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Schedule

The topics and learning activities scheduled for each of the 12 lessons in the course are listed in the Course Schedule. Each lesson covers one week. As you study each week's lesson, please focus on the specific list of learning activities for that lesson.

  • Course length: 16 weeks

Note: The due dates for the assignments are noted in the Course Schedule section of this syllabus, below. Deadlines will be defined as 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the last day of the lesson time frame, unless noted otherwise.

Lesson 1: Introduction—Organization Development and Its Future Directions
Readings:
  • Cummings & Worley (2025)
    • Chapter 1 "General Introduction to Organization Development"
    • Chapter 16  "Future Directions in Organization Development"
    • Integrative Cases “Building the Cuyahoga River Valley Organization” (pp. 411-419)

e-Reserves: To access the following material, choose the Library Resources option from the Course Navigation Menu and then select "E-Reserves for PADM 511."

  • Carnevale, D. G. (2003). Public administration and organizational development (pp. 21–37). In Organizational development in the public sector. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. 
Activities:
  • Introduce yourself in the Lesson 1 Self-Introduction discussion.
  • Post your case analysis by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
Lesson 2: Overview of Organization Development and Change
Readings:
  • Cummings & Worley (2025)
    • Chapter 2, "The Nature of Planned Change"
    • Integrative Cases “Building the Cuyahoga River Valley Organization” (pp. 411-419)
  • Bartunek, J. M., & Woodman, R. W. (2015). Beyond Lewin: Toward a temporal approximation of organization development and change. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 2,157–182.
  • Gary Hamel: Reinventing the Technology of Human Accomplishment : You can access the video under the Supplementary Digital Content section on the Key concepts of Chapter 2 page in Lesson 2.
    • for quality comments on this video: Management Innovation Exchange website

e-Reserves: To access the following material, choose the Library Resources option from the Course Navigation Menu and then select "E-Reserves for PADM 511."

  • Hossan, C. (2015). Applicability of Lewin’s change management theory in Australian local government. International Journal of Business and Management, 10(6), 53–65. 
Activities:
  • Read all posts made by your classmates and choose at least three to comment on in the case discussion by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
  • Post your learning reflections to the corresponding learning reflection discussion. Read all the reflections posted by your classmates.
Lesson 3: The Process of Organizational Development Part 1—Entering and Contracting
Readings:
  • Cummings & Worley (2025)
    • Chapter 3, "Entering and Contracting"
    • Integrative Cases "Peppercorn Dining" (pp. 105-123)
  • Lalonde, C., & Adler, C. (2015). Information asymmetry in process consultation: An empirical research on leader-client/consultant relationship in healthcare organizations. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(2), 177–211.
  • Black, J. A., & Edwards, S. (2000). Emergence of virtual or network organizations: Fad or feature? Journal of Organizational Change Management, 13(6), 567–576.
Activities:
  • Post your case analysis by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
Lesson 4: The Process of Organizational Development Part 2—Diagnosing
Readings:
  • Cummings & Worley (2025)
    • Chapter 4, "Diagnosing"
    • Integrative Cases "Peppercorn Dining" (pp. 105-123)
  • Gephardt, R. P., Jr. (2002). Introduction to the brave new workplace: Organizational behavior in the electronic age. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 327–344.

​e-Reserves: To access the following material, choose the Library Resources option from the Course Navigation Menu and then select "E-Reserves for PADM 511."

  • Wagner, S., Martin, N., & Hammond, C. (2002). A brief primer on quantitative measurement for the OD professional. OD Practitioner, 34(3), 53–57.
Activities:
  • Read all posts made by your classmates and choose at least three to comment on in the case discussions by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
  • Post your learning reflections to the corresponding learning reflection discussion. Read all the reflections posted by your classmates.
Lesson 5: The Process of Organizational Development Part 3—Designing and Implementing OD Intervention
Readings:
  • Cummings & Worley (2025)
    • Chapter 5 "Designing and Implementing OD intervention"
    • Integrative Cases "Lincoln Hospital: Third-Party Intervention” (pp.179-187)
  • Isabella, L. A. (1990). Evolving interpretations as a change unfolds: How managers construe key organizational events. Academy of Management Journal, 33(1), 7–42.

e-Reserves: To access the following material, choose the Library Resources option from the Course Navigation Menu and then select "E-Reserves for PADM 511."

  • Church, A. H., Golay, L. M., Rotolo, C. T., Tuller, M. D., Shull, A. C., & Desrosiers, E. I. (2012). Without effort there can be no change: Reexamining the impact of survey feedback and action planning on employee attitudes. In Research in organizational change and development (pp. 223–264). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Activities:
  • Post your case analysis by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
Lesson 6: The Process of Organizational Development Part 4—Evaluating and Reinforcing Organization Development Interventions
Readings:
  • Cummings & Worley (2025)
    • Chapter 6 "Evaluating and Reinforcing Organization Development Interventions"
    • Integrative Cases "Lincoln Hospital: Third-Party Intervention” (pp.179-187)
  • Fernandez, S., & Rainey, H. G. (2006). Managing successful organizational change in the public sector. Public Administration Review, (2), 168–176.
  • YouTube video Leading Change Consciously by Amin Kaboli, TEDxEcublens: You can access the video under the Supplementary Digital Content section on the Key Concepts of Chapter 6 page in Lesson 6.

e-Reserves: To access the following material, choose the Library Resources option from the Course Navigation Menu and then select "E-Reserves for PADM 511."

  • Armenakis, A. A., Harris, S. G., & Feild, H. S. (2000). Making change permanent: A model for institutionalizing change interventions. In Research in organizational change and development (pp. 97–128). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Activities:
  • Read all posts made by your classmates and choose at least three to comment on in the case discussions by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
  • Post your learning reflections to the corresponding learning reflection discussion. Read all the reflections posted by your classmates.
Lesson 7: Human Process Interventions
Readings:
  • Cummings & Worley (2025)
    • Chapter 7 "Interpersonal and Group Processes"
    • Chapter 8 "Organization Processes"
  • Salas, E., Shuffler, M. L., Thayer, A. L., Bedwell, W. L., & Lazzara, E. H. (2015). Understanding and improving teamwork in organizations: A scientifically based practical guide. Human Resource Management, 54(4), 599–622.

e-Reserves: To access the following material, choose the Library Resources option from the Course Navigation Menu and then select "E-Reserves for PADM 511."

  • Albrecht, S. L., Bakker, A. B., Gruman, J. A., Macey, W. H., & Saks, A. M. (2015). Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), 7–35.
  • Cummings & Worley (2015)
    • Integrative Cases "City of Carlsbad, California: Restructuring the Public Works Department” (on E-reserves)
Activities:
  • Post your case analysis by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
Lesson 8: Technostructural Interventions Part 1—Employee Involvement and Employee Engagement
Readings:
  • Cummings & Worley (2025)
    • Chapter 9 "Employee Involvement and Employee Engagement"
  • Raza, M. A., Khan, M. M., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2017). The impact of organizational change on employee turnover intention: Does stress play a mediating role? Public Organization Review, 1–15.

e-Reserves: To access the following material, choose the Library Resources option from the Course Navigation Menu and then select "E-Reserves for PADM 511."

  • Bushe, G. R. (2017). Creating collaborative organizations that can persist: The partnership principle. OD Practitioner, 49(3), 23–29.
  • Cummings & Worley (2015)
    • Integrative Cases "City of Carlsbad, California: Restructuring the Public Works Department” (on E-reserves)
Activities:
  • Read all posts made by your classmates and choose at least three to comment on in the case discussion by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
  • Post your learning reflections to the corresponding learning reflection discussion. Read all the reflections posted by your classmates.
Lesson 9: Technostructural Interventions Part 2—Work Design
Readings:
  • Cummings & Worley (2025)
    • Chapter 10 "Work Design"
  • Sikdar, A., & Payyazhi, J. (2014). A process model of managing organizational change during business process redesign. Business Process Management Journal, 20(6), 971–998.

e-Reserves: To access the following material, choose the Library Resources option from the Course Navigation Menu and then select "E-Reserves for PADM 511."

  • Cummings & Worley (2015)
    • Integrative Cases “Employee Benefits at HealthCo” (on E-reserves)
  • Mariani, L., & Tieghi, M. (2018). Measuring effectively in healthcare: From the governance of the system to the management of the organizations, and back. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 11(2), 112–121.
Activities:
  • Post your case analysis by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
Lesson 10: Human Resource Interventions
Readings:
  • Cummings & Worley (2025)
    • Chapter 11 "Performance Management"
    • Chapter 12 "Managing Workforce Diversity and Wellness"
  • Brown, M., Kulik, C. T., Cregan, C., & Metz, I. (2017). Understanding the change–cynicism cycle: The role of HR. Human Resource Management, 56(1), 5–24.
  • Gould, J. A., Kulik, C. T., & Sardeshmukh, S. R. (2018). Gender diversity from the top: the trickle‐down effect in the Australian public sector. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 56(1), 6–30.
  • Kerr, S. (1975). On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B. Academy of Management Journal (Pre-1986), 18(4), 769. https://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/on-folly-rewarding-while-hoping-b/docview/229491878/se-2

e-Reserves: To access the following material, choose the Library Resources option from the Course Navigation Menu and then select "E-Reserves for PADM 511."

  • Cummings & Worley (2015)
    • Integrative Cases “Employee Benefits at HealthCo” (on E-reserves)
Activities:
  • Read all posts made by your classmates and choose at least three to comment on in the case discussion by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
  • Post your learning reflections to the corresponding learning reflection discussion. Read all the reflections posted by your classmates.
  • Term paper is due on the first day of finals week. Paper should be submitted individually to the Term Paper Assignment area.
Working on Term Paper
Readings:
  • none
Activities:
  • Term paper is due on the first day of finals week. Paper should be submitted individually to the Term Paper Assignment area.
Lesson 11: Large-Scale Interventions Part 1
Readings:
  • ​Cummings & Worley (2025)
    • Chapter 13 "Fundamentals of Large-Scale Change"
    • Chapter 14 "Large-Scale Organization Change Interventions"
  • Höglund, L., Holmgren Caicedo, M., Mårtensson, M., & Svärdsten, F. (2018). Strategic management in the public sector: How tools enable and constrain strategy making. International Public Management Journal, 1–28.

e-Reserves: To access the following material, choose the Library Resources option from the Course Navigation Menu and then select "E-Reserves for PADM 511."

  • Cummings & Worley (2015)
    • Integrative Cases “Leading Strategic Change at DaVita: The Integration of the Gambro Acquisition” (on E-reserve)
  • Mellish, L. (2011). Facilitating strategic AI interventions. AI Practitioner, 13(2). 
Activities:
  • Post your case analysis by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
  • Term paper due on the first day of finals week, submitted individually to the Term Paper Assignment area.
Lesson 12: Large-Scale Interventions Part 2
Readings:
  • Cummings & Worley (2025)
    • Chapter 15 "Large-Scale Multi-organizational Change
  • Gibbons, K., & Jacobs, M. (2018, January). Emerging possibilities: Adapting Carol Sanford's stakeholder PENTAD for the nonprofit and public sectors. In Proceedings of the 60th Annual Meeting of the ISSS-2016 Boulder, CO, USA, 1(1).

e-Reserves: To access the following material, choose the Library Resources option from the Course Navigation Menu and then select "E-Reserves for PADM 511."

  • Cummings & Worley (2015)
    • Integrative Cases “Leading Strategic Change at DaVita: The Integration of the Gambro Acquisition” (on E-reserve)
Activities:
  • Read all posts made by your classmates and choose at least three to comment on in the case discussion by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
  • Post your learning reflections to the corresponding learning reflection discussion. Read all the reflections posted by your classmates.
  • Term paper due on the first day of finals, submitted individually to the Final Term Paper Assignment area.
Final Term Paper Due
Readings:
  • none
Activities:
  • Submit the final term paper individually to the Term Paper Assignment area. This course utilizes finals week. Submissions are due by by 11:59 p.m. (ET), although you may submit earlier.
  • Complete the SEEQ (Student Educational Experience Questionnaire).

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