Diagnosing Organizations
Diagnosis is a collaborative process
between organizational members and the
OD consultant to collect pertinent
information, analyze it, and draw
conclusions for action planning and
intervention.
Diagnosis Defined
Entry
and contracting processes can
result in a need to understand either a
whole system or some part, process, or
feature of the organization. To diagnose
an organization, OD practitioners and
organization members need to have an
idea about WHAT information to collect
and analyze.
Conceptual frameworks that are used to
understand organizations are referred to
as diagnostic models.
The Need for Diagnostic Models
Open Systems Model
Environment
Inputs
Information
Energy
People
Transformations
Social Component
Technological
Component
Feedback
Outputs
Goods
Services
Ideas
This
model recognizes that organizations
exist in the context of a larger
environment that affects how the
organization performs and in turn is
affected by how the organization interacts
with it.
This also suggests that organizations and
their subsystems departments, group,
and individuals share a number of
common features that explain how they
are organized and function.
Open Systems Model
Environments
Inputs,
Transformations, and
Outputs
Boundaries
Feedback
Alignment
Properties of Systems
The
key to effective
diagnosis is
Know what to look for at each
organizational level
Recognize how the levels affect
each other
Diagnosing
Organizational Systems
Organization-Level
Diagnostic Model
Inputs
Outputs
Design Components
Technology
Strategy
Structure
HR
Systems
Measurement
Systems
Culture
Industry
Structure
Organization
Effectiveness
General
Environment
Group-Level
Diagnostic Model
Inputs
Design Components
Outputs
Goal Clarity
Task
Structure
Group
Composition
Team
Functioning
Group Norms
Team Effectiveness
Organization
Design
Individual-Level
Diagnostic Model
Inputs
Design Components
Organization
Design
Task
Identity
Autonomy
Group Design
Personal
Characteristics
Task
Significance
Feedback
about Results
Individual Effectiveness
Skill Variety
Outputs
Do
the Design Components fit with the
Inputs?
Are the Design Components internally
consistent? Do they fit and mutually
support each other?
Key Alignment Questions
Organization-Level Inputs
General
Environment
External forces that can directly or
indirectly affect the attainment of
organizational objectives
Social, technological, ecological,
economic, and political factors
Industry
Structure
External forces (task environment) that
can directly affect the organization
Customers, suppliers, substitute products,
new entrants, and rivalry among
competitors
Organization Design
Components
Strategy
the way an organization uses its resources
(human, economic, or technical) to gain and
sustain a competitive advantage
Structure
how attention and resources are focused on
task accomplishment
Technology
the way an organization converts inputs into
products and services
Organization Design
Components
Human
Resource Systems
the mechanisms for selecting, developing,
appraising, and rewarding organization
members
Measurement
Systems
methods of gathering, assessing, and
disseminating information on the activities of
groups and individuals in organizations
Organization Design
Components
Organization
Culture
The basic assumptions, values, and norms
shared by organization members
Represents both an outcome of organization
design and a foundation or constraint to
change
Outputs
Organization
Performance
e.g., profits, profitability, stock price
Productivity
e.g., cost/employee, cost/unit, error rates,
quality
Stakeholder
Satisfaction
e.g., market share, employee satisfaction,
regulation compliance
Alignment
Diagnosis
involves understanding each
of the parts in the model and then
assessing how the elements of the
strategic orientation align with each
other and with the inputs.
Organization
effectiveness is likely to be
high when there is good alignment.
