, and to support effective adaptation and technology adoption within their teams.
Leading in digitized workplaces requires having both a “digital mindset” regarding technological changes and transformation, and an understanding of how to adapt and move the organization forward in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environments. As the success of change largely relies on employees’ willingness and ability to adapt, an important component of leadership in this context is also relaying and supporting change within their teams.
Given the demands of leading in digitized workplaces, the course has two foci. The first foci, ‘leading yourself,’ explores what it takes to be an effective leader in dynamic and increasingly digitized business environments. This component of the course is focused on understanding the drivers and implications of one’s own behavior, and learning how to lead oneself to be a more effective in a fast-paced, digitalized workplace. The second foci, ‘leading others,’ is focused on how to lead others in a fast-paced, digital era. It addresses what it takes to make team members, and the organization as a whole, more resilient and adaptive towards change and new technologies. It also explores how traditional models of leadership may or may not hold in the digital age.
This course is relevant for leaders in both private and public organizations and across industries. By attending this course, leaders will develop the knowledge and skills to lead more effectively in an age where digitization and constant change are the new reality. Further, they will develop the insight needed to monitor their own leader behavior and team responses to this behavior, such that they are better able to manage themselves and others regardless of where this new reality takes them.
By the end of the course, participants should be able to
· Be able to analyze challenges related to managing change and challenges faced in fast-paced, increasingly digitized work contexts
· Have in depth understanding within the field of leadership in the digital age and be able to analyze issues related to leading others and team collaboration in this environment
· Understand advanced knowledge related to the drivers and implications of one’s own behavior in these settings, and how to best support effective adaptation and technology adoption within their teams
Participants completing the course should be able to:
· Apply advanced knowledge within the main research presented in the course, taking into account both strengths and limitations.
· Apply knowledge gained in the course to analyze the behavior of their employees in relation to the change and challenges faced in the digital workplace, as well as identify, diagnose, and address problems arising in this context in their own organization
· Apply techniques and tools learned in the class to facilitate more effective communication, adaptation, and technology adoption within their teams.
· Apply knowledge gained in the course to create a workplace that motivates team members to embrace change and realize their potential through new technology
· Monitor and mold their own behavior to become a more effective and digitally-minded leader in this context
As a result of this course, participants should:
- Develop strategic thinking in relation to the different responses employees could have towards change and challenge in fast-paced, increasingly digitized work contexts, and what positive actions can be taken to improve the effectiveness of their behavior.
- Develop a deeper awareness of how they perceive and react to organizational changes and digital transformations, and how this could affect the perceptions and reactions of others in their organization
Topics covered in the course include:
- The digital workforce and leading the workplace of the future: context overview, major trends and challenges
- Digital transformation as organizational change: learning from research on change management to lead digital transformation
- Digital mindsets: self and other awareness, leveraging mindsets to lead digital change
- Innovations in job design: facilitating proactivity in resource acquisition and competence crafting in adopting to change
- Enabling leadership: creating adaptive space and facilitating emergence in dynamic and increasingly digital environments
- Leveraging digital platforms to lead organizational transformation
Software tools:
An online learning platform and other open source software tools
This course is conducted through a combination of campus and online learning process. The campus module will consist of 2 sessions x 2 days. The online module will combine different web-based techniques, both individually and in groups. The combination of campus and online learning process equals 75 lecturing hours over one semester.
Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student's own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage or other course materials.
The students are evaluated through a term paper and an individual home exam. The term paper accounts for 60% of the total grade, and may be written individually or in groups of maximum three persons. The individual 72 hour home exam accounts for 40% of the total grade. All evaluations must be passed to obtain a certificate for the course.
Term paper supervision/guidance differ in each Executive Master of Management course. It will consist of individual and class supervision/guidance. Generally, the students may expect consulting not evaluation supervision/guidance. Supervision/guidance is offered up to 2 hours per term paper.
The term paper is included in the degree’s independent work of degree, cf national regulation on requirements for master’s degree, equivalent to 9 ECTS credits per. course. For the Executive Master of Management degree, the independent work of degree represents the sum of term papers from all the taken courses/programmes.
Participating in the course will require access to a pc/laptop.
A selection of articles will be made available prior to course start. Articles will be from journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Harvard Business Review, Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management Journal, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, as well as from other relevant journals and sources.
There may be other material distributed during the course that is relevant for course activities and the examination.
Bachelor degree, corresponding to 180 credits from an accredited university, university college or similar educational institution
The applicant must be at least 25 years of age
At least four years of work experience. For applicants who have already completed a master’s degree, three years of work experience are required.
| Assessments |
|---|
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 40 Grouping: Individual Duration: 72 Hour(s) Comment: Individual 72 hours home exam, counting 40% of the total grade. Exam code: MAN 51471 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination when next scheduled course |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 60 Grouping: Group/Individual (1 - 3) Duration: 1 Semester(s) Comment: Term paper, counting 60% of the total grade. Exam code: MAN 51472 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination when next scheduled course |
All exams must be passed to get a grade in this course.
| Activity | Duration | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Teaching | 32 Hour(s) | On-campus teaching |
Online teaching | 43 Hour(s) | Webinars and online teaching |
Student's own work with learning resources | 325 Hour(s) | Self-study online/offline and term paper/exam |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 15 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 400 hours.