NAME: YUSRA JAMIL SIDDIQUI CLASS: MBA 4 What is Organizational Development?

TEACHER: SUBJECT: ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Organizational development is the process through which an organization develops the internal capacity to be the most effective it can be in its mission work and to sustain itself over the long term. This definition highlights the explicit connection between organizational development work and the achievement of organizational mission. This connection is the rationale for doing OD work. The above illustration describes vividly the OD approach. There are many definitions that have been given to describe the process none of which are likely to be understood in the context of this paper. Instead it is preferred to give the attributes that constitute the various definitions so that the entire concept is deconstructed and understood in context. But OD may simply be described as a methodology or technique used to effect change in an organization or section of an organization with a view of improving the organizations effectiveness. It has the following attributes: A planned process of change. Applies behavioral science knowledge. Aims at the change of organization culture. Aims at reinforcement of organization strategies, structures and processes for improving organizations effectiveness and health. Applies to an entire system of an organization, department or group as opposed to an aspect of a system. Targets long term institutionalization of new activities such as operation of self-managed or autonomous work teams and other problem solving capabilities. Encompasses strategy, structure and process changes. A process managed from the top. Behavioral science knowledge and practices incorporate concepts such as leadership, group dynamics, work design and approaches such as strategy, organization design and international relations (Cummings and Worley, 1997). OD is not a business planning or technological innovation model but rather an easy and flexible process of planning and implementing change. Why Pursue OD? Board and staff members are motivated to tackle the hard work of OD only when they are convinced of the connection between achievement of mission and organizational development. They must understand the why of organizational development. They are guided in their OD work by a vision of an effective and well-functioning organization that can better achieve its mission. In this paper, participants in the MRBF program offer five examples of how OD strengthened each of their organizations effectiveness at achieving its mission: Organizational survival whether improving basic systems or providing space to understand and address critical transitions, organizations credited OD work with their very survival. Being the best we can be by improving the quality of their work through human or technical investments, organizations built their credibility and accountability in the eyes of their constituents and supporters.

 Raising more resources for the mission work as organizations strengthened their capacity for evaluation, communication, collaboration and fundraising; they attracted more resources to increase the level and impact of their program work. Walking our talk by focusing on the values that are the foundation of the mission workload led organizations to make a commitment to practice internally what they are seeking to accomplish externally. Developing staff and board members so they can improve program results by creating an environment where people feel valued and seek continual learning and improvement, staff 3 and board members increased their energy and effectiveness towards the achievement of mission. Values of OD This model places human centered values above everything else. They are the engine of its success. These values include mutual trust and confidence, honesty and open communication, sensitivity and to the feeling and emotions of others, shared goals, and a commitment to addressing and resolving conflict (Buchanan and Huczynski, 1997, p.489). There are organizations who value these human attributes above all other quick fix benefits. Stephen Robbins (1986, p.461) expresses these human values more concisely as follows: a) The individual should be treated with respect and dignity. b) The organization climate should be characterized by trust, openness and support. c) Hierarchical authority and control are not regarded as effective mechanisms. d) Problems and conflicts should be confronted, and not disguised or avoided. e) People affected by change should be involved in its implementation. These values make OD a unique model and it will be shown later why it is the most suitable approach in resolving human afflictions and problems such as poverty alleviation.

OD IS A PROCESS
Action Research is a process which serves as a model for most OD interventions. French and Bell (5) describe Action Research as a "process of systematically collecting research data about an ongoing system relative to some objective, goal, or need of that system; feeding these data back into the system; taking actions by altering selected variables within the system based both on the data and on hypotheses; and evaluating the results of actions by collecting more data." The steps in Action Research are (6, 7): 1. Entry. This phase consists of marketing, i.e. finding needs for change within an organization. It is also the time to quickly grasp the nature of the organization, identify the appropriate decision maker, and build a trusting relationship. 2. Start-up and contracting. In this step, we identify critical success factors and the real issues, link into the organization's culture and processes, and clarify roles for the consultant(s) and employees. This is also the time to deal with resistance within the organization. A formal or informal contract will define the change process. 3. Assessment and diagnosis. Here we collect data in order to find the opportunities and problems in the organization (refer to DxVxF>R above.) For suggestions about what to look for, see the previous article in this series, on needs assessment (8). This is also the time for the consultant to make a diagnosis, in order to recommend appropriate interventions.

4. Feedback. This two-way process serves to tell those we found out, based on an analysis of the data. Everyone who contributed information should have an opportunity to learn about the findings of the assessment process (provided there is no apparent breach of anyone's confidentiality.) This provides an opportunity for the organization's people to become involved in the change process, to learn about how different parts of the organization affect each other, and to participate in selecting appropriate change interventions. 5. Action planning. In this step we will distill recommendations from the assessment and feedback, consider alternative actions and focus our intervention(s) on activities that have the most leverage to effect positive change in the organization. An implementation plan will be developed that is based on the assessment data, is logically organized, results- oriented, measurable and rewarded. We must plan for a participative decisionmaking process for the intervention. 6. Intervention. Now, and only now, do we actually carry out the change process? It is important to follow the action plan, yet remain flexible enough to modify the process as the organization changes and as new information emerges. OD Approaches There are at least three planned change models that have been identified by Cummings and Worley (1997) as shown in figure II below. The first and the second are principally different but the third one is an improved version of Action Research methodology which has taken center stage in the 1990s to take care of the trend of emerging mega organizations, strategic alliances, mergers and public private partnerships. The improved version named the Contemporary Action Research model is of great interest to the workshop participants as it can be used to promote projects in both public and private organizations. Later in this paper it will be shown how it can be used to promote Poverty Reduction Strategies and gender mainstreaming in local government. The distinction between Lewins model and Action Research model is in the repetitive nature of action research. Lewins model is a once only intervention. Buchanan and Huczynski, (1997) give seven steps that are followed in this intervention. 1. Scouting the initial stages of consultant and client exchanging ideas on the problem and the appropriate approach. 2. Entry contract is entered into to formalize the relationship of consultant and client. 3. Diagnosis information gathering to define the problem and identify causes. 4. Planning consultant and client members jointly establish the goals of an OD intervention and the proposed approach 5. Action the intervention strategies are implemented. 6. Stabilization and Evaluation the change is stabilized (freezing takes place) and the outcomes are assessed. 7. Termination The consultant withdraws from the assignment. The action research model differs in several particular ways with the Lewins model. In action research the outcomes are fed back so that further improvements and changes can be made. This distinguishes this model as a cyclical and iterative process. The research aspect connotes a search 5 for knowledge that may be used elsewhere. It is also a collaborative effort between the consultant and the clients members who engage in joint planning diagnosis, implementation, Evaluation and further planning. Another distinction is that the Lewins model pursues personal and organizational effectiveness goals only while in addition action research is concerned with generating new knowledge for application elsewhere.