Managing change in an academic environment: the German programme at the OUUK

The focus in change management in both commercial organisations and academic environments often takes place at the strategic level. However, change management has an impact at all levels of any organisation, including the operational one. This paper uses the German programme at the Open University in the UK (OUUK) as an example of the way in which a language teaching programme has been subjected to constant and continuous change – both from within the institution and from the external environment. This article aims to complement a brief discussion of the implications of strategic level change management with an insight into the impact of a variety of changes at the operational level from a practitioner’s perspectiv