OrganizationDevelopment

Unit15

Unit15

OrganizationDevelopment

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

15.1Introduction

Organization development (OD) is a planned approach to improve employee and organizational

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

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

A number of special characteristics together distinguish organizational development from other

approachestomanagingandimprovingorganizationalfunction.

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

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

Thespecializedknowledgeofthatconsultantbecomesavailabletotheorganization.

The consultant, as a neutral outsider, is likely to face lesser resistance during the process of
change.

Heislesslikelytohaveapersonalstakeinimplementationofproposedchange.

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SelfAssessmentQuestions1
1. ODimplies____________________interventionintheongoingprocessesofanorganization
2. Itisbasedontheassumptionsthatthesocialnormsareoneofthestrong________________of
behaviour
3. Leavitt(1972)hasviewedanorganizationasa___________system
15.3 HistoryOfOrganizationDevelopment
TheconceptofODhasemergedfromfourstems.Theyaredescribedbelow:
Laboratorytrainingbackground
This is popularly known as Tgroup or Sensitivity Training conducted in the National Training
Laboratory(NTL).KurtLewinwasthepioneerofthisresearch.Inthistraining,asmallunstructured
group of participants, unknown to each other, learnt about issues such as interpersonal relations,
personal growth, leadership and group dynamics from their own interactions. The experiment
concluded:

Feedbackaboutgroupinteractionwasarichlearningexperience.

Theprocessofgroupbuildinghadpotentialforlearningthatcouldbetransferredtobackhome
situation.

Actionresearch/surveyfeedbackbackground
It was observed that a collaborative effort between the organizational members and the scientists
wasrequiredtogatherdataaboutanorganizationsfunctioningtoanalyzethecausesofproblems,
andtodeviseandimplementsolutions.FurtherworkinthisareawasconductedbyLikert(1967)and
Mann (1962). Data was required to assess the degree of effectiveness of those solutions. This
approach,today,isasoneofthemostimportantmethodsforODinterventionsinorganizations.

Participativemanagementbackground
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Following thebeliefsproposedby the two stems discussed earlier, Likert (1967)proposedanother

framework to enhance organizational effectiveness. This framework proposed organizations as
havingoneofthefourtypesofmanagementsystems:

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

leadership.

Benevolentauthoritativesystem(system2)whichismorepaternalisticthansystem1.

Consultativesystem(system3)whichischaracterizedbyincreasedemployeeinteraction,open
communicationanddecisionmaking.

Participativegroup(system4)whichnurtureshighdegreeofemployeeinvolvement,participation
andopenworkculture.

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

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15.4 ProcessOfOrganizationDevelopment

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

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

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

Humanprocessinterventions

Technostructuralinterventions

Humanresourceinterventions

Strategicinterventions

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

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Increasedunderstanding,insightandselfawarenessaboutonesownandothersbehaviorand
itsimpactonselfandothers.

Betterunderstandingaboutthegroupandintergroupprocesses(facilitatingandinhibitinggroup
function).

Increaseddiagnosticskills.

Increasedabilitytotransferlearningintoaction.

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

Communication.

Thefunctionalrolesofgroupmembers.

Thewaysinwhichthegroupsolvesproblemsandmakesdecisions.

Thedevelopmentandgrowthofgroupnorms.

Theuseofleadershipandauthority.

Thirdpartyinterventions
Itfocusesoninterpersonalorintergroupconflicts.Conflictscanarisefromtwosources:

Substantiveissueslikeworkmethods,payratesandconditionsofemployment.

Interpersonal issues such as differences in personality, task orientations, perceptions among

groupmembers,completionoverscarceresources.

Teambuilding
Itisaneffectiveapproachtodevelopandnurtureateamcultureinanorganization,whichhelpsthe
group members to enhance their interpersonal and problemsolving skills. It also helps group
members to develop a higher level of motivation to carry out the group decisions by overcoming
specific problems like apathy, general lack of interest among members, loss of productivity,
increasingcomplaintswithinthegroup,confusionaboutassignments,lowparticipationinmeetings,
lackofinnovationandinitiation,increasingcomplaintsfromthoseoutsidethegroupaboutthequality,
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timeliness,effectivenessofservicesandproducts,etc.Thisinterventioncanbeusedforthefollowing
typesofteams:

Groupsreportingtothesamesupervisor,manager/executive.

Groupsinvolvingpeoplewithcommonorganizationalgoals.

Temporarygroupformedtoperformaspecific,onetimetask.

Groupsconsistingofpeoplewhoseworkrolesareinterdependent.

Groupswhosemembershavenoformallinksintheorganization,butwhosecollectivepurposeis
toachievetasktheycanachieveasindividuals.

Dependingonthetypesofteams,thereareanumberoffactorsthataffecttheoutcomeof
aspecificteambuildingactivity:

Thelengthoftimeallocatedtotheactivity.

Theteamswillingnesstolookatthewayinwhichitoperates.

Thelengthoftimetheteamhasbeenworkingtogether.

Thepermanenceoftheteams.

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

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

3.Planningstrategyforchange
Atthisstage,thediagnosisofproblemistransformedintoaproperactionplan.Specificgoalsareset
andthespecificapproachesforattainingthesegoalsarealsospecifiedsequentially.

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

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

15.6 Summary
Organization development (OD) is a planned approach to improve employee and organizational
effectivenessbyconsciousinterventionsinthoseprocessesandstructuresthathaveanimmediate
bearingonthe human aspect of theorganization(Ramanarayan, Rao, andSingh1998).OD is an
organizationwideplannedeffort,managedfromthetop,toincreaseorganizationaleffectivenessand
health through planned interventions in the organizational processes, using behavioral science
knowledge.Anumberofspecialcharacteristicstogetherdistinguishorganizationaldevelopmentfrom
other approaches to managing and improving organizational function. Behavioral science base
approachisprimarilyconcernedwithimprovingtheorganizationbyfocusingonaspectsthathavea
bearing on human and social improvement. Normative approach to organizational change is a
normative process grounded in valueladen assumption of what constitutes ideal individual and
organizational growth. Deliberate intervention in the organization implies deliberate intervention in
theongoingprocessesofanorganization.Normativedeductivestrategyisbasedontheassumptions
that the social norms are one of the strong reinforcers of behavior. Leavitt (1972) has viewed an
organization as a social system consisting of different subsystems such as task, structure,
technology and human resource, interlinked by various processes. Any change in one part or
processhasimplicationsforotherpartsorprocessesrelevanttothesystem.Actionresearchmodel
isadatabased,problemsolvingmodelthatreplicatedthestepsinvolvedinthescientificmethodof
inquiry(FrenchandBell1991).OD,usingthismodel,involvesasystematicprocessofdiagonising
organizational problems through data collection and analysis, feeding the data back to the
organizational client group, discussing thefindings, planning collaborative actionand implementing
proposed solutions. The concept of OD has emerged from four stems: (i) Laboratory training
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background, (ii) Actionresearch/surveyfeedback background, (iii) Participative management, and

(iv)Qualityofworklife(QWL)approach.AtypicalODprocesscanbedividedintophases,suchas,
Problemidentification,Datacollection,Diagnosis,Structuralanalysis,Processesanalysis,Function
analysis,Domainanalysis,Planningandimplementation,andEvaluationandfeedback.Broadly,OD
interventionscanbecategorizedasHumanprocessinterventions,Technostructuralinterventions,
Humanresourceinterventions,andStrategicinterventions.Effectiveimplementationsoftheadvices
are sole responsibility of the client. The consultant intends to advise the client to take appropriate
actions, convinces the client for the required changes and helps it to modify the mindset. OD
consultants,inIndianorganizations,generallyfacethefollowingdifficulties(Dwivedi2001).
TerminalQuestions
1. WhatisOD?DiscussthecharacteristicsofOD.
2. WhatdoyoumeanbyTgrouptraining?BrieflyexplainLikertsframework.
3. DescribeatypicalODprocess.
AnswerstoSelfAssessmentQuestions
SelfAssessmentQuestions1
1.Deliberate
2.Reinforcers
3.Social
SelfAssessmentQuestions2
1.Tgroup
2.Topdown
3.Selfmanaging
SelfAssessmentQuestions3
1.First
2.Feedback

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

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