705 Leading Strategic Change

Unit Overview

705 Leading Strategic Change is a unit within the CMI Level 7 module that contributes towards meeting the organisational goals and objectives. Leaders must be able to oversee change within the workplace. Change is inevitable, and it is experienced in different forms. From the strategic perspective, change aligns with the organisation's needs in future business contexts. This involves being able to effectively implement approaches and strategies that ensure the organisation is able to accomplish the strategic goals and objectives and the standards that contribute towards these goals.

Overseeing strategic change within the workplace. Requires the leaders to understand both the theoretical foundations and practical approaches that help to contribute towards ensuring that it is successful in the workplace. This involves being able to effectively impact the employees and other stakeholders within the workplace with the necessary support to ensure that they embrace strategic change and contribute towards achieving the requirements of the change. Leading strategic change also involves developing the desired way of doing things that are shaped by the changing nature of the organisation. Leaders must have relevant skills and approaches to contribute towards these goals and objectives.

705 Leading Strategic Change is a unit that helps to address the ability to lead and manage strategic change within the workplace. The unit utilises both theoretical learning approaches and interactive modules to ensure that it builds an understanding of the principles of meeting the organisational goals and objectives. The unit also contributes to ensuring that the leaders understand the main objection that is experienced by the organisation and its stakeholders and opportunities that they can use to successfully address these challenges through impacting the organisations effectively. The unit is taught in 24 hours of guided learning and contributes 8 credit values towards the completion of the module.

Suitability of the Unit

Leaders must be able to ensure that the stakeholders they lead within the organisation understand the need for strategic change and embrace it. This involves being able to understand the respective needs of the organisation and the principles that can be used to address the shortcomings of the stakeholders in embracing the change. The leaders must also be able to support the needs of the organisation in terms of supporting the change and the main objection that could be experienced to the change that is being experienced within the workplace. This makes 705 Leading Strategic Change a critical unit for leaders within the organisation in ensuring that they are able to lead and manage strategic change within the workplace.

This is a unit that focuses mainly on the learning needs of the senior managers within the workplace. These are leaders responsible for making strategic decisions, and they include CEOs, directors, and other strategic-level leaders within the organisations. The unit helps them to effectively implement change necessitated by their decision-making. It could also help middle managers and junior managers looking to advance their capabilities and prepare for leadership roles at strategic levels as well as external consultants within the workplace. 

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the unit, the learners should be able to:

• Understand the scope, context, and drivers of strategic change and other forms of change that could be experienced within the organisation

• appraise the challenges and complex nature of leading strategic change within the workplace

• Evaluate the theoretical models that influence the process of leading and managing change within the workplace, especially in alignment with strategic change

• Create a proposal for leading strategic change and other forms of organisational change.

• understand the role of the senior managers in influencing the ability of the leaders to impact the support received for the change being implemented

• Reflect on the impact of leadership approaches that can be applied to deliver the strategy for change within their areas of responsibility

Key Learning Areas

705 Leading Strategic Change is a unit that improves the ability of the leaders to influence others and ensure that change is effectively embraced within the workplace. The unit improves the understanding of the leaders on the process of change and the models that could support their behaviours towards change. Some of the main areas of learning covered within the unit include:

Scope and Context of Change Within the Workplace

This area of learning is important in understanding the impact of the change process within the workplace. It involves understanding the stakeholder and their needs amidst the change process. The learner is also guided to understand the factors that contribute to driving the change and those that inhibit it. It is critical that they understand principles that help them to overcome challenges towards implementing change within their areas of learning hence helping to successfully meet the needs of their organisation amidst strategic change.

Theoretical Models for Leading and Managing Change

This is a critical area of learning within the unit. Ti covers the theories and models that can be sued to understand and lead the process of change. The area of learning helps the learners to understand models such as Lewin's change model and Kotter’s eight-stage change management model. They are also guided to understand the models that help to create an understanding of eh reaction of the employees towards the change process, such as the Kubler-Ross model. Understanding these models helps the learner to develop their preferred approaches to overseeing the change within the workplace.

Strategy for Leading Change

This area of learning is critical lain, ensuring that the learners can practically handle the change process within the workplace. They are guided to understand the approaches that they can use to evaluate the impact of the change process on the performance of individuals within the workplace. The learners are also guided to understand how they can help to improve the ability of the stakeholders to embrace the change process. They are also guided in creating and reporting on proposals for effectively leading and implementing change within the workplace.

Evaluation

On completing the unit, the learners are put through the evaluation process that involves understanding the theoretical and practical approaches that can be used within the workplace. The learners are guided to complete a written assessment which determines the accomplishment of the learning goals and objectives.