The Major Individual Assignment—Your Change Project
Course participants must develop a project to accomplish a meaningful, worthwhile change.
Projects should be designed to create a change in a process, system, or structure within the
community, a business or nonprofit organization, government institution, or some other
organization.
The change projects must meet two criteria:
1. They must show promise of being a worthwhile learning experience and
You are encouraged to select a project that you personally value and a goal for which you have
a genuine concern that goes beyond a simple need to fulfill a course requirement. Don’t waste
your time on something you don’t care about! Students are encouraged to talk to the professor
about their project ideas as early as possible in the week.
By our second class, participants must submit a one page document on which is stated:
1. A concise statement of what the change project is and why it is important.
Projects or an agreed-upon segment of the project should be completed by the submission due
date. Key criteria used to evaluate the project will be its prospects for success and the learning
exhibited as a result of the project. This learning includes an integrated, comprehensive
understanding of the course materials.
Interim Components of the Project
There are 3 interim change project reports included in this assignment. All three will be included
in your final report:
1. Reason for change and Vision statement (10%).
You can complete these as you go and I would strongly recommend you undertake them
sequentially. You can submit them to me one at a time (recommended) and I will provide you
with feedback as soon as I review them, provided they are submitted prior to _______. You
In the final report you will be asked to:
1. Choose a change model that describes the key aspects of the change that you propose to
undertake. Describe the model. This model may be one of those offered in the course
2. Using the model in (1) and your Interim Assignments, describe your change project and how
you expect it to alter things over time, how you’d evaluate your successes & assess your
3. Comment on what you, personally, have learned from undertaking the project. Specify what
lessons you have learned to apply to future change activities and what this project has
4. Include in your exhibits the interim assignments due throughout the course (i.e. vision
statement, stakeholder, power and force field analysis and your critique of your action plan).
Note: Most of the emphasis in the report should be on demonstrating your knowledge of
change management and discussing the learning from the project.
MARKING GUIDES FOR INTERIM CHANGE PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS AND THE FINAL
REPORT
A. VISION STATEMENT AND NEED FOR CHANGE (10%)
Need for change
1. Considers sources of need for change?
Environmental? Personal?
3. Considers degree to which the belief of the need for change is accepted? How
widespread is the understanding of the need for change?
Vision statement (This is the change vision statement, not the organizational one!)
Is it:
1. Clear?
4. Inspiring?
Due Date: _______
B. STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS, POWER ANALYSIS, FORCE FIELD (10%)
Stakeholder analysis
1. Identified all the stakeholders?
2. Quality of analysis of stakeholder needs
Power analysis
1. Have they understood the types of power?
2. Quality of power analysis?
3. Considered the possibility of coalitions?
Force field analysis
1. Identified forces for and against change?
2. Considered how these forces could be increased or decreased?
Due Date: ________
C. ACTION PLANNING (10%)
Which tools for action planning were useful? Why?
1. Goal setting: end goal; next goal.
4. Decision tree analysis done.
5. Responsibility charting (who does what, when, where, how).
How would you propose to assess the validity of your action plan and its
prospects for success?
1. Does the timed sequenced of activities flow in logical order?
2. Were metrics of success and success probabilities considered?
3. Is the plan realistic?
4. Do you have the personal competence to implement and if not, how will you develop
needed competencies or make up for shortcomings in some other way?
Due Date: _______
D. FINAL CHANGE REPORTS (30%) – 2,000 words maximum. The executive summary
and exhibits are not included in the word count.
1. Description of change model
2. Description of change project
– fit with model; integration with readings
– evaluation of success
3. Statement of learning
4. Quality of exhibits
5. Grammar, presentation, etc.
• This is an individual assignment and it should be the student’s own work. Plagiarism will
not be tolerated.
• The assignment should be compiled professionally and structured in an appropriate
manner.
Appendix A: Individual Assignment Grading Schema
Criterion
Application
Total
Mark
Comments
Application of
the theory
Interim
Assignment
#1
Was the relevant theory, applicable
to the assignment, correctly and
effectively presented?
Does the individual understand the
theory and was it applied to the
context provided?
10
Application of
the theory
Interim
Assignment
#3
Was the relevant theory and
materials applicable to the
assignment, correctly and
effectively presented?
Does the individual understand the
theory and was it applied to the
context provided?
10
Logical flow
and structure
Does the assignment flow well from
the problem definition, to the
theoretical framework and
application, into the conclusion?
Does the Introduction provide a lucid
background and problem statement,
and does it describe the objectives
of the assignment, and the proposed
layout of the analysis?
Does the report effectively address
the personal lessons learned
concerning change leadership and
management
Is the document well structured?
15
Report Total
60
Additional comments: