Organizational Change and Culture

For firms to compete today, they must change to meet the demands of the business environment. In fact, change can be used to create a competitive strategy for your organization. Now picture Sheila the CEO of an organization that is concerned about changing her organization to reflect a competitive strategy in the organization. The strategy centered approach to change might reflect some of the following:

•Introducing a new produce or service

•Entering new markets

•Use of new forms of marketing

•Initiation of Internet sales to direct selling

•Forming alliances or joint ventures with other organizations

•Modifying relationships with suppliers

To be successful, changes in competitive strategy will require a consistent change in people, work roles, organizational structure, and technology. Internal changes in the organizational approach to improve human capability will require organizational learning, and an alignment of the strengths and values within the organization. By aligning the strengths and values within the organization, it will improve the overall success of the competitive strategy and meet with the long-term goals of the organization.

A common mistake is to implement a new program without first diagnosing the problems that are confronting the organization. Management programs and structural changes often fail to solve organizational problems and sometimes will make them worse. The benefits that can be obtained from change made in one area can cause problems for another. Before initiating major changes within an organization, senior management should be clear about the problem and the objectives of the program. The organizational diagnosis can be made by senior management, an outside consultant, or task force. It is often more successful when an outside consultant is involved because it offers an unbiased decision to the diagnosis. Outside consultants trained in organizational development will bring more success to the project.

Discovery of Organizational Culture for Leaders

"Wealth in the new regime flows directly from innovation, not optimization; that is, wealth is not gained by perfecting the known, but by imperfectly seizing the unknown."
Kevin Kelly

Effective leaders understand the relevance of corporate culture. Trevino argues that it is critical to understand both formal and informal systems when studying organizational culture. Research has shown that senior leaders often perceive that organizational ethics is “lovely at the top.” This may be a crucial mistake in strategy.

Let’s analyze this closer. Cameron and Quinn, authors of Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture, maintain that such subunits like departments and teams have their own unique culture. For evaluating organizational culture, the authors advocate using the Organization Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI), which assess six elements of organizational culture; it is based on a hypothetical model known as the Competing Values Framework. The OCAI is useful in identifying the major approaches to organizational design, stages of life cycle development, leadership roles, and management skills.

Past research by Quinn and Rohrbaugh identified 39 factors that contribute to organizational effectiveness. From the statistical analysis, these 39 factors were narrowed down into two major dimensions that were organized into four clusters. One dimension focuses on flexibility, discretion, and dynamism from criteria that emphasizes stability, order, and control.

The latter dimension focuses on an internal orientation, integration, and unity that emphasize external orientation, differentiation, and rivalry. When combined, these two dimensions form four quadrants that have a distinct set of organizational effectiveness indicators. The OCAI provides a good tool for any effective organizations. High performing leaders understand how to measure and influence organizational culture.

Communicating Your Organizational Values: Maximizing Performance

“There are no warlike people - just warlike leaders.”
Ralph Bunche

What’s the big deal about organizational values? Well, let’s explore personal and organizational values interaction. Although each of these variables is independent, there’s clearly a relationship. Obviously, an organization can be corrupt while followers are not. For example, review all of today’s corporate and government scandals; the leaders were scoundrels, not the employees. With this understanding in mind, let us focus on how organizations influence follower’s value systems. Organizational culture relates to the underlying set of key values, beliefs, and norms shared by the workforce. Organizational culture development is amazing since different people have varying values.

In a perfect world, organizational changes are gradual; however, the growing demands of a turbulent, unpredictable environment are causing organizations to make radical and rapid changes. This places a heavy burden on organizational value systems. For example, an organization that advocates employee loyalty finds itself outsourcing its employee core functions. Is it fair to believe that employees may find organizational values hypocritical? This situation places organizational leaders, primarily front line supervisors, in a precarious situation. If not carefully watched by management, this situation could create relational breakdowns.

Therefore, in making changes to technology, procedures, and people, organizations must be careful to maintain this optimum balance in their shifts in values. Walk cautiously with your values. Start today!

Leadership and Organizational Tools

There are so many books, seminars, coaching, and consulting practices based on leadership and organizational development. There are many forms of leadership and organizational development models such as transformational leadership, executive coaching, Six Sigma, TQM (Total Quality Management), business process improvement, learning organizations, and systems thinking to name a few. Some of you may feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of authors, seminars, coaching, and consulting practices claiming to have the answers for improving your leadership and/or organization's performance.

I used to be one of those individuals, as I too was initially overwhelmed by the number of books, speakers, and seminars pertaining to leadership and organizational development. However, I soon realized that life, learning, and leadership is all about taking in knowledge from multiple sources and then deciphering for yourself what works best for you and your particular situation. Whatever improved my personal leadership, I incorporated in my repertoire. Whatever did not work, I allowed to fall into the recesses of my subconscious so that I could retrieve it in case I ever needed it in the future.

There is so much knowledge available in the world in regards to leadership and organizational development. However, all of this knowledge may not be beneficial to our particular situation or life. Therefore, we must obtain this knowledge with a discriminating eye, assessing multiple leadership models from multiple sources, looking for those tid bits of information that can improve and shape our lives and organizations to be what we want them to be. However, for this to occur, we must overcome our intimidation and immerse ourselves in the vast genre of leadership and organizational development for optimal absorption.

Personally, I try to read as many books and articles on leadership and organizational development as my time allows. In addition, I still attend leadership and organizational development workshops and seminars because even though leadership and organizational development is what I do, I can always learn more.

My personal leadership development is the result of all of my years of academic study coupled with my ongoing appetite for learning about leadership and organizational development. The books, coaching, seminars, and blog are expressions of what I have learned and continue to learn. I am sharing my insights with you because I know that leadership and organizational development does not occur overnight, rather it consists of a continuous immersion of both your conscious and subconscious into the depths of who you are and how you relate to the challenges of the world you live in.

By immersing yourself in all of the leadership and organizational development training offered by the various leadership development outlets, you will provide your conscious and subconscious with a steady diet of ideas that you can then pick and choose from. Immersing yourself in multiple leadership and organizational models will afford you the ability to pick and choose the ideas that work best for you. It is important to note that one model may work for one individual and not another. Also, a combination of ideas from several models may work better for you than someone else. Therefore, do not limit yourself to any one model, as there may be something you can learn about yourself, or your leadership from another. Always remember that leadership and organizational development is a life long learning process. If you truly want to develop your leadership, don't be intimidated by the vast amounts of knowledge in the field. Immerse yourself with a discriminating eye and come out a leader.

Career In Organizational Leadership

Are you a born leader and looking for an executive position in leadership? A career in organizational leadership can put you in a position to work in many different industries.

Organizational Leadership and Supervision is a specialized, people-oriented approach to the practice of supervision. Organizational leadership professionals work in the capacity of planning, organizing, leading and coordinating the activities of a business or organization. Theses leaders are employed to meet current and future challenges facing their organizations, and they utilize their analytical skills to come up with the best solutions to the problems.

An Organizational Leadership program provides students with a diverse liberal arts curriculum that allows you customize your course of study to meet your individual career goals. You degree program will focus on the social, cultural, and organizational aspects that organizational leaders have to deal with. Some coursework in your program may include organizational theory, organizational ethics, organizational communications, and leadership. In addition, you will need to take classes in team building, human behavior and organizational ethics. Many leadership programs focus heavily on professional development, organizational dynamics, business trends, and long range planning. Overall, this major program is designed to prepare you to lead others effectively, in any industry.

Degree programs in leadership can help professionals cultivate the skills they need to succeed in today's highly competitive business environment. Professionals with a degree in Organizational Leadership can find more opportunities for career advancement or promotions in their current industry.

There are many salary variations in the field of organizational leadership. Those who work in the non-profit or charity sector will find significantly lower salaries than those who work for major corporations or business organizations. For example, organizational consultants make around $85,600 a year, organizational development managers make around $90,000 a year, organizational development specialists make around $70,000 a year, and chief organizational leaders make around $128,000 a year.

Organizational development through Personalized Supplies

Is your company not doing well as it should? Maybe you need personalized supplies to give to your employees and keeping them happy to work for you. In this article, it talks about the using Personalized Supplies in enhancing employee's productivity and organizational development.


Personalized supplies are commonly given out either to attract new customers or reward loyal ones. But another key purpose of personalized promotional supplies which is often left out is for the development of your organization by improving your firm's most important asset: your employees.

A company's overall efficiency is highly dependent on its employees. A productive employee means a productive company. This is the reason why the Human Resource Management (HRM) is very important for the development of any organization. Sustaining productivity and retaining high-performing personnel are two of the key result areas (KRA) in HRM. And these two KRAs can positively be affected by the use of personalized company supplies within the organization.

Employee productivity and retention are two factors that are very dependent on the organizational culture of the company. In theory, molding the existing organizational culture into a positive and healthy version may look easy. As a plethora of readings just call for restructuring of flow charts, multitude of trainings and team buildings, and a touch of inspirational talks from the leader to do the trick. But in truth, it takes a lot of time and effort to attain the desired organizational culture that can foster productivity and retention for your employees. These grueling efforts require the presence of two important factors for a successful transformation.

In essence, using corporate and personalized supplies can help improve the quality and productivity of the workplace. One needs to start the change today, and it starts with the leader and down to the organization's subordinates. This is a basic and a very simple solution that anyone can use to enhance the productivity of the employees and the company.

Managing Organizational Change

The life cycle that is within any business consists of a variety of changes, growth spurts and the need to keep everything stable. As a business grows and changes, is also the need to ensure that the opportunities are taken care of effectively. Managing organizational change in the correct manner is one that allows for everyone who is working within the business to have the opportunity to grow with the business and to do so without resistance or difficulties with the changes.

A business can go through several effective organizational changes, all which are designed to enhance a business and to helps it grow. However, the need for change is sometimes stopped or moves into a yield because of employees, leaders and individuals that don't completely understand the change. Along these lines, the culture may not be as accepting of the alterations that are taking place within the organization, which can lead to discomfort and individuals who are no longer satisfied with the work place. Making sure that this is taken care of first ensures that the right change moves into any business.

The main component that any organization will want to look at when moving towards organizational change is to use innovation when building what is needed within a company. This provides specific needs to take place within the business without having as much resistance as would take place otherwise. Starting by seeing where individuals are in relation to the company provides the best insight into this. For example, taking surveys or filling out a questionnaire will help to see where an organization and it's employees are at.

After there is a complete analysis of the employees, leaders and individuals that are within the work area, there can then be a plan of action to begin implementing the necessary changes to help with business growth. When doing this, the leaders will need to use a step by step process that will help everyone in the business to understand what is occurring. This includes training, knowledge, research and step by step plans to get everyone moving onto the same page. This is where the innovation comes in, so that everyone in the company is comfortable with the changes that occur.

If you are in a business that wants to see how the implementation for managing organizational change occurs, than you can begin by looking at concrete examples of companies who have effectively grown into a new image and internal environment. For example, McDonalds has used concepts with organizational change to ensure that employees benefit from the changes, combined with innovation of the procedures used to build substantial growth for the entire company, from customers to individuals that are affiliated with the restaurant.

Making sure that you are able to build your business through different time frames, as well as through resistance, is what will ensure business growth. Understanding the abilities needed for managing organizational change ensures that everyone within the work area will stay comfortable and will have the ability to continue to move forward with the organization. The result will be the ability for the business to reach it's full capacity within the market and to continue to grow as a company.

Change Management Leadership

Many small businesses experience change. Change leadership is the art of helping your team through the change management cycle. Each person shows different emotions and behaviour during change. It's perfectly normal to experience a real mix of emotions. Not everyone feels all of these feelings intensely and people don't go through them by numbers.

THE STAGES OF CHANGE

Change transition can be divided into a series of stages.

• Initial equilibrium stage

• Separation stage

• Crisis Stage

• Rebirth Stage

• New Equilibrium stage

Initial equilibrium stage -

This is the starting point. It's a period of relative stability; everyone knows what's expected and has a clear picture of the future of the organisation and themselves.

Separation stage -

This is the stage where people react as if nothing has changed. They haven't yet come to grips with the changes and continue trying to solve problems like they did in the past. Sometimes they will try to do the same that they did before but better and or just work harder.

Common things you will hear people saying at this time are "Why does nothing go right any more", "What's happening to us" "We're working our butts off but nothing is working".

The sorts of behaviours you see at this stage are increased stress, incomprehension, inhibition or hyper-activity. It's common to see a drop in staff motivation, a rise in absenteeism, lack of involvement in work, feelings of despair, less laughing and joking, loss of teamwork or socialising, decreasing identification with the organisation and its values. Quiet or explicit job hunting starts at this stage.

Crisis/confusion stage -

This is often arrived at suddenly with no possibility of turning back. It's the "last straw" that triggers something off. Suddenly people realise that the world's changed.

The sort of behaviours you see are doubt, questions, anxiety, anger, shock, confusion, resignation, uncertainty, insecurity, intense stress, a deep feeling of loneliness, a feeling of being abandoned, or being left to their own devices.

People often think that they're not normal, that there's something wrong with them and that they're incompetent. People know that they have to act or react but find it impossible to do so, as they no longer know where to focus their energy.

They can become blaming and angry. People can feel "in limbo" or make unusual outbursts of frustration and anxiety.

The crisis phase doesn't last long and generally continues to acceptance of the situation and the release of creative energy. When this happens, the person then sees the crisis as an incredible opportunity to change things. You may see a large scale "tidying up" of the way they act and organise themselves.

A feeling of new freedom may appear. Confidence comes back and the person begins to realise that they can once again act on their environment. They move from apathy to hope or even enthusiasm.

Rebirth Stage -

"A light appears at the end of the tunnel" is a common saying. Whatever the words used the person has the feeling that they're "getting out of it". They're aware that not everything that they attempt will work, but they're convinced that they'll be able to find ways of getting a grip on what's happening. People in the rebirth stage are often impatient for progress and are hopeful about building new trust, relationships and achievement.

Rebirth is a fragile phase, in which doubts sometimes persist and recur. This is especially true during group transitions - as people in groups tend to be at different stages. People in a group who are still in the crisis or separation phases tend to see those in the rebirth phase as behaving erratically, as though they're making the impact of change worse.

New equilibrium -

This is where the person's comfortable in their new environment. It's common to find people joking about their experience of change or even making fun of their behaviour during the change.

ANOTHER MODEL IS THE STAGES OF GRIEF CYCLE.

• Denial or disbelief - denial that loss has taken place (i.e.: it will be over soon, apathy, numbness/ fear, not showing up for meetings, overly busy with routine tasks, less socialising, procrastination).

• Anger (i.e.: being irritable, contemplating sabotage, being confrontative, appearing "short fused").

• Bargaining - unrealistic attempts to get out of the situation or to make it go away, making big promises or trying to strike a special deal

• Anxiety - silent or expressed fear of the unknown and probably difficult future or catastrophic fantasies

• Sadness - everything from silence to tears

• Disorientation - confusion and forgetfulness, feelings of being lost and insecure

• Depression - feeling of being down, flat, feelings of hopelessness and being tired (e.g.: being un-talkative, seeming apathetic, missing work, appearing listless, looking sombre)

• Acceptance - changes are accepted and people move forward to new possibilities.TIPS FOR HANDLING CHANGE

1. Determine exactly what's going to be different for you as a result of the change. Work out what you are likely to gain and lose in the process. Actively seek out information about your losses and figure out what's over and what isn't.

2. Acknowledge that it's Ok to ask "What about me". Approach your supervisor regarding concerns.

3. Recognise your feelings as being normal symptoms during the change process and not something personally wrong with you. Accept the need to go through a period of mourning and let yourself go through that process.

4. Give yourself quiet time and space to de-stress and think. Take time to step back and take stock of who you are and where you want to be in life.

5. Create literal and symbolic boundaries between the past and present.

6. Set short-range objectives for yourself to help restore feelings of achievement and movement.

7. Recognise the impact that colleague's reactions are having on you.

8. Deliberately balance work and family issues.

9. Seek confidential advice from Human Resources or the Employee Assistance Service when required and not when too late.

Choosing an Effective Training Program for Employee's

Your boss has directed you to review training and education programs to support your organization in a period of large transformation. You have to put together a proposal for this very important personal training project. What criteria should you use to evaluate any prospective training program? How can you make the best decision in this situation?

There are literally tens of thousands of choices among business consultants, all promising to show you the secret way to get to the promised land of smooth and effective change management. They all have effective sales pitches and compelling brochures. How can you distinguish between the great and the not so great?

Here are some absolutely critical criteria's to get you started on this very important decision making process. A really effective training and education program should include at least the following components:

The program should contain:

· Ways to help managers learn to understand and to interpret change.

· Training sessions to help managers communicate change more clearly to their team.

· Demonstrations how clear communication helps to reduce misunderstanding and anxiety.

· Methods to describe the change initiative in ways that will gain acceptance more quickly - minimizing lost productivity and decreased performance.

· Providing for learning styles and methods training modules that feature different styles of learning so that managers will review video presentations and case studies, participate in group discussions, practice new skills, and receive immediate feedback.

· Effective take away and workbook products so that managers leave with implementation tools, troubleshooting guides and additional resources to help them apply the skills they have learned on the job.

A training program that contains this feature set as a minimum should provide you an effective baseline to help you in your organization manage the upcoming change.

Organization Development Practitioners

The system of organizations is very similar, if not the same as, the system of human beings -- after all, organizations are made up of humans! Therefore, when trying to understand the field of organization development, it might be useful to compare aspects of the field of organization development to aspects of the field of medicine.

For example, the study of the theories and structures of organizations (often in courses called "organizational theory") is similar to the study of anatomy and physiology of human systems. Similarly, the study of organizational behavior is similar to the study of psychology and sociology in human systems. Finally, the study and field of organization development compares to the study and field of medicine regarding human systems.

That is, in OD, practitioners might work in a manner similar to "organizational physicians" intending to improve the effectiveness of people and organizations by:

1) Establishing relationships with key personnel in the organization (often called "entering" and "contracting" with the organization);

2) Researching and evaluating systems in the organization to understand dysfunctions and/or goals of the systems in the organization ("diagnosing" the systems in the organization);

3) Identifying approaches (or "interventions") to improve effectiveness of the organization and its people;

4) Applying approaches to improve effectiveness (methods of "planned change" in the organization),

5) Evaluating the ongoing effectiveness of the approaches and their results.

Apreciative Inquiry in Organizational Development

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an organizational development process or philosophy that engages individuals within an organizational system in its renewal, change and focused performance.

Appreciative Inquiry was adopted from work done by earlier theorists and practitioners and further developed by David Cooperrider. It is now a commonly accepted practice in the evaluation of organizational development strategy and implementation of organizational effectiveness tactics.

Appreciative Inquiry is a particular way of asking questions and envisioning the future that fosters positive relationships and builds on the basic goodness in a person, a situation, or an organization. In so doing, it enhances a system's capacity for collaboration and change. Appreciative Inquiry utilizes a 4-stage process focusing on:

1. DISCOVER: The identification of organizational processes that work well.
2. DREAM: The envisioning of processes that would work well in the future.
3. DESIGN: Planning and prioritizing processes that would work well.
4. DESTINY (or DELIVER): The implementation (execution) of the proposed design.

The basic theme is to build organizations around what works, rather than trying to fix what doesn't. It is the opposite of problem solving. Instead of focusing on fixing what's wrong, AI focuses on how to create more of what's already working. The approach acknowledges the contribution of individuals, in order to increase trust and organizational alignment. The method aims to create meaning by drawing from stories of concrete successes and lends itself to cross-industrial social activities. It can be enjoyable and natural to many managers, who are often sociable people.

There are a variety of approaches to implementing Appreciative Inquiry, including mass-mobilized interviews and a large, diverse gathering called an Appreciative Inquiry Summit. Both approaches involve bringing very large, diverse groups of people together to study and build upon the best in an organization or community.

AI has been used extensively to foster change in businesses (a variety of sectors), health care systems, social profit organizations, educational institutions, communities, local governments, and religious institutions.

OD Interventions

This section describes some of the principal learning processes or interventions 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. 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. Several assumptions about the nature and functioning of are made in the choice of a particular strategy. Beckhard lists six such assumptions:

1. The basic building blocks of an organization are groups (teams). Therefore, the basic units of change are groups, not individuals.
2. An always relevant change goal is the reduction of inappropriate competition between parts of the organization and the development of a more collaborative condition.
3. Decision making in a healthy organization is located where the information sources are, rather than in a particular role or level of hierarchy.
4. Organizations, subunits of organizations, and individuals continuously manage their affairs against goals. Controls are interim measurements, not the basis of managerial strategy.
5. One goal of a healthy organization is to develop generally open communication, mutual trust, and confidence between and across levels.
6. 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.

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.

One of the most difficult tasks confronting the change agent is to help create in the client system a safe climate for learning and change. In a favorable climate, human learning builds on itself and continues indefinitely during man's lifetime. Out of new behavior, new dilemmas and problems emerge as the spiral continues upward to new levels. In an unfavorable climate, in contrast, learning is far less certain, and in an atmosphere of psychological threat, it often stops altogether. Unfreezing old ways can be inhibited in organizations because the climate makes employees feel that it is inappropriate to reveal true feelings, even though such revelations could be constructive. In an inhibited atmosphere, therefore, necessary feedback is not available. Also, trying out new ways may be viewed as risky because it violates established norms. Such an organization may also be constrained because of the law of systems: If one part changes, other parts will become involved. Hence, it is easier to maintain the status quo. Hierarchical authority,specialization, span of control, and other characteristics of formal systems also discourage experimentation.

The change agent must address himself to all of these hazards and obstacles. Some of the things which will help him are:

1. A real need in the client system to change
2. Genuine support from management
3. Setting a personal example: listening, supporting behavior
4. A sound background in the behavioral sciences
5. A working knowledge of systems theory
6. A belief in man as a rational, self-educating being fully capable of learning better ways to do things.

Action Research in Organizational Development

Action Research:

Wendell L French and Cecil Bell define organization development (OD) at one point as "organization improvement through action research".If one idea can be said to summarize OD's underlying philosophy, it would be action research as it was conceptualized by Kurt Lwein and later elaborated and expanded on by other behavioral scientists. Concerned with social change and, more particularly, with effective, permanent social change, Lewin believed that the motivation to change was strongly related to action: If people are active in decisions affecting them, they are more likely to adopt new ways. "Rational social management", he said, "proceeds in a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact-finding about the result of action".

Lewin's description of the process of change involves three steps:

Unfreezing: Faced with a dilemma or disconfirmation, the individual or group becomes aware of a need to change.

Changing: The situation is diagnosed and new models of behavior are explored and tested.

Refreezing: Application of new behavior is evaluated, and if reinforcing, adopted.

Figure 1 summarizes the steps and processes involved in planned change through action research. Action research is depicted as a cyclical process of change. The cycle begins with a series of planning actions initiated by the client and the change agent working together. The principal elements of this stage include a preliminary diagnosis, data gathering, feedback of results, and joint action planning. In the language of systems theory, this is the input phase, in which the client system becomes aware of problems as yet unidentified, realizes it may need outside help to effect changes, and shares with the consultant the process of problem diagnosis.

The second stage of action research is the action, or transformation, phase. This stage includes actions relating to learning processes (perhaps in the form of role analysis) and to planning and executing behavioral changes in the client organization. As shown in Figure 1, feedback at this stage would move via Feedback Loop A and would have the effect of altering previous planning to bring the learning activities of the client system into better alignment with change objectives. Included in this stage is action-planning activity carried out jointly by the consultant and members of the client system. Following the workshop or learning sessions, these action steps are carried out on the job as part of the transformation stage.

The third stage of action research is the output, or results, phase. This stage includes actual changes in behavior (if any) resulting from corrective action steps taken following the second stage. Data are again gathered from the client system so that progress can be determined and necessary adjustments in learning activities can be made. Minor adjustments of this nature can be made in learning activities via Feedback Loop B (see Figure 1). Major adjustments and reevaluations would return the OD project to the first, or planning, stage for basic changes in the program. The action-research model shown in Figure 1 closely follows Lewin's repetitive cycle of planning, action, and measuring results. It also illustrates other aspects of Lewin's general model of change. As indicated in the diagram, the planning stage is a period of unfreezing, or problem awareness. The action stage is a period of changing, that is, trying out new forms of behavior in an effort to understand and cope with the system's problems. (There is inevitable overlap between the stages, since the boundaries are not clear-cut and cannot be in a continuous process). The results stage is a period of refreezing, in which new behaviors are tried out on the job and, if successful and reinforcing, become a part of the system's repertoire of problem-solving behavior.

Action research is problem centered, client centered, and action oriented. It involves the client system in a diagnostic, active-learning, problem-finding, and problem-solving process. Data are not simply returned in the form of a written report but instead are fed back in open joint sessions, and the client and the change agent collaborate in identifying and ranking specific problems, in devising methods for finding their real causes, and in developing plans for coping with them realistically and practically. Scientific method in the form of data gathering, forming hypotheses, testing hypotheses, and measuring results, although not pursued as rigorously as in the laboratory, is nevertheless an integral part of the process. Action research also sets in motion a long-range, cyclical, self-correcting mechanism for maintaining and enhancing the effectiveness of the client's system by leaving the system with practical and useful tools for self-analysis and self-renewal.

History of Organizational Development

Early development

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, which will be discussed later. 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. These procedures became important parts of OD as developments in this field continued at the National Training Laboratories and in growing numbers of universities and private consulting firms across the country.

The failure of off-site laboratory training to live up to its early promise was one of the important forces stimulating the development of OD. Laboratory training is learning from a person's "here and now" experience as a member of an ongoing training group. Such groups usually meet without a specific agenda. Their purpose is for the members to learn about themselves from their spontaneous "here and now" responses to an ambiguous hypothetical situation. Problems of leadership, structure, status, communication, and self-serving behavior typically arise in such a group. The members have an opportunity to learn something about themselves and to practice such skills as listening, observing others, and functioning as effective group members.

As formerly practiced (and occasionally still practiced for special purposes), laboratory training was conducted in "stranger groups," or groups composed of individuals from different organizations, situations, and backgrounds.A major difficulty developed, however, in transferring knowledge gained from these "stranger labs" to the actual situation "back home". This required a transfer between two different cultures, the relatively safe and protected environment of the T-group (or training group) and the give-and-take of the organizational environment with its traditional values. This led the early pioneers in this type of learning to begin to apply it to "family groups" — that is, groups located within an organization. From this shift in the locale of the training site and the realization that culture was an important factor in influencing group members (along with some other developments in the behavioral sciences) emerged the concept of organization development.

In recent years, serious questioning has emerged about the relevance of OD to managing change in modern organizations. The need for "reinventing" the field has become a topic that even some of its "founding fathers" are discussing critically

Introduction to Organizational developmet

Organization development is the process through which an organization develops the internal capacity to most efficiently and effectively provide 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. Organization development, according to Richard Beckhard, is defined as: a planned effort, organization-wide, managed from the top, to increase organization effectiveness and health, through planned interventions in the organization's 'processes', using behavioral sciene knowledge.

According to Warren Bennis, organization development (OD) is a complex strategy intended to change the beliefs, attitudes, values, and structure of organizations so that they can better adapt to new technologies, markets, and challenges.

Warner Burke emphasizes that OD is not just "anything done to better an organization"; it is a particular kind of change process designed to bring about a particular kind of end result. OD involves organizational reflection, system improvement, planning, and self-analysis.

The term "Organization Development" is often used interchangeably with Organizational effectiveness, especially when used as the name of a department or a part of the Human resource function within an organization.

Organization Development is a growing field that is responsive to many new approaches including Positive adult development.

DEFINITION

At the core of OD is the concept of an organization, defined as two or more people working together toward one or more shared goals. Development in this context is the notion that an organization may become more effective over time at achieving its goals.

OD is a long range effort to improve organization's problem solving and renewal processes, particularly through more effective and collaborative management of organizational culture, often with the assistance of a change agent or catalyst and the use of the theory and technology of applied behavioral science.

Organization development is a contractual relationship between a change agent and a sponsoring organization entered into for the purpose of using applied behavioral science in a systems context to improve organizational performance and the capacity of the organization to improve itself.

Contractual Relationship. Although neither the sponsoring organization nor the change agent can be sure at the outset of the exact nature of the problem or problems to be dealt with or how long the change agent's help will be needed, it is essential that some tentative agreement on these matters be reached. The sponsoring organization needs to know generally what the change agent's preliminary plan is, what its own commitments are in relation to personal commitments and responsibility for the program, and what the change agent's fee will be. The change agent must assure himself that the organization's, and particularly the top executives', commitment to change is strong enough to support the kind of self-analysis and personal involvement requisite to success of the program. Recognizing the uncertainties lying ahead on both sides, a termination agreement permitting either side to withdraw at any time is usually included.

Change Agent. A change agent in the sense used here is not a technical expert skilled in such functional areas as accounting, production, or finance. He is a behavioral scientist who knows how to get people in an organization involved in solving their own problems. His main strength is a comprehensive knowledge of human behavior, supported by a number of intervention techniques (to be discussed later). The change agent can be either external or internal to the organization. An internal change agent is usually a staff person who has expertise in the behavioral sciences and in the intervention technology of OD. Beckhard reports several cases in which line people have been trained in OD and have returned to their organizations to engage in successful change assignments. In the natural evolution of change mechanisms in organizations, this would seem to approach the ideal arrangement. Qualified change agents can be found on some university faculties, or they may be private consultants associated with such organizations as the National Training Laboratories Institute for Applied Behavioral Science or similar organizations.

The change agent may be a staff or line member of the organization who is schooled in OD theory and technique. In such a case, the "contractual relationship" is an in-house agreement that should probably be explicit with respect to all of the conditions involved except the fee.

Sponsoring Organization. The initiative for OD programs comes from an organization that has a problem. This means that top management or someone authorized by top management is aware that a problem exists and has decided to seek help in solving it. There is a direct analogy here to the practice of psychotherapy: The client or patient must actively seek help in finding a solution to his problems. This indicates a willingness on the part of the client organization to accept help and assures the organization that management is actively concerned.

Applied Behavioral Science. One of the outstanding characteristics of OD that distinguishes it from most other improvement programs is that it is based on a "helping relationship." The change agent is not a physician to the organization's ills; he does not examine the "patient," make a diagnosis, and write a prescription. Nor does he try to teach organizational members a new inventory of knowledge which they then transfer to the job situation. Using theory and methods drawn from such behavioral sciences as psychology, sociology, communication cultural anthropolgy, administrative theory, organizational behavior, economics, and political science, the change agent's main function is to help the organization define and solve its own problems. The basic method used is known as action research. This approach, which is described in detail later, consists of a preliminary diagnosis, collecting data, feedback of the data to the client, data exploration by the client group, action planning based on the data, and taking action.

Systems Context. OD deals with a total system — the organization as a whole, including its relevant environment — or with a subsystem or systems — departments or work groups — in the context of the total system. Parts of systems, for example, individuals, cliques, structures, norms, values, and products are not considered in isolation; the principle of interdependency, that is, that change in one part of a system affects the other parts, is fully recognized. Thus, OD interventions focus on the total culture and cultural processes of organizations. The focus is also on groups, since the relevant behavior of individuals in organizations and groups is generally a product of group influences rather than personality.

Improved Organizational Performance. The objective of OD is to improve the organization's capacity to handle its internal and external functioning and relationships. This would include such things as improved interpersonal and group processes, more effective communication, enhanced ability to cope with organizational problems of all kinds, more effective decision processes, more appropriate leadership style, improved skill in dealing with destructive conflict, and higher levels of trust and cooperation among organizational members. These objectives stem from a value system based on an optimistic view of the nature of man — that man in a supportive environment is capable of achieving higher levels of development and accomplishment. Also essential to organization development and effectiveness is the scientific method — inquiry, a rigorous search for causes, experimental testing of hypotheses, and review of results. Finally, the democratic process is viewed as having a legitimate, and perhaps dominant, role in the highly effective organization.

Organizational Self-Renewal. The ultimate aim of the outside OD practitioner is to "work himself out of a job" by leaving the client organization with a set of tools, behaviors, attitudes, and an action plan with which to monitor its own state of health and to take corrective steps toward its own renewal and development. This is consistent with the systems concept of feedback as a regulatory and corrective mechanism.