An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7

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edition Chapter 11
Slide 1
Chapter 11
Intergroup Development
Interventions
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 2
Learning Objectives (part 1 of 2)
Identify problems of intergroup conflict and
suboptimization.
Experience negative effects of competition on
organization effectiveness.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 3
Learning Objectives (part 2 of 2)
Observe and develop strategies for
collaborative intergroup relations.
Diagnose causes of cooperative versus
competitive group relations.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 4
Power to the People Who
Make the Hogs (part 1 of 3)
HDs Kansas City plant empowers teams to:
Make their schedules and work rules.
Train new workers and evaluate workers.
Manage plants operating budget.
Approve plant strategies.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 5
Power to the People Who
Make the Hogs (part 2 of 3)
Plants structure centers around employees.
Work teams of 8 to15 members.
Group sends member to operating group.
Four operating groups oversee its division.
Operating group elects representative to Plant
Leadership Group.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 6
Power to the People Who
Make the Hogs (part 3 of 3)
The plant is open and does not have walls for
offices.
Productions workers receive financial rewards
based on the performance of the plant.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 7
Changing Relationships in Todays
Organizations
Managers concentrate efforts on shared
responsibilities among work teams.
Organizations create situations of team
interdependence.
OD interventions aim at developing effective
working methods between teams.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 8
Collaboration and Conflict
Organizations need cooperation to be effective.
Differences in objectives and values between
groups.
Conflict is inevitable between groups.
Dysfunctional conflict reduced through
intergroup interventions.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 9
Our Changing World: Prototype
for DaimlerChrysler (part 1 of 3)
Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Corp. to form
DaimlerChrysler has entailed challenges.
Indications of a financial flop.
The 2 have different skills and specialties.
Instead of collaborating, Mercedes and Chrysler
groups often compete.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 10
Our Changing World (part 2 of 3)
M-Class plant in Alabama provides prototype.
Old rules on how to manage thrown out.
Plant uses open style offices.
Gain sharing used in incentive program.
Dress for all is casual.
All eat in one cafeteria.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 11
Our Changing World (part 3 of 3)
Plants design helped establish culture of
teamwork and open communication.
Each team has a leader.
Team member can do work of other members.
A team at a station can do work of stations
before and behind them.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 12
Intergroup Operating Problems
Group conflict depends on:
How incompatible the goals are.
Extent to which resources are scarce and
shared.
Degree of interdependence of task activities.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 13
Figure 11.1
Factors Involved in Conflict
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 14
Suboptimization
Suboptimization occurs when group optimizes
its own subgoals but loses sight of larger
organizational goals.
Intergroup competition involves groups with
conflicting purposes or objectives.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 15
Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity
Role conflict occurs when individual belongs to
2 or more groups whose goals are in conflict.
Role ambiguity exists when individual of group
not clear about his/her functions and goals.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 16
Cooperation Versus Competition
(part 1 of 2)
Mixed research results on competition and
cooperation among groups.
Members of competitive groups have more self-
esteem for their groups.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 17
Cooperation Versus Competition
(part 2 of 2)
Groups competing with one another more highly
oriented toward accomplishing task, but no
evidence of increased productivity.
Cooperation promotes productivity between
groups when task is complicated and requires
coordination.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 18
OD in Practice: General Mills
Looks to Extreme Teams (part 1 of 2)
General Mills (GM) improved teams by looking
for examples outside company.
GM looks at teams that dissect their operations,
analyze them, change them, and put them
back together.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 19
OD in Practice (part 2 of 2)
Examination of NASCAR pit crews helped
production operations.
Cross-team cooperation examined between
SWAT teams.
GM replaced separate performance goals for
engineering, purchasing, and production with
single set of goals.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 20
Managing Conflict
Organizational conflict does not need to be
eliminated but instead managed.
Diagnosing conflict involves learning basic
conflict styles used in dealing with conflict:
Desire to satisfy self.
Desire to satisfy others.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 21
Figure 11.2
Conflict Styles
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 22
Five Styles of Cooperative Versus
Assertive Behavior: (part 1 of 2)
1. Avoiding - low concern for self and others.
2. Obliging - low concern for self, high concern
for others.
3. Dominating - high concern for self, low
concern for others.

An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 23
Five Styles of Cooperative Versus
Assertive Behavior: (part 2 of 2)
4. Compromising - moderate concern for self
and others.
5. Integrating - high concern for self and
others.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 24
Techniques to Deal with
Intergroup Problems
Deal with conflicts openly to manage tensions.
OD techniques include:
Third-party consultation.
Organization mirror.
Intergroup team building.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 25
Third-Party Consultation
Uses third party, usually outside practitioner, to
help open communications, level power, and
confront problems between groups.
Third party provides diagnostic insight and is
source of emotional support and skills.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 26
Organization Mirror
Gives feedback to teams on how other
elements of organization view them.
Units meet together to process data with
objective of identifying problems and
formulating solutions.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 27
Intergroup Team Building
(part 1 of 2)
Key members work on issues of interface.
Meeting usually involves following 5 steps:
Step 1. Working separately, the two work
groups make three lists:
How we see ourselves.
How we think other group sees us.
How we see other group.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 28
Intergroup Team Building
(part 2 of 2)
Step 2. Meeting with other group, person from
each group presents their lists.
Step 3. Groups meet separately to discuss.
Step 4. Subgroups formed by mixing members
of two groups. Develop action plans.
Step 5. A follow-up evaluation meeting held.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 29
Table 11.1
Sample Intergroup Meeting Listing
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
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edition Chapter 11
Slide 30
Key Words and Concepts
Avoiding Style - manages conflict by
withdrawing.
Boundaryless - a GE term that refers to
reducing conflict between divisions and
departments.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
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edition Chapter 11
Slide 31
Compromising style - manages conflict by
seeking compromise between parties.
Confrontation - parties directly engage each
other and focus on conflict.
Dominating style - manages conflict by
attaining personal objectives and ignoring
needs of others.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
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edition Chapter 11
Slide 32
Integrating style - conflict style where there is
high concern for self and others.
Interdependence - performance of one group
contingent upon another group.
Interfaces - meeting point between groups.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 33
Intergroup competition - emerges when group
pursues one goal while directly opposing
values that exist in another group.
Intergroup interventions - increase
cooperation among organization subsystems.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 34
Intergroup team building - key members of
conflicting groups meet to work on issues of
interface.
Meta goals - superordinate organization
goals.
Obliging style - manages conflict by showing
concern for people satisfactions and
smoothing over conflicts.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 35
Open loop - elements of organization
operating without feedback.
Organization mirror - gives work units
feedback on how other elements of
organization view them.
Role ambiguity - members of group not clear
about their functions and goals.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 36
Suboptimization - group optimizes own goals
but loses sight of larger organization goals.
Team interdependence - performance of one
group contingent upon another group.
Third-party interventions - increases
communication and intergroup problem
solving using outside practitioner.
An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 7
th
edition Chapter 11
Slide 37
Preparations for Next Chapter
Read Chapter 12.
Complete Step 1 of OD Skills Simulation
12.1.
Complete Step 1 of OD Skills Simulation
12.2.
Read and analyze Case: Western Utilities
Company.