Introduction to OD

1. Organizational Development
Introduction

2.  Defining OD
 Evolution of OD
 Characteristics of OD
 OD Interventions – naming them
 Typology of OD Interventions
What are we attempting…

3.  “…an effort planned organization wide and managed from top to
increase organizational effectiveness and health through planned
interventions in organization’s process using behavioral science.”
 “…a systematic application of behavioral science knowledge to the
planned development and reinforcement of organizational
strategies, structure and process for improving an organization’s
effectiveness”
 “…a response to a change, a complex educational strategy
intended to change the beliefs, attitudes, values and structure of
organization so that they can better adapt to new technologies,
markets, challenges, and the rate of change itself”
 “…long term effort and supported by top management to improve
organization visioning, empowerment and problem solving process,
through an ongoing, collaborative management of organization
culture and using the theory and technology in applied behavioral
science”
Definition - samples

4.  Simply put this means that OD is related with
 Putting in front the achievement of organizational
effectiveness (OE) in the space of it’s markets,
competitors, regulators and other boundaries
 That is requires the inclusive style of (a) top management
and (b) the people who support the motion and motor of
achieving the OE
 Developing and putting long term effort in accomplishing
changes in the people and their beliefs and values; and
combined with recognizing ORG cultures and values
 people inclusive and makes it central to the theme of OD
 Adaptation of process and technologies associated with the
change in beliefs, values, people capability to support the
achievement of OE
Definition

5.  Brings to together a behavioral, social sciences disciplines in
the context of OE
 Humanistic –democratic; Implements the model of “helping
relationships” in that it calls of collaborative intent and
effort through various interventions to help cause
 That is whether it is problem solving or resolving conflicts or
bridging differences in any method or implementation(s) or any
other subject, to achieve OE, the OD program, being people
centric, preserves the mandate of bringing change and people
effectiveness to develop the path to OE
 Participative - enlists the support of the top management
and with the their beliefs intact on people inclusion for
achieving OE
 Systems context – recognizes that ORG do not work in silos
but in an environment that is larger than the ORG
Features of OD

6.  Coined in 1960s around the seminal work of behavioral
scientists Robert Blake & Jane Mouton, Herbert Shepard,
Douglas McGregor and Richard Beckhard
 Robert Blake and Jane Mouton developed the managerial grid
based on two scales concern for production and concern for
people
 Herbert Shepard works on TRW Systems, Esso, and advanced
understanding on human behavior and social systems
 Douglas McGregor contributed to motivational theory and
eminent presentation on Theory X and Y of leadership
 Richard Beckhard helped define OD, credited with developing
“formula for change” along with David Gleicher; propounds
that D * V * F > R then change is possible (D=dissatisfaction
with current state; V= vision , F= first step and R=Resistance)
Evolution of OD

7. Evolution of OD – Blake and
Mouton
 X-Axis “Concern for
Results” determines
alignment to
 Stakeholder value
 Company Goals
 …
 Y-Axis “Concern for
People” determines
 Contribution to the people
and enabling contribution
by the people
 …

8.  Identified 7 behavioral associated with leadership
 Initiative – taking the lead in defining the “way forward” and the
“approach to execute” to get there
 Inquiry – getting feedback from one and all to test the truth of
concept, fact and as well as perceptions
 Advocacy – counsel, solve, enable and communicate one’s own
ideas and themes
 Decision – assessment of options, associated risk and taking it
further
 Conflict – recognizing, defining and efforts to help resolve such
disagreements, stoppages
 Critique – review and anticipate how the course of action will
plan and impact the outcomes
 Resilience – Flexibility, adaptability, etc.; directed towards
changing course to overcome current constraints
Evolution of OD – Blake and
Mouton

9.  Conducted large scale experiments in Esso; principal
consultant to TRW Systems
 Advanced research and understanding in human
behavior and shaped the view out of the “dyads”
(doctor-patient; client-consultant) to group interaction,
interpersonal relationships
 Advocated focus on ORG through building inter-personal
synergies, consensus, dispute resolutions, etc.
Evolution of OD – Herbert
Shepherd

10.  Management/Leadership style influencing team behavior /
contribution; Theory X and Y are born out our experiences,
beliefs, your goals, etc.
 Theory X – postulates that employee’s
 Dislike work,
 Cannot hold responsibility, needs supervision always
 Have to controlled, forced, “treated”
 Have very low motivation / ambition
 Theory Y – postulates that employee’s
 Seek and take responsibility
 Motivate, achievement orientated
 Treat work as a part of life
 Solve and resolve problems / conflicts
 Take ownership
Evolution of OD – Douglas
McGregor

11.  Principles of Scientific Management by Frederick Taylor
 Proposed Time and Motion Study and “breaking up jobs into small
repetitive tasks”
 Hawthorne Experiments by Fritz Roethlisberger and Elton Mayo
 Found out that repetitive tasks left employees dispirited
 Mechanization caused a loss on the meaning on work and damaged
the social relationships on the job
 Hence employees were more tuned to the influences of the peer
groups and social connects than the incentives on the job and
control of the management
 Schein’s Cultural Iceberg emphasized that culture as the most
intractable element in OC; he noticed that while behaviors and
action of people were visible but the underlying beliefs, values and
assumptions were invisible to the onlooker
 Further studies and research centered around people well being,
social relationships at work place and outside, organization culture
gained prominence in the effort to gain OE
Roots of OD

12.  Applying science and not heuristic methods to work –
basically this means that in doing continuous improvement to
man, machine, process, etc. apply a method to determine
possible course of action to a problem rather than any guide
of thumb rule or trial and error methods (Science, not rule of
thumb)
 Assignment of people to work should be matched – “horses
for courses”; i.e. that apply the right kind of people for that
job that suits them and not any other way (harmony, not
discord)
 Monitor, Track – Supervise and support staff in performance
(co-operation and no individualism)
 Develop People – train, coach and instill sense of enthusiasm,
motivate to perform
Roots of OD – Principles of
Scientific Management

13.  Conducted in Western Electric in 1927; lasted till 1932
 Illumination Experiment – impact of lighting in the factory floor on
output; higher illumination-higher output but also when it was
brought to normal level
 Relay Assembly Testing – other factors like rest, working hours, etc.
6 girls, highly social and friendly; productivity increased and
stabilized even when all improvement were taken away; made
recognition, attention, participation important
 Mass Interview Program – study of “attitudes” and “working
situation”; direct question in the interviews; workers were
guarded; changed to listen to workers; findings were that social
factors were important in work place
 Bank wiring experiment – finding the cause of which restrict
output; 14 workers; normal condition; observed that group had its
own norms of production away from the targets; defeating
incentive system
Roots of OD – Hawthorne
Experiments

14.  First Generation – techniques and technology in
behavioral sciences that focused on micro aspects of
the ORG like an individual, team; localized
interventions and within the framework of the unit,
department or location
 Second Generation OD – focused on macro aspects of
the ORG to help cause on markets, competitions,
stakeholders, etc.; explicit attention was within the
ORG and towards leadership and alignment to the
change agenda
 Third Generation OD – connected with large scale
changes and transformation
OD Generations

15.  Has four branches …
 Action research – collaborative approach that follows a scientific
method in solving problems and implementing the necessary
change through the process of gathering data, discussing and
analyzing the data, evaluating options, developing an action plan
to implement the option, evaluating the results to identify new
problems
 Sensitivity Training – is a training method during which people
learn about themselves and others during the interactions.
Typically deploys role plays, feedback, etc.
 Surveys- a method structured to diagnose the state of the ORG;
specialized form of collection of data
 Socio Technical – connected with the people and technology; by
technology it alludes the technical aspects of the organizational
structures, processes, etc.
First Generation OD

16.  ORG Transformation- multi-dimensional, multi-level,
discontinuous and radical in nature; requires shift in ORG
strategy and culture
 TQM – parallels between OD and TQM; embraces the quality
vision of the ORG by inclusive style around people and their
contribution to the vision
 Visioning – helps in defining shared goals; helps in aligning
the various units in the ORG to achieve common goals
 Future Search – a conference where in people are used to
build a database of “what they want”; jointly interpret,
analyze and build an action plan
 “whole system in a room” – group meetings that is centered
around catalyzing the whole change process; Typically for the
top management so as to decide the future course of actions
and structures (at high level)
Second Generation OD

17.  Learning ORG- incessantly expanding capacity to learn,
adapt, re-invent in quick time; promotes collective and
collaborative learning
 Appreciative Inquiry – rooted around every social
systems has positive elements; leverages the strengths
of the ORG rather than always looks for continuous
improvements; looks at “stories” and inquires into to
create the theme for the future
Third Generation OD

18. Phases of OD
Entry
Contracting
DiagnosisFeedback
Intervention
Evaluation
 OD Process – steps or
activities that is taken
in the interventions;
deals with how the
intervention is being
executed
 OD Content- is around
vision, mission,
strategy, agenda,
targets, etc. focuses on
what is being done

19. Client Group Interventions
Individuals T-Group, Coaching and Counseling,
Transactional Analysis, Role plays,
behavioral modeling
Dyads or Triads Process Consultations, TA,
peacemaking, interviews
Teams and Groups Team building, visioning, interviews,
process consultations, survey
feedback
Inter Group Relations Survey feedback, interviews,
questionnaire, inter group activities,
ORG mirroring, process consultation
Total ORG Meetings, team building at all levels,
TQM, Survey feedback
Interventions

20. Subject Factor
Philosophy Total system change
Orientation Long term and sustainable change
Approach Planned action, problem focused
Targets Human, Social processes, culture and
structure
Focus Developing self-renewal capability
Setting Real ORG
Outcome Individual and OE
Emphasis ORG Culture
Theory Open Systems
In Summary OD’s

21. Thank You