WEEK 13 OBJECTIVES:

 Overview of Organizational Development  Identify and recommend appropriate OD

 Theoretical Bases of organization interventions based on diagnostics targets
development and organizational process
 Managing the OD process  Identify OD interventions to ensure
 Organizational culture and change alignment to the organizational culture.
 Organization development and other HR  Appraised the value of developing strong
practice areas corporate culture as an OD approach.

(1)What is Organizational Development Theory? (Internet)

Organizational development theory is dedicated to expanding the working knowledge of individuals to enhance
and to make more effective organizational performance and change. In order to command a clear understanding
of this theory, it is vital to understand its essential elements. These include the objectives and core values of org
development theory. It also means understanding the essentials of an organization’s cultural elements.

Five Essential Cultural Elements of an Organization

The theory of organizational developed recognizes five essential cultural elements that exist in an organization,
according to the University of Pennsylvania. These are deeply seeded norms that members of a particular
organization accept and share. These five essential cultural organizational elements are:
 Assumptions
 Values
 Behavioral Norms
 Behavioral Patterns
 Artifacts

Core Values of Org Development Theory

Six core values are associated with organizational development theory. These are defined as being humanistic
values. This means these core values of this theory focus on humans or individuals as opposed to mechanical
processes and procedures. The core values of org com development are:
 Provide opportunities for individuals to function as individual human beings.
 Provide opportunities for an individual to develop his or her full potential.
 Seek an increase in the overall effectiveness of an organization.
 Provide an opportunity for individuals to influence the manner in which they relate to an organization.
 Create an environment in which individuals have challenging work.
 Treat each individual in an organization as having important, complex needs.

Objectives of Org Development Theory

In addition to the six core values, there are seven identified objectives commonly associated with org development
theory. These can be modified, at least to some degree, to meet the unique structure and composition of an
organization. These basic objectives of org development theory are:
 Increase the level of interpersonal trust among employees.
 Increase the level of satisfaction and commitment of employees.
 Confront problems.
 Manage conflict effectively.
 Increase employee collaboration and cooperation.
  Increase organizational problem-solving.
 Implement processes that will improve ongoing organizational operations.

History of Organizational Development Theory

Kurt Lewin established what is known as the Research Center for Group Dynamics at MIT. Through this and
other efforts, Lewin is considered to be the “founding father” of org development theory.
Lewin would die before he really saw his theory take root and become widely utilized and accepted. Not only has
this occurred but a person is able to a doctorate degree in org development at many major universities today.
Over the course of the past decade, businesses and organizations of different types have taken to applying org
development theory in regard to their own enterprises. They do so not only to benefit the organization itself but
the lives of those individuals within it. This utilization of organizational development theory is expected to
continue apace into the future.

(2)Theoretical Background of OD
OD is a comprehensive, theory-based approach to increasing organizational effectiveness. The strategies and
specific interventions involved in a single OD effort might be based on the contents in a shelf-full of books. OD,
as a contemporary approach organizational problem solving, is predicated on the reality that simplistic, single-
shot, one-mode solutions rarely work in complex social systems.
1. Complexity Theory
2. Psychoanalytical Theory
3. Psychodynamic Theory
4. Action Research
5. Group Dynamics
6. Social Constructionism Theory
7. Appreciative Inquiry
8. Change Theories
9. Systems Theory
10. Field Theory

(3) Organizational Development Theory

Organizational Development (OD) is a field of research, theory, and practice dedicated to expanding the
knowledge and effectiveness of people to accomplish more successful organizational change and performance.
OD is a process of continuous diagnosis, action planning, implementation and evaluation, with the goal of
transferring knowledge and skills to organizations to improve their capacity for solving problems and managing
future change.

History and Application of Organizational Development Theory

OD emerged out of human relations studies from the 1930s where psychologists realized that organizational
structures and processes influence worker behavior and motivation.
Lewin's work in the 1940s and 1950s also helped show that feedback was a valuable tool in addressing social
processes.
More recently, work on OD has expanded to focus on aligning organizations with their rapidly changing and
complex environments through organizational learning, knowledge management and transformation of
organizational norms and values.

Key Concepts of Organizational Development Theory

Organizational Climate
  Defined as the mood or unique "personality" of an organization.
 Attitudes and beliefs about organizational practices create organizational climate and influence members'
collective behavior.
 Climate features and characteristics may be associated with employee satisfaction, stress, service quality
and outcomes and successful implementation of new programs. Climate features and characteristics
include:
o Leadership, openness of communication, participative management, role clarity, and conflict
resolution, leader support and leader control.

Organizational Culture
Deeply seated norms, values and behaviors that members share.
The five basic elements of culture in organizations include:
1. Assumptions
2. Values
3. Behavioral norms
4. Behavioral patterns
5. Artifacts
The subjective features (assumptions, values and norms) reflect members' unconscious thoughts and
interpretations of their organizations.
The subjective features shape the behaviors and artifacts take on within organizations

Organizational Strategies
A common OD approach used to help organizations negotiate change, i.e. action research, consists of four steps.
1. Diagnosis
 Helps organization identify problems that may interfere with its effectiveness and assess the
underlying causes
 Usually done by OD enlisting the help of an outside specialist to help identify problems by
examining its mission, goals, policies, structures and technologies; climate and culture;
environmental factors; desired outcomes and readiness to take action.
 Usually done through key informant interviews or formal surveys of all members.
2. Action planning
 Strategic interventions for addressing diagnosed problems are developed.
 The organization is engaged in an action planning process to assess the feasibility of implementing
different change strategies that lead to action.
3. Intervention
 Change steps are specified and sequenced, progress monitored, and stakeholder commitment is
cultivated.
4. Evaluation
 Assess the planned change efforts by tracking the organization's progress in implementing the
change and by documenting its impact on the organization.

Organizational Development Process Cycle (Internet)

This process will begin when a problem is identified. This system can be used to make improvements on just
about any situation or problem that a business faces. It is a broad set of steps that are easily understood, and
provide companies with the ability to quickly make changes in an attempt to solve issues. Once the changes are
made, they can be evaluated to see if the problem was resolved, and if not, it will continue through
the development process.
This process runs through the following steps:
o Problem Identification - A problem can be identified in a wide-range of ways including reports
from employees, data gathering, and more.
o Situational Assessment - Making a formal assessment of the situation is the next step. This can
be done by reviewing documentation, holding focus groups, interviewing, surveying, or just about
anything else. Gathering all the facts related to the problem at hand is important for developing an
effective solution.

 Action Planning - Making a plan of action on how the problem will be solved is the next step. This should
be done by incorporating input from all impacted parties so that a solution that addresses the specific
problem at hand can be found. In many cases, this will be the longest step in the process.
 Implement Plan - Taking the plan made in the previous step, and putting it into action. Depending on the
complexities of the change, this may include training and other steps needed to ensure the action plan is
put in place correctly.
 Gather Data - As soon as the change is put in place, it is time to start gathering data. This should be done
with a focus on identifying whether or not the changes made are having a positive impact on the problem
at hand.
 Analyze Results - Looking at the data that is gathered to see if it improved the problem, eliminated the
problem, did nothing to the problem, or made the problem worse. In addition, watching to see if the
changes had any secondary, negative, impacts on other issues is also done here.
 Get Feedback - Gathering feedback from all impacted parties is also important. If the problem is
eliminated, but it increases the risk of injury for employees, for example, then it wasn't a good solution.
 Repeat - If necessary, the process will be repeated. If the changes made had some positive impact, then
the process will begin with the current system in place. If they didn't, it may be beneficial to go back to
the original way things were done in order to reevaluate.
By following through these steps, a company can make significant improvements in a very orderly fashion. They
will also be able to track the changes that are made in order to have real data when it comes to finding solutions
to problems.
Having access to this data not only helps to ensure problems are objectively solved, but it can also help to find
solutions to other issues more quickly. If another department is facing a similar problem, the data and strategies
used can be applied. This can help to cut back on the length of time it takes to address many types of issues.

Engaging the Process

The organizational development process can be quite similar to many other process improvement systems that
are out there. Some people compare it to a Kaizen event, for example. While there are certainly similarities, they
aren't the same.
This system can actually take advantage of other process improvement methodologies while it is being used.
Choosing what type of solution to use when going through the process is one of the most important things that
can be done.

Understanding what human resource is (PRACTICE AREAS)

HR stands for Human Resources. HR considers humans as a business resource, a resource that needs to be
correctly managed and supported. As stated by Anne M. Mulcahy,
”Employees are a company’s greatest asset – they’re your competitive advantage. You want to attract and retain
the best; provide them with encouragement, stimulus, and make them feel they are an integral part of a company’s
mission” – Anne Mulcahy, BusinessWire
Delving into a little more detail, we can break down hr into seven main functions:
Strategic management: The proactive planning of the future. This means meeting both short-term and long-
term strategic objectives of the organization
Workforce planning and employment (recruitment and selection): This involves recruitment, selection,
orientation, and exit processes. The best candidates for a role are decided by the hr department
Human resource development (training and development): Employees receive appropriate training. HR
specialists will also assist with change and performance management needs of an organization
Total rewards: A hr benefits team is responsible for the acquisition and administration of compensation and
benefit packages
Policy formulation: New hires and current employees are kept abreast of the policies and procedures of an
organization
Employee and labor relations: Employee relations teams align the employee’s needs and rights with the needs
of the organization. For example, union and non-union issues are handled appropriately
Risk management: The hr department identifies risk items that could pose a possible threat to the company.
Safety training and information is provided by the department to mitigate against these risks
Managing Organizational Change Programs (Book)
Several years ago, Intel Corp, carried out a major reorganization that one writer says, “May have badly damaged
employee development, morale and the company’s culture of innovation.”
We’ll see that major organizational changes like these are never easy, but the hardest part may be overcoming the
resistance. Individuals, groups, and even entire organizations tend to resist change, because they are accustomed
to the usual way of doing things or because of perceived threats to their influence, for instance.

What to Change?
In any case, the first question is “What should we change?”
Not that many years ago, Nokia was the worldwide leader in handsets and smartphones. When Apple introduced
its first iPhone, Nokia’s phone market share plummeted. Nokia’s board appointed a new CEO with Silicon Valley
experience. Stephen Elop. Its smart phone share was down and it was losing low cost handset business to Asian
competitors. Nokia’s Symbian mobile operating system was out of date. Nokia was too slow in executing changes.
Elop had to jumpstart Nokia.
Faced with situations like these, managers can change one or more of five aspects of their companies-their
strategy, culture, structure, technologies, or the attitudes and skills of the employees.

Strategic Change
Organizational turnarounds often start with a change in the firm’s strategy, mission and vision-with strategic
change. For example, Elop embarked on a strategy to renew Nokia by streamlining Nokia’s product development
process and by partnering with Microsoft with the aim of introducing a new Microsoft based smart phone within
a year.

Other Changes
Elop also instituted other changes. In terms of structure. Nokia split responsibility for its smart phones and
handsets into two new units. He replaced managers in Nokia’s mobile phones unit and markets unit. In technology,
Elop reduced the Symbian operating system’s central role, replacing it with Microsoft’s mobile operating system.
With its culture, Elop had his new management team change the firm’s culture, for instance, by impressing on
Nokia’s employees the need to eradicate bureaucratic decision making.
However, strategic, cultural, structural, and technological changes, no matter how logical, will fail without
employees’ active support. Organizational change therefore also invariably involves bringing about changes in
the employees themselves and in their attitudes, skills, and behaviors.
Unfortunately, doing so is easier said than done. Many will view the change as negative. Resistance may be
formidable. Knowing how to deal with that resistance is the heart of oraganizational change.

Lewin’s Change Process

Psychologist Kurt Lewin formulated a model to summarize the basic process for implementing a change with
minimal resistance. To Lewin, all behavior in organizations was a product of two kinds of forces: those striving
to maintain the status quo and those pushing for change. Implementing change thus means reducing the forces for
the status quo or building up the forces for change. Lewin’s process consists of three steps:
1. Unfreezing means reducing the forces that are striving to maintain the status quo, usually by presenting a
provocative problem or event to get people to recognize the need for change and to search for new
solutions.
2. Moving means developing new behaviors, values, and attitudes. The manager may accomplish this
through organizational structure changes, through conventional training and development activities and
sometimes through the other organizational development techniques (such as team building).
3. Refreezing means building in the reinforcement to make sure the organization doesn’t slide back into its
former ways of doing things-for instance, change the incentive system.

Leading Organizational Change

Of course, the challenge is in the details. A CEO such as Nokia’s Stephen Elop needs a process for leading
such a change. An 8-step process for leading organizational change follows.
 Unfreezing Stage
1. Establishing a sense of urgency. Most managers start by creating a sense of urgency. For example, the
CEO might present executives with a (fictitious) analyst’s report describing the firm’s imminent demise.
2. Mobilize commitment through joint diagnosis of problems. Having established a sense of urgency, the
leader may then create one or more task forces to diagnose the problems facing the company. Such teams
can produce a shared understanding of what they can andmust improve, and thereby mobilize
commitment.

Moving Stage
3. Create a guiding coalition. No one can really implement major organizational change alone. Most CEO’s
create a guiding coalition of influential people. They work together as a team to act as missionaries and
implementers.
4. Develop and communicate a shared vision. For example, Stephen Elop’s vision was of a streamlined
Nokia moving fast to build advanced smart phones based on Microsoft’s operating system. Vision
guidelines are keep it simple (for example, “We are going to become faster than anyone else in our industry
at satisfying customer needs.”), use multiple forums (meetings, e-mails, formal and informal interaction),
and lead by example.
5. Help employees make the change. Are there impediments to change? Do policies, procedures, or the
firm’s organization make it difficult to act? Do intransigent managers discourage employees from acting?
For example, Elop quickly replaced many of Nokia’s top and mid-level managers.
6. Consolidate gains and produce more change. Aim for attainable short-term accomplishments. Use the
credibility from these to change the remaining systems, structures, and policies that don’t fit well with the
company’s new vision.

Refreezing Stage
7. Reinforce the new ways of doing things with changes to the company’s systems and procedures. For
example, use new appraisal standards and incentives to reinforce the desired behaviors.
8. Finally, the leader must monitor and assess progress. At Nokia, for instance, “How many new products
has the company introduced?” “What is our smart phone and handset market shares?”
Note however that process only takes one so far, because leadership style is critical. Transformational leaders-
those who motivate their followers to transcend their personal interests, to enable their followers to identify with
the collective goal, to articulate a clear and attainable vision-are far more likely to achieve organizational change.

Organizational Development
A special approach to organizational change in which employees themselves formulate and implement the change
that’s required.

Using Organizational Development

There are many ways to reduce resistance to change. Among the many suggestions are that managers impose
rewards or sanctions that guide employee behaviors, explain why the change is needed, negotiate with employees,
give inspirational speeches, or ask employees to help design the change. Organizational development taps into
the latter. Organizational development is a change process through which employees formulate the change that’s
required and implement it, often with the assistance of trained consultants. OD has several distinguishing
characteristics:
1. It usually involves action research, which means collecting data about a group, department, or
organization, and feeding the information back to the employees so they can analyze it and develop
hypotheses about what the problems might be.
2. It applies behavioral science knowledge to improve the organization’s effectiveness
3. It changes the organization in a particular direction-toward empowerment, improved problem solving,
responsiveness, quality of work, and effectiveness.
There are four basic categories of OD applications: human process, techno structural, human resource
management, and strategic applications.

Human Process Applications

Human process OD techniques aim to give employees the insight and skills required to analyze their own and
others’ behavior more effectively, so they can then solve interpersonal and intergroup problems. These problems
might include, for instance, conflict among employees.
For example: sensitivity, laboratory, or t-group (the t is for “training”) training’s basic aim is to increase the
participant’s insight into his or her own behavior by encouraging an open expression of feelings in the trainer-
guided t-group. Typically, 10 to 15 people meet, usually away from the job, with no specific agenda. Instead, the
focus is on the feelings and emotions in the group at the meeting. The facilitator encourages participants to portray
themselves as they feel within the group rather than in terms of past behaviors. The t0group’s success depends on
the feedback each person gets from the others, and on the participants’ willingness to be candid.
T-group training’s personal nature suggests that participation should be voluntary. Some view it as unethical
because you can’t consider participation “suggested” by one’s superior as voluntary. Others argue that it can be
dangerous if led by an incompetent trainer.

TABLE 8-2 CATEGORIES OF INTERVENTIONS

HUMAN PROCESS HUMAN RESOURCE
T-groups MANAGEMENT
Process consultation Goal setting
Third-party intervention Performance appraisal
Team building Reward systems
Organizational confrontation meeting Career planning and development
Survey research Managing workforce diversity
Employee wellness

TECHNOSTRUCTURAL STRATEGIC
Formal structural change Integrated strategic management
Differentiation and integration Culture change
Cooperative union-management projects Strategic change
Quality circles Self-designing organizations
Total quality management
Work design

According to experts French and Bell, the typical team-building meeting begins with the consultant interviewing
each of the group members and the leader before the meeting. They are asked what their problems are, how they
think the group functions, and what obstacles are keeping the group from performing better. The consultant then
categorizes the interview data into themes (such as “inadequate communications”) and presents the themes to the
group at the start of the meeting. The group ranks the themes in terms of importance, and the most important ones
become the agenda for the meeting. The group then explores and discusses the issues, examines the underlying
causes of the problems, and begins devising solutions.
Survey research requires that employees throughout the organization complete attitude surveys. The facilitator
then uses those data as a basis for problem analysis and action planning. Surveys are a convenient way to unfreeze
a company’s management and employees. They provide a comparative, graphic illustration of the fact that the
organization does have problems to solve.

Technostructural Interventions
OD practitioners also help to change firms’ structures, methods, and job designs, using an assortment of
technostructural interventions. For example, in a formal structural change program, the employees collect data
on the company’s existing organizational structure; they then jointly redesign and implement a new one.

Human Resource Management Applications

OD practitioners use action research to enable employees to analyze and change their firm’s human resources
practices. Targets of change here might include the performance appraisal and reward systems, as well as
installing diversity programs.

Strategic OD Applications
Strategic interventions aim to use action research to improve a company’s strategic management. Integrated
strategic management is one example. It consists of four steps: managers and employees (1) analyze current
strategy and organizational structure, (2) choose a desired strategy and organizational structure, and (3) design a
strategic change plan-“an action plan for moving the organization from its current strategy and organizational
design to the desired future strategy and design.” Finally, (4) the team oversees implementing the strategic change
and reviewing the results.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Learning the OC
We know that every individual has what psychologists have termed personality, a set of relatively permanent and
stable traits. When we describe someone as warm, innovative, relaxed, or conservative, we are describing
personality traits. An organization, too, has a personality, which we call the organization’s culture.
What do we specifically mean by organization culture? We refer to a system of shared meaning. Just as tribal
cultures have totems and taboos that dictate how each member should act toward fellow members and outsiders,
organizations have cultures that govern how their members should behave. Every organization, over time, evolves
stories, rituals, material symbols, and language. These shared values determine, in large degree, what employees
see and how they respond to their world.
An employee who has been properly socialized to the organization’s culture, then has learned how work is done,
what matters and which work-related behaviors and perspectives are or are not acceptable and desirable. In most
cases, this involves input from many individuals.
 The system of sharing meaning within the organization that determines how employees act.
 An employee who has been properly socialized to the organization’s culture knows what acceptable
behavior is and what is not.
It is important to recognize that organizations change from time to time. Changes with respect to continuous
improvements, diversity, and work process engineering require the organization to move forward through a
process we call organization development (OD).
OD has taken on a renewed importance today. Brought about by continuous-improvement goals, many
organizations have drastically changed the way they do business.
 No matter what role OD takes in an organization, it requires facilitation by an individual well versed in
organization dynamics. In HRM terms, we call this person a change agent.
 Change agents are responsible for fostering the environment in which change can occur, working with
the affected employees to help them adapt to the change. Change agents may be either internal employees,
often associated with the training and development function of HRM, or external consultants.

CHANGE
Change usually affects four areas:
The organization’s systems, its technology, its processes, and its people. No matter what the change, or how minor
it may appear, understanding its effect is paramount for it to be supported and lasting. OD comes into play with
efforts designed to support the business’s strategic direction. For instance, if work processes change, people need
to learn new production methods and procedures and maybe new skills. OD becomes instrumental in bringing
about the change. How so? The effects of change become organizational culture issues. Accordingly, OD efforts
help ensure that all organizational members support the new culture and assist in bringing the new culture to
fruition.

Identifying training and climate needs

Employee training and development software is generally plentiful, depending on what you’re looking for. Most
software packages also provide tutorials so that the user can learn at his or her own pace. HRM trainers may find
the following software packages useful for their activities.

Training Needs Analysis Toolkit:

This program assists the HR practitioner in defining training needs. Using the software’s variety of instruments
and surveys, trainers identify training priorities, plan for training events, and evaluating the training that has
occurred.

The Survey Guide:

Many managers today want to take the pulse of their business. Survey Genie provides 200 survey questions that
can be used as is or tailored to a specific organization. Results are displayed in graphs or in charts and can be
evaluated using a variety of statistics.

Establishing the Value of Training:

This software package provides assistance in calculating costs and benefits of training efforts

Unfreeze Freeze Refreeze

We often use two metaphors to clarify the change process. The calm waters metaphor envisions the organization
as a large ship crossing a calm sea. The ship’s captain and crew know exactly where they are going because they
have made the trip many times before. Change surfaces as the occasional storm, a brief distraction in an otherwise
calm and predictable trip.
The white-water rapids metaphor pictures the organization as a small raft navigating a raging river, who are
unsure of their eventual destination, and who, as if things weren’t bad enough, are traveling in the pitch-dark
night. In the white-water rapids metaphor, change is a natural state and managing change is a continual process.
These two metaphors present widely differing approaches to understanding and responding to change. Let’s take
a closer look at each one.

The Calm Waters Metaphor

Until recently, the calm waters metaphor dominated the thinking of practicing managers and academics. The
prevailing model for handling change in calm waters is best illustrated in Kurt Lewin’s three-step description of
the change process.
According to Lewin, successful change requires unfreezing the status quo, changing to a new state, and refreezing
the new change to make it permanent. The status quo can be considered an equilibrium state. Unfreezing,
necessary to move from this equilibrium, is achieved in one of three ways:
-The driving forces, which direct behavior away from the status quo, can be increased.
-The restraining forces, which hinder movement from the existing equilibrium, can be decreased.
-The two approaches can be combined.
After unfreezing, the change itself can be implemented. However, the mere introduction of change does not ensure
that it will take hold. The new situation, therefore, needs to be refrozen so that it can be sustained over time.
Without this last step, the change will likely be short lived and employees will revert to the previous equilibrium
state. The objective of refreezing, then, is to stabilize the new situation by balancing the driving and restraining
forces.
Note how Lewin’s three-step process treats change as a break in the organization’s equilibrium state. The status
quo has been disturbed, and change is necessary to establish a new equilibrium state. This view might have been
appropriate to the relatively calm environment that most organizations faced in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s,
but the calm waters metaphor is an increasingly obsolete description of the kind of seas managers now navigate.

The White-water Rapids Metaphor

This metaphor takes into consideration the fact that environments are both uncertain and dynamic. To understand
what managing change while negotiating uninterrupted rapids might be like, imagine attending a college in which
courses vary in length. When you sign up, you don’t know whether a course will last for 2 weeks or 30 weeks.
Furthermore, the instructor can end a course at any time, with no prior warning. If that isn’t bad enough, the length
of the class session changes each time-sometimes 20 minutes, other times 3 hours-and the time of the next class
meeting, is set by the instructor during the previous class. Oh, yes: The exams are unannounced, you must be
ready for a test at any time. To succeed in this college, you would have to be incredibly flexible and able to
respond quickly to every changing condition. Students too structured or slow on their feet would not survive.
A growing number of organizational members are accepting that their jobs is much like what a student would
face in such a college. The stability and predictability of calm waters do not exist. Disruptions in the status quo
are not occasional and temporary, followed by a return to calm waters. Many of today’s employees never get out
of the rapids. They face constant change, bordering on chaos. These individuals must play a game they have never
played before, governed by rules created as the game progresses.
Is the white-water rapids metaphor merely an overstatement? No! Take the case of General Motors. In the
intensely competitive automotive manufacturing business, a company must be prepared for any possibility. Cars
are being surpassed by sport utility vehicles. Gasoline engines are still the fury of environmentalists who desire a
more environment-friendly source of power for vehicles. Government regulators demand ever-increasing gasoline
mileage. Customers want new and unique styles more frequently. Competition in the industry is fierce. While
GM focus on “big” competitors, new entrants into the marketplace-such as Hyundai and Kia-pick away at market
share. GM, to succeed, must change and continuously improve and revamp everything that they do! As one of
GM’s Advanced Portfolio Exploration Group (APEX) members stated, “Change takes guts. It takes imagination.
It takes commitment.” All necessary ingredients for dealing with the chaotic world of business!
The uncertainty surrounding change in dynamic environment is significant. Just as white-water rafters deal with
continuously changing water currents, organizational members facing rapid and uncertain change must adjust
quickly and react properly to unexpected events.

OD Methods
We know that most organizational change that employees experience happens not by chance, but often by a
concerted effort to alter some aspect of the organization. Whatever happens-in terms of structure or technology-
however, ultimately affects organizational members. Organization development assists organizational members
with planned change.

Organization Development
 Facilitates long-term organization-wide changes. Its focus is to constructively change attitudes and values
among organizational members so that they can more readily adapt to and be more effective in achieving
the new directions of the organization. When they plan OD efforts, organization leaders, in essence,
attempt to change the organization’s culture. However, one fundamental issue of organization
development is its reliance on employee participation to foster an environment of open communication
and trust. Persons involved in OD efforts acknowledge that change can create stress for employees.
Therefore, OD attempts to involve organizational members in changes that will affect their jobs and seeks
their input about how the innovation is affecting them.
 A special approach to organizational change in which employees themselves formulate and implement the
change that’s required.

OD Techniques
Any organizational activity that assists with implementing planned change can be viewed as an OD technique.
However, the more popular OD efforts in organizations rely heavily on group interactions and cooperation. These
include survey feedback, process consultation, team building, and intergroup development.

OD Intervention
Organization development interventions often produce positive change results. Interventions that rely on
participation of organizational members can create openness and trust among coworkers and respect for others.
Interventions can also help employees understand that the organization wants to promote risk taking and
empowerment. “Living” these characteristics can lead to better organizational performance.
However, change agent involved in an OD effort imposes his or her value system on those involved in the
intervention, especially when the intervention addresses coworker mistrust. The change agent may deal with this
problem by bringing all affected parties together to openly discuss their perceptions of the dilemma.
Although many change agents are well versed in OD practices, sometimes they walk a fine line between success
and failure. To resolve personal problems in the workplace, participants must disclose private, and often sensitive
information. An individual can refuse to divulge such information, but doing so may carry negative ramifications.
For example, it could lead to lower performance appraisals, fewer pay increases, or the perception that the
employee is not a team player.
On the other hand, active participation can causes employees to speak their minds, which also carries risks. For
instance, imagine that an employee questions a manager’s competence. This employee fully believes the
manager’s behavior is detrimental to the work unit, but his or her reward for being open and honest could be
retaliation from the boss. Although, at the time, the manager might appear receptive to the feedback, he or she
may retaliate later. In either case-participation or not-employees could be hurt. Even though the intent was to help
overcome worker mistrust, the result may be more back stabbing, more hurt feelings, and more mistrust.
Do you think that coworkers can be too open and honest under this type of OD intervention? What do you think
a change agent can do to ensure that employees’ rights will be protected?

Survey Feedback
Survey feedback efforts assess employee attitudes about and perceptions of the change they are encountering.
Employees generally respond to a set of specific questions regarding how they view organizational aspects such
as decision making, leadership, communication effectiveness, and satisfaction with their jobs, coworkers, and
management. The data the change agent consider actions to remedy the problems.
In process consultation, outside consultants help organizational members to perceive, understand, and act upon
process events. These might include, for example, workflow, informal relationships among unit members, and
formal communications channels. It is important to recognize that consultants give organizational members
insight into what is going on, but they are not there to solve problems. Rather, they coach managers in diagnosing
interpersonal processes that need improvement. If organizational members, with consultants help, cannot solve
the problem, consultants will often help organizational members locate experts who do have the requisite
knowledge.
Organizations are made up of individuals working together to achieve some goals. Because organizational
members frequently must interact with peers, a primary function of OD is to help them become a team. Team
building helps work groups set goals, develop positive interpersonal relationships, and clarify the role and
responsibilities of each team member. There may be no need to address each area because the group may be in
agreement and understand what is expected of it. Team building’s primary focus is to increase each member’s
trust and openness toward one another.
Whereas team building focuses on helping a work group to become more cohesive, intergroup development
attempts to achieve cohesion among different work groups. That is, intergroup development attempts to change
attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions that one group may have toward another group. Doing so can build better
coordination among the various groups.

Survey Feedback
Assessment of employees’ perceptions and attitudes regarding their jobs and organization.
One of the fundamental issues behind OD is the need to foster an environment of communication and trust.

Intergroup development
Helping members of various groups become a cohesive team.

Workplace Issues
Playing Coach
Increasingly, managers must assume the role of coach. In fact, some organizations officially have changed the
title from manager to coach. Changing titles doesn’t change abilities, but with training and practice, managers-by
whatever name-can learn to coach and counsel their employees more effectively.
Change toward teamwork, empowerment, and managing by influence makes acquiring such skills imperative for
the success of both corporations and their employees. Coaching and counseling improves efficiency and
productivity and prevents situations from escalating, while enhancing job satisfaction and confidence when
attitude or performance problems occur. Some managers suffer from the ostrich syndrome-hiding their heads in
the sand in hopes that the problem or employee will go away. Too pressed for time, afraid that they may give the
wrong advice and be blamed for it, or just not having any solutions for a particular situation, managers may avoid
counseling or coaching.
But as managers, we must accept coaching and counseling as a part of our jobs, however uncomfortable we may
be. We must provide employees with regular feedback about their performances, not just at appraisal time. We
must provide appropriate ongoing training, support and encouragement; and provide information about the
company and its goals, as well as their role, responsibilities, and expectations in meeting them.
If your employees feel blocked from career opportunities or dissatisfied with their jobs, need help setting
priorities, or are stressed, burned out, and insecure, your counseling skills will be tested. Employees may not tell
you initially that they have a problem, but they will give you an assortment of clues such as missed deadlines,
absenteeism, and decreased quality and productivity. They may show less initiative or interest or become irritable
or withdrawn. Your job is to find out why their attitude or performance is waning; could it be that they were not
recognized for some work or they are frustrated because of a lack of time, training, or feedback? After all, most
employees believe that their managers either can or should read minds.
Maybe it’s time to reassess what’s happening. For example, have you as a manager taken time to explain
expectations, directions, and priorities? Have you removed obstacles and reinforced performance? When it’s time
to practice your new coaching/counseling insights, carefully plan what you will say in advance, then allow enough
time without distractions or interruptions to discuss how the situation affects performance, to listen without
becoming defensive, and to obtain enough information to develop an action plan of improvement. Invite the
employee to propose solutions or alternatives. Be prepared to have a follow-up session to review the progress and
to reinforce improvements.
Sometimes even the best coaches and counselors must cut their losses if performance continues to decline, which
may call for more severe measure such as probation, demotion, transfer, termination, or disciplinary action if
alternatives such as transfer, retraining, or job restructuring are impossible. On the optimistic side, however, if
the coaching or counseling session is effective, everybody wins-the company, employee, and manager. Attitude
or performance improves, communication lines up, and both managers and employees can build on the situation.
You should consider the alternatives-not saying anything, not taking action-but not too long. The problem may
persist, even if the opportunity to fill the job doesn’t.

Learning Organization
An organization that values continued learning and believes a competitive advantage can be derived from it.

A Special OD Case: The Learning Organization

The concept of a learning organization describes a significant organizational mind-set or philosophy. A learning
organization has the capacity to continuously adapt and change because all members take an active role in
identifying and resolving work-related issues. In a learning organization, employees practice knowledge
management by continually acquiring and sharing new knowledge and willingly apply that knowledge in making
decisions or performing their work.
In a learning organization, it’s critical for members to share information and collaborate on work activities
throughout the entire organization-across different functional specialties and even at different organizational
levels. Employees are free to work together and collaborate in doing the organization’s work the best way they
can and to learn from each other. This need to collaborate also tends to make teams an important feature of a
learning organization. Employees work on activities in teams and make decisions about doing their work or
resolving issues.

Evaluating Training and Development Effectiveness

Empowered employees and teams have little need for “bosses” to direct and control them. Instead, traditional
managers serve as facilitators, supporters, and advocates for employee teams.
Learning can’t take place without information. For a learning organization to “learn,” information must be shared
among members; that is, organizational employees, must engage in knowledge management. This means sharing
information openly, in a timely manner, and as accurately as possible. The learning organization environment is
conducive to open communication and extensive information sharing.
Leadership plays an important role as an organization moves to become a learning organization. One most
important leader function is to facilitate creation of a shared vision for the organization’s future and keep
organizational members working toward that vision. In addition, leaders should support and encourage the
collaborative environment critical to learning. Without string and committed leadership throughout the
organization, it would be extremely difficult to be a learning organization.
Finally, the organizational culture is an important aspect of being a learning organization. A learning
organization’s culture is one in which everyone agrees on a shared vision and everyone recognizes the inherent
interrelationships among the organization’s processes, activities, functions, and external environment. There is a
strong sense of community, caring for each other, and trust. In a learning organization, employees feel free to
openly communicate, share, experiment, and learn without fear of criticism or punishment.
If you delve deeply into many of the learning organization’s characteristics you may notice something startling.
Many of these elements are parts of a fully functioning, effective human resource management system in an
organization.