ASSESSMENT 1: Personal Individual Reflection Journal Entry

Organizational change management students produce a personal reflection journal entry of 800 to 1000 words that links early course readings on models such as the psychological contract and change agents to their individual group and organizational experiences of change to demonstrate deeper self-awareness and future application strategies.

ASSESSMENT TASKS

ASSESSMENT 1: Personal Individual Reflection Journal Entry

Weight: 15%

Due Date: To be confirmed

Content: Individual reflective paper (800-1000 words)

Introduction

Change is constant in our lives and our organisations.

Lecturers frequently remind students that personal accounts of turbulence help bridge abstract theory with lived reality in ways that case studies alone rarely achieve.

Organisations undergo rapid cycles of change, some feature major turbulence (downsizing, restructures) and change complexity (mergers, acquisitions). The way each of us experiences any change event is different depending on our role in the change and how the change affect us. No matter how difficult or unpleasant the change, there is always an opportunity for learning about ourselves. In doing so, we search for and discover new ways of managing change for ourselves and others? One of our greatest avenues of learning about how to manage change more effectively, and to make a difference, is from our personal and professional experiences and reflections on our experiences of change.

Instructions

Reflect on your change experiences at the individual, group, inter-group and larger organization level from readings, chapters in the SET TEXT the first three to four weeks of class.

Faculty members note that students who draw explicit parallels between weekly readings and their own workplace transitions tend to produce stronger submissions that meet rubric criteria for application depth.

You may get ideas from the case studies in the text as well but you much refer to the scholarly literature not only a case study. Apply the reading to your personal experience to demonstrate your increased understanding of models and concepts in organizational change literature. Make clear how you have developed deeper understanding and how you intend to use this deeper understanding in specific circumstances in the future.

Recent analyses of student portfolios confirm that structured reflections on psychological contracts often reveal hidden assumptions about loyalty during restructures.

1. You need to demonstrate that you have thought deeply about how you currently manage change in your life both professionally and personally and how you will be better able to manage change in the future.
2. You must relate your writing to course material eg the psychological contract, change agent, change models, types of change etc.
3. You are required to submit a typed page and no more 800 to 1000 words essay covering four topics of 200-150 words each topic. Select a key issue or concept based on a lecture topic/chapter and additional readings reading so far and examine how they relate to you as a professional.

Current program guidelines stress that each 200-250 word topic should stand alone yet flow logically into the next to maintain overall coherence.

4. Your lecturer will regard your essay writing in the strictest confidence
5. This assignment is designed to help you as feedback is giving in your writing.
6. Use Harvard Referencing for each topic. Total 4 topic.
7. Reference each reflection demonstrating what exactly you have read and which concept you selected to apply to and increase understanding of your personal experience
8. Read and use one journal article or chapter topic per reflection – using a referenced concept contained in the reading.
9. You will be provided with feedback within two weeks before your essay.

Sample Student Reflection Journal Entry Excerpt

Students typically open each 200-word topic with a concise description of a personal or professional change event before linking it to one required reading. In the first topic the writer described a recent team restructure that triggered feelings of uncertainty and connected it directly to the psychological contract concept from the set text. The reflection noted how unmet expectations around job security eroded trust yet also prompted proactive communication with the new manager. A second topic examined resistance during a departmental merger and applied the change agent role from weekly readings to show how the writer stepped forward to facilitate information sharing among colleagues. Planned future use appeared in every section with concrete examples such as volunteering for pilot projects in upcoming organisational initiatives. Guidance from “Reflections: How Studying Organizational Change Lost Its Way” highlights the value of grounding personal accounts in specific models to avoid superficial descriptions and instead reveal actionable insights (Hughes, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2022.2030980). Such focused examples help future submissions meet the four-topic requirement while demonstrating genuine growth in change management capability.

Student reflections on organisational change consistently benefit from explicit integration of scholarly sources that move beyond description toward critical self-assessment. Systematic reviews of reactions to change indicate that individuals who actively process their emotional responses through structured writing report higher levels of perceived control and adaptability in subsequent transitions (Khaw et al., 2022). Case studies drawn from mid-sized firms undergoing digital transformation further illustrate how early identification of psychological contract breaches can prevent prolonged disengagement when leaders address them openly. These patterns underscore the practical relevance of the assignment in building resilience for real-world leadership roles.

Many students initially worry that personal reflection feels too subjective for academic credit yet the rubric rewards precise application of concepts such as change models to lived experience rather than vague generalisations. Comparing alternative approaches such as free-form journaling versus the required four-topic format reveals that the structured version produces clearer evidence of learning outcomes for both students and markers. Additional study points worth noting include the need to balance first-person narrative with Harvard citations to maintain scholarly tone while still conveying authentic voice; faculty feedback often flags submissions that omit future application statements as incomplete even when past experiences are described vividly.

References

Beer, M. (2021) ‘Reflections: Towards a Normative and Actionable Theory of Planned Organizational Change and Development’, Journal of Change Management, 21(1), pp. 14–29. doi:10.1080/14697017.2021.1861699.

Hughes, M. (2022) ‘Reflections: How Studying Organizational Change Lost Its Way’, Journal of Change Management, 22(2), pp. 147–163. doi:10.1080/14697017.2022.2030980.

Karlsen, J.E. (2023) ‘Reflections: Time and Temporality in Organizational Change – Why Bother Yet?’, Journal of Change Management, 23(4), pp. 321–336. doi:10.1080/14697017.2023.2268247.

Khaw, K.W., Alnoor, A., Al-Abrrow, H., Chew, X.Y., Sadaa, Y.Y. and Abbas, S. (2022) ‘Reactions towards organizational change: a systematic literature review’, Current Psychology. doi:10.1007/s12144-022-03070-6.

• personal reflection journal entry organizational change management assignment 800-1000 words
• Personal Individual Reflection Journal Entry Organizational Change 15% Assessment
• Developing Deeper Understanding of Change Models Through Personal and Professional Reflection
• When Management Students Connect Early Course Readings on Psychological Contracts to Their Own Change Experiences

1. Students submit an 800-1000 word individual reflective paper that examines four key topics linking personal and professional change experiences to course concepts such as the psychological contract and change agents using Harvard referencing.
2. Complete the Personal Individual Reflection Journal Entry assessment of 800-1000 words that covers four 200-250 word topics drawn from the first three to four weeks of organizational change readings and applies them to future practice.
3. Reflect on change experiences at individual group inter-group and organizational levels in a 15% weighted journal entry that demonstrates deeper understanding of models from the set text and scholarly literature.

Keywords

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Assessment 2: Group Case Analysis – Leading Organizational Change (Week 6, Module 2)

In Week 6 of the organizational change management course, student teams of four analyse a provided real-world case of a company undergoing merger or digital transformation and produce a 1500-word report with recommendations. Learners apply at least two change models from the first half of the semester to diagnose resistance and propose interventions that address psychological contracts and stakeholder engagement. The assignment requires a short team reflection appendix of 300 words that evaluates group dynamics during the project. Students also prepare a 10-minute presentation for peer feedback in the following tutorial.