OrganizationDevelopment

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Structure
15.1 Introduction Objectives 15.2 CharacteristicsofOrganizationdevelopment SelfAssessmentQuestions1 15.3 Historyoforganizationdevelopment SelfAssessmentQuestions2 15.4 Processoforganizationdevelopment SelfAssessmentQuestions3 15.5 ODinterventions SelfAssessmentQuestions4 15.6 Summary TerminalQuestions AnswertoSAQsandTQs

OrganizationDevelopment

15.1Introduction

Organization development (OD) is a planned approach to improve employee and organizational effectivenessbyconsciousinterventionsinthoseprocessesandstructuresthathaveanimmediate bearingonthe human aspect of theorganization(Ramanarayan, Rao, andSingh1998).OD is an organizationwideplannedeffort,managedfromthetop,toincreaseorganizationaleffectivenessand health through planned interventions in the organizational processes, using behavioural science knowledge.IntheinitialphaseofthedevelopmentofOD,primaryfocuswasonhumanaswellasthe process aspect of the organizations with a view to improve trust, communication, teamwork and interpersonalrelationship(FriedlanderandBrown1974).

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Learningobjectives: Thelearningobjectivesofthisunitareasfollows: 1. CharacteristicsofOrganizationdevelopment 2. Historyoforganizationdevelopment 3. ODinterventions 15.2 CharacteristicsOfOrganizationDevelopment

A number of special characteristics together distinguish organizational development from other approachestomanagingandimprovingorganizationalfunction.

Behaviouralsciencebase Itisprimarilyconcernedwithimprovingtheorganizationbyfocusingonaspectsthathaveabearing on human and social improvement. Its principles have been drawn largely from the field of organizationalbehaviorandsocialsciences. Normativeapproachtoorganizationalchange ODisanormativeprocessgroundedinvalueladenassumptionofwhatconstitutesidealindividual andorganizationalgrowth.DevelopmentfortheODpractitionersmeansthemovementofindividuals andorganizationsincertaindirectionsconsistentwithdemocraticandhumanisticvaluesandideals suchasautonomy,selfactualization,etc. Deliberateinterventionintheorganization ODimpliesdeliberateinterventionintheongoingprocessesofanorganization.Whileallthesocial systems, in the ordinary course of events, tend to grow in predictable patterns, they may fail to optimizetheircapabilitiesduetoaninabilitytorecognizetheirpotentialortoanticipateandeffectively copewithinternalandexternalcrisis.Developmentimpliesplanningandactiontoensurethatgrowth takesplaceconsistentwithvalues.

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Normativedeductivestrategy Itisbasedontheassumptionsthatthesocialnormsareoneofthestrongreinforcersofbehaviour (Chin and Benne 1976). The culture of the organization is affected by those norms and hence, to change the existing organizational culture prevalent norms have to be reduced, modified and replaced by more effective ones. This approach talks about the change in the organization, which looksforwardtoalongtermimprovementthroughinternalizationofnewnormsofbehavior. Systemsapproachtochange Leavitt (1972) has viewed an organization as a social system consisting of different subsystems such as task, structure, technology and human resource, interlinked by various processes. Any changeinonepartorprocesshasimplicationsforotherpartsorprocessesrelevanttothesystem. ODtechniquesareusedtochangeormodifytheprocessestochangethesystemconsequently. Usingactionresearchmodel Actionresearchmodelisadatabased,problemsolvingmodelthatreplicatedthestepsinvolvedin thescientificmethodofinquiry(FrenchandBell1991).OD,usingthismodel,involvesasystematic processofdiagonisingorganizationalproblemsthroughdatacollectionandanalysis,feedingthedata backtotheorganizationalclientgroup,discussingthefindings,planningcollaborativeactionand implementingproposedsolutions. Useofexternalconsultant Here,theassumptioninODisthatthepresenceofaqualifiedbehaviouralscientistasanexternal consultantcanhelptheprocessofODinthefollowingmanner: Thespecializedknowledgeofthatconsultantbecomesavailabletotheorganization. The consultant, as a neutral outsider, is likely to face lesser resistance during the process of change. Heislesslikelytohaveapersonalstakeinimplementationofproposedchange.

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SelfAssessmentQuestions1 1. ODimplies____________________interventionintheongoingprocessesofanorganization 2. Itisbasedontheassumptionsthatthesocialnormsareoneofthestrong________________of behaviour 3. Leavitt(1972)hasviewedanorganizationasa___________system 15.3 HistoryOfOrganizationDevelopment TheconceptofODhasemergedfromfourstems.Theyaredescribedbelow: Laboratorytrainingbackground This is popularly known as Tgroup or Sensitivity Training conducted in the National Training Laboratory(NTL).KurtLewinwasthepioneerofthisresearch.Inthistraining,asmallunstructured group of participants, unknown to each other, learnt about issues such as interpersonal relations, personal growth, leadership and group dynamics from their own interactions. The experiment concluded: Feedbackaboutgroupinteractionwasarichlearningexperience. Theprocessofgroupbuildinghadpotentialforlearningthatcouldbetransferredtobackhome situation. Actionresearch/surveyfeedbackbackground It was observed that a collaborative effort between the organizational members and the scientists wasrequiredtogatherdataaboutanorganizationsfunctioningtoanalyzethecausesofproblems, andtodeviseandimplementsolutions.FurtherworkinthisareawasconductedbyLikert(1967)and Mann (1962). Data was required to assess the degree of effectiveness of those solutions. This approach,today,isasoneofthemostimportantmethodsforODinterventionsinorganizations.

Participativemanagementbackground
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Following thebeliefsproposedby the two stems discussed earlier, Likert (1967)proposedanother framework to enhance organizational effectiveness. This framework proposed organizations as havingoneofthefourtypesofmanagementsystems:

Exploitive authoritative system (system 1) which exhibits an autocratic topdown approach to leadership.

Benevolentauthoritativesystem(system2)whichismorepaternalisticthansystem1. Consultativesystem(system3)whichischaracterizedbyincreasedemployeeinteraction,open communicationanddecisionmaking.

Participativegroup(system4)whichnurtureshighdegreeofemployeeinvolvement,participation andopenworkculture.

Using system management, through a surveyfeedback process, Likert experimented with several interventions.Theopencultureandemployeeinvolvementfacilitatedtheimplementationprocessof thesolutionsprovidedfortheproblems. Qualityofworklife(QWL)background BasedontheresearchofEricTristetal.attheTavistcockInstituteofHumanRelationsinLondon, this approach looked both at technical and human sides of organizations and how they are interrelated. QWLprograms,ingeneral,requirejointparticipationbyunionandmanagementinthe process of workdesigning, which consequently result into high level of task variety, appropriate feedback and employee discretion. The most distinguishing feature of QWL program is the developmentofselfmanagingworkgroupswhichconsistofmultiskilledworkers. SelfAssessmentQuestions2 1. Laboratorytrainingispopularlyknownas__________training. 2. Exploitiveauthoritativesystemexhibitsanautocratic______________approachtoleadership. 3. The most distinguishing feature of QWL program is the development of __________________ workgroupswhichconsistofmultiskilledworkers.

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15.4 ProcessOfOrganizationDevelopment

AtypicalODprocesscanbedividedintothefollowingphases: Problemidentification:ThefirststepinODprocessinvolvesunderstandingandidentificationofthe existing and potential problems in the organization. The awareness of the problem includes knowledge of the possible organizational problems of growth, human satisfaction, the usage of humanresourceandorganizationaleffectiveness. Data collection: Having understood the exact problem in this phase, the relevant data is collected throughpersonalinterviews,observationsandquestionnaires. Diagnosis:ODeffortsbeginwithdiagnosisofthecurrentsituation.Usually,itisnotlimitedtoasingle problem. Rather a number of factors like attitudes, assumptions, available resources and management practice are taken into account in this phase. According to Rao and Hari Krishna (2002),fourstepsinorganizationaldiagnosiscanbeidentified: Structuralanalysis:Determineshowthedifferentpartsoftheorganizationarefunctioningintermsof laiddowngoals. Processesanalysis:Processimpliesthemannerinwhicheventstakeplaceinasequence.Itrefers tothepatternofdecisionmaking,communication,groupdynamicsandconflictmanagementpatterns withinorganizationstohelpintheprocessofattainmentoforganizationalgoals. Function analysis: This includes strategic variables, performance variables, results, achievements andfinaloutcomes. Domainanalysis:Domainreferstotheareaoftheorganizationfororganizationaldiagnosis. Planning and implementation: After diagnosing the problem, the next phase of OD, with the OD interventions,involvestheplanningandimplementationpartofthechangeprocess.

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Evaluation and feedback: Any OD activity is incomplete without proper feedback. Feedback is a processofrelayingevaluationstotheclientgroupbymeansofspecificreportorinteraction. Selfassessmentquestions3 1. The__________stepinODprocessinvolvesunderstandingandidentificationoftheexistingand potentialproblemsintheorganization. 2. AnyODactivityisincompletewithoutproper_____________. 15.5 ODInterventions

ODinterventionreferstoanactivitythatiscarriedoninanorganizationwiththehelpofaninternalor external OD consultant for achieving a given goal or objective (Prasad 1970). Broadly, OD interventionscanbecategorizedasunder: Humanprocessinterventions Technostructuralinterventions Humanresourceinterventions Strategicinterventions

HumanProcessInterventions These interventions are aimedat the socialprocessesoccurring within organizations. Someof the importanthumanprocessinterventionsarediscussedbelow. Tgroups Tgroups are designed to provide members with experiential learning about group dynamics, leadership and interpersonal relationships. The basic Tgroup training or sensitivity training is to change the standards,attitudesand behaviorofindividualsby usingpsychologicaltechniques and programs.Sensitivitytraininginvolvesgroupconfessionwheretheindividualsproblemsbecomethe problemsofthegroup,whichinturntriestofindasolution.Aftercritiquingothersandbeingcritiqued, doubt is introduced into the mind of each individual as to whose standards are really proper. The objectivesofTgrouptrainingare:

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Increasedunderstanding,insightandselfawarenessaboutonesownandothersbehaviorand itsimpactonselfandothers.

Betterunderstandingaboutthegroupandintergroupprocesses(facilitatingandinhibitinggroup function).

Increaseddiagnosticskills. Increasedabilitytotransferlearningintoaction.

Processconsultation It has been defined as a set of activities on the part of the consultant that helped the client to perceive, understand and act upon the process of events that occur in the clients environment in ordertoimprovethesituationasdefinedbytheclient(Schein1987:11). Itdealsprimarilywithfiveimportantgroupprocesses: Communication. Thefunctionalrolesofgroupmembers. Thewaysinwhichthegroupsolvesproblemsandmakesdecisions. Thedevelopmentandgrowthofgroupnorms. Theuseofleadershipandauthority.

Thirdpartyinterventions Itfocusesoninterpersonalorintergroupconflicts.Conflictscanarisefromtwosources: Substantiveissueslikeworkmethods,payratesandconditionsofemployment. Interpersonal issues such as differences in personality, task orientations, perceptions among groupmembers,completionoverscarceresources. Teambuilding Itisaneffectiveapproachtodevelopandnurtureateamcultureinanorganization,whichhelpsthe group members to enhance their interpersonal and problemsolving skills. It also helps group members to develop a higher level of motivation to carry out the group decisions by overcoming specific problems like apathy, general lack of interest among members, loss of productivity, increasingcomplaintswithinthegroup,confusionaboutassignments,lowparticipationinmeetings, lackofinnovationandinitiation,increasingcomplaintsfromthoseoutsidethegroupaboutthequality,
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timeliness,effectivenessofservicesandproducts,etc.Thisinterventioncanbeusedforthefollowing typesofteams: Groupsreportingtothesamesupervisor,manager/executive. Groupsinvolvingpeoplewithcommonorganizationalgoals. Temporarygroupformedtoperformaspecific,onetimetask. Groupsconsistingofpeoplewhoseworkrolesareinterdependent. Groupswhosemembershavenoformallinksintheorganization,butwhosecollectivepurposeis toachievetasktheycanachieveasindividuals. Dependingonthetypesofteams,thereareanumberoffactorsthataffecttheoutcomeof aspecificteambuildingactivity: Thelengthoftimeallocatedtotheactivity. Theteamswillingnesstolookatthewayinwhichitoperates. Thelengthoftimetheteamhasbeenworkingtogether. Thepermanenceoftheteams.

TechnostructuralInterventions Due to increasing global competition and rapid technological and environmental changes, the organizationsareforcedtomoveawaytraditionalbureaucraticstructures(functional,selfcontained andmatrixstructure)tomoreflexiblestructures(processbasedandnetworkbasedstructures).This involves streamlining of workflows through structural adjustments by breaking down functional barriers. In this context, the technostructural interventions help the organizations in structural redesigning aiming at reorganizing organizational structure, the alternative methods of organizing workactivitiesandintegratingpeopleinabetterway. HumanResourceInterventions Theseareconcernedwithmethodsofmanagingpeopleinamoreeffectiveandefficientwaywhile ushering in the change process inanorganization. These interventionsare traditionallyassociated withthehumanresourcemanagementfunctionandareincreasinglybecominganintegralpartofthe changemanagementactivities,forexample,dealingwithsettingperformancegoalsforgroupsand

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individuals, performance appraisal and reward management. Activities such as career planning, managingworkforcediversity,managingemployeewellnessalsocomeunderthiscategory. StrategicInterventions Theseinterventionsfocusonorganizingtheresourcesoftheorganizationtogainacompetitiveedge inthemarket.Thesegenerallyadoptthetopdownmanagementofchangeapproachandrequirea thorough and indepth environmental scanning and awareness. The basic philosophy of this approach lies in developing core competencies or getting access to larger market share and technology,hithertoabsentintheorganization,throughallianceswithotherorganizationspossessing the same. On the other hand, interventions such asorganizational culture change programme and organizational learning helps organizations to gain the internal capacity to institute their change managementprocesssuccessfullythroughcontinuousawareness,selfrenewalandlearning.Thus, the thrust in this process is mainly on identifying the external sources of change and developing internalcapabilitiestoaddressthem. AbadAhmed(1972)hasproposedsixstepsinanODprocess: 1.Motivationforchange Themotivationforchangeemergesfrompressures,externalorinternal,feltbythetopmanagement orthenewstrategicdecisionsoftopmanagement. 2.Datacollection,problemidentificationanddiagnosis Throughout the OD programme, especially at the outset, these activities should be acted upon through interviews, surveys and meetings. Both, top management, other organizational members andODspecialisttakeactivepartintheseactivities.

3.Planningstrategyforchange Atthisstage,thediagnosisofproblemistransformedintoaproperactionplan.Specificgoalsareset andthespecificapproachesforattainingthesegoalsarealsospecifiedsequentially.

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4.Interveninginthesystem Itaimstoresolvedifficulties,removehurdlesandgivemomentumtoincreasetheeffectivenessofthe organization(Dwivedi2001).HeretheODspecialists,and/orthetopmanagementtakeactivepartin theprocess.Someexamplesoftheseinterventionsare:jobenlargement,processconsultationand otherlaboratorymethods,whichhavebeendiscussedearlierinthischapter. 5.Reinforcementandfollowup Apossibilityofregressiontotheearlierbehaviouralpatterndoesexistifadequatecareisnottakento adapt mechanismsfor reinforcement andfollowupofthe planned change.Establishingtaskforce, projectteamsandtemporarysystemsintheorganizationcanbecreatedtoperformtheresponsibility toimplementandmonitortheplansdefinedintheODprogramme. 6.Monitoringandevaluation A needfor careful monitoring to getfeedback regarding theeffectivenessoftheOD programme is alwaysfelt.Inthisrespect,appraisalofthechangeefforts,comparativeanalysisofcontrolgroups, preandpostinterventionassessmentsaresomeofthemethodstogetthefeedbackinthisregard. RoleofODConsultant According to Maheswari (1979), the role of an OD consultant is of a guru (teacher) who needs to possess the knowledge, wisdom and sensitivity visvis the problems of an organization. On the basisofhiswisdom,hemayadvisetheclient(organization)toimplementcertainchanges.However, it has tobe remembered that effective implementation of theadvices are sole responsibility of the client.Theconsultantintendstoadvisetheclienttotakeappropriateactions,convincestheclientfor the required changes and helps it to modify the mindset. OD consultants, in Indian organizations, generallyfacethefollowingdifficulties(Dwivedi2001): The perception of the entrepreneurs about OD The owners of the organization, in India, feel threatened that their power would be reduced if the OD interventions areapplied,and it would be difficult to discipline people. They also feel uncomfortable in discussing about their operational methodswiththeirmanagersorconsultants.Moreover,theygenerallydonottrustconsultantsfully.

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RoleoftheODconsultantsThereisconfusionabouttheroleoftheODconsultant.Itiscommonly believedthattheroleoftheODconsultantistodiagnoseallorganizationalproblems,suggestproper solutions,puttheseallinareportandleaveittotheanagementtotakeactionsonit. SelfAssessmentQuestions 4 1. Tgroupsaredesignedtoprovidememberswith_________learningaboutgroupdynamics. 2. AbadAhmedhasproposed___________stepsinanODprocess.

15.6 Summary Organization development (OD) is a planned approach to improve employee and organizational effectivenessbyconsciousinterventionsinthoseprocessesandstructuresthathaveanimmediate bearingonthe human aspect of theorganization(Ramanarayan, Rao, andSingh1998).OD is an organizationwideplannedeffort,managedfromthetop,toincreaseorganizationaleffectivenessand health through planned interventions in the organizational processes, using behavioral science knowledge.Anumberofspecialcharacteristicstogetherdistinguishorganizationaldevelopmentfrom other approaches to managing and improving organizational function. Behavioral science base approachisprimarilyconcernedwithimprovingtheorganizationbyfocusingonaspectsthathavea bearing on human and social improvement. Normative approach to organizational change is a normative process grounded in valueladen assumption of what constitutes ideal individual and organizational growth. Deliberate intervention in the organization implies deliberate intervention in theongoingprocessesofanorganization.Normativedeductivestrategyisbasedontheassumptions that the social norms are one of the strong reinforcers of behavior. Leavitt (1972) has viewed an organization as a social system consisting of different subsystems such as task, structure, technology and human resource, interlinked by various processes. Any change in one part or processhasimplicationsforotherpartsorprocessesrelevanttothesystem.Actionresearchmodel isadatabased,problemsolvingmodelthatreplicatedthestepsinvolvedinthescientificmethodof inquiry(FrenchandBell1991).OD,usingthismodel,involvesasystematicprocessofdiagonising organizational problems through data collection and analysis, feeding the data back to the organizational client group, discussing thefindings, planning collaborative actionand implementing proposed solutions. The concept of OD has emerged from four stems: (i) Laboratory training
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background, (ii) Actionresearch/surveyfeedback background, (iii) Participative management, and (iv)Qualityofworklife(QWL)approach.AtypicalODprocesscanbedividedintophases,suchas, Problemidentification,Datacollection,Diagnosis,Structuralanalysis,Processesanalysis,Function analysis,Domainanalysis,Planningandimplementation,andEvaluationandfeedback.Broadly,OD interventionscanbecategorizedasHumanprocessinterventions,Technostructuralinterventions, Humanresourceinterventions,andStrategicinterventions.Effectiveimplementationsoftheadvices are sole responsibility of the client. The consultant intends to advise the client to take appropriate actions, convinces the client for the required changes and helps it to modify the mindset. OD consultants,inIndianorganizations,generallyfacethefollowingdifficulties(Dwivedi2001). TerminalQuestions 1. WhatisOD?DiscussthecharacteristicsofOD. 2. WhatdoyoumeanbyTgrouptraining?BrieflyexplainLikertsframework. 3. DescribeatypicalODprocess. AnswerstoSelfAssessmentQuestions SelfAssessmentQuestions1 1.Deliberate 2.Reinforcers 3.Social SelfAssessmentQuestions2 1.Tgroup 2.Topdown 3.Selfmanaging SelfAssessmentQuestions3 1.First 2.Feedback

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SelfAssessmentQuestions4 1.Experiential 2.Six AnswerstoTerminalQuestions 1.Refersection15.1and15.2 2.Refersection15.3 3.Refersection15.4

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