UNIT 9 QUESTIONNAIRE AS A

DIAGNOSTIC TOOL
Objectives
After going through this unit, you should be able to understand:
when to construct a questionnaire
how to construct a questionnaire
questionnaire as an important tool for analysing an organisation

Structure
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Dimensions Diagnosed through Questionnaires
9.3 Some Available Questionnaires
9.4 How to Construct Questionnaires
9.5 Administering and Using Questionnaire
9.6 Summary
9.7 Self-Assessment Questions
9.8 Further Readings
Appendix 1: Organisational Climate Questionnaire
Appendix 2: HRD Climate Survey
Appendix 3: Designing and Conducting Organisational Surveys
Appendix 4: Instruments of Organisational Analysis
Appendix 5: Scanning Your Business Environment

9.1 INTRODUCTION
Questionnaire, Interviews, Workshops and Task-forces are the most frequently
used methods of organisational diagnosis in India. They are used separately or
in combinations. Of the four, Questionnaires are more commonly used as they
could be used with ease and by persons inside the organisation. In this section
Questionnaire method is described in some detail.

There are a number of fairly standardised Questionnaire for Organisational

diagnosis. It is also easy to develop Questionnaire to suit each organisation’s
requirements. A sample of standardised questionnaire are also described in this
section. Choice of a questionnaire depends on the purposes of diagnosis and the
indications available from a preliminary diagnosis of the dimensions needing in-
depth study. Normally before the decision to use a questionnaire the person or
the group, intending to use it should have identified the area of concern through
interviews, complaints, observed symptoms or general opinions of interest
expressed by the top management etc.

9.2 DIMENSIONS DIAGNOSED THROUGH

QUESTIONNAIRE
There are many dimensions that could be studied through questionnaire. The
following is a list of these dimensions more frequently studied for diagnostic
purposes.
1
Organisational Analysis General Organisational Health
The general well being of an organisation could be measured through
Questionnaire. The general organisational health is indicated by a
comprehensive index obtained through the measurement of perceptions of
employees of the organisation. The comprehensive index deals with the
health of the organisation on all possible variables (psychological,
sociological, political, behavioural, managerial, organisational etc.) that affect
the functioning of the organisation. These include the feelings of security,
need-fulfilment, job satisfaction, scope for self-actualisation, extent of
happiness with the organisation, power-distribution, working of groups,
objectivity, favouritism, distortion of communications, trust, leadership, team
spirit, tension in the organisation, conflicts, prejudice, work-organisation,
effectiveness of meetings, convenience of working hours and work
atmosphere etc.
Organisational Culture
The commonly shared attitudes, values, beliefs, norms and behaviour of
employees in the organisation constitutes its culture. Organisational climate
variables are similar to organisational health variabes. Organisational culture
is studied normally in a descriptive way whereas organisational health is
studied in an evaluative way. Organisational health variables indicate
fuctional and dysfunctional aspects of the organisational proesses.
Motivational Climate
Organisations could be diagnosed in terms of the prevailing motives that
characterise the organisation’s function. Does concern for excellence
characterise its culture or control? or relationships? or dependence? or
expert power? or helping each other? etc.
Role Oriented Variables
There are many “Role” related variables that influence the organisation’s
functioning. These include Role Efficacy, Role Ambiguity, Role Overload,
Role Erosion, Inter-role linkages and the like. Some of these variables are
explained later with illustrative examples of questionnaire.
HRD Climate
HRD climate questionnaire deal with the extent to which a development
oriented climate or learning climate exists in an organisation. Openness,
collaboration, trust, proaction, authenticity, confrontation, risk-taking etc. are
normally characterised as facilitating development culture. Performance
appraisals, training, feedback, counselling, job-rotation, group meetings, career
development plans etc. are considered as instruments to facilitate change.
Leadership and Supervisory Styles
The human resources management philosophy as believed and practiced by
the supervisory and managerial staff determines also to a large extent the
motivation and morale of people and thereby influences the organisational
functioning. The general philosophy, beliefs, and behaviours can be measured
through questionnaires. The variables measured may include Theory X
Versus Theory Y Orientation; or task-centred and people-centred supervision;
or authoritarian versus participative management; or benevolent, critical and
development styles, etc.
Job-Satisfaction, Work Motivation and Work Committment
With the decline of work ethics in some organisations, many diagnostic
efforts are being focused on studies on job-satisfaction, work-motivation, job-
involvement and the like. The variables measured give insights into the
existing patterns as well as sources giving rise to dysfunctional behaviours.
Questionnaire to measure elimination, work attitudes also fall in this category.
2
 Specific Variables Questionnaire as a
Diagnostic Tool
In addition to these general variables the diagnostic questionnaire may focus
on specific variables depending on the need of the organisation. For example,
if communication is perceived as an issue there could be questionnaire to
deal with all aspects of it. If team work is perceived as a problem there
could be questionnaire developed to deal with. Thus any organisational
process or human processes in organisational life can be taken up for
diagnosis depending upon the preliminary investigations or need felt by the
organisation.

In the subsequent sections of this unit details are presented about some of the
questionnaire available.

9.3 SOME AVAILABLE (QUESTIONNAIRES)

Organisational Climate Questionnaire
A typical organisational climate diagnostic questionnaire is given in Appendix 1.
This questionnaire has 60 items. Each item has 5 alternative responses. The
respondent is required to give his assessment of the organisational climate as it
exists at the time of his answering it as well as the desired climate. The gap
between the “actual” and “desired” indicate the dissatisfaction level or scope
for improvement. Smaller the gap more healthy the organisation is. This
instrument reproduced in full because it gives a fairly comprehensive coverage
of all the organisational variables that could be considered under organisational
climate or organisational health.

The best way to learn about the variables used in this Questionnaire is for the
reader to answer that Questionnaire. After answering the Questionnaire find out
the gap between the actual and desired scores for each item by converting the
ratings into a 5 point scale.You can assign a score of 5 points to alternative E,
4 to D, 3 to C, 2 to B, and 1 to A for positively worded items i.e. where A is
least desirable and E is most desirable. For the esteriked items assign a score
of 5 to A, 4 to B, 3 to C, 2 to D and 1 to E. For each item find the
difference (ignore the sign while calculating difference). Add the differences on
each item and calculate the overall difference on all the 60 items. It will give
the overall index of dissatisfaction with organisational climate. There is no hard
and fast rule about what can be considered as desirable or undesirable. A gap
of 30 may be a tolerable gap as it may mean marginal variation between the
actual and desired in 30 items or noticeable variation (about 2 points) on 15
items. A difference score of 30 can be obtained in many ways.

Total organisational climate score can also be obtained by adding the scores
(A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1 respectively for aesteriked items and A=1, B=2,
C=3, D=4, and E=5 for other items) on the “actual” dimension. A maximum
score of 300 is possible. Scores above 240 (i.e. 60 % 4) indicates a healthy
organisational climate. Scores between 180 and 240 indicate a moderately good
organisational climate with some scope for improvement. Scores below 180
indicates substantial scope for improvement.

This questionnaire can be administered to a large sample of employees in an

organisation (at least 10% in large organisations employing several thousands of
people or for the entire population in smaller organisations employing only a few
hundreds). Item-wise scores can be tabulated. Those questions or items on
which there are low scores and high degree of consensus (low variations) could
be taken up for working out corrective mechanisms.
3
Organisational Analysis HRD Climate Questionnaire
With the recent emphasis on HRD, many organisations are focusing their
attention on HRD culture of their organisations. The Centre for HRD at XLRI
Jamshedpur have developed a simple diagnostic questionnaire to diagnose HRD
climate. This questionnaire is presented in Appendix 2 in this unit.

The HRD climate of the organisation is characterised as consisting of the

following tendencies on the part of the organisation:
A tendency at all levels starting from the top management to the lowest
levels to treat people as the most important resource.
A perception that developing the competencies of employees to the job of
every manager/supervisor.
A belief that employees can change and acquire new competencies at any
stage of life.
A tendency on the part of all employees be open (encouraging free
expression of ideas, opinions and even feelings) trusting, encouraging
experimentation, collaborating, authentic and pro-active.
Team spirit.
Tendency to discourage stereo-types and favouritism.
Supportive personnel policies and HRD practices including performance
appraisals, job-rotation, training, reward administration, career planning etc.

This questionnaire consisting of 30 items can be modified to suit the

requirements of any organisation intending to use it. The Centre for HRD at
XLRI has data on a large number of organisations. These data are available
for organisations interested in comparing themselves with others.

The questionnaire uses a 5 point scale. The overall HRD climate score can be
obtained by adding the scores on all the 38 items. Scores between 152
(38 % 4) and 190 (38 % 5) indicate a good HRD climate existing in the
organisation. Scores less than 152 but higher than 114 (38 % 3) indicate a
moderate HRD climate with some scope for improvement and scores less than
114 indicate poor HRD climate with substantial scope for improvement. Norms
for comparison purposes are available from published sources given at the end
of this chapter (Rao and Pereira, 1985).

For diagnostic purposes the questionnaire should be administrated to a

representative sample of employees and organisation wide scores should be
computed on each items. Items that show low scores indicate areas for
intervention or corrective action. There are organisations that have changed
their HRD policies and practices and improved their HRD culture after getting
to know their HRD climate diagnosis.

9.4 HOW TO CONSTRUCT QUESTIONNAIRES ?

Ready made questionnaire have some limitations and some advantages. One
advantage is that they are normally standardised and data from other
organisations (norms etc.) may be available for interpretation and comparison
purposes. The main disadvatage is that they may not suit the needs of an
organisation seeking diagnosis. For example, most of the available questionnaire
are developed in business settings and hence may be of limited value to
educational and such other organisations. Secondly an organisation may be
interested in having a look at a few specific aspects than studying everything
outlined in the questionnaire.

In such cases it is useful to construct separate questionnaire exclusively for a

given organisation/situation. The following are some considerations that could be
4 kept in mind while preparing the questionnaire.
 Questionnaire for organisational diagnosis normally measure the perceptions Questionnaire as a
Diagnostic Tool
of employees or participants in an organisation. It is the aggregate of these
perceptions that indicate the organisational strengths and short-comings.
The employees/participants of an organisation sometimes are in a good
position to provide dimensions/variables on which questionnaire can be
framed. For example, to diagnose the organisational health of an agriculture
university a group of scientists of that university were assembled and
requested to make statements about what in their opinion is good and bad in
the university. All their statements were collected, edited and a questionnaire
was made. Subsequently it was administered to all the scientists in that
university. Thus interviews/group discussions/meetings/workshops help in
developing questionnaire.
Another form of developing a questionnaire is to sample test any
standardised questionnaire on a group of respondents. The respondents could
be asked to indicate variables/items that should be used for diagnosis.
In preparing a questionnaire, structured questionaire are more easy to
analyse data and for providing statistical information.

9.5 ADMINISTERING AND USING QUESTIONNAIRE

Since organisational diagnosis questionnaire measure perceptions of employees,
and in giving their perceptions employees are giving sensitive data care should
be taken to prevent distortions in data collection. Employees may distort data
depending on their perceptions of those who collect data and the purposes for
which data are being collected. The following points may be kept in mind for
collecting data.
When the respondent knows the purpose the quality of data he gives will be
better. Hence it is important to explain the purpose (in the questionnaire
itself or through other media).
If the respondent trusts the person(s) collecting data and subscribes to the
purposes for which data are being collected, the quality of information he
supplies may be better. Hence it is important to use consultants, teams,
individuals or firms that are ‘known’ and trustworthy for organisational diagnosis.
Partly such as trust can be built by proper use of data and taking action
on the basis of diagnosis. If an organisation or the top management keep on
diagnosing and take no action the employees may lose faith in such exercises.
If the respondents have any fear of identification they are not likely to
express opinions freely. Hence it is useful to collect data without the
respondent having to reveal his identity. Sometimes organisations may find it
important to collect some basic information about the respondent like his
Grade, Educational Qualifications, years of service with the company,
department, section etc. Such details are useful for a meaningful analysis of
the diagnostic data. For example it is useful to know if organisational health
or work motivation or distortion of communications etc. are high in some
departments than others. Similarly, it is useful to know if the organisation is
perceived as healthy by the senior employees rather than juniors. Therefore,
for such comparisons it is useful to collect some minimum background
information from the respondents. However, the designer of the questionnaire
has to give sufficient thought before deciding on what information to collect.
It is useful to test out the thoughts on some employees to ensure that no
data is obtained that distorts responses.
Another dimension that affects the quality of data is the length of the
questionnaire. It is useful to have questionnaire that could be completed by a
respondent before fatigue sets in. Questionnaire that take more than an hour
are normally perceived by respondents as fatigue setting. It is preferable to
have questionnaire that could be completed in less than an hour. 5
Organisational Analysis The administration of questionnaire becomes easy in groups than individually.
Respondents could be gathered in small groups and administered the
questionnaire. It also provides an opportunity for those conducting the
diagnostic study to explain in detail the purposes of the study.
Timing of administering the questionnaire is another factor that should be
kept in mind. If questionnaire is administered immediately after a significant
event has occured in the organisation, to some extent the perceptions may
get distorted. It is useful to administer the questionnaires after their impact
settles down.

Use of diagnostic data obtained from questionnaire also require some skills. As
will be explained in the subsequent units “Survey Feedback” is a frequently
used OD intervention. The tabulated data when fed back to the respondents in
an aggregate form and an opportunity is provided to discuss the data and their
implications already the seeds get sown for the change process.

In analysing and presenting data it is useful to focus on every single item of

the questionnaire rather than aggregate score. Total scores often conceal a lot
than reveal. Hence item-wise analysis is more useful. Even while analysing
item-wise responses, computing percentage or respondents giving extreme
responses on each item reveal more about that variable rather than mean scores.

Wherever qualitative responses are sought content analysis and categorisation

of responses is necessary. The use of diagnostic information partly depends
upon the way it is presented. Hence attention should be paid to the analysis
and presentation aspects even at the time of designing the questionnaire.

9.6 SUMMARY
Questionnaire is a very useful diagnostic tool. There are several questionnaires
developed by organisational scientists in our country that are useful for
diagnostic purposes. These questionnaires could be used with appropriate
modifications to suit the diagnostic needs of each organisation. It is advisable to
develop organisation specific questionnaire for diagnosing problems unique to the
organisation. Comparative data may be available if standardised questionnaire
are used for general diagnosis purposes. Participative methods of developing
questionnaire enhance the quality of questionnaire through increasing the
organisational relevance of items. Survey feedback, maintaining organisational
health profiles, designing other interventions are some of the useful purposes
served by questionnaire. Care should be taken to ensure getting good quality
data through proper administration (clarifying purposes, maintaining anonymity of
respondents, administering in groups etc.) of questionnaire.

9.7 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1) What are the dimensions which could be diagnosed through Questionnaire?
2) How do you construct a Questionnaire? Discuss this with reference to your
Organisation?
3) How is Questionnaire an important tool for Organisational diagnosis?

9.8 FURTHER READING

D.A. Nadler, Feedback and Organisation Development: Using Data-Based
Methods. Addison Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. 1977

6
 Appendix I Questionnaire as a
Diagnostic Tool

ORGANISATIONAL CLIMATE QUESTIONNAIRE

Sixty statements are given below about organisations. With each statement are
given 5 alternatives. Read each statement and select one of the alternatives
which describes most accurately your organisation. Write down the letter of
that alternative (a, b, c, d, or e) under A (i.e. actual). Then choose an
alternative which in your opinion is desirable for your organisation. Write down
the letter of the alternative under D (i.e., desirable). Against each statement
complete both A and D columns.

Actual Desired
1) How often do you feel that an employee’s
career is harmed in the Organisation?
A. Almost always ...... ......
B. Usually ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Rarely ...... ......
E. Almost never ...... ......

2) How are the targets set in this organisation?

A. Orders are issued with no
opportunity to raise questions
or give comments. ...... ......
B. Orders are issued and explained
and then an opportunity is given
to ask questions. ...... ......
C. Orders are drawn up, but are
discussed with subordinates
and sometimes modified before
being used. ...... ......
D. Specific alternative objectives
are drawn up by supervisors and
subordinates are asked to discuss
and choose the one they prefer. ...... ......
E. Problems are presented to those
persons who are involved and
objectives are then set up by the
subordinates and the supervisors
jointly by group participation
and discussions. ...... ......

3) “Serious anomaly does not exist in the way benefits

are awarded to persons in the organisation”. To what
extent do you agree with the statement?
A. Strongly disagree ...... ......
B. Disagree ...... ......
C. Neither agree nor disagree ...... ......
D. Agree ...... ......
E. Strongly agree ...... ......

7
Organisational Analysis
Actual Desired
4) For important decisions to be taken regarding any work,
the tendency here is to pass the files on to somebody
else for making the decisions. How often does it
happen here?
A. Almost always ...... ......
B. Usually ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Rarely ...... ......
E. Almost never ...... ......

5) To what extent do the superiors and the knowledgeable

colleagues take pains to help and employee who wants
to learn more about his job?
A. To a great extent ...... ......
B. To a considerable extent ...... ......
C. To some extent ...... ......
D. To a little extent ...... ......
E. Not at all ...... ......

6) Attempts to do things in better ways are encouraged

in this organisation. How often does it happen here?
A. Almost never ...... ......
B. Rarely ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Usually ...... ......
E. Almost always ...... ......

7) Do people here get an opportunity to develop their

skills further to do their jobs?
A. Almost all the people ...... ......
B. Most of the people ...... ......
C. Some of the people ...... ......
D. A few people ...... ......
E. Almost none ...... ......

8) How often do the employees here try to do things

better than what they have done last time
A. Almost never ...... ......
B. Rarely ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Usually ...... ......
E. Almost always ...... ......

8
 Questionnaire as a
Actual Desired Diagnostic Tool

9) How much do you agree with the statement that this

organisation is better than other similar organisations
in the country to work in?
A. Strongly agree ...... ......
B. Agree ...... ......
C. Neither agree nor disagree ...... ......
D. Disagree ...... ......
E. Strongly disagree ...... ......

10) How often are your ideas for change given a good
hearing?
A. Never ...... ......
B. Sometimes ...... ......
C. Often ...... ......
D. Almost always ...... ......
E. Always ...... ......

11) Is it true that remaining busy is not enough in this

organisation? One has to show results?
A. Yes, it is true here to
a very great extent ...... ......
B. Yes, it is true here
to a great extent ...... ......
C. Well, it is true to
a negligible extent ...... ......
D. No, it is not quite true ...... ......
E. No, it is not true at all ...... ......

12) To what extent do you agree that quite often a

subordinate here has to attend to orders issued
by more than one person at a time.
A. Strongly disagree ...... ......
B. Disagree ...... ......
C. Neither agree nor disagree ...... ......
D. Agree ...... ......
E. Strongly agree ...... ......

13) To what extent do you think that when decisions

are being made about certain work that you are
to do, you are asked for your ideas?
A. Almost never ...... ......
B. Rarely ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Usually ...... ......
E. Almost always ...... ......

9
Organisational Analysis
Actual Desired
14) Somebody says, “There is so much work to do
here every day that I have to do it somehow,
and I don’t have the time to think about how the
quality of the work can be improved.” How much
woud you agree with the statement?
A. Strongly disagree ...... ......
B. Disagree ...... ......
C. Neither agree nor disagree ...... ......
D. Agree ...... ......
E. Strongly agree ...... ......

15) To what extent do you receive correct information

about your work, duties etc.?
A. Not at all ...... ......
B. To a very little extent ...... ......
C. To some extent ...... ......
D. To a considerabe extent ...... ......
E. To a very great extent ...... ......

16) “There is a general feeling here that

grievances of the employees are handled
properly.” To what extent do you agree
with this statement?
A. Strongly agree ...... ......
B. Agree ...... ......
C. Neither agree nor disagree ...... ......
D. Disagree ...... ......
E. Strongly disagree ...... ......

17) Do you agree that almost everyone here

knows who is working under whom in
this organisation?
A. Strongly disagree ...... ......
B. Disagree ...... ......
C. Neither agree nor disagree ...... ......
D. Agree ...... ......
E. Strongly agree ...... ......

18) To what extent do people in your department

encourage one another in work?
A. Not at all ...... ......
B. To a little extent ...... ......
C. To some extent ...... ......
D. To a considerable extent ...... ......
E. To a very great extent ...... ......

10
 Questionnaire as a
Actual Desired Diagnostic Tool

19) How frequently do you think it is true that

in this organisation it is easier to deal with
those things that have a precedence?
A. No, it is not true in any case ...... ......
B. Yes, in some cases ...... ......
C. Yes, in many cases ...... ......
D. Yes, in most of the cases ...... ......
E. Yes, in almost all the cases ...... ......

20) Is the organisation receptive to new ideas?

A. It is never receptive ...... ......
B. It is sometimes receptive ...... ......
C. It is often receptive ...... ......
D. Almost always receptive ...... ......
E. Always receptive ...... ......

21) “The general feeling here is that people do not

get fair hearing from those who are higher up.”
How much do you agree with it?
A. Strongly agree ...... ......
B. Agree ...... ......
C. Neither agree nor disagree ...... ......
D. Disagree ...... ......
E. Strongly disagree ...... ......

22) How adequate is the amount of information

you get about what is going on in other departments
and units of this organisation?
A. Very inadequate ...... ......
B. Inadequate ...... ......
C. Neither inadequate nor adequate ...... ......
D. Adequate ...... ......
E. Very adequate ...... ......

23) To what extent do you feel that the employees here

are allowed to make decisions to solve their problems
without checking them with their superiors at each
stage of the work?
A. To a very great extent ...... ......
B. Toa great extent ...... ......
C. To some extent ...... ......
D. To a little extent ...... ......
E. Not at all ...... ......

11
Organisational Analysis
Actual Desired
24) Is there a general feeling amongst the employees
of your level that anybody can be removed from
his job at any time?
A. Almost all the employees feel so ...... ......
B. Most of the employees feel so ...... ......
C. Some of the employees feel so ...... ......
D. A few employees feel so ...... ......
E. None of the employees feel so ...... ......

25) How often are the rewards (such as raise in

salary and promotions) given strictly on the basis
of valid reasons?
A. Almost always ...... ......
B. Usually ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Rarely ...... ......
E. Almost never ...... ......

26) “In order to stay here, one just can’t perform

work somehow: work has to be well done.”
To what extent do you agree with it?
A. Strongly agree ...... ......
B. Agree ...... ......
C. Neither agree nor disagree ...... ......
D. Disagree ...... ......
E. Strongly disagree ...... ......

27) To what extent are there facilities and opportunities

for individual creative work in this organisation?
A. Not at all ...... ......
B. To a little extent ...... ......
C. To some extent ...... ......
D. To a considerable extent ...... ......
E. To a very great extent ...... ......

28) In your observations, how often do the employees

in this organisation seem to be bored with
their work?
A. On all occasions ...... ......
B. On most occasions ...... ......
C. On some occasions ...... ......
D. On a very few occasions ...... ......
E. Not at all ...... ......

12
 Questionnaire as a
Actual Desired Diagnostic Tool

29) “The nature of things that an employee is supposed

to do in this organisation are so varied that it is
logically difficult to put them together.” How much
do you agree with this statement?
A. Strongly agree ...... ......
B. Agree ...... ......
C. Neither agree nor disagree ...... ......
D. Disagree ...... ......
E. Strongly disagree ...... ......

30) To what extent are people in the higher levels ware of

the problems of lower levels in this organisation?
A. Not at all ...... ......
B. To a very little extent ...... ......
C. To some extent ...... ......
D. To a considerable extent ...... ......
E. To a very great extent ...... ......

31) How often do you have advance information

of any changes which are planned?
A. Almost always ...... ......
B. Usually ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Rarely ...... ......
E. Almost never ...... ......

32) To what extent is the information passed from

one person to another in this organisation distorted
or deliberately made inaccurate?
A. To a large extent ...... ......
B. To a considerable extent ...... ......
C. To some extent ...... ......
D. To a little extent ...... ......
E. Not at all ...... ......

33) Are discussions at meetings in this organisation free

and open?
A. No, they are very guarded and defensive ...... ......
B. Quite guarded and defensive ...... ......
C. Slightly defensive ...... ......
D. Quite free and open ...... ......
E. Very free and open ...... ......

34) One cannot simply go ahead and do a thing here

unless one has discussed it with one’s superiors
before. How often does it happen here?
A. Yes, it is almost always the case here ...... ......
B. Yes, it is usually the case here ...... ......
C. Yes, it is sometimes the case here ...... ......
D. No, it is rarely the case here ...... ......
E. No, it is almost never the case here ...... ......
13
Organisational Analysis
Actual Desired
35) If someone of your colleagues does his job in a
more improved way than it is usually done,
does he get proper recogntion for it?
A. Almost never ...... ......
B. Rarely ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Usually ...... ......
E. Almost always ...... ......

36) Which of the following best describes the manner

in which problems between depatments are
generally resolved?
A. The problems are worked out
at the level, where they appeared,
through mutual effort and understanding ...... ......
B. Very few of them feel happy to
leave this organisation ...... ......
C. Some of them feel happy to leave
this organisation ...... ......
E. All of them feel happy to leave
this organisation ...... ......

37) How much do you think the top management of

this organisation is aware of the working condition
of its employees?
A. Not at all aware ...... ......
B. Very little aware ...... ......
C. Somewhat aware ...... ......
D. Much aware ...... ......
E. Very much aware ...... ......

38) How often are the employees in this organisation

helpful to each other?
A. Almost never ...... ......
B. Rarely ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Usually ...... ......
E. Almost always ...... ......

39) How much do you think your organisation has

interest in the welfare of the employees?
A. They are not at all really interested ...... ......
B. They are not very much interested ...... ......
C. Only in certain ways they are interested ...... ......
D. They are somewhat interested ...... ......
E. They are very much interested ...... ......

14
 Questionnaire as a
Actual Desired Diagnostic Tool
40) In some places, anybody can go to anybody else to
discuss any problem he faces. In your opinion, how
often does it happen here?
A. Almost never ...... ......
B. Rarely ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Usually ...... ......
E. Almost always ...... ......

41) Do you agree that in this organisation the

capabilities of its employees are fully
utilised
A. Strongly agree ...... ......
B. Agree ...... ......
C. Neither agree nor disagree ...... ......
D. Disagree ...... ......
E. Strongly disagree ...... ......

42) How often do you think the professional

jealousies obstruct the performance of duties
in this organisation?
A. Almost always ...... ......
B. Usually ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Rarely ...... ......
E. Almost never ...... ......

43) Do the employees here work with a team spirit?

A. Team spirit does not exists at all ...... ......
B. Team spirit exists in a few members ...... ......
C. Team spirit exists in quite
a few members ...... ......
D. Team spirit exists in many members ...... ......
E. Team spirit exists in almost
all the members ...... ......

44) Are there things around your working environment

(people, policies, conditions) that discourage you
from working hard?
A. Yes, practically everything
around here discourages me from
working hard ...... ......
B. Yes, a great many things around
here discourage me from working hard;
only a few do not discourage me ...... ......
C. About as many things discourage
me as encourage me to work hard ...... ......
D. No, most things around here
encourage me to work hard ...... ......
E. No, practically everything around
here encourages me to work hard. ...... ......

15
Organisational Analysis
Actual Desired
45) Considering the busy schedules and workload
here, the employees seldom find time to share
their concerns with each other. How much
do you agree with it?
A. Strongly agree ...... ......
B. Agree ...... ......
C. Neither agree nor disagree ...... ......
D. Disagree ...... ......
E. Strongly disagree ...... ......

46) How often do superiors invite their subordinates

for an informal discussion?
A. Almost never ...... ......
B. Rarely ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Usually ...... ......
E. Almost always ...... ......

47) How much influence do you think your colleagues

have in deciding what should be done in this
organisation?
A. Very much ...... ......
B. Much ...... ......
C. Some ...... ......
D. Little ...... ......
E. Not at all ...... ......

48) To what extent do you have confidence in the

people you work with?
A. Not at all ...... ......
B. To a very little extent ...... ......
C. To a some extent ...... ......
D. To a considerable extent ...... ......
E. To a great extent ...... ......

49) How often do the employees here trust

one another?
A. Almost always ...... ......
B. Usually ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Rarely ...... ......
E. Almost never ...... ......

50) Are suggestions often solicited from

employees here?
A. Yes, from senior officers only ...... ......
B. Yes, from some officers only ...... ......
C. Yes, from all the officers only ...... ......
D. Yes, from all the employees
except Class IV ...... ......
E. Yes, from all the employees ...... ......
16
 Questionnaire as a
Actual Desired Diagnostic Tool
51) How often does a person in this organisation
receive credit and appreciation if he finds
out a different way of doing things which
nobody has ever done before?
A. Almost always ...... ......
B. Usually ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Rarely ...... ......
E. Almost never ...... ......

52) How much is your job important in this

organisation?
A. Very much ...... ......
B. Much ...... ......
C. Somewhat ...... ......
D. Little ...... ......
E. Not at all ...... ......

53) This organisation facilitates the self-improvement

of its employees. Do you agree with this statement?
A. Strongly disagree ...... ......
B. Disagree ...... ......
C. Neither agree nor disagree ...... ......
D. Agree ...... ......
E. Strongly agree ...... ......

54) How often is a conscientious attempt made to

consider the views of people concerned?
A. Almost never ...... ......
B. Rarely ...... ......
C. Sometimes ...... ......
D. Usually ...... ......
E. Almost always ...... ......

Source: Developed by Somnath Chattopadhyay. Reproduced with permission from

Udai Pareek., T.V. Rao and D.M. Pestonjee; Behaviour Processes in
Organisations, New Delhi: Oxford & IBH, 1981.

17
Organisational Analysis Appendix II
HRD CLIMATE SURVEY

Organisation ...................

Designation ................... Date.............

Any organisation that would like to be dynamic and growth oriented has to pay
attention to the development of its human resources. People must be
continuously helped to acquire capabilities for effective performance of new
roles/functions/tasks that may arise in the process of organisational growth and
change in the environment. Thus HRD becomes crucial for organisational
dynamism and growth. In the recent past, mechanisms like performance
appraisal, counselling, OD, potential appraisal, job enrichment have been
introduced in various organisations. A minimal positive developmental climate is
essential for the success of these programmes. This survey is to find out the
extent to which such developmental climate exists in your organisation.

We propose to combine the responses received from several employees of your

organisational and prepare profiles of developmental climate for your organisation.
As these profiles may form the basis of your organisation taking further step
with regard to its HRD practices, we would appreciate your frank responses.

A number of statements are given below describing the HRD climate of an

organisation. Please give your assessment of the HRD climate in your
organisation by rating your organisation on each statement using the 5 point
scale. A rating of 5 indicates that the statement is almost always true with your
organisation; a rating of 4 indicates that the statement is mostly true; a rating of
3 indicates that the statement is sometimes true; a rating of 2 indicates that the
statement is rarely true about your organisation. Give your assessment by
encircling the appropriate number.

5 = Almost always true 4 = Mostly true 3 = Sometimes true

2 = Rarely true 1 = Not at all true

1. The top management of this organisation goes out of its way to

make sure that employees enjoy their work 54321
2. The top management believes that human resources are an
extremely important resource and that they have to be
treated more humanly. 54321
3. Development of the subordinates is seen as an important
part of their job by the managers/officers here. 54321
4. The personnel policies in this organisation facilitate
employee development. 54321
5. The top management is willing to invest a considerable part
of their time and other resources to ensure the development
of employees. 54321
6. Senior officers/executives in this organisation take active
interest in their juniors and help them learn their job. 54321
7. People lacking competence in doing their jobs are helped
to acquire competence rather than being left unattended. 54321
8. Managers in this organisation believe that employee behaviour
can be changed and people can be developed at any stage
of their life. 54321
9. People in this organisation are helpful to each other. 54321
18
10. Employees in this organisation are very informal and do Questionnaire as a
Diagnostic Tool
not hesitate to discuss their personal problems with their
supervisors. 54321
11. The psychological climate in this organisation is very
conducive to any employee interested in developing
himself by acquiring new knowledge and skills. 54321
12. Seniors guide their juniors and prepare them for future
responsibilities/roles they are likely to take up. 54321
13. The top management of this organisation makes efforts
to identify and utilise the potential of the employees 54321
14. Promotion decisions are based on the suitability of the
promotee rather than on favouritism. 54321
15. There are mechanisms in this organisation to reward any
good work done or any contribution made by employees. 54321
16. When an employee does good work his supervising
officers take special care to appreciate it. 54321
17. Performance appraisal reports in our organisation are based
on objective assessment and adequate information and not
on favouritism. 54321
18. People in this organisation do not have any fixed mental
impressions about each other 54321
19. Employees are encouraged to experiment with new methods
and try out creative ideas. 54321
20. When any employee makes a mistake his supervisors treat
it with understanding and help him to learn from such mistakes
rather than punishing him or discouraging him. 54321
21. Weaknesses of employees are communicated to them in
a non-threatening way. 54321
22. When behaviour feedback is given to employees they take
it seriously and use it for development 54321
23. Employees in this organisation take pains to find out their
strengths and weaknesses from their supervising officers
or colleagues. 54321
24. When employees are sponsored for training, they take it
seriously and try to learn from the programmes they attend 54321
25. Employees returning from training programmes are given
opportunities to try out what they have learnt. 54321
26. Employees are sponsored for training programmes on the
basis of genuine training needs. 54321
27. People trust each other in this organisation. 54321
28. Employees are not afraid to express or discuss their feelings
with their superiors. 54321
29. Employees are not afraid to express or discuss their feelings
with their subordinates. 54321
30. Employees are encouraged to take initiative and do things
on their own without having to wait for instructions from
supervisors. 54321
31. Delegation of authority to encourage juniors to develop
handling higher responsibilities is quite common in this
organisation. 54321
19
Organisational Analysis 32. When seniors delegate authority to juniors, the juniors use
it as an opportunity for development. 54321
33. Team spirit is of high order in this organisation. 54321
34. When problems arise people discuss these problems openly
and try to solve them rather than keep accusing each other
behind the back. 54321
35. Career opportunities are pointed out to juniors by senior
officers in the organisation. 54321
36. The organisation’s future plans are made known to the
managerial staff to help them develop their juniors and
prepare them for future. 54321
37. This organisation ensures employee welfare to such an
extent that the employees can save a lot of their mental
energy for work purposes. 54321
38. Job-rotation in this organisation facilitates employee
development. 54321

Source : Rao, T.V. and Pereira, D.F. (Eds). Recent Experiences in Human
Resource Development. New Delhi: Oxford & IBH, 1985.

20
 Appendix III Questionnaire as a
Diagnostic Tool
DESIGNING & CONDUCTING ORGANISATIONAL SURVEYS
Most commonly used instruments are:
i. Attitude Survey
ii. Opinion surveys

Such instruments are used in-group and Organisational settings to measure

behavioural dynamics, morale, organisational climate, Leadership and a plethora
of other variables that relate to human behaviour. In order to conduct a survey
pertaining to Organisational Analysis, the following guidelines should be followed:

1. Define the Objective: The purpose of conducting a survey should be the

starting point. What is that you want to analyze:
Organisational Structure & Design?
Organisational Climate?
Organisational Ethos?
Organisational Culture?
Organisational Effectiveness?
Organisational Change?
or
Organisational People Issues?
The reasons of conducting the survey should be specific & preferably
should be important. If there are a number of things that one is attempting
to get feedback on, the picture becomes hazy and the respondents are likely
to abandon the exercise.

2. Identify the Population to be Studied: In order to identify and analyze

the organizational issues to be studies it is important, to administer the
survey instrument to major share of population thus making the sample size
quite big or adequately representative of the entire population in the
Organisation.
A practical method of doing this is to look at the size/strength of
employees at each level and work out percentages at each level in terms
of number of employees to whom the questionnaire can be administered.
For example, let us say an Organisation has 400 employees, having the
level wise distribution as under :
C & MD - 1 } Senior
Board Level Directors - 3 } Management
Executive Directors - 6 }
General Managers - 20 }

DGM - 40 } Middle
Managers - 80 } Management

Asst. Managers - 120 } Junior

Executives - 240 } Management

Staff - 60 } Staff &

Workers - 30 } Workers
21
Organisational Analysis 3. Select the survey sample – Considering the above distribution, we have 4
district cadres, where we can administer questionnaire. We can administer
questionnaire as below:
The sample selected for this purpose should be randomly selected and
should also represent the populated.
Senior Management Cadre - 20%
Middle Management Cadre - 25%
Junior Management Cadre - 25%
Staff & Workers - 25%
Again as mentioned above, the question should be randomly administered
and if the above% is maintained, it would be a fairly representative sample
size.
4. Developing the Instrument – Developing the instrument is fairly tardy
exercise requiring a high degree of expertise framing the right kind of
questions to elicit the desired information requires a number of attributes like
skills in writing, understanding of the Organisational Processes, understanding
of Systems, and People Issues & behavioural dimensions. Four important
dimensions are to be tackled viz:
i. The covering letter enclosing the Questionnaire
ii. The design of questionnaire
iii. The scales
iv. The codes
i. The covering letter should be written in a simple effective manner
covering (a) What is the purpose of conducting the survey? (b) What is
the benefit of the Survey to the respondent and to the Organisations
(considering the fact that organisational quality runs high in most of the
respondents), (c) Maintaining the anonymity of the respondent Personal
touch in these matters is of great significance conveying a feeling that
title RESPONDENT ‘S’ “opinion” is of great value so a personal letter
duly signed by the person conducting the survey would do wonders. Due
to the personal touch, a better response can be expected.
ii. The Content
The heart of the Survey instrument, the questionnaire has to be sculpted
with care being the most important while designing the questionnaire, the
objective of the survey has to be kept in mind.
A few rules have to be followed for writing the questionnaire:
1) One must address only one issue through each question. For example,
questions like “Are Employees motivated and deliver high performance”.
Here two aspects are coming into play i.e. (i) Motivation level of
Employees and (ii) High level of Performance.
Another example – “How is the work culture and what level of employee
satisfaction does it generate?” Here again there are two questions
embedded in one question i.e. (i) Nature of Work Culture and (ii)
Employee Satisfaction level.
2) Second Common error while constructing the questionnaire is to mix the
scale or rating or frequency viz putting a question “Are employees highly
Motivated” rather than a question “How Motivated employees are?”
3) Yes/No – Avoid ‘Agree’ or ‘Disagree’ or ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ type of
questionnaire as they don’t provide any value addition question like ‘Do you
agree that Sales Personnel should try to achieve higher targets or “The
ethical behaviour of the top management is responsible for setting high
22 moral standards for the entire organisation”.
4) Psychological Domain of the respondent should not be treated with Questionnaire as a
Diagnostic Tool
disdain. In other words through the questionnaire the respondents should not
get threat perception. For example, “Do you agree that non performing
employees should be displeased with?” or “Would you agree that Highly
aggressive and demanding boss creates a demoralizing effect on the
subordinates and should be removed?”
5) The Scales: Most commonly used scales in the questionnaire are Likert
Scales. These have normally 5 or 7 multiple choice alternatives viz
Strongly agree, Agree, No Comment,
(1) (2) (3)
Don’t agree, Don’t Agree at all or
(4) (5)
To a great extent, To moderate extent, Average
(1) (2) (3)
Less than Average, Not at all or
(4) (5)
Very important, Important No Comments
(1) (2) (3)
Not Important Totally Unimportant or
(4) (5)
Highly Motivated Moderately Motivated
(1) (2)
Generally motivated Non Committal
(3) (4)
Generally not motivated De motivated
(5) (6)
Highly Demotivated
(7)
Generally a 5 or 7 multiple choice scales is just right through at times. People
may adopt 9 point or 3 Point Scales but these either become unmanageable or
become very inadequate.
6) The Code: Providing a coding mechanism is important for data analysis.
Code will decide what weightage should be attached to each scale point i.e.
if respondent pegs a question at 3 in the 5 Point likert scale, what should
be weightage given to the question etc.
7) Pilot Test the Instrument/Questionnaire: Pilot testing or pre-testing the
questionnaire is important to see what kind of response it is evoking from
the respondents. Sometimes even the respondent (s) may give either a
favourable or unfavourable feedback on the design aspect of questionnaire
to the extent that the instrument may not be representative of the practices
being followed in the Organisation and may require minor changes or
modifications.

At times the questionnaire designed may fail to arouse interest in the

respondents which may make it in fructuous in achieving the designed results.
So pilot testing is likely to expose the shortcomings in the instrument which can
be corrected before finally administering it to the Population.
8) Do not make a very short or very lengthy questionnaire. Very short
questionnaire 5 to 8 comprising of only Questions is too short to elicit any
worthwhile information. Similarly questionnaire of more than 25-30 questions
becomes very lengthy unless of course if the questionnaire has a research
bias.
The Questions has to be applicable across both situations
a) A large number of post graduate students of Engineering or
Management disciplines undertake project work. The questionnaire 23
Organisational Analysis developed by them is very short – Maximum 10 questions and it has
been noted that these fail to address even the vital issues and only
tend to be very superficial.
b) I remember receiving a questionnaire from Head, HR of a Banking
Institution. The questionnaire had almost 150+ questions. Though
highly enthused seeing the vast content qualitatively and otherwise.
Despite my level best efforts I never ended up filling the entire
questionnaire.
9) Final Draft: After making necessary corrections, taking into account
the feedback thrown up by pilot pre-testing the final draft of the
questionnaire should be made ready.
10) Administering Questionnaire: As already indicated earlier, the final
version of questionnaire should be administered to the target population
through a Personal letter, duly signed. In the letter the importance of the
questionnaire as also the objective of the study, where and how the final
outcome of the study is going to be used, who are going to benefit etc
should be in built in order to get really considered views & opinion from
the respondents.
11) Follow up: Many a times the respondents need a lot of follow up
before they really respond. The researcher must take pains to ensure
that respondents spend the desirable time in comparing the
questionnaire even if the researcher has to sit with them.
12) Code the Responses: Once the responses start coming in, the
codification of responses from each respondent must be completed. This
is a very important aspect and unless lots of pains are taken in
executing this step properly, the results may miss the expected mark
either totally or partially.
13) Tabulation of Results: Tabulation of results should be done in the
format which people can understand and derive interpretation from the
information generated.

The modus operandi would involve tabulating everything to start with. Many
results generated may not be required later and only some of the more relevant
results may be considered and the rest ignored.
Sample Tabulation of Employee Motivation
Employee Motivation % (N)
Higher Moderate Generally De-motivated Highly Total
Motivated by High Motivated motivated
60 (90) 20 (30) 10 (15) 6 (9) 4 (6) 100 (150)

The above tabulation gives a very clear picture of Total No of Employees

subjected to administered questionnaire is 150 in Parenthesis (N) and % given
outside the parenthesis.
14) Report Preparation: The final report should consist of:
a) Brief overview of summary – Summary should begin with description
giving highlights of data, tables, analysis etc. This is followed by
elaboration of Analysis, conclusions, recommendations etc. Some Action
Plans could also be suggested for management to take them or leave
them according to their needs. Certain aspects to be considered are:
i) The report should not hurt the interest of organization & the
employees studies
ii) Report should be targeting the end users and be meaningful for them
and
24 iii) Is in a format which can be put to immediate use.
 Appendix IV Questionnaire as a
Diagnostic Tool

INSTRUMENTS OF ORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS

1. Summative Scale
The Summative Scale or Likert scale was developed by Renesis Likert (Likert
1932. The Likert Scale is constructed by devising certain statements about a
person. Some reasonable categories are then developed for the respondent to
use for indicating his or her feelings about statement. The most commonly used
responding categories are:
1. Yes, not sure & no
2. True, not sure, False
3. Strongly agree, agree, disagree & strongly disagree etc.
Examples are
Strongly agree = SA
Agree = A
Slightly agree = SLA
Uncertain / unsure = U
Slightly disagree = SLD
Disagree = D
Strongly disagree = SD

Example of a statement using Likest Scale:

I am a highly motivated & dedicated worker

SA A SLA U SLD D SD

A more refined version may contain A or 5 point scale viz

Agree = A
Unsure = U
Disagree = D

A further variation could be where more close distinction is sought. For example
Agree = A
Unsure, yet might agree = UA
Unsure, yet might disagree = UD
Disagree = D

Example of this sort of question is

I can develop rapport with people

Very easily _________ A UA UD D
How to obtain the Score:
Let us look at a set of questions on a 5 point rating scale:
1. I mind my own work without interfering with others.
2. I discuss my work with my colleagues
3. I feel happy when my colleagues are also standing by
my side at the work place
4. I morually like to a share a cup of coffee with
my Colleagues during the breaks and at the end of Duty 25
Organisational Analysis Rating of the above scale has been done as follows:
Always - 5
Mostly - 4
Generally - 3
Sometimes - 2
Never - 1

In the above example the scoring can be done for which let us look at the
ticks (
) given by the respondent against each question

The sample questionnaire has ‘Extroversion’ on one extreme and ‘Introversion’

on the other extreme. The questions have to be rated according to the scale
constructed by the surveyor. If ‘extroversion’ is given rating of 5 then the
ratings would appear as under:

Question No. Always Mostly Generally Sometimes Never

1 1 2 3 4 5
2 1 2 3 4 5
3 1 2 3 4 5
4 1 2 3 4 5

So the scoring of the ‘4’ questions given above would be:

Q.1. – 1
Q.2. – 1 Total score would be = 8
Q.3. – 3
Q.4. – 3
Rating Scales – Semantic Differential
Prepared by Osgood, Suci and Tanxenbaum (1957) bipolar scales are created to
analyze Organizations, practices, people etc. The scales can be prepared on the
basis of two extremes and can be on the basis of 2 systems (i) from 1 to 7 or
II) – 3 to +3, though the first one is more in use. The scales would look like
The Organization

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Active Passive

Productive Unproductive

Carrying to Non Carrying

people issues to people issues

Motivating Demotivating
culture culture

26
Forces choice scales Questionnaire as a
Diagnostic Tool
Questions are constructed in the manner that the respondent has to choose one
of the two options provided. He/she may either choose one of the options or
may not choose any.

For example:

Instructions: choose the activity which you prefer by placing a tick in front of
the question in the space provided. Be sure to respond to each pair.
I would prefer:
1. Lazing around in the bed on a Sunday morning Take a stroll in the city
park
2. Attend the talk by an eminent speaker on a Friday evening Watch a movie
with the family
The advantages of these scales are:
1. Since the options are already provided, the respondent does not require to
think of the possible options.
2. The options may not be restricted to 2 only. Could be more than that i.e. 3
or 4. This will help in getting an answer very close to the reality.
3. When the options are 3 to 4, the respondent may nor resort to a forced
artificial response.
Disadvantages
1. With only 2 options, the respondent may have to make a forced choice
which may give him/her a sense of unease and at times this may result in
his/her not answering the question(s).
Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)
These are scales constructed to measure the effectiveness of organizational
process with particular reference to behaviours exhibited. Once constructed
these can be used for subsequent analysis. BARS are mostly customized by
organizations for their own used.

An example can be given here. To start with a problem area to be studied is

identified by pooling in the views of the group members. There could be a
number of issues confronting the group and it may be necessary to construct
number of such scales. However the group has to develop the scales for each
issue/problem area.

Let us consider that one prominent issue confronting the group member when
they meet is inadequate participation of team members. This issue i.e
‘Inadequate Participation’ may be one of so many viz. Lack of Cooperation,
Lack of open Communication, Lack of attention to process, Lack of
Contribution, Lack of Coordination, Lack of Clarity on roles etc.

A BARS Constructed for ‘Participation’ may look like.

Participation 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9

The meeting dominated Member’s contribution Inputs from all These scales are
by a few members. flagging comes in the members is then used by
experts only through considered before individuals to rate
provocation. arriving at decisions. their usual meetings.

27
Organisational Analysis Validation of the Instruments
A test has 2 important characteristics, validity and, reliability. Validity is
important because if one cant ascertain what really is the test measuring, it
would be of little use.

Validity: The accuracy with which a test, interview and so on measures what
it purports to measure or fulfills the function it was designed to accomplish.

Test validity means to establish evidence that the test is job related. In other
words, it means that the performance on the test is a valid predictor of
subsequent performance on the job.

Criteria validity: A type of validity based on showing that scores of the test,
i.e. predictions are related to job performance (i.e. criterion).

Content validity: A test indicating content validity would be one consisting of

fair sample of tasks & skills actually required for the job being looked at.

Reliability: It is the characteristic of the test which measures the consistency

of the test. The characteristic which refers to the consistency of scores
obtained by the same person when retested with the identical or equivalent
tests.

What could cause the test to be unreliable?

Suppose one takes a test say on ‘Employee Satisfaction’ and say the person
takes another equivalent test after a mouth. If the scores of the later test
change dramatically, it would indicate test unreliability.

Validation of Test: The validation process consists of 5 steps:

1. Analyze the job
2. Choose Tests
3. Administer tests
4. Relate Test Score & Criteria
5. Cross validation & Revalidation

28
 Appendix V Questionnaire as a
Diagnostic Tool

SCANNING YOUR BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

1. Identify the major business challenges and opportunities facing your

organization. (You will naturally focus on the market and shareholder
environment but don’t forget other key groups such as employees and
supplier.) what are the implications for strategy, people, systems or
structure?
2. What mechanisms does your business have in place to ensure continuous
feedback from key customer groups?
3. How does your organization monitor and assess the significance of social,
economic, political and technological developments?
4. Where would you place your business on the Greiner growth model?
Please complete the organization development diagnostic questionnaire.
Organizational Development Diagnostic Questionnaire

Instructions for completion:

1. The organization development diagnostic consists of sixty descriptive
statements. Your task is to work through this list and to identify those
statements you believe to be accurate in describing your company.
2. Each time you come to an apt description you should tick it on the
questionnaire. When you have looked through all sixty statements, please
transfer the ticks to the score sheet, recording your choice on the score
sheet by putting a tick in the box carrying the same number.
3. Add up your ticks and total them at the bottom. Around which vertical
columns do your scores group? This would appear to be your diagnosis of
your company’s present stage of development. What are the inherent
challenges you face?
1. The organizational structure is very informal.
2. Top management are finding themselves bombarded with many
Unwanted management responsibilities.
3. Management focus mainly on the efficiency of operations.
4. Staff lower down in the organization possess more knowledge
about, For example, markets, products, trends, etc., than do top
management.
5. The main management focus is to expand markets.
6. Top management feel they are losing control of the business.
7. The main management focus is co-ordination and consolidation.
8. There is a lack of confidence between line managers and
specialist staff/head office and the field.
9. The main focus of management is on problem-solving
and innovation.
10. There is an overemphasis on teamwork.
11. The top management style is very individualistic and
entrepreneurial.
12. Top management takes too long in responding to queries
and requests.
29
Organisational Analysis 13. The organizational structure is centralized and functional, i.e.
based on Specialism.
14. There is not enough freedom to act delegated to those capable
of doing so.
15. The organization structure is decentralized and individual divisions
or Departments have a high level of autonomy.
16. Many people at lower levels have too much freedom to run
their own show.
17. Decentralized units have been merged into product groups.
18. Line managers resent heavy staff direction.
19. The organization is a matrix of task or project teams.
20. There is dependency on group-think to the extent that some
managers are losing the confidence to make individual decisions.
21. The main control system is whether or not the sales targets
are met.
22. Top management do not provide enough direction.
23. Top management style tends to be directive.
24. Management tends to be over-directive and could easily delegate.
25. The top management style is delegative.
26. The organization has probably become too decentralized, breeding
Parochial attitudes.
27. The top management style is to be a watchdog.
28. We seem to have lost the ability to respond to new situations or
solve Problems quickly.
29. The top management style is highly consultative, meeting together
Frequently on problem issues.
30. We are directing too much energy into the functions of our internal
Teams and tending to overlook what is happening in the
outside world.
31. Long hours are rewarded by modest salaries but with the promise
of Ownership benefits in the future.
32. Top management aren’t as visible as they ought to be.
33. The main control systems seem to be concerned with standards
and Costs.
34. Flexibility suffers because those who could take decisions have
to wait For management to agree.
35. The main control seems to be in the form of profit-centre
reporting.
36. Power seems to have shifted away from top management.
37. Each product group is an investment centre with extensive
planning Controls.
38. Everyone is criticizing the bureaucratic paper system that has
30 evolved.
39. The main control system is for work groups to evaluate their own Questionnaire as a
Diagnostic Tool
Performance through real-time information systems integrated
into daily Work.
40. There is almost too much personal feedback about behaviour
at meetings, etc.
41. The management focus is mainly on making and selling.
42. Top management are very harassed; conflicts between them are
growing.
43. The main way managers are rewarded is by salary and merit
increases.
44. People are demotivated, even leaving, because they do not have
enough personal autonomy in their jobs.
45. The way manners are rewarded is by individual bonuses.
46. More co-ordination of operations is needed if things are to improve.
47. The way mangers are rewarded is through profit-sharing and stock
options.
48. Fun and excitement seem to be lacking in the company.
49. Rewards are geared more to team performance than to individual
achievement.
50. The constant high expectation for creativity in the organization is
stressful.
51. Top management are close to customers and have a good
understanding of what the market requires.
52. Top managers do not seem able to introducet he new business
techniques Which are necessary.
53. To get on in this company, lower managers do not question
decisions made By their seniors.
54. Staff have their performance appraisals from bosses who have
little Understanding about the subordinate’s job and work problems.
55. People are told what is expected of them and then allowed to get
on their jobs as they see fit. It’s management by exception.
56. Senior mangers are continually checking up to make sure that jobs
are Completed – they tend to over do this.
57. There are many head office personnel who initiate company work
programmes to review and control line mangers.
58. Too many people are working to the book.
59. Interpersonal conflicts are brought into the open and, on the whole,
managed in a non-destructive way.
60. Trying always to be spontaneous and open in relationships at work
is proving stressful.

31
Organisational Analysis Organization Development Diagnostic Score Sheet.

Phase I 1 Crisis Phase 2 2 Crisis Phase 3 3 Crisis Phase 4 4 Crisis Phase 5 5 Crisis
Growth of Growth of Growth of Growth of red Growth of ?
through leader- through auto- through control through tape through
creativity ship direction nomy delegation ordi- collabo-
nation ration

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

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