This course intends to prepare students for management and leadership tasks in technology-intensive operations. In working life, engineers are continuously involved in work groups whose task is to change and develop the industrial company's activities and probably to function as project manager and/or manager with responsibility for coordinating people and formal staff liability.

For the interplay between technology and economics to function in an efficient and successful way, it is thus central that the engineering work, in addition to deep technical and business area skills, is characterised by a skilled leadership. This facilitates the creation of preconditions for a well-functioning cooperation between people and a visionary competence provision – all important strategic challenges for the development and competitiveness of industrial organisations. Furthermore, leaders and executives have a far-reaching responsibility to use their authority in a reflective and ethically-aware manner – which implies handling and integrating questions about gender equality, diversity and sustainability in the daily work.

The task of a Master of Engineering is also often to carry out both incremental and radical change management, both within the framework of continuous industrial leadership and technology-intensive development work. Change management in technology-intensive environments implies a mixture of different knowledge and skills.
Firstly, knowledge and understanding of the industrial context and activities are required, as these are crucial to be able to identify the changes that are needed in order to reach the goals, and to meet the need for change.
Secondly, it is necessary to know how to handle and lead complex restructuring, implying the handling of social relations, trust, participation and learning within work groups with highly skilled key persons for the organisation.
The knowledge within all these fields must be based both on practical experiences and on current research.

On completion of the course, the students should be able to:

1. Account for dominating perspectives within leadership research and the development of the research field
2. Orally and in writing explain chosen theories in relation to leadership at different organisational levels
3. Describe and critically analyse dominating perspectives in the research about industrial organisational change and the development of the research field, and how these perspectives are related to technical development and technical shifts
4. Describe and critically analyse differences and similarities between incremental and concept-driven approaches
5. Describe different change strategies such as continuous improvements, radical changes, gradual changes and top down/bottom up, and account for the importance of the leadership at various types of changes
6. Apply selected leadership theories in the written analysis of fictitious and realistic cases within industrial- and technology-intensive operations
7. Apply basic methods in communication such as constructive feedback, active listening and appreciative inquiry (appraising approach)
8. Formulate a research question with both theoretical and practical relevance in leadership and the field of organisational change
9. Identify and analyse the importance of ethical aspects and sustainability aspects (including equal opportunities and diversity) for how knowledge of leadership and organisational change is applied

The course has three main modules: 1 Organization, 2 Leadership and 3 Change.

In module 1 and 2, students prepare by reading a short book on studying Organization and Leadership respectively. The students discuss prepared quetions in smaller groups in a seminar and share their main thoughts for the rest of the class. An individual one-pager reflection is handed in guided by three issues. Finally in a peer review session students read 5 other one-pagers and discuss their different views on the task and topic.

In module 2 students do a self test on their leadership style. This data is gathered and aggregated to see how differnt profiles distribute among the class. A group assignment allow students to think of situations where these styles of leadership may be present. In lectures other perspectives on leadership is discussed, in addition to the before mentioned seminar. 

Also in module 2 students apply and practice a model of active listeining to strengthen their awareness of communication in a group and how active listening can be an inclusive approach improving team performance. 

In module 3 students have a project, in which they contact companies and learn aout current or or earlier change projects. From theory they select a theoretical framework or perspective by which they will anallyse the company change. An exercise in oral presentation, applying a rhetorical work process, students present their project idea and framework. Later a final project presentation with focus on rhetorics, is performed (no need to present theories everyone knows). 

In module 3 there is also an emphasis on organisational and business development with change for and by the means of inclusion and equal oportunities in which a case from the Shell company is discussed in groups and in relation to a framework on the effects of diversity perspectives on work group processes and outcomes.

Schema VT-2022-462
Schema HT-2021-TIEMM

Chris Grey (2013) A very short, fairly interesting and reasonable cheap book about, studying organisations, 3rd (or 4th) edition. London: Sage

Jackson, B. and K. Parry (2011) A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying leadership. 2nd (or 3rd) edition. Los Angeles: SAGE

Students at KTH with a permanent disability can get support during studies from Funka:

Funka - compensatory support for students with disabilities

A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

• INL5 - Assignments, 2.5 credits, Grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• SEM5 - Seminars, 0.5 credits, Grading scale: P, F
• TEN1 - Exam, 2.5 credits, Grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• ÖVN1 - Excercises, 0.5 credits, Grading scale: P, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

Assignments ( INL5 ) Hand-ins from seminars and draft report, peer review and project report 

Seminars ( SEM5 ) Active participation 

Exam ( TEN1 ) Written exam graded for quality and content, see grading scale

Excercises ( ÖVN1 ) Active participation and following instructions for required work or report

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.