The Organization

Development
Practitioner
The Organization Development
Practitioner
• Internal and External Consultants
• Professionals from other disciplines who
apply OD practices (e.g., TQM managers,
IT/IS managers, compensation and benefits
managers)
• Managers and Administrators who apply
OD from their line or staff positions
 Competencies of an OD
Practitioner
• Intrapersonal skills
– Self-awareness
• Interpersonal skills
– Ability to work with others and groups
• General consultation skills
– Ability to get skills and knowledge used
• Organization development theory
– Knowledge of change processes
 Role Demands on OD
Practitioners
• Position
– Internal vs. External
• Marginality
– Ability to straddle boundaries
• Emotional Demands
– Emotional Intelligence
• Use of Knowledge and Experience
 Client vs. Consultant Knowledge
Use of Consultant’s Plans Implementation
Knowledge and
Experience Recommends/prescribes

Proposes criteria

Feeds back data

Probes and gathers data

Clarifies and interprets

Use of Client’s
Knowledge and Listens and reflects
Experience
Refuses to become involved
Entering and
Contracting
 The Entering Process
• Clarifying the Organizational Issue
– Presenting Problem
– Symptoms
• Determining the Relevant Client
– Working power and authority
– Multiple clients -- multiple contracts
• Selecting a Consultant
Elements of an Effective Contract
• Mutual expectations are clear
– Outcomes and deliverables
– Publishing cases and results
– Involvement of stakeholders
• Time and Resources
– Access to client, managers, members
– Access to information
• Ground Rules
– Confidentiality
 Emotional Demands of Entry
• Client Issues
– Exposed and Vulnerable
– Inadequate
– Fear of losing control
• OD Practitioner Issues
– Empathy
– Worthiness and Competency
– Dependency
– Overidentification
Diagnosing Organizations
 Diagnosis Defined

Diagnosis is a collaborative process between

organizational members and the OD
consultant to collect pertinent information,
analyze it, and draw conclusions for action
planning and intervention.
 Organization-Level
Diagnostic Model
Inputs Design Components Outputs
Technology
General

Organization
Effectiveness
Environment Strategy Structure

Culture
Industry
Structure
HR Measurement
Systems Systems
Diagnosing Groups
and Jobs
Diagnosis – The Six-Box Model

Purposes

Marvin Weisbord
Weisbord identifies Relationships Structure
six critical areas
where things must go
Leadership
right if organisation is
to be successful.
According to him, the
consultant must
Helpful
Rewards
attend to both formal Mechanisms
and informal aspects
En

of each box.
vi
ro
nm

This model is still

en
t

widely used by OD
practitioners
 Group-Level Diagnostic Model

Inputs Design Components Outputs

Goal Clarity

Organization Task Team Team

Design Structure Functioning Effectiveness

Group Group
Composition Norms
Collecting and Analyzing
Diagnostic Information
 The Diagnostic Relationship
• Who is the OD Practitioner?
• Why is the practitioner here?
• Who does the practitioner work for?
• What does the practitioner want and why?
• How will my confidentiality be protected?
• Who will have access to the data?
• What’s in it for me?
• Can the practitioner be trusted?
 Data Collection - Feedback Cycle

Core Activities

Planning to Collecting Analyzing Feeding Following

Collect Data Data Data Back Data Up
 Sampling
• Population vs. Sample
• Importance of Sample Size
• Process of Sampling
• Types of Samples
– Random
– Convenience
 Questionnaires
• Major Advantages
– Responses can be quantified and summarized
– Large samples and large quantities of data
– Relatively inexpensive
• Major Potential Problems
– Little opportunity for empathy with subjects
– Predetermined questions -- no change to change
– Overinterpretation of data possible
– Response biases possible
 Interviews
• Major Advantages
– Adaptive -- allows customization
– Source of “rich” data
– Empathic
– Process builds rapport with subjects
• Major Potential Problems
– Relatively expensive
– Bias in interviewer responses
– Coding and interpretation can be difficult
– Self-report bias possible
 Observations
• Major Advantages
– Collects data on actual behavior, rather than
reports of behavior
– Real time, not retrospective
– Adaptive
• Major Potential Problems
– Coding and interpretation difficulties
– Sampling inconsistencies
– Observer bias and questionable reliability
– Can be expensive
 Unobtrusive Measures
• Unobtrusive measures (also known as unobtrusive research) is a research
method of data collection that does not involve direct contact with the research
participants. This differs from direct measures like surveys, interviews, and
questionnaires that involve interaction with the participants. 
Structured observation is an example of an unobtrusive measure - there is no
direct interaction with the participants, only observation from a distance.
• Major Advantages
– Non-reactive, no response bias
– High face validity
– Easily quantified
• Major Potential Problems
– Access and retrieval difficulties
– Validity concerns
– Coding and interpretation difficulties
 Analysis Techniques
• Qualitative Tools
– Content Analysis
– Force-field Analysis
• Quantitative Tools
– Descriptive Statistics
– Measures of Association (e.g., correlation)
– Difference Tests
Force-Field Analysis of Work Group Performance
Forces for Change Forces for Status Quo

New technology Group performance norms

Desired Performance
Current Performance
Better raw materials Fear of change

Competition from other groups Member complacency

Supervisor pressures Well-learned skills

 Feeding Back
Diagnostic Information
 Possible Effects of Feedback
Feedback occurs

No What is the direction

Change of the energy?
Energy to use
Energy Is energy created data to identify and
to deny or by the feedback? solve problems
fight data
Do structures and
Failure,
processes turn energy
Anxiety, frustration,
into action?
resistance, no change
no change
Change
 Determining the
Content of Feedback
• Relevant • Limited
• Understandable • Significant
• Descriptive • Comparative
• Verifiable • Unfinalized
• Timely
 Effective Feedback Meetings
• People are motivated to work with the data
• The meeting is appropriately structured
• The right people are in attendance
– knowledge
– power and influence
– interest
• The meeting is facilitated
 Survey Feedback Process
• Members involved in designing the survey
• The survey is administered to the
organization
• The data is analyzed and summarized
• The data is presented to the stakeholders
• The stakeholders work with the data to
solve problems or achieve vision
 Limitations of Survey Feedback
• Ambiguity of Purpose
• Distrust
• Unacceptable Topics
• Organizational Disturbances
 The Change Agent’s Role
Change Agent - the individual or group who
undertakes the task of introducing and
managing a change in an organization

The change agent can be internal or external

 Internal Change Agents

Advantages Disadvantages
 know past history,  may be associated

political system, and with factions,

culture accused of favoritism
 must live with  may be too close to

results of change so the situation to be

will move carefully objective
 External Change Agents

Disadvantages
Advantages
 limited knowledge of
 outsider’s
organization’s history
objective view
 may be viewed with
 impartiality
suspicion

To succeed, they must be perceived as trustworthy,

be experts with proven track records, be similar to
those they are working with
Organizational Development (OD)

Organizational Development (OD) - a

systematic approach to organizational
improvement that applies behavioral science
theory and research in order to increase
individual and organizational well-being and
effectiveness
 Diagnosis & Needs Analysis
Diagnosis and Intervention
needs analysis

Follow-up

Ask
• What are the forces for change?
• What are the forces preserving the status quo?
• What are the most likely sources of resistance?
• What are the goals to be accomplished by change?
 OD Intervention Methods:
Organizational/Group Techniques
Survey Feedback - a
widely used method of
intervention whereby
employee attitudes are
solicited by Anonymous
questionnaire Group reporting format

No repercussions
Clear purpose
Follow up
 OD Intervention Methods:
Organizational/Group Techniques
Management by Objective
-
an organization-wide
intervention technique
of joint goal setting Initial objectives
between employees and Periodic progress reviews
managers Problem solving to
remove obstacles to
goal achievement
 OD Intervention Methods:
Organizational/Group Techniques
Quality Program - a
program that embeds
product and service
quality excellence into
the organizational
culture Raise aspirations about
product/service quality
Embed product/service
quality excellence in the
organizational culture
 OD Intervention Methods:
Organizational/Group Techniques
Team Building - an
intervention designed to
improve the
effectiveness of a work
group Seek feedback
Discuss errors
Reflect on successes & failures
Experiment with new ways of
performing
Climate of psychological safety
 OD Intervention Methods:
Organizational/Group Techniques
Large Group
Interventions - events
that bring all of the key
members of a group
together in one room for
an extended period Outside
of consultants determine
time participants & goals
Participants = critical mass
supporting change
 OD Intervention Methods:
Organizational/Group Techniques
Process Consultation - an
OD method that helps
managers and employers
improve the processes Outside consultant:
Enters organization
that are used in Defines the relationship
organizations Chooses an approach
Gathers data
Diagnoses problem
Intervenes
Leaves organization
 OD Intervention Methods:
Individual-Focused Techniques
Skills Training -
increasing the job
knowledge, skills,
and abilities that are
necessary to do a job
In formal classroom settings
effectively On the job (Continual updating)
 OD Intervention Methods:
Individual-Focused Techniques
Sensitivity Training - an
intervention designed to
help individuals under-
stand how their Outside trainer who
behavior affects othersintervenes only to move
the group forward.
Training can:
• help employees
understand each other
•recognize their own feelings
•improve communication
 OD Intervention Methods:
Individual-Focused Techniques
Management
Development Training
- a host of techniques
for enhancing
managers’ skills in anVerbal information
organization Intellectual skills
Attitudes
Development
 OD Intervention Methods:
Individual-Focused Techniques
Role Negotiation - a
technique whereby
individuals meet and
clarify their
psychological contract Outcomes:
• Better understanding of
what each can be
expected to give & receive
• Less ambiguity
 OD Intervention Methods:
Individual-Focused Techniques
Job Redesign - an OD
intervention method
that alters jobs to
improve the fit
between individual
Realign task demands and
skills and the demands
individual capabilities
of the job Redesign jobs to fit new
techniques or organization
structures
 OD Intervention Methods:
Individual-Focused Techniques
Ex. Stress reduction education,
Health Promotion employee assistance
Programs
Match individual’s career
Career Planning aspirations with organizational
opportunities
 Ethical Considerations in
Organizational Development

• Selection of the OD method

• Voluntary participation
• Confidentiality
• Potential for manipulation by the change
agent