Organizational Change and Development - Module 2 - MG University - Manu Melwin Joy

Organizational Change and DevelopmentModule 2 – MG University

Prepared By

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Manu Melwin JoyAssistant Professor

Ilahia School of Management Studies

Kerala, India.Phone – 9744551114

Mail – [email protected]

Contents• Organizational development –Concept and evolution-

nature and characteristics.• First order and second order Change.• Foundations of Organizational Development.• Conceptual frame work of OD –Action Research

Model-Positive Model-John Kotter’s eight-stage process Model.

• Parallel learning structures.• Process of organizational development –

Organizational Diagnosis .

Case Study – The OD Journey of TCS

Pre-OD Scenario

1) Mounting Revenue Pressures

2) Selectivity in Projects

3) Focus on Specialization

4) Efforts on Experimentation &

Innovation

5) Rewards & Recognition

6) Intergroup Co-ordination & Knowledge

Sharing

7) Branding & PR

Alignment & Structure at TCS

Voice of

Wealth

Voice of

Employee

Voice of

Technology

Voice of

Customer

Scenario Building Workshops

Goal Alignment & Balance Scorecard

• A need to re-look at a few organizational processes and systems, as for instance, the performance management and appraisal system at TCS.

• Teach-Train-Transfer workshop by expert OD consultants- to explore means of institutionalizing goal-oriented performance management organization.

• Personal Score Card-clearly outlined what would define goals, outputs, performance management, Economic Value adds & the ways and means for facilitating goal alignment.

• The Balanced Scorecard approach was proposed, introducing corporate goals, which touched upon the following:– Voice of the Shareholder - Financial Goals e.g. Wealth creation– Vector of Technology – Technology Goals e.g. Quality, Cost, Delivery dimensions– Voice of the Customer – Customer/ Market Goals e.g. Customer Satisfaction– Voice of the Employee – Learning & Development e.g. Employee Satisfaction

PROPEL• The Intervention: Culture Building at TCS

• In consonance with the TCS belief of “Let us make it a joy for all our stakeholders”.

Confluences

•balance of fun, introspection and interaction, while evoking commitment to self development

Camps• Platform for problem

solving, focus on the Quality, Cost & Delivery measures

Value Card

• It helped to effectively capture and track this through the following steps:– The situation summary was charted out– Improvement goals, action plans and owners of each

plan were identified– Success measures were identified against the

dimensions of Valuing, Strategizing, Improving, for each actionable, along with timeframe for closure

– Impact was analyzed in terms of short term and long-term actions.

Initiatives DeployedAccoun

t Excelle

nce Plan

Nakshaktra

Award

In Touch

Associate

Satisfaction

Survey (Darpa

n)

Toast Master Club/ Lets Talk

Fun @ Relationship LevelOpen

House/ Town Halls

Walk The Talk

Account Excellence Program

• Meeting all customer requirements• Minimizing processes variances• Reduction in Cost Of Quality• Elimination of waste• Enhanced Customer Support• Efficient Product Service• Flexibility to meet Customer demands

& Market changes• Rework Reduction• Continuous Process Improvements• On-time delivery of major programs

Darpan

• Reflect & Improve• There was a distinct

increase in the Associate Satisfaction Index (ASI) in Darpan 06, which, interestingly, corresponded to an increase in Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) as well.

Paradigm Shift: Post OD Scenario• The earlier tendency of self-sacrificing hard work

was replaced by a shift of focus to teamwork and

valuing of the employee.

• In a nutshell, the OD interventions at TCS have

helped build a culture of fostering systems

thinking & creating forums for dialogue, while

encouraging leadership at all levels.

• For the organization at large, OD helped to

reiterate the merits of valuing enquiry, expressing

differences, and constantly generating new

knowledge.

Introduction to organizational development

Poor morale

Unclear goals

Poor quality

Poor t

eam pe

rform

ance

Intergroup conflictOrganization

Poorly designed tasks

Inappropriate leadership style

Interpersonal conflicts

Low productivity

Poor alignment to organization’s strategy

Start Point

Inappropriate o

rganizatio

n structu

re

Introduction to Organizational Development

• The term organizational development was coined by Richard Beckhard in the mid-1950s.

• Organizational development is an acronym of two words i.e., organization and development.

• The term consists of two words.• Organization - A social unit of people

that is structured and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals.

• Development - The systematic use of scientific and technical knowledge to meet specific objectives or requirements.

Objectives of Organizational Development

1. To increase employees' level of satisfaction and commitment.

2. To confront problems instead of neglecting them.

3. To effectively manage conflict.

4. To increase cooperation and collaboration among the employees.

5. To increase the organization's problem solving.

6. To put in place processes that will help improve the ongoing operation of the organization on a continuous basis.

Implications of Organizational Development

• For Individuals

– Most individuals believe in their personal growth.

– Majority of the people are desirous of making greater contributions to the organizations they are serving.


• For Groups

a) One of the most important factors in the organization is the ‘work group’ around whom the organization functions.

b) More people prefer to be part of the group because the group accepts them.

c) Most people are capable of making higher contributions to the group’s effectiveness.


• For Organization

a) Create learning organization culture.

b) Adopt win-win strategy for sustained growth.

c) Create cooperative dynamics rather than competitive organizational dynamics in the organization.

Organizational Development: How Effective Is It?

20

30

40

50Pe

rcen

tage

of

Stud

ies

Show

ing

Posi

tive

Chan

ges

Individualoutcomes(e.g., job

satisfaction)

Organizationaloutcomes

(e.g., profit)

(23.55)

(48.70)Organizational outcomes

more often benefited fromOD interventions than did

individual outcomes

(Source: Porras and Robertson, 1992.)

Scope of Organizational Development

• Organization Effectiveness• Organization Design• Organization Assessment• Organization-Wide System/Process Change• Performance Excellence• Succession Planning• Performance Coaching • Team Intervention

Problems with OD

• Too little “O” in OD– Few consultants are engaged

in the system-wide efforts that are OD.

– Most are using OD techniques in limited ways because of “reductionist thinking legacy”.

Problems with OD

• Too exclusive an emphasis on human processes– excludes task and

content contributions– prevents integration of

social and technical systems

– potentially distorts/over-simplifies diagnoses

Problems with OD

• Rigid adherence to humanistic values, making field’s strength a weakness– blindness to forces and

perspectives beyond human factors

– humanistic values can “trump” research on what works and doesn’t

– advocacy for the “right” values vs. helping clients

– Anti-leadership bias can lead to seeing the client as the enemy

– devalue organizational politics

OD and HRM• As HR takes on an increasingly

transformational role, OD will enable HR professionals to:– support transformation– work on organization design– design and deliver learning and

development interventions– support clients in major change

and organization design projects– analyze and improve the overall

health of the organization– keep the organization healthy

and fit for future challenges.

Key concepts – Organizational Change

• Organization change is the process of learning and behaving differently, in order to achieve new and better outcomes, by reordering the system structures that drive behavior.– Organization change is a departure

from the status quo.– It implies movement toward a goal,

an idealized state, or a vision of what should be and movement away from present conditions, beliefs, or attitudes.

Key concepts –Change Agent

• Cummings and Worley (2005) define a change agent “as a person who attempts to alter some aspect of an organization or an environment. – Change agents may come from

inside an organization, in which case they are called internal consultants, or they may come from outside an organization, in which case they are called external consultants.”

Key concepts –Client

• The client is the organization, group, or individuals whose interests the change agent primarily serves.– A key question for any OD

consultant to consider is “Who is the client?” (Varney, 1977).

– On occasion, the “client” may not be the one who originally sponsored or participated in the change effort.

Key concepts –Culture & Climate

• One focal point of OD is making changes in an organization’s culture.

• Culture should not be confused with climate. Culture refers to the overall organization.

• Climate refers more specifically to how things are done in a local team, department, or site.

Key concepts – Intervention

• Cummings and Worley (2005) define intervention as “any action on the part of a change agent.

• [An] intervention carries the implication that the action is planned, deliberate, and presumably functional.”

Key concepts – Sponsor

• A sponsor is one who underwrites, legitimizes, and champions a change effort or OD intervention.

Key concepts – Stakeholder

• A stakeholder is anyone who has a stake in an OD intervention. – Stakeholders may be

customers, suppliers, distributors, employees, and government regulators.

Definitions of organizational development

Definition - Richard Beckhard

• Organization development is an

effort (1) planned, (2)

organization-wide, and (3)

managed from the top, to (4)

increase organization

effectiveness and health through

(5) planned interventions in the

organization’s “processes,” using

behavioral-science knowledge.

Definition - Warner Burke

• OD is a planned process of

change in an

organization’s culture

through the utilization of

behavioral science

technology, research, and

theory.

Definition - Wendell L French

OD refers to a long-range effort to improve an organization’s problem-solving capabilities and its ability to cope with changes in its external environment with the help of external or internal behavioral-scientist consultants.

Definition - Michael BeerOD is a system-wide process of data collection, diagnosis, action planning, intervention, and evaluation aimed at: (1) enhancing congruence between organizational structure, process, strategy, people, and culture; (2) developing new and creative organizational solutions; and (3) developing the organization’s self-renewing capacity. It occurs through collaboration of organizational members working with a change agent using behavioral science theory, research, and technology.

Characteristics of Organizational Development


• Focus on culture and process

– Organization development on culture : following suitable and positive culture level and process success organization development program.


• Collaboration

– Organization development

encourages heartfelt

collaboration between top

management, managers and

employees.


• Accomplishment of tasks

– Various kinds of teams and

groups play important roles

for accomplishment of

organization development

activities. Thus targets can

also be achieved.


• Human and social sides


focuses on both human and

social sides. By doing so, it

intervenes in the

technological and structural

sides also.


• Participation

– Participation and involvement

of managers and players can

make the organization

development process a

success. It helps to exchange

views and ideal related to

organization development.


• System change


focuses on total system

change. Because every change

is inevitable for the success of

any development program.


• Facilitation

– There are three parties to

organization development

process. They are facilitators,

collaborators and co-learners in

the client system. Cooperation

of all these parties can help the

organization to develop.


• Over arching goals

– An overarching goal of the

organization is to make the

client system able to solve its

problems. It is done by teaching

the skills and knowledge on

continuous learning through self

analytical methods.


• Action research model


activities are undertaken

following the conclusions and

recommendations of action

research members related to

client system.


• Developmental view

– Organization development takes

a developmental view for the

betterment of both process and

organization. Another practice

in organization development

programs is to create win-win

solutions.

History of organizational development

History of OD

• Kurt Lewin (1898–1947) is widely recognized as the founding father of OD, although he died before the concept became current in the mid-1950s.

• From Lewin came the ideas of group dynamics and action research which underpin the basic OD process as well as providing its collaborative consultant/client ethos.

History of OD

• Institutionally, Lewin founded the "Research Center for Group Dynamics" (RCGD) at MIT, which moved to Michigan after his death.

• RCGD colleagues were among those who founded the National Training Laboratories (NTL), from which the T-Groups and group-based OD emerged.

History of OD

• Douglas McGregor and Richard

Beckhard while "consulting

together at General Mills in the

1950s, the two coined the term

organization development (OD) to

describe an innovative bottoms-up

change effort that fit no traditional

consulting categories"

History of OD

• 1947 – National Training

Laboratories Founded NTL in USA

advances the research into applied

behavioural sciences, develops

understand of change agent role and

experiential learning.

• 1950’s – Human Relations Movement

Growth of social and developmental

psychology.

History of OD

• 1951 – Socio-Technical System Thinking

(STS) Tavistock Institute (UK) research

shows that combining social factors with

technological changes increases

effectiveness, efficiency and moral.

• 1967 – Survey Research Methods Likert

and Mann pioneer survey feedback to help

organizational leaders understand the impact

they have on the people and performance of

the organization.

History of OD

• 1968 – Creation of the T Group Lewin (USA)

and Tavistock Institute develops unstructured

group laboratory training, and action learning

sets.

• 1974 – OD as Planned approach to Change

Friedlander and Brown research OD as a

method of planned change effort

• 1980’s – General Systems Theory Neilsen and

Schein promote OD as activities that influence

the social processes within an organisation. -

History of OD

• 1997 – Organizational Effectiveness Linking the application of OD in planned development interventions to the improvement of organizational effectiveness.

• 2000’s to Present – Complexity Theory OD continues to be informed by new insights and research in a number of disciplines including natural sciences, biology and physics as well as developments in the social and behavioural sciences.

1-64

Five Stems of OD PracticeCurrent Practice

Laboratory Training

Action Research/Survey Feedback

Participative Management

Quality of Work Life

Strategic Change

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Assumptions in organizational development

Assumptions in OD

• The Organization development has a number of underlying assumptions which can be examined so as to determine how the OD programmes can be utilized to the fullest potential.

• These assumptions are based upon French and Bell.

Assumptions in OD

• Most individuals have drives towards personal growth and development.– The work habits are a

response to work environment rather than personality traits.

– Accordingly, efforts to change work habits should be directed towards changing how the person is treated rather than towards attempting to change the person.

Assumptions in OD

• Highest productivity can be achieved when the individual goals are integrated with organizational goals. – Also with such integration,

the quality of the product is highly improved.

Assumptions in OD

• Cooperation is more effective than competition. – Conflict and competition tend

to erode trust, prohibit collaboration and eventually limit the effectiveness of the organization.

– In healthy organizations, “efforts are made at all levels to treat conflict as a problem subject to problem solving methods.

Assumptions in OD

• The suppression of feelings adversely affects problem solving, personal growth and satisfaction with one’s work. – Accordingly, free expression

of feelings is an important ingredient for commitment to work.

Assumptions in OD

• The growth of individual members is facilitated by relationships, which are open, supportive and trusting. – Accordingly, the level of

interpersonal trust, support and cooperation should be as high as possible.

Assumptions in OD

• The difference between commitment and agreement must be fully understood. – Agreeing to do something is

totally different from being committed to do something.

– Sense of commitment makes it easy to accept change and the implementation of change for the purpose of organi zational development is even easier when such a commitment is based upon participation in the process.

Assumptions in OD

• OD programmes, if they are to succeed, must be reinforced by the organization’s total human resources system.

Ethics and Values of organizational development

Ethics of OD

• RESPONSIBILITY TO OURSELVES– Acting with integrity and

Authenticity.– Striving for self-knowledge

and personal growth– Asserting individual

interests in ways that are fair and equitable.

Ethics of OD

• RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMPETENCE– Accepting responsibility for the

consequence of our acts.– Developing and maintaining

individual competence and establishing cooperative relations with other professionals.

– Recognizing our own needs and desires, and dealing with them responsibly in the performance of our professional roles.

Ethics of OD

• RESPONSIBILTY TO CLIENTS AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS.

• Serving the long-term well-being of our client system and stakeholders.

• Conducting ourselves honestly, responsibly, and with appropriate openness.

• Establishing mutual agreement on a fair contract.

Ethics of OD

• RESPONSIBILITY TO THE OD COMMUNITY.– Contributing to the continuing

professional development of other practitioners and field of practice.

– Promoting the sharing of professional knowledge and skill.

– Working with other professionals in ways that exemplify what the profession stands for.

Ethics of OD

• SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.– Acting with sensitivity to the

consequences of our recommendations for our client system and the larger systems within they are a subsystem.

– Acting with awareness of our cultural filters and with sensitivity to multinational and multicultural differences and their implications.

– Promoting justice and serving the well-being of all life on earth. -

The Ethics of OD:Summary of the Debate

OD is unethical

• Imposes values of theorganization; coerciveand manipulative

• Potential for abuse

OD is ethical

• The imposition of valuesis an inherent part of life,especially on the job

• Abuse comes from individuals, not fromthe technique itself,which is neither goodnor evil

Antecedents Process Consequences

Ethical Dilemmas

• Misrepresentation• Misuse of data• Coercion• Value and goal conflict• Technical ineptness

Role Episode

• Role conflict• Role ambiguity

Role ofthe

ChangeAgent

Role of the

ClientSystem

ValuesGoalsNeeds

Abilities

A Model of Ethical Dilemmas

Values of OD

• Ethics based on values help OD practitioners guide themselves as they move along the paths of their work and lives.

• Values are set of manners that individuals learn while growing up. It is different from ethics because ethics are publicly agreed on, and publicly stated, guidelines for a practice in a profession.

Values of OD

• Three types of OD Values– Humanistic– Optimistic– Democratic

Humanistic Values

• They proclaim the importance of the individual.

• Respect the whole person.• Treat people with respect

and dignity.• Assume that every one

has intrinsic worth.• View all people as having

the potential for growth and development.

Organic Values

• They post that people are basically good.

• Progress is possible and desirable.

• Rationality, reason, and goodwill are the tools for making progress.

Democratic Values

• They assert the sanctity of the individual.

• The right of people to be free from misuse of power.

• Use of fair and equitable treatment for all.

• Need for justice through rule of law.

OD practitioner

The Organization Development Practitioner

• Internal and External Consultants

• Professionals from other disciplines who apply OD practices (e.g., TQM managers, IT/IS managers, compensation and benefits managers)

• Managers and Administrators who apply OD from their line or staff positions

Role Demands on OD Practitioners

• Position– Internal vs. External

• Marginality– Ability to straddle boundaries

• Emotional Demands – Emotional Intelligence

• Use of Knowledge and Experience

Competencies of an Effective OD Practitioner

KNOWLEDGE

Foundation Competencies

• Organization Behavior– Organization Culture– Work Design– Interpersonal Relations– Power and Politics– Leadership– Goal-Setting– Conflict– Ethics

• Individual Psychology– Learning theory– Motivation theory– Perception theory

• Group Dynamics– Roles– Communication Processes– Decision-Making Processes– Stages of Group Development– Leadership


• Management and Organization Theory– Planning, organizing, leading, and

controlling– Problem solving and decision making– Systems theory– Contingency theory– Organization structure– Characteristics of environment and

technology– Models of organization and system


• Research Methods / Statistics– Measures of central tendency– Measures of dispersion– Basic sampling theory– Basic experimental design– Sample inferential statistics

• Comparative Cultural Perspectives– Dimensions of natural culture– Dimensions of industry culture– Systems implications


• Functional Knowledge of Business– Interpersonal communication– Collaboration / working together– Problem solving– Using new technology– Conceptualizing– Project management– Present / education / coach


Core Competencies

• Organization design

• Organization research

• System dynamics

• History of organization

• Theories and models for change

Competencies of an Effective OD Practitioner

SKILLS

Core Competencies

• Managing the consulting process• Analysis/diagnosis• Designing/choosing appropriate, relevant

interventions• Facilitation and process consultation• Developing client capability• Evaluating organization change

Client vs. Consultant KnowledgePlans Implementation

Recommends/prescribes

Proposes criteria

Feeds back data

Probes and gathers data

Clarifies and interprets

Listens and reflects

Refuses to become involved

Use of Consultant’sKnowledge andExperience

Use of Client’sKnowledge andExperience

Future of OD

• the following concerns remain constant for leaders and OD practitioners. How do we:– build a sustainable high-performance

organization in which individual workers take an active part in achieving the required output?

– Appropriately build engaged, proactive, empowered staff when there are limited reward levers organization can pull while needing to hold staff accountable?

– Solve the problems of aligning and integrating diverse cultural elements?

Future of OD

• Ensure there are fluid two-way communication channels – so that information can flow upward as well as downward within hierarchies?

• Help organizations to be externally sensitive and internally agile?

• Build organizational climates that will release human potential and creativity at work and foster continuous learning and renewal culture within organizations?

Four Key Orientations of OD

• A systemic orientation

• A problem-solving

orientation

• A humanistic orientation

• An experiential learning

orientation


• A systemic orientation– The understanding that

all parts of an organization (structure, technology, processes, people) are highly connected. Problems can occur at one or more levels and have far reaching consequences throughout the organization


• A problem-solving orientation– A focus on problem

identification, data gathering, option generation, cost/benefit analysis, decision-making, action planning, monitoring, review and adaptability - in the light of subjective experience


• A humanistic orientation– A positive belief

about the potential of people, their rights, their need for autonomy and support in varying measures, and the value of their subjective experience


• An experiential learning orientation– An acceptance that

training, development and organizational learning should be based on the subjective experiences of all those involved.

Basic Organization Development Model

Diagnosis of Situation

Introduction of interventions

Progress Monitoring

Feedback

Organization Development Interventions

OrganizationDevelopment

Structural TechniquesRelationship Techniques

T-group Training

Team Building

Survey Feedback

Job Redesign

Management by Objectives

Supplemental Organizational Processes

Organizational Learning

Exploitative Learning

ExploratoryLearning

Organization Development Across Cultures

EthnocentricAttitude andStereotyping

Flexibility

Knowledge ofSpecific Cultures

InterpersonalSensitivity

OD ProcessOperational Components of OD

The Diagnostic Phase

• The Diagnostic Phase Involves • Client's top management to

recognize the problems and have awareness of the need for change in the organisation.

• The engagement of change agent or consultant by client organisation.

• Diagnosis in OD is a collaborative process which involves the client system and consultant's joint collection and analysis of data.

The Diagnostic Phase• Emphasis is on continuous and

participative diagnosis. • OD consultant may make use of

tools such as questionnaire (survey) and interview schedules (consultation meetings).

• In brief, OD diagnosis attempts to analyze the current stale of the organisation in terms of various structures, systems and process in order to identify actual and potential strengths and weaknesses.

Acton Plan/Strategy Development

• Sharing of joint diagnosis of problems by the consultant and client team to the top management in an OD workshop.

• In this workshop top management jointly develops action plans and strategies In the form of interventions (e.g. team-building and OD grid, etc.) to bring about changes or improvement.

Action and Stabilization Phase

• Implementation of action plans—changes through intervention.

• Long drawn series of actions that may last several months such as grid OD intervention of Blake and Mouton.

Action and Stabilization Phase

• This phase of interventions of OD process takes place under conditions of unfrozenness, mobilizing efforts which is necessary for changes to have an impact.

• Allowing changes to stabilize and to permeate the culture of the organisation. To ensure that the positive clement of change programme are diffused to other parts of the organisation.

Feedback of Changes. Evaluation and Making Modification Phase

• This phase consists of monitoring and reviewing the progress of the actions by collecting feedback about the changes introduced.

• Making modification in case need arise. Mid-course corrections.

• In case some new problems are revealed in the collection of data (survey/consultation process) another phase is commenced.

Feedback of Changes. Evaluation and Making Modification Phase

• In the event of achievement complete success, it has to be ensured client team is competent enough to maintain the changed system without the support of the consultant, as there is tendency among organizations to revert to their original states. Consultant can thus withdraw.

• In nutshell, OD practitioners, both internal and external consultants may counsel decision makers on an individual basis, work to improve working relationships among the members of working group or team.

Conditions for managing change through OD process

• Management and all those involved must have high and visible commitment to the effort.

• People who are involved need to have advance information that enables them to know what is to happen and what they are to do.

• The effort (especially the evaluation and reward systems) must be connected to other parts of the organisation.

• The effort needs to be directed by line managers and assisted by a change agent if necessary.

Conditions for managing change through OD process

• The effort must be based on good diagnosis and must be consistent with the conditions in the organisation.

• Management must remain committed to the effort throughout all its steps, from diagnosis's through implementation and evaluation.

• Evaluation is essential and must consist of more than asking people how they felt about the effort.

• People must see clearly the relationship between the alfort and the organisation's mission goals.

Assessment of OD

• Assessing OD intervention involves judging about whether an intervention has been implemented as intended and if so, whether it is having desired results.

Assessment of OD

• There are two distinct types of OD assessment: On intended to guide the implementation of intervention and another to assess their overall impact.

• Assessment aimed at guiding implementation may be called implementation assessment and assessment intended to discover intervention outcomes may be called evaluation assessment.

Assessment of OD

• Assessment of OD involves decision about measurement and research design.

• Measurement issues focuses on selecting variables and designing good measures.

• Research design focuses on setting up the conditions for making valid assessments of an OD interventions effect.

Implementation and evaluation assessment

Cummings & Worley, 7e (c) 2001 South-Western College Publishing 11-128

ImplementationFeedback

• Feedback aimed at guiding implementation efforts

• Milestones, intermediate targets

• Measures of the intervention’s progress

EvaluationFeedback

• Feedback aimed at determining impact of intervention

• Goals, outcomes, performance

• Measures of the intervention’s effect

Conditions for Failure in OD Effort


• A continued discrpancy between top management statements of values and styles and their actual work behaviour.

• A big program of activities without any solid base of change goals.

• Overdependence on outside help: With the incresing complexity of organizations and of the demands of the environment, it is easy to let consultants or specialists `solve the problem.’


• A large gap between the change effort at the top of the organisation and efforts in the middle of the organisation.

• Trying to fit a major organisation change into an old structure.

• Lack of process-consultation skills among key members of the organisation.


• Applying an intervention or strategy inappropriately.

• Too rapid changeover in top posts, and new people not interested in OD.

• Lack of courage and willingness of top management to call a spade a spade, in relaton to strategy, task, relationships, and concrete achievements.

Conditions for success in OD Effort

• There is a pressure on the top management which induces some arousal to action.

• There is some form of intervention at the top, either a new member of the organisation, or a new staff head in organisation development.

• There is diagnosis of the problem areas and this induces an analysis of specific problems.


• There is reinforcement in the system from positive results and this produces acceptance of the new practices.

• There is pressure from the environment, internal or external for change.

• There is collaboratory problem indentification between people in the organisation.


• There is a willingness to face the data of the situation and to work with it on changing the situation.

• The system rewards people for the efforts of changing and improvement, in addition to rewarding them for short-term results.

• There is leadership and inspired vision among key people.

Action research

Action Research

• Dual purpose of action research:– Making action more

effective.– Building a body of scientific

knowledge around that action.

• Action refers to: Programs and interventions designed to solve problems and improve conditions.

A Process and An Approach• Action research is a process, an

ongoing series of events and actions.• Definition:

– Action research is the process of systematically collecting research data about an ongoing system relative to some objective, goal, or need of that system;

– feeding these data back into the system;

– taking actions by altering selected variables within the system based both on the data and on hypotheses; and

– evaluating the results of actions by collecting more data.

Action research• It was conceptualized by Kurt

Lewin and later elaborated and expanded on by other behavioral scientists.

• Concerned with social change and, more particularly, with effective, permanent social change, Lewin believed that the motivation to change was strongly related to action.

• If people are active in decisions affecting them, they are more likely to adopt new ways.

• "Rational social management", he said, "proceeds in a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact-finding about the result of action".

Kurt Lewin’s Action Research Model

• The process of change involves three steps – Unfreezing: Faced with a

dilemma or disconfirmation, the individual or group becomes aware of a need to change.

– Changing: The situation is diagnosed and new models of behavior are explored and tested.

– Refreezing: Application of new behavior is evaluated, and if reinforcing, adopted.

Action research

• Action research is depicted as a cyclical process of change.

• The cycle begins with a series of planning actions initiated by the client and the change agent working together.

• The principal elements of this stage include a preliminary diagnosis, data gathering, feedback of results, and joint action planning.

Action research

• In the language of systems theory, this is the input phase, in which the client system becomes aware of problems as yet unidentified, realizes it may need outside help to effect changes, and shares with the consultant the process of problem diagnosis.

Action research• The second stage of

action research is the action, or transformation, phase.

• This stage includes actions relating to learning processes (perhaps in the form of role analysis) and to planning and executing behavioral changes in the client organization.

Action research

• Included in this stage is action-planning activity carried out jointly by the consultant and members of the client system.

• Following the workshop or learning sessions, these action steps are carried out on the job as part of the transformation stage.

Action research

• The third stage of action

research is the output, or

results, phase.

• This stage includes actual

changes in behavior (if any)

resulting from corrective

action steps taken following

the second stage.

Action research• Data are again gathered from

the client system so that progress can be determined and necessary adjustments in learning activities can be made.

• Minor adjustments of this nature can be made in learning activities via Feedback Loop B.

• Major adjustments and reevaluations would return the OD project to the first, or planning, stage for basic changes in the program.

Action research

• Data are not simply returned in the form of a written report but instead are fed back in open joint sessions, and the client and the change agent collaborate in identifying and ranking specific problems, in devising methods for finding their real causes, and in developing plans for coping with them realistically and practically.

Action research

• Scientific method in the form of data gathering, forming hypotheses, testing hypotheses, and measuring results, although not pursued as rigorously as in the laboratory, is nevertheless an integral part of the process.

Action research

• Also sets in motion a long-range, cyclical, self-correcting mechanism for maintaining and enhancing the effectiveness of the client's system by leaving the system with practical and useful tools for self-analysis and self-renewal.

Action Research Process

Growth of OD in Global Settings

• The rapid development of foreign economies.

• The increasing worldwide availability of technical and financial resources.

• The emergence of a global economy.

Cross-cultural Dimensions

• Power Distance• Uncertainty

Avoidance• Achievement

Orientation• Individualism• Context

Power Distance

• Extent to which members of a society accept that status and power are distributed unequally in an organization.

• Organizations in these cultures tend to be autocratic, possess clear status differences, and have little employee participation.

Uncertainty Avoidance

• The extent to which members of a society tolerate the unfamiliar and unpredictable.

• Organizations in these cultures tend to value experts, prefer clear roles, avoid conflict, and resist change.

Individualism

• The extent to which people in a society believe they should be responsible for themselves and their immediate family.

• Organizations in these cultures tend to encourage personal initiative, value time and autonomy, and accept competition.

Achievement Orientation

• The extent to which people in a society value assertiveness and the acquisition of material goods

• Organizations in these cultures tend to associate achievement with wealth and recognition, value decisiveness, and support clear sex roles

Context• The extent to which

meaning in communication is carried in the words.

• Organizations in high context cultures tend to value ceremony and ritual, the structure is less formal, there are fewer written policies, and people are often late for appointments.

Cultural and Economic Contexts of International OD Practice

Worldwide Organizations

• Offer products or services worldwide.

• Balance product and functional concerns with geographic issues.

• Coordination must address complex personnel and cross-cultural issues.

• Its competitive position in one national market is affected by its competitive position in other national markets.

Trends Affecting OD Practice


• Environmental Trends- Wealth is becoming

more concentrated- Economy is more

globalized.- Ideologies are shifting

from consumption to coexistence and ecological sustainability.

Trends Affecting OD Practice· Workforce Trends

- Workforce is becoming older, more diverse, more educated.

- Shift toward contingent employment & change in psychological contract.

- No careers.


• Technology Trends

- Internet growth will

increase.

- E-commerce growth.

- Increased rate and

pervasiveness of

technological change.

Trends Affecting OD Practice · Organizational

Trends- Organizations will

become both smaller and larger; more and less decentralized.

- Virtual, networked, alliance based.

- Truly global management structures and cultures.

Organizational Change and Development - Module 2 - MG University - Manu Melwin Joy

Education

customer customer market

customer satisfaction

organizational processes

organizational change

customer requirements

improvement goals

corporate goals

development module