General feedback on the Exam Organisational Change 2012/13

All of the exam papers have now been marked by myself, a sample has been second-marked by Dr Jason MacVaugh, and has also gone to an external examiner for moderation, as per our quality assurance system. Grades remain provisional until the exam board but to date the exam paper grades are in the range 18-81% spread as follows: Under 20 1 20-29 5 30-39 5 40-49 11 50-59 20 60-69 10 70-79 19 80+ 4

Whilst it is disappointing to see so many fails, the proportion of firsts is very good news, and easily surpasses previous cohorts attainment. To help you anticipate what you might have achieved please refer to the exam marking criteria, which has been on ebridge for some time (and I hope you also looked at this before the exam!). For part A, students should have used all they learned through this module about how to manage change in order to minimise resistance. Students should have presented a clear and considered analysis of the Townwaste case, identifying the relevant leadership style (autocratic) and approach to change (structural functional), and should have discussed the effectiveness of these in the context of the given case. Their analysis should have demonstrated learning from the module eg. relevant theories discussed and applied. Students should have discuss different perspectives on change management (in particular Organisational Development and Multiple Constituencies views) and strategies for avoiding resistance (eg. from Kotter), and presented an argument about how, in this case, resistance might have been minimised. The better answers presented a critical view of change management, discuss hard and soft approaches, and included examples from real organisations to support the arguments proposed. For part B, students should have presented a clear and realistic picture of the contemporary workplace, critically discussing themes such as diversity, technology, globalisation and flexibility. They should have outlined the key skills, attitudes, knowledge and experiences that their programme of study has sought to provide (considering not just the classroombased learning) and provide a critical personal reflection (including skills audit/ SWOT) outlining their personal strengths and areas for development. Clear linkages should have been made between what skills employers are seeking and those which they feel they have, in order to provide a clear response to the question. For higher grades students should have shown an awareness of the limitations of a classroom-based business education.

I am not permitted to release exam or overall module marks to students, so please do not contact me directly for these. I cannot make exceptions for any reason. If you contact me for your grade I will ignore your email. All final marks will be released via the portal on Fri 28th June. If, after this date, you wish to see your marked paper, please email me to arrange this: K.Graley@Hull.ac.uk Wishing you all the very best with your future plans, in work or further study. Yours sincerely, Katy Dr Katy Graley, Module Leader.