ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
REPORTER
SHAR MAINE JOYCE L. BARCEBAL, RN
Organizational development (OD) is a deliberately planned, organization-wide effort to
increase an organization's effectiveness and/or efficiency, and/or to enable the
organization to achieve its strategic goals. It is not an easily defined single concept. It is
an ongoing, systematic process of implementing effective organizational change. OD
theorists and practitioners define OD in various ways. Its multiplicity of definitions reflects
the complexity of the discipline and is responsible for its lack of understanding.
It is an interdisciplinary field with contributions from business, psychology particularly
industrial/organizational psychology, human resources management, communication,
sociology, theories of motivation, leaning, personality and many other disciplines.
Organizational development is a growing field that is responsive to many new approaches.
Nonetheless, there are some points on which definitions converge. One of the most
frequently cited definitions of OD comes from Richard Beckhard (1969), an early leader in
the field of OD:
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 organizations processes, using behavioralscience knowledge.
The OD paradigm values human and organizational growth, collaborative and participative
processes, and a spirit of inquiry. The change agent may be directive in OD; however,
there is a strong emphasis on collaboration. The following briefly identifies the underlying
values in most OD efforts:
Core values
1. RESPECT FOR PEOPLE. Individuals are perceived as being responsible, conscientious
and caring. Providing opportunities for people to function as human beings rather
than as resources in the productive process. They should be treated with respect
and dignity. Treating each human being as a person with a complex set of needs, all
of which are important to their work and their life.
2. TRUST AND SUPPORT. Providing opportunities for each organization member, as well
as for the organization itself, to develop to their full potential. An effective and
healthy organization is characterized by trust, authenticity, openness, and a
supportive climate. Seeking to increase the effectiveness of the organization in
terms of all of its goals.
3. POWER EQUALIZATION. Effective organizations deemphasize hierarchical authority
and control. Attempting to create an environment in which it is possible to find
exciting and challenging work.
4. CONFFRONTATION. Problems shouldnt be swept under the rug. They should be
openly confronted.
5. PARTICIPATION. The more that people who will be affected by a change are involved
in the decisions surrounding that change, the more they will be committed to
implementing those decisions. Providing opportunities for people in organizations to
influence the way in which they relate to work, the organization, and the
environment.
The objectives of OD are:
1. To increase the level of inter-personal trust among employees. Strengthening interpersonnel trust, and communication for the successful achievement of organizational
goals. Creating an environment of trust so that employees willingly accept change.
2. To increase employees' level of satisfaction and commitment.
3. To confront problems instead of neglecting them. Encouraging employees to solve
problems instead of avoiding them.
4. To effectively manage conflict.
5. To increase cooperation and collaboration among the employees. Encouraging every
individual to participate in the process of planning, thus making them feel
responsible for the implementation of the plan. Creating a work atmosphere in which
employees are encouraged to work and participate enthusiastically.
6. To increase the organization's problem solving.
7. To put in place processes that will help improve the ongoing operation of the
organization on a continuous basis. Replacing formal lines of authority with personal
knowledge and skill.
8. To increase awareness of employees in the organization. Making individuals in the
organization aware of the vision of the organization. Organizational development
helps in making employees align with the vision of the organization.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OD TECHNIQUES OR INTERVENTIONS FOR BRINGING OUT
CHANGE?
6 interventions that change agents might consider using:
1. Sensitivity Training. Or it could be named asLaboratory Training, Encounter
Groups, or T-Groups (training groups)but all refer to a method of changing
behavior through unstructured group interaction. Members are brought together in
a free and open environment in which participants discuss themselves and their
interactive processes, loosely directed by a professional behavioral scientist. The
group is process oriented, which means that individuals learn through observing and
participating rather than being told.
The professional creates the opportunity for participants to express their ideas,
beliefs, and attitudes and does not acceptin fact, overtly rejectsany leadership role.
Objectives:
Provide subjects with increased awareness of their own behavior and how others
perceive them
Greater sensitivity to the behavior of others and,
Increased understanding of group processes
Results sought to include:
Increased ability to empathize with others
Improved listening skills
Greater openness
Increased tolerance of individual differences
Improved conflict-resolution skills
2. Survey Feedback. One tool for assessing attitudes held by organizational
members, identifying discrepancies among member perceptions, and solving these
differences is the survey feedback approach. A questionnaire it usually completed
by all members in the organization or unit. Organization members may be asked to
suggest questions or may be interviewed to determine what issues are relevant.
The questionnaire typically asks members for their perceptions and attitudes on a broad
range of topics, including:
Decision-making practices
Communication effectiveness
Coordination between units
Satisfaction with the organization, job, peers and their immediate supervisors
The data from the questionnaire is tabulated with data pertaining to an individuals
specific family and to the entire organization and then distributed to employees. These
data then become the springboard for identifying problems and clarifying issues that may
be creating difficulties for people. Particular attentions is given to the importance of
encouraging discussion and ensuring that discussions focus on issues and ideas and not
on attacking individuals.
Finally, group discussion in the survey feedback approach should result in member
identifying possible implications of the questionnaires findings.
Possible questions
Are people listening?
Are new ideas being generated?
Can decision making, interpersonal relations, or job assignments be
improved?
(Answers to questions like these, it is hoped, will result in the group agreeing on
commitments to various actions that will remedy the problems that are identified.)
3. Process Consultation. No organization operates perfectly. Managers often sense
that their units performance can be improved, but theyre unable to identify what
can be improved and how it can be improved.
Purpose of PC is for an outside consultant to assist a client, usually a manager, to
perceive, understand, and act upon process events with which the manager must deal.
These might include work flow, informal relationships among unit members, and formal
communication channels.
PC is similar to sensitivity training in its assumption that organizational
effectiveness can be improved be dealing with interpersonal problems and in its emphasis
on involvement.
PC is more task-directed that is sensitivity training.
Consultants do not solve the organizations problems. Rather, the consultant is a
guide or coach who advises on the process to help the client solve his or her own
problems. The consultant works with the client in jointly diagnosing what processes need
improvements. The emphasis is on jointly because the client develops a skill at
analyzing processes within his or her unit that can be continually called on long after the
consultant is gone.
In addition, by having the client actively participate in both the diagnosis and the
development of alternatives, there will be greater understanding of the process and the
remedy and less resistance to the action plan chosen.
4. Team Building. Team building uses high-interaction group activities to increase
trust and openness among team members. Team building can be applied within
groups or at the intergroup level, at which activities are interdependent. Team
building is applicable where group activities are interdependent. The objective is to
improve coordinative efforts of members, which will result in increasing the teams
performance.
Activities considered in team building typically include:
Goal setting
Development of interpersonal relations among team members
Role analysis to clarify each members role and responsibilities
Team process analysis
Team building may emphasize or exclude certain activities, depending on the purpose of
the development effort and the specific problems with which the team is confronted.
Basically, team building attempts to use high interaction among members to increase
trust and openness.
Team building can also address itself to clarifying each members role on the team.
Each role can be identified and clarified. Previous ambiguities can be brought to the
surface. For some individuals, it may offer one of the few opportunities they have had to
think through thoroughly what their job is all about and what specific tasks they are
expected to carry out if the team is to optimize its effectiveness.
5. Intergroup Development. It seeks to change the attitudes, stereotypes, and
perceptions that groups have of each other.
Example
In one company, the engineers saw the accounting department as composed of shy
and conservative types, and the human resources department as having a bunch of
ultra-liberals who are more concerned that some protected group of employees might
get their feelings hurt than with the company making profit.
Such stereotypes can have an obvious negative impact on the coordination efforts
between the departments.
Although there are several approaches for improving intergroup relations, a popular
method emphasizes problem solving. In this method, each group meets independently to
develop lists of its perception of itself, the other group, and how it believes the other group
perceives it. The groups then share their lists, after which similarities and differences are
discussed. Differences are clearly articulated, and the groups look for the cause of the
disparities.
Once the causes of the difficulty have been identified, the groups can move to the
integration phaseworking to develop solutions what will improve relations between the
groups. Subgroups, with members from each of the conflicting groups, can now be created
for further diagnosis and to begin to formulate possible alternative actions that will
improve relations.
6. Appreciative Inquiry. Most OD approaches are problem-centered. Appreciative
Inquiry accentuates the positive. Rather than looking for problems to fix, this
approach seeks to identify the unique qualities and special strengths of an
organization, which can then be built on to improve performance. That is, it focuses
on an organizations successes rather than on its problems.
AI proponents claim it makes more sense to refine and enhance what the
organizations is already doing well. This allows the organization to change by playing to its
strengths and competitive advantages.
4 Steps of AI process (4 Ds)
- Often played out in a large-group meeting over a 2- or 3-day time period and
overseen by a trained change agent.
6.1. DISCOVERY
The idea is to find out what people think are the strengths of the
organization.
6.2. DREAMING
The information from the discovery phase is used to speculate on possible
futures for the organization.
6.3. DESIGN
Based on the dream articulation, participants focus on finding a common
vision of how the organization will look and agree on its unique qualities.
6.4. DESTINY
The participants discuss how the organization is going to fulfill its dream. This
typically includes the writing of action plans and development of implementation
strategies.
