Organization development (OD) is the study of successful organizational change and performance. OD emerged from human relations studies in the 1930s, during which psychologists realized that organizational structures and processes influence worker behavior and motivation.
2. Process of OD
Sensing that the organization requires OD.
Poor product quality, high rates of absenteeism, or
dysfunctional conflicts among departments.
Simple feelings that the organization should be “more
innovative,” “more competitive,” or “more effective.”
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3. Entering into an OD Relationship
An organization member contact an OD practitioner.
• Clarifying the nature of the organization’s current
functioning and the issue(s) to be addressed.
• The relevant client system for that issue.
• The appropriateness of the particular OD practitioner.
• OD practitioner collect preliminary data about the
organization.
• Organization gather information about the practitioner’s
competence and experience.
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4. Clarifying Organizational Issue
Organizations present a specific or general problem/issue.
It may be a solution also.
This may be a symptom of real problem.
The issue facing the organization or department must be
clarified early in the OD process.
OD practitioner may collect preliminary data.
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5. Determining the Relevant Client
This is the second activity in OD relationship.
A critical step.
OD project may fail due to casual approach towards this step.
Determining the relevant client can vary in complexity
depending on the situation.
It is more complex when the organizational issue cannot
readily be addressed in a single unit.
Additional information is required.
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6. Selecting an OD Practitioner
Little systematic advice is available on how to choose.
Organizations invite proposals.
Proposal include project goals, outlines of action plans, a list
of roles and responsibilities, recommended interventions, and
proposed fees and expenses.
Technical skills and personality and interpersonal competence.
Practitioners should educate clients.
If a good match does not exist, they should inform the client.
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7. Developing a Contract
The goal of contracting is to make a good decision about how
to carry out the OD process.
OD processes require some form of explicit contracting.
The contracting step in OD generally addresses three key
areas:
• Setting mutual expectations
• The time and resources that will be devoted to it.
• The ground rules for working together.
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9. Diagnosis ????
Diagnosis is the process of understanding a system’s current
functioning. It involves collecting pertinent information
about current operations, analyzing those data, and drawing
conclusions for potential change and improvement.
Effective diagnosis provides the systematic knowledge of
the organization needed to design appropriate
interventions.
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10. Diagnosis ????
Diagnosis in organization development is much more
collaborative than such a medical perspective implies and
does not accept the implicit assumption that something is
wrong with the organization.
Conclusions are drawn for action planning and
intervention.
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11. Need for Diagnostic Models
OD practitioners and organization members need to have an
idea about what information to collect and analyze.
Conceptual frameworks that people use to understand
organizations are termed as diagnostic models.
Diagnostic models point out what areas to examine and what
questions to ask in assessing.
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14. The quality of the information gathered is a critical part of
the OD process.
Data collection involves gathering information on specific
organizational features, such as the inputs, design
components, and outputs.
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15. Four methods can be used to collect data:
• Questionnaires
• Interviews
• Observations
• Unobtrusive measures
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17. Perhaps the most important step in the diagnostic process is
feeding back diagnostic information to the client organization.
A key objective of the feedback process is to be sure that the
client has ownership of the data.
Survey feed back.
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18. Context of Feed Back
OD practitioners need to summarize the data in ways that
enable clients to understand the information and draw action
implications from it.
Characteristics of effective feed back:
• Relevant
• Understandable
• Descriptive
• Verifiable
• Timely
• Limited
• Significant
• Comparative
• Unfinalized
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19. Characteristic of Feedback Process
Ownership of the feedback data is facilitated by the following
five features of successful feedback processes:
• Motivation to work with the data
• Structure for the meeting
• Appropriate attendance
• Appropriate power
• Process help
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20. Survey Feedback
“Survey feedback is a process of collecting and feeding back
data from an organization or department through the use of a
questionnaire or survey”.
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21. Survey Feedback Steps
Members of the organization, including those at the top, are
involved in preliminary planning of the survey.
Clarity about:
• The level of analysis (organization, department, or small
group)
• The objectives of the survey.
Helpful in gaining ownership of the data.
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22. Survey Feedback Steps
The survey instrument is administered to all members of the
organization or department.
The OD consultant usually analyzes the survey data, tabulates
the results, suggests approaches to diagnosis, and trains client
members to lead the feedback process.
Data feedback usually begins at the top of the organization and
cascades downward to groups reporting to managers at
successively lower levels.
Feedback meetings provide an opportunity to work with the
data.
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23. Limitations of Survey Feedback
Ambiguity of purpose.
Distrust.
Unacceptable topics.
Organizational disturbance.
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25. Prelude
An OD intervention is a sequence of activities, actions, and
events intended to help an organization improve its
performance and effectiveness.
Intervention design derives from careful diagnosis and is
meant to resolve specific problems and to improve particular
areas.
OD interventions vary from standardized programs to
relatively unique programs tailored to a specific organization
or department.
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26. Effective Interventions????
Three major criteria define the effective interventions:
• The extent to which it fits the needs of the
organization.
• The degree to which it is based on causal knowledge
of intended outcomes.
• The extent to which it transfers change management
competence to organization members.
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27. Effective Interventions????
Valid information.
Free and informed choice.
Internal commitment.
Knowledge of outcomes.
Gaining knowledge and skill in managing change.
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28. Designing Effective Interventions
Two major sets of contingencies:
• To do with the change situation.
• Those related to the target of change.
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29. Related to the Change Situation
Need for autonomy
Management style and technical uncertainty
Degree of top management support
Job enrichment
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30. Related to the Change Situation
• Readiness for change
• Capability to change (F= ks+ res+ sys+exp)
• Cultural context (v imp)
• Capabilities of change agent
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31. Related to the Target of Change
Organizational issues:
• Strategic issues.
• Technological and structural issues.
• Human resources issues.
• Human process issues.
• Level of organizational system at which the
intervention is expected to have a primary impact.
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34. Evaluating and Institutionalizing
OD Interventions
Evaluation is concerned with providing feedback to
practitioners and organization members about the progress
and impact of interventions.
Such information may suggest the need for further diagnosis
and modification of the change program, or it may show that
the intervention is successful.
Institutionalization is a process for maintaining a particular
change for an appropriate period of time.
It ensures that the results of successful change programs
persist over time.
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