Introduction to organisational development

Cummings & Worley, 8e (c)2005
Thomson/South-Western
1-2
OD is a planned process of change in
an organization’s culture through the
utilization of behavioral science
technology, research, and theory.
Burke’s Definition of OD

1-3
OD refers to a long-range effort to
improve an organization’s problem-
solving capabilities and its ability to
cope with changes in its external
environment with the help of
external or internal behavioral-
scientist consultants.
French’s Definition of OD

1-4
OD is an effort (1) planned, (2)
organization-wide, and (3) managed
from the top, to (4) increase
organization effectiveness and health
through (5) planned interventions in
the organization’s “processes,” using
behavioral science knowledge.
Beckhard’s Definition of OD

1-5
OD is a system-wide process of data collection,
diagnosis, action planning, intervention, and
evaluation aimed at: (1) enhancing congruence
between organizational structure, process, strategy,
people, and culture; (2) developing new and
creative organizational solutions; and (3)
developing the organization’s self-renewing
capacity. It occurs through collaboration of
organizational members working with a change
agent using behavioral science theory, research,
and technology.
Beer’s Definition of OD

1-6
a systemwide application and transfer
of behavioral science knowledge to the
planned development, improvement,
and reinforcement of the strategies,
structures, and processes that lead to
organization effectiveness.
Organization Development is...

CONTENTS:
 ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
 MEANING AND DEFINITIONS OF OD.
 OBJECTIVES OF OD.
 ASSUMPTIONS AND VALUES OF OD.
 PROCESS OF OD.
 EFFECTIVENESS OF OD.
ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT(OD)

 INTRODUCTION TO OD:
The term organizational development was coined by Richard
Beckhard in the mid-1950s.Organizational development is an acronym of two
words i.e., organization and development.
 Organization: A social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet
a need or to pursue collective goals.
 Development: The systematic use of scientific and technical knowledge to
meet specific objectives or requirements.
 ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT:
 Organization development (OD) is a deliberately planned effort to increase an
organization's relevance and viability.
 Organizational development is the framework for change, and often times a
manager helps to lead this change.

 MEANING OF OD:
 Organization development is known as both a field of applied
behavioral science focused on understanding and managing organizational
change and as a field of scientific study and inquiry.
 OD is a systemic learning and development strategy intended to change
the basics of beliefs, attitudes, and relevance of values and structure of the current
organization to better absorb disruptive technologies, market opportunities, and
ensuing challenges and chaos.
 DEFINITIONS OF OD:
 According to Middlemist and Hitt define “organizational development is a
systematic means for planned change that involves the entire organization and is
intended to increase organizational effectiveness.”
 Cummings and Huse define OD “A system wide application of behavioral
science knowledge to the planned development and reinforcement of
organizational strategies, structure, and processes for improving an organization’s
effectiveness.”

 Bennis. W define “Organizational development is a response to change, a
complex educational strategy intended to change beliefs, attitudes, values, and
structures of organizations so that they can better adapt to new technologies,
markets, and challenges, and the dizzying rate of change itself.“
 Cummings and Worley define “"Organization development is a system-
wide application of behavioral science knowledge to the planned development
and reinforcement of organizational strategies, structures, and processes for
improving an organization's effectiveness."

 OBJECTIVES OF OD:
According to somil aseeja, the objective of od is:
 To increase the level of inter-personal trust among employees.
 To increase employee's level of satisfaction and commitment.
 To confront problems instead of neglecting them.
 To effectively manage conflict.
 To increase cooperation among the employees.
 To increase the organization problem solving.
 To put in place process that will help improve the ongoing operation of the
organization on a continuous basis.

 ASSUMPTIONS AND VALUES OF OD:
ASSUMTIONS
 Individuals:
 People want to grow and mature .
 Employees have much to offer (e.g.
creativity and energy) that is not
being used at work .
 Most employees desire the
opportunity to contribute (they desire,
seek and appreciate empowerment).
 Groups:
 Groups and teams are critical to
organizational success and individual
need satisfaction.
 Groups have powerful influences
on individual behaviour .
 The complex roles to be played in
groups require skill development.
VALUES
 Individuals:
 OD aims to overcome obstacles to
the natural human tendency to grow,
enabling employees to contribute
more to the organization.
 OD stresses open communication,
Treating employees with genuine
dignity and respect is emphasized.
 Groups:
 Hiding feelings or not being
accepted by the group diminishes
individual willingness to solve
problems constructively
 Acceptance, collaboration and
involvement lead to expressions of
feelings and perceptions.

 Organization:
Excessive controls, policies and
rules are detrimental Conflict can be
functional if properly channeled
Individual and organizational goals
can be compatible .
In most organizations, the level of
interpersonal support, trust and
cooperation is lower than desirable
and necessary
 Organization:
The way groups are linked,
influences their Effectiveness, change
should start at the top and gradually
be introduced through the rest of the
organization.
The group links the top and bottom
of the organization

Introduction to organisational development

THREE major trends are shaping their relevance of OD in
this drastically changing environment:
1. Globalization: It changed the market and
environments in which organization operates as well as
the way function. New government, new leadership,
new market, new countries are emerging and creating
new global economy with opportunities and threats.
Growth & Relevance:

2. Information Technology: The way an
organization collects, stores, manipulates uses
and transi …..
3. Managerial Innovation:
(strategic HRM, organization design, proactivity &
customer focus, learning organizations)
Growth & Relevance: Contid…

Why OD in Indian Settings
• With the opening of economy intense competition from
internal & external corporate
• Indian minds are less systems-driven & more people &
relationship driven
•Indian mindsets are tradition bound, fatalistic and
resistant to change
• Tendency to work for short term than long term goals
• Therefore a need for OD

Kurt lewin (1898–1947) is widely recognized as the
founding father of OD, although he died before the
concept became current in the mid -1950s.
 from lewin came the ideas of group dynamics and
action research which underpin the basic OD process
as well as providing its collaborative consultant/client
ethos.
Institutionally, lewin founded the "research center for
group dynamics" (RCGD) at MIT, which moved to
michigan after his death.
 RCGD colleagues were among those who founded the
national training laboratories (NTL), from which the t -
groups and group-based OD emerged.
HISTORY AND EVOLUTION

 Kurt Lewin played a key role in the evolution of
organization development as it is known today.
 As early as World War II, Lewin experimented with a
collaborative change process (involving himself as
consultant and a client group) based on a three-step
process of planning, taking action, and measuring
results.
 This was the forerunner of action research, an
important element of OD,

 Lewin then participated in the beginnings of laboratory
training, or T-groups, and, after his death in 1947, his
close associates helped to develop survey-research
methods at the University of Michigan.
 Douglas McGregor and Richard Beckhard : while
"consulting together at General Mills in the 1950s, the
two coined the term organization development (OD) to
describe an innovative bottoms-up change effort that fit
no traditional consulting categories"

Laboratory Training
 Known as T-groups & defined as a small unstructured
group in which participants learn from their own
interactions & evolving dynamics about issues like
interpersonal relations, personal growth, leadership &
group dynamics
 Began with Lewin & asso. in MIT (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology) studying community
interrelations of American Jews
 Results showed the following.
1. Feedback from group interaction was rich learning
experience
2. The process of group building had potential for
learning that could be transferred to ‘backhome’
situations

Laboratory Training (contd..)
 In 1947 NTL (National Training Laboratory) was setup in
Bethel, Maine (northeastern state in USA)
 In 1950s three trends emerged
1. Emergence of regional labs.
2. Converting summer program sessions to year round
sessions
3. Expansion of t-groups to business & industry with NTL
members contributing significantly (McGregor-Union
Carbide, Shephard & Blake in Esso Standard Oil now
Exxon, McGregor & Beckhard at General Mills)
 Application of T group was later called team building
exercises

Action Research/Survey Feedback
 Began in 1940s, major work by Lewin, Collier & Whyte
 Research needed to be closely linked to action if
organization members were to use it to manage change
 A collaborative effort was initiated between organization
members & social scientists to collect research data about
organization’s functioning, to analyze it for causes & to
devise & implement solutions. After implementation
further data was needed to assess the results & thus the
cycle of data collection & assessment continued.
 Major researches in this field- overcoming resistance to
change (Coch & French) & participative mgt. as a means of
getting employees involved in planning & managing
change.

Action Research/Survey Feedback (contd..)
 The chief point of action research was systematic
collection of survey data that was fed back to the
client organization.
 After Lewin, major contribution by Likert
(measurement of attitudes, creation of Likert-type
scale).

Normative Approaches (Participative
Management )
 Based on the belief that human relations approach was the best way to
manage organizations It was exemplified in the research that associated
Likert’s participative management (system 4) style with organizational
effectiveness
 The four types of management systems are as follows
1. Exploitative authoritative (S1) autocratic(relating to rule), top down,
carrot & stick(combination of rewards and punishment to induce behavior),
resulting in mediocre (not very good)performance
2. Benevolent authoritative (S2) mgt. little paternalistic, employees
allowed a little more interaction & freedom in decision making but within
limits
3. Consultative (S3) increased employee interaction in decision making but
mgt. still makes the final decision. productivity good, employees moderately
satisfied.
4. Participative group (S4) fosters high involvement, communication
laterally & vertically, work groups involved in goal setting, decision making
& appraisal.

Normative Approaches (Participative Management
(contd..)
 Likert applied system 4 mgt. to organizations using survey feedback
process with the foll. Steps
1. Employees completing the form of ‘profile of organizational
characteristics’ about both the present & ideal conditions of six
organizational features: leadership, motivation, communication,
decisions, goals & control
2. Data was fed back to different work groups within the organization
3. The discrepancy between the present & the ideal situation was
examined using S4 as the ideal benchmark
4. Action plans were generated to move the organization toward S4
condition.

Productivity & Quality of Work Life (QWL)
 The impact on OD took place in two phases
 In phase I the movement began in Europe (1950) & US
(1960)
 Based on the works of Eric Trist et al. at Tavistock
Institute of Human Relations, London
 Developed work designs aimed at integrating technology
& people.
 Involved joint participation of union & management

Productivity & Quality of Work Life (QWL)
contd…
 Phase II began in 1979
 Chief reason was international competition faced by US at
home & abroad
 Low cost high quality foreign goods (Japanese) & Japanese
management expanded the initial focus from work design
to reward, management styles, work settings
 Led to the rise of quality circles & TQM
 Now emphasis has shifted from TQM to employee
involvement (EI) to employee empowerment (power to the
lower levels)

Strategic Change
 Recent influence
 Emphasis on competitive strategy,finance &
marketing,team buliding & action research

Theories of Planned change:
Organizational Climate - the mood or unique “personality” of an organization which can be
observed in the attitudes and beliefs about organizational practices create organizational
climate and influence members’ collective behaviour.
 Climate features and characteristics may be associated with employee satisfaction,
stress, service quality and outcomes and successful implementation of new programs.
Climate features and characteristics include:
 Leadership
 Openness of Communication ·
 Participative Management
 Role Clarity
 Conflict Resolution
 Leader Support ·
 Leader Control

Organizational Culture - Deeply seated norms,
values and behaviours that members share. The five
basic elements of culture in organizations include:
 Assumptions · Values
 Behavioral norms
 Behavioral patterns · Artifacts
Theories of Planned change:

General Model of Planned change
 One of the foundational definitions in the field of
organizational development (OD) is planned change:
 “Organization Development is an effort planned,
organization-wide, and managed from the top, to
increase organization effectiveness and health
through planned interventions in the organization's
'processes,' using behavioral-science knowledge.”--
Richard Beckhard, “Organization development:
Strategies and Models”,

To understand the practice of OD, some of the key terms,
embedded in Beckhard's formulation, include:
Planned - carefully thought through; based on data;
documented
Effectiveness - as measured by actual organizational
performance versus desired organizational performance
Health - as measured by the organization's ability to
respond, grow and adapt in its environmental context
Intervention - the specific action(s) selected for
implementation that are intended to bring about the
envisioned change
Processes - how work gets done in an organization; e.g.
delivery of service, billing, repair, etc.
General Model of Planned change

Once managers and an organization commit to
planned change, they need to create a logical step‐by
step approach in order to accomplish the objectives.
Planned change requires managers to follow an
eight‐step process for successful implementations,
which is illustrated in Figure 1.
Steps in Planned Change

Steps in Planned Change
 Recognize the need for change
 Develop the goals of the change
 Select a change agent
 Diagnose the current climate
 Select an implementation method
 Develop a plan
 Implement the plan
 Follow the plan and evaluate it

Theories of Planned Change
 The development of theories or model of planned
change facilitated the development OD.
 These theories describes the different stage though
which planned change may be effected and explain
the temporal process of applying OD methods to
help organisation members in managing
organisation change.
 Lets see the various planned change

Theories of planned change
Kurt Lewin Model
Action Research Model
Positive Model
Bruke-Litwin Model

Force Field Analysis: Driving Forces
 Driving Forces are the forces that push in a
direction that causes change to occur.
 They cause a shift in the equilibrium
towards change.

Force Field Analysis: Restraining
Forces
 Restraining forces are forces that counter
driving forces. They oppose change.
 Restraining forces cause a shift in the
equilibrium which opposes change

Force Field Analysis: Equilibrium
Equilibrium is a state of being where driving forces
equal restraining forces and no change occurs.
Equilibrium can be raised or lowered by changes that
occur between the driving and restraining forces.

Lewin’s Change Theory
Consists of three distinct and vital
stages:
 “Unfreezing”
“Moving to a new level or Changing”
“Refreezing”

Case of a Government office where typewriters
are going to be replaced by computers
 Here, apprehension about learning
computer and unwillingness to accept the
change can be restraining force.
 And, up-gradation of knowledge and
increase in productivity can be a positive
driving force.

“Unfreezing”
 This starts by challenging many of the beliefs,
attitudes, and behaviour of people within the
organization.
 Motivation for change should be generated
before change can occur.
 During this everyone feels that things are
becoming off balance as new system will make
their job difficult.
 We need to sell the benefits of the change to
everyone involved i. e. benefits of replacing type-
writers with computers
 Also address any doubts or concerns.

Introducing Change/Moving to
the New Level
 Once the organization has gone through the
unfreeze stage, effective change can begin within
the organization.
 Time and frequent communication are two key
factors for the change to occur.
 People need to understand the changes as they
occur and feel that they are part of the change.
 Some take a long time to learn the computers.
 This can lead to fear and rumours that need to be
handled quickly which should be taken care of.

“Refreezing”
 It is the process to integrate the new behavior into
the person’s thinking and attitude.
 Once the changes have taken effect, we need to
make them believe that their productivity and
knowledge will go up as the start learning
computer.
 One should make sure that people get comfortable
in using the computers.
 Also to provide clear communications, support and
training.
 And to celebrate the successful completion of
changes.

THEORIES OF PLANNED CHANGE
 2. Action Research Model Problem identification
Consultation with behavioural
science experts
Data gathering and preliminary diagnosis
Feedback to a key client or group
Joint diagnosis of the problem (with the
management by OD expert)
Joint action planning
Data gathering after action
Action

 3. The Positive Model – focuses on “what the
organization is doing right” and not problems.
a. Initiate the inquiry
b. Inquire into best practices of the organization
and get details of the same
c. Discover the themes – based on stories of
people, i.e., how managers managed
d. Envision a preferred future – employees identify
themes and change status quo
e. Design and deliver – design & deliver ways to create
future – describe activities and create plans to
bring about the vision.

3. The Positive Model

Bruke - Letwin Organisational Model

General Model of Planned Change
Evaluating
and
Institutionalizing
Change
Planning
and
Implementing
Change
Diagnosing
Entering
and
Contracting

4. General Model of Planned Change
a. Entering & contracting – with OD expert with the
organization.
b. Diagnosing issues– at organization level, group level
and individual level (Gathering, analysing and feeding back
data re the central change activities in diagnosis)
c. Planning & Implementing change – to be carried out
jointly by the OD expert and the organization.
d. Evaluating and institutionalizing change – providing
feedback and evaluating the effects of change, and
make it regular feature which should continue

Cummings & Worley, 7e (c) 2001 South-Western
College Publishing
2-61
Critique of Planned Change
 Conceptualization of Planned Change
 Change in not linear
 Change is not rational
 The relationship between change and performance is unclear
 Practice of Planned Change
 Limited consulting skills and focus
 Quick fixes vs. development approaches

Who is the OD Practitioner?
 They may be internal or external consultants who
offer professional services to organizations, including
their top managers, functional department heads,
and staff groups.
 They may be those specializing in fields related to
OD, such as reward systems, organization design,
total quality, information technology, and business
strategy.

Who is the OD Practitioner?
 The increasing number of managers and
administrators who have gained competence in OD
and who apply it to their own work areas.

Role of OD Practitioners
OD practitioners My need play variety of
roles which change according to what
needed. Various roles are as fallowes
1. As a teacher
2. As Change agent
3. As Helper and Catalysts
4. As third party agent

Professional Ethics for OD Practitioners
Professional Ethics:
 Ethical issues in
OD are concerned with how practitioners perform
their helping relationship with
organization members.
 Inherent in any helping relationship is
the potential for misconduct and client abuse.

Professional Ethics for OD Practitioners
1. Responsible to Self
2. Responsible for professional Development and
competence
3. Responsible to Client and Significant others
4. Responsible to the Profession
5. Social Responsibility

3-67
Competencies of an OD
Practitioner
 Intrapersonal skills
 Self-awareness
 Interpersonal skills
 Ability to work with others and groups
 General consultation skills
 Ability to manage consulting process
 Organization development theory
 Knowledge of change processes

 PROCESS OF OD:
Organization Development (OD) is a planned approach to improve employee
and organizational effectiveness by conscious interventions in those processes and
structures that have an immediate bearing on the human aspect of the organization.
A normal OD process can be phased in following manner:
.
Problem Identification
Data Collection
Diagnosis
Planning and Implementation
Evaluation and Feedback

 Problem identification:
The first step in OD process involves understanding and identification of
the 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 human resource and organizational
effectiveness.
 Data Collection:
Having understood the exact problem in this phase, the relevant data is
collected through personal interviews, observations and questionnaires.
 Diagnosis:
OD efforts begin with diagnosis of the current situation. Usually, it is not
limited to a single problem. Rather a number of factors like attitudes,
assumption, available resources and management practice are taken into
account in this phase. There are four steps in organizational diagnosis:
 Structural analysis:
Determines how the different parts of the organization are functioning
in terms of laid down goals.

 Process analysis:
Process implies the manner in which events take place in a sequence. It
refers to pattern of decision making, communication, group dynamics and
conflict management patterns within organization to help in the process of
attainment of organizational goals.
 Function analysis:
This includes strategic variables, performance variables, results,
achievements and final outcomes.
 Domain analysis:
Domain refers to the area of the organization for organizational
diagnosis.
 Planning and implementation:
After diagnosing the problem, the next phase of OD, with the OD
interventions, involves the planning and implementation part of the change
process.
 Evaluation and feedback:
Any OD activity is incomplete without proper feedback. Feedback is a
process of relaying evaluations to the client group by means of specific report
or interaction

EFFECTIVENESS OF OD:
Humanistic values underlie OD. Margulies and Raia articulated the
humanistic values of OD as follows:
 Providing opportunities for people to function as human beings rather than as
resources in the productive process.
 Providing opportunities for each organization member, as well as for the
organization itself, to develop to his full potential.
 Seeking to increase the effectiveness of the organization in terms of all of its
goals.
 Attempting to create an environment in which it is possible to find exciting and
challenging work.
 Providing opportunities for people in organizations to influence the way in
which they relate to work, the organization, and the environment.
 Treating each human being as a person with a complex set of needs, all of
which are important in his or her work and life.

ORGANIZATION INTERVENTIONS(OI)
CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION TO OI.
 MEANING OF OI.
 ASSUMPTIONS OF OI.
 FACTORS THAT HELPS CHANGE AGENT.
 EXAMPLES OF INTERVENTIONS.

 INTRODUCTION TO OI:
 They may be introduced by a change agent as part of an improvement
program, or they may be used by the client following a program to check on
the state of the organization's health, or to effect necessary changes in its own
behavior. "Structured activities" mean such diverse procedures as experiential
exercises, questionnaires, attitude surveys, interviews, relevant group
discussions, and even lunchtime meetings between the change agent and a
member of the client organization.
 Every action that influences an organization's improvement program in a
change agent-client system relationship can be said to be an intervention.
 There are many possible intervention strategies from which to choose.

MEANING OF OI:
 "Interventions" are principal learning processes in the "action" stage of
organization development. Interventions are structured activities used
individually or in combination by the members of a client system to improve
their social or task performance.
 Interventions range from those designed to improve the effectiveness of
individuals through those designed to deal with teams and groups, intergroup
relations, and the total organization.
 There are interventions that focus on task issues (what people do), and
those that focus on process issues (how people go about doing it). Finally,
interventions may be roughly classified according to which change mechanism
they tend to emphasize: for example, feedback, awareness of changing cultural
norms, interaction and communication, conflict, and education through either
new knowledge or skill practice.

 ASSUMPTIONS OF OI:
Several assumptions about the nature and functioning of organizations
are made in the choice of a particular strategy. Beckhard lists six such
assumptions:
 The basic building blocks of an organization are groups (teams). Therefore, the
basic units of change are groups, not individuals.
 An always relevant change goal is the reduction of inappropriate competition
between parts of the organization and the development of a more collaborative
condition.
 Decision making in a healthy organization is located where the information
sources are, rather than in a particular role or level of hierarchy.
 Organizations, subunits of organizations, and individuals continuously manage
their affairs against goals. Controls are interim measurements, not the basis of
managerial strategy.
 One goal of a healthy organization is to develop generally open
communication, mutual trust, and confidence between and across levels.
 People support what they help create. People affected by a change must be
allowed active participation and a sense of ownership in the planning and
conduct of the change

 FACTORS THAT HELP CHANGE AGENT:
Some of the things which will help him are:
 A real need in the client system to change.
 Genuine support from management.
 Setting a personal example: listening, supporting behavior.
 A sound background in the behavioral sciences.
 A working knowledge of systems theory.
 A belief in man as a rational, self-educating being fully capable of learning
better ways to do things.

 EXAMPLES OF INTERVENTIONS:
A few examples of interventions include
 Team Building.
 Coaching.
 Large Group Interventions.
 Mentoring.
 Performance Appraisal.
 Downsizing.
 TQM And
 Leadership Development.

References:
 www.wikipedia.com
 www.businessdictionary.com
 www.boundless.com
 www.msu.edu.com

Introduction to organisational development

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