ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

REPORTERSHAR MAINE JOYCE L. BARCEBAL, RN

Organizational development(OD) is a deliberately planned, organization-wide effort to increase an organization's effectiveness and/or efficiency, and/or to enable the organization to achieve its strategic goals. It is not an easily defined single concept. It is an ongoing, systematic process of implementing effective organizational change. OD theorists and practitioners define OD in various ways. Its multiplicity of definitions reflects the complexity of the discipline and is responsible for its lack of understanding.

It is an interdisciplinary field with contributions from business, psychology particularly industrial/organizational psychology, human resources management, communication, sociology, theories of motivation, leaning, personality and many other disciplines.

Organizational development is a growing field that is responsive to many new approaches. Nonetheless, there are some points on which definitions converge. One of the most frequently cited definitions of OD comes from Richard Beckhard (1969), an early leader in the field of OD: Organization development 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 organizations processes, using behavioral-science knowledge.

The OD paradigm values human and organizational growth, collaborative and participative processes, and a spirit of inquiry. The change agent may be directive in OD; however, there is a strong emphasis on collaboration. The following briefly identifies the underlying values in most OD efforts:

Core values1. RESPECT FOR PEOPLE. Individuals are perceived as being responsible, conscientious and caring. Providing opportunities for people to function as human beings rather than as resources in the productive process. They should be treated with respect and dignity. Treating each human being as a person with a complex set of needs, all of which are important to their work and their life. 2. TRUST AND SUPPORT. Providing opportunities for each organization member, as well as for the organization itself, to develop to their full potential. An effective and healthy organization is characterized by trust, authenticity, openness, and a supportive climate. Seeking to increase the effectiveness of the organization in terms of all of its goals.3. POWER EQUALIZATION. Effective organizations deemphasize hierarchical authority and control. Attempting to create an environment in which it is possible to find exciting and challenging work.4. CONFFRONTATION. Problems shouldnt be swept under the rug. They should be openly confronted. 5. PARTICIPATION. The more that people who will be affected by a change are involved in the decisions surrounding that change, the more they will be committed to implementing those decisions. Providing opportunities for people in organizations to influence the way in which they relate to work, the organization, and the environment.The objectives of OD are:1. To increase the level of inter-personal trust among employees. Strengthening inter-personnel trust, and communication for the successful achievement of organizational goals. Creating an environment of trust so that employees willingly accept change.2. To increase employees' level of satisfaction and commitment.3. To confront problems instead of neglecting them. Encouraging employees to solve problems instead of avoiding them.4. To effectively manage conflict.5. To increase cooperation and collaboration among the employees. Encouraging every individual to participate in the process of planning, thus making them feel responsible for the implementation of the plan. Creating a work atmosphere in which employees are encouraged to work and participate enthusiastically.6. To increase the organization's problem solving.7. To put in place processes that will help improve the ongoing operation of the organization on a continuous basis. Replacing formal lines of authority with personal knowledge and skill.8. To increase awareness of employees in the organization. Making individuals in the organization aware of the vision of the organization. Organizational development helps in making employees align with the vision of the organization.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OD TECHNIQUES OR INTERVENTIONS FOR BRINGING OUT CHANGE?6 interventions that change agents might consider using:1. Sensitivity Training. Or it could be named asLaboratory Training, Encounter Groups, or T-Groups (training groups)but all refer to a method of changing behavior through unstructured group interaction. Members are brought together in a free and open environment in which participants discuss themselves and their interactive processes, loosely directed by a professional behavioral scientist. The group is process oriented, which means that individuals learn through observing and participating rather than being told. The professional creates the opportunity for participants to express their ideas, beliefs, and attitudes and does not acceptin fact, overtly rejectsany leadership role.Objectives: Provide subjects with increased awareness of their own behavior and how others perceive themGreater sensitivity to the behavior of others and,Increased understanding of group processesResults sought to include:Increased ability to empathize with othersImproved listening skillsGreater opennessIncreased tolerance of individual differencesImproved conflict-resolution skills2. Survey Feedback. One tool for assessing attitudes held by organizational members, identifying discrepancies among member perceptions, and solving these differences is the survey feedback approach. A questionnaire it usually completed by all members in the organization or unit. Organization members may be asked to suggest questions or may be interviewed to determine what issues are relevant.The questionnaire typically asks members for their perceptions and attitudes on a broad range of topics, including:Decision-making practicesCommunication effectivenessCoordination between unitsSatisfaction with the organization, job, peers and their immediate supervisorsThe data from the questionnaire is tabulated with data pertaining to an individuals specific family and to the entire organization and then distributed to employees. These data then become the springboard for identifying problems and clarifying issues that may be creating difficulties for people. Particular attentions is given to the importance of encouraging discussion and ensuring that discussions focus on issues and ideas and not on attacking individuals.

Finally, group discussion in the survey feedback approach should result in member identifying possible implications of the questionnaires findings.

Possible questionsAre people listening?Are new ideas being generated?Can decision making, interpersonal relations, or job assignments be improved?(Answers to questions like these, it is hoped, will result in the group agreeing on commitments to various actions that will remedy the problems that are identified.) 3. Process Consultation. No organization operates perfectly. Managers often sense that their units performance can be improved, but theyre unable to identify what can be improved and how it can be improved.Purpose of PC is for an outside consultant to assist a client, usually a manager, to perceive, understand, and act upon process events with which the manager must deal. These might include work flow, informal relationships among unit members, and formal communication channels.PC is similar to sensitivity training in its assumption that organizational effectiveness can be improved be dealing with interpersonal problems and in its emphasis on involvement. PC is more task-directed that is sensitivity training.Consultants do not solve the organizations problems. Rather, the consultant is a guide or coach who advises on the process to help the client solve his or her own problems. The consultant works with the client in jointly diagnosing what processes need improvements. The emphasis is on jointly because the client develops a skill at analyzing processes within his or her unit that can be continually called on long after the consultant is gone.In addition, by having the client actively participate in both the diagnosis and the development of alternatives, there will be greater understanding of the process and the remedy and less resistance to the action plan chosen.4. Team Building. Team building uses high-interaction group activities to increase trust and openness among team members. Team building can be applied within groups or at the intergroup level, at which activities are interdependent. Team building is applicable where group activities are interdependent. The objective is to improve coordinative efforts of members, which will result in increasing the teams performance.

Activities considered in team building typically include:Goal settingDevelopment of interpersonal relations among team membersRole analysis to clarify each members role and responsibilitiesTeam process analysisTeam building may emphasize or exclude certain activities, depending on the purpose of the development effort and the specific problems with which the team is confronted. Basically, team building attempts to use high interaction among members to increase trust and openness.Team building can also address itself to clarifying each members role on the team. Each role can be identified and clarified. Previous ambiguities can be brought to the surface. For some individuals, it may offer one of the few opportunities they have had to think through thoroughly what their job is all about and what specific tasks they are expected to carry out if the team is to optimize its effectiveness.5. Intergroup Development. It seeks to change the attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions that groups have of each other.ExampleIn one company, the engineers saw the accounting department as composed of shy and conservative types, and the human resources department as having a bunch of ultra-liberals who are more concerned that some protected group of employees might get their feelings hurt than with the company making profit.Such stereotypes can have an obvious negative impact on the coordination efforts between the departments.Although there are several approaches for improving intergroup relations, a popular method emphasizes problem solving. In this method, each group meets independently to develop lists of its perception of itself, the other group, and how it believes the other group perceives it. The groups then share their lists, after which similarities and differences are discussed. Differences are clearly articulated, and the groups look for the cause of the disparities.Once the causes of the difficulty have been identified, the groups can move to the integration phaseworking to develop solutions what will improve relations between the groups. Subgroups, with members from each of the conflicting groups, can now be created for further diagnosis and to begin to formulate possible alternative actions that will improve relations.6. Appreciative Inquiry. Most OD approaches are problem-centered. Appreciative Inquiry accentuates the positive. Rather than looking for problems to fix, this approach seeks to identify the unique qualities and special strengths of an organization, which can then be built on to improve performance. That is, it focuses on an organizations successes rather than on its problems.AI proponents claim it makes more sense to refine and enhance what the organizations is already doing well. This allows the organization to change by playing to its strengths and competitive advantages.

4 Steps of AI process (4 Ds)- Often played out in a large-group meeting over a 2- or 3-day time period and overseen by a trained change agent.6.1. DISCOVERYThe idea is to find out what people think are the strengths of the organization. 6.2. DREAMINGThe information from the discovery phase is used to speculate on possible futures for the organization.6.3. DESIGNBased on the dream articulation, participants focus on finding a common vision of how the organization will look and agree on its unique qualities.6.4. DESTINYThe participants discuss how the organization is going to fulfill its dream. This typically includes the writing of action plans and development of implementation strategies.