7LD01 Organisational Design and Development CIPD Level 7 Unit 7LD01 Assignment Example 2026 Qualification title CIPD Level 7 Advanced Diploma in Strategic Learning and Development Qualification number QN 610/3538/5 Unit code: 7LD01 Unit name: Organisational design and development RQF level Level 7 About This Unit This unit focuses on the principles of organisational design and development. It examines the impact of change on organisational forms and deliberates the process of change through which adaptations are made to the ways in which structure, process and people work; the success of each is dependent on each other. It also examines the impact of change on working lives and the strategies for engaging employees and wider stakeholders in successful implementation. The unit also encourages reflection on the personal skills, techniques and behaviour that support effective organisational design and development work
What You Will Learn You will critically evaluate theory and concepts in relation to organisational design and development in order to understand the general principles and key issues that underpin them. You will examine the meaning and value of organisational design and development and review the rationale for and the complexity of organisational design, considering a range of organisational forms and discussing the contextual relevance of these within an environment demanding increasing flexibility and agility. You will also develop understanding of different methods and approaches to organisational development and how these align with organisational goals. Additionally, you will explore the role of people professionals in the creation of new organisational forms. Finally, you will examine responses and approaches to change, including strategies for employee engagement.
Learning Outcome, Assessment Criteria And Indicative Content 1 Understand the concepts and theories underpinning organisational design and development.
1.1 Critically evaluate the theoretical basis of organisational design and development.
Schools of thought connected with organisational design; different schools of thought and practice surrounding organisation development; behavioural science, social psychology, organisational psychology, motivation theory and job design and redesign, systems theory and application; organisational culture and values and how these are determined; new organisational paradigms; the relationship of organisation design and development with organisational performance.
1.2 Examine the context for organisational design and development.
External, internal and economic drivers for engagement with organisation design and development; context of change; the need for flexibility and agility; broad view of organisational forms including strategy and structure.
1.3 Evaluate the value and impact of organisational design and development.
How design vs development decisions may be reached; how people practice strategies can produce organisational design and development outcomes; establishing organisational KPIs, goals and success criteria; human impact and organisational people measures, for example retention, engagement; feedback from customers, customer perception; measuring effectiveness and cost vs benefit.
1.4 Evaluate key contextual variables and limitations that impact organisational design and development.
Impact of existing structure, size, geography, context, dynamism in the market and sector in which the organisation operates, etc; the nature of the business and organisational culture.
2 Understand the range of options for organisational design and how these may be implemented in practice.
2.1 Explain the factors that determine how organisational design decisions are made.
Design options and how the options are explored and selected – for example whole system in the room; the role of strategic planning and whether outcomes of structure can be meaningfully predicted; horizon scanning; models of organisational strategy development; the merits (and drawbacks) of having multiple/different structures within the same organisation.
2.2 Critically discuss organisational design options within a given context.
Strengths and limitations of organisational forms (flat, hierarchical, matrix structures and networked structures); contemporary alternative structures for example holacracy and self- managed teams; virtual organisations; designs applicable across a range of firm sizes and sectors; impact of local, regional and national culture and business systems on organisational design options.
2.3 Discuss different approaches to implementing organisational designs.
Piloting and prioritising; iterative transition process versus big bang change; influence of the context and other factors on the approach; evaluating and optimising the transition; importance of change ready culture; speed of change.
2.4 Examine the implications of organisational design for the creation of high- performance work systems.
Tensions between centralised control and devolved responsibility; human considerations – response to change and changed structures and responsibilities; implications where rapid/radical redesign is needed.
3 Understand approaches to organisational development as a means of enabling organisations to meet their goals.
3.1 Explain the rationale behind engagement with organisational development.
Need for systemic change; whole systems approach to change; alignment of organisational strategy, goals and purpose; institutionalising continuous improvement culture; need for improved coordination and communication.
3.2 Evaluate different organisational development frameworks.
Static vs dynamic models; Frameworks such as McKinsey 7S and Weisbord six box model; multi- level organisational development strategy; intervention models such as human process interventions, techno- structural interventions.
3.3 Assess the impact that the drivers for change have on the choice of transformation strategies.
Corporate reporting, for example correcting pay gaps and non- compliance in other areas; PESTEL factors; ethical people practice; how the context can influence specific modes of change.
3.4 Critically assess sources of evidence and data that support organisational development choices.
Data visualisation; assessing the quality and reliability of evidence; deciding which data to use and whether data needs to be sourced or is pre- existing; strengths and criticisms of diagnostic tools at individual, organisation and team level; descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive analytics to predict/preempt situations.
4 Understand how organisational design and development contributes to effective change.
4.1 Discuss the challenges faced by practitioners when trying to implement holistic approaches to organisational development.
Making the case for change; coordination of individual- , group- , departmental- and strategic- level change; communicating change effectively to disparate groups; issues of parity when managing different types of change, (radical- incremental, the holistic nature of organisational development); power and politics; emergent approaches to change – including stimulating social movement, co- creation.
4.2 Examine reactions to organisational change and discuss why individuals may resist change.
Why resistance to change occurs; critique of models that predict resistance; implications for employee experience; resilience and readiness for change; how leaders impact the change process; Role of messaging, engagement and communication in the execution of change. Understanding human factors of change (for example emotional/mental response)
4.3 Examine strategies for engaging employees with organisational design and development initiatives.
Strategies for employee voice and involvement; co- creation; importance of consultation and risks associated with pseudo- consultation; tools and techniques – appreciative enquiry and dialogic approaches; design thinking.
4.4 Discuss the skills and behaviours that practitioners need in order to be able to implement organisational design and development interventions.
Consultancy skills; problem diagnosis; solution development and implementation; communication; personal resilience; coaching and mentoring; reflection; personal learning and development as key levers for transformation.
