Change Management

SPS Certificate website: https://sps.northwestern.edu/post-baccalaureate/change-management/

Business and service organizations must be nimble to thrive in today's complex marketplaces. Innovation is more than a buzzword — it's become a necessity. Organizations must constantly change from within to build viable processes and structures that can sustain success. They must also adapt in response to their environments through innovative management and creation of new services. This certificate provides a comprehensive overview of what it takes to thrive in an age of innovation and strategy, exploring a variety of topics — product development, quality management practices, the application of technology. Through coursework in organizational change, business innovation and change management, managers or aspiring managers can develop structured approaches to change across all levels of an organization.

Certificate Offered 

Change Management Courses

COMM_ST 250-DL Team Leadership and Decision Making (1 Unit)  

Theories and research relating to communication in small groups and group decision making.

ORG_BEH 301-DL Organization Behavior (1 Unit)  

Examination of aspects of organizations from an integrated perspective, including how the formal organization, culture, people and work can all connect to transform inputs to outputs. Emphasis on understanding individual differences as the foundation of our interpersonal and managerial effectiveness.

ORG_BEH 310-DL Organizational Change (1 Unit)  

In-depth investigation of the forces driving organizational change and their impact on people and structure.

ORG_BEH 311-DL Conflict Resolution (1 Unit)  

Conflict theory and its application to negotiations; conflict resolution style, group membership's impact on conflict.

ORG_BEH 367-DL Strategic Planning and Management (1 Unit)  

Concepts of strategic planning applied to various types of organizations.

ORG_BEH 369-DL Entrepreneurship and Technology (1 Unit)  

This course focuses on early-stage companies (including, but not only, startups) and how they are structured, financed, managed, scaled, and sold. It is an example-driven course that requires research outside class. While the course focuses on technology companies, this is interpreted broadly to include telecommunications, financial technology, medical technology, hardware innovation, and other topics; this is not a sector-specific course focused on "pure tech" (e.g. social media startups, ad tech, etc.). This is a case-driven, highly-collaborative course with a Socratic, conversational classroom environment, and it includes a midterm exam and a final project.