Organization Development and Change

Chapter 7

Collecting and Analyzing

Diagnostic Information

Thomas G. Cummings
Christopher G. Worley
 Learning Objectives
for Chapter Seven
• To understand the importance of diagnostic
relationships in the OD process.
• To describe the methods for diagnosing and
collecting data.
• To understand and utilize techniques for
analyzing data.
 Introduction
 Organization development is vitally dependent on
organization diagnosis.
 Organization Diagnosis is the process of collecting
information that will be shared with the client in jointly
assessing how the organization is functioning and
determining the best change intervention.
 The quality of the information is a critical part of the OD
process.
 Data collection involves gathering information on specific
organizational features, such as the inputs, design
components, and outputs.
 The process begins by establishing an effective
relationship between the OD practitioner and those from
whom data will be collected and then choosing data
collection techniques.
 The Diagnostic Relationship
 In most cases of planned change, OD practitioners play an
active role in gathering data from organization members
for diagnostic purposes.
 For example, they might interview members of a work team
about causes of conflict among members or they might survey
employees at a large industrial plant about factors contributing
to poor product quality.
 Before collecting the diagnostic information, practitioners need
to establish a relationship with those who will provide it
and subsequently use it. Because the nature of that
relationship affects the quality and usefulness of the data
collected.
 It is vital that OD practitioners clarify for organization
members who they are, why the data are being collected, what
the data gathering will involve, and how the data will be used.
 The Diagnostic Relationship
 Establishing the diagnostic relationship between the consultant
and relevant organization members is similar to forming a
contract.
 It is meant to clarify expectations and to specify the conditions
of the relationship.
 OD practitioners will need to establish a diagnostic contract
as a prelude to diagnosis.
 The answers to the following questions provide the substance
of the diagnostic contract:
 The Diagnostic Relationship Contract
Questions
• Who is the OD Practitioner?
• Why is the practitioner here?
• Who does the practitioner work for?
• What does the practitioner want and why?
• How will my confidentiality be protected?
• Who will have access to the data?
• What’s in it for me?
• Can the practitioner be trusted?
 Three Goals of Data Collection
 Careful attention for establishing the diagnostic relationship
helps to promote the three goals of data collection.

1. The first and most immediate objective is to obtain valid

information about organizational functioning.
2. Good diagnostic relationship helps organization members start
thinking about issues that concern them, and it creates
expectations that change is possible.
3. Finally, data collection helps to develop the collaborative
relationship necessary for effecting organizational change.
 Data Collection - Feedback Cycle

Core Activities

Planning to Collecting Analyzing Feeding Following

Collect Data Data Data Back Data Up

Cummings & Worley, 8e

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(c)2005 Thomson/South-Western
 Four Methods of Collecting Data
• Four methods can be used to collect data. These are:
1. Questionnaires,
2. Interviews,
3. Observations, and
4. Unobtrusive measures.

• Now, briefly comparing the methods and listing their major

advantages and problems.
 a. Questionnaires
One of the most efficient ways to collect data is through
questionnaires.
• Major Advantages
– Responses can be quantified and summarized
– Large samples and large quantities of data
– Relatively inexpensive
• Major Potential Problems
– Little opportunity for empathy with subjects
– Predetermined questions -- no change to change
– Overinterpretation of data possible
– Response biases possible
 b. Interviews
•A second important measurement technique is the individual or
group interview. Interviews are probably the most widely used
technique for collecting data in OD. They permit the interviewer to
ask the respondent direct questions.
• Major Advantages
– Adaptive -- allows customization
– Source of “rich” data
– Empathic
–Process builds rapport with subjects
• Major Potential Problems
– Relatively expensive
– Bias in interviewer responses
– Coding and interpretation can be difficult
– Self-report bias possible.
 c. Observations
One of the more direct ways of collecting data is simply to observe
organizational behaviors in their functional settings. The OD practitioner
may do this by walking casually through a work area and looking
around or by simply counting the occurrences of specific kinds of
behaviors.
• Major Advantages
– Collects data on actual behavior, rather than reports of behavior
– Real time, not retrospective
– Adaptive
• Major Potential Problems
– Coding and interpretation difficulties
– Sampling inconsistencies
– Observer bias and questionable reliability
– Can be expensive
 d. Unobtrusive Measures
Unobtrusive data are not collected directly from respondents but
from secondary sources, such as company records and archives. These
data are generally available in organizations and include records of
absenteeism or tardiness; grievances; quantity and quality of production or
service; financial performance; meeting minutes; and correspondence with
key customers, suppliers, or governmental agencies.
• Major Advantages
– Non-reactive, no response bias
– High face validity
– Easily quantified
• Major Potential Problems
– Access and retrieval difficulties
– Validity concerns
– Coding and interpretation difficulties 7-13
 Sampling
• Population vs. Sample
• Importance of Sample Size
• Process of Sampling
• Types of Samples
– Random
– Convenience
 Sampling
 Sampling is the process of selecting units (e.g., people,
organizations) from a population of interest so that by
studying the sample we may fairly generalize our results back to
the population from which they were chosen.

 Application of the different data collection techniques raises the

following questions: “How many people should be interviewed
and who should they be?” “What events should be observed and
how many?” “How many records should be inspected and which
ones?”
 Sampling
 Sampling is not an issue in many OD cases. Because OD
practitioners collect interview or questionnaire data from all
members of the organization or department in question, they do
not have to worry about whether the information is representative
of the organization or unit.

 Sampling becomes an issue in OD, however, when data are

collected from selected members, behaviors, or records. This is
often the case when diagnosing organization-level issues or large
systems. In these cases, it may be important to ensure that the
sample of people, behaviors, or records adequately represents the
characteristics of the total population.
 Sampling Example
For example, a sample of 50 employees might be used to assess the
perceptions of all 300 members of a department. A sample of
production data might be used to evaluate the total production of a
work group. OD practitioners often find that it is more economical
and quicker to gather a sampling of diagnostic data than to collect all
possible information. If done correctly, the sample can provide useful
and valid information about the entire organization or unit.
 Sampling Design
Sampling design involves considerable technical detail.
 The first issue to address is sample size, or how many people,
events, or records are needed to carry out the diagnosis or
evaluation. The necessary sample size is a function of population
size, the confidence desired in the quality of the data, and the
resources (money and time) available for data collection.
 Sampling Design
 The second issue to address is sample selection. Probably the
most common approach to sampling diagnostic data in OD is a
simple random sample, in which each member, behavior, or
record has an equal chance of being selected.

If the population is complex, or many subgroups need to be

represented in the sample, a stratified sample may be more
appropriate than a random one. In a stratified sample, the population
of members, events, or records is segregated into a number of
mutually exclusive subpopulations and a random sample is taken
from each subpopulation.
 Analysis Techniques
Data analysis techniques fall into two broad classes:
qualitative and quantitative.
• Qualitative Tools
– Content Analysis
– Force-field Analysis
• Quantitative Tools
– Descriptive Statistics
– Measures of Association (e.g., correlation)
– Difference Tests
 Qualitative Tools
Of the several methods for summarizing diagnostic data in qualitative
terms, two of the most important are:
a. Content analysis and
b. Force-field analysis.

a. Content Analysis:
content analysis attempts to summarize comments into
meaningful categories. When done well, a content analysis can
reduce hundreds of interview comments into a few themes that
effectively summarize the issues or attitudes of a group of
respondents. The process of content analysis can be quite formal, and
specialized references describe this technique in detail.
 Qualitative Tools
b. Force-field analysis:
 Kurt Lewin’s three-step model of change is called force-field
analysis.
 Force-field analysis method organizes information
pertaining to organizational change into two major
categories: forces for change and forces for maintaining the
status quo or resisting change.
Force-Field Analysis of Work Group
Performance
Forces for Change Forces for Status Quo

New technology Group performance norms

Desired Performance
Current Performance
Better raw materials Fear of change

Competition from other groups Member complacency

Supervisor pressures Well-learned skills

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(c)2005 Thomson/South-Western
 Quantitative Tools
• The most common quantitative tools are means, standard
deviations, and frequency distributions; scattergrams and
correlation coefficients; and difference tests.
• Quantitative Tools
– Descriptive Statistics
– Measures of Association (e.g., correlation)
– Difference Tests
 Quantitative Tools
a. Means, Standard Deviations, and Frequency
Distributions is one of the most economical and
straightforward ways to summarize quantitative data is to
compute a mean and standard deviation for each item or
variable measured. These represent the respondents’
average score and the spread or variability of the responses,
respectively.
 Quantitative Tools
• b. Scattergrams and Correlation Coefficients
Scattergrams and correlation coefficients are measures of
the strength of a relationship between two variables. A
scattergram is a diagram that visually displays the
relationship between two variables.

• The correlation coefficient is simply a number that

summarizes data in a scattergram. Its value ranges
between 1.0 and −1.0. A correlation coefficient of 1.0 means
that there is a perfectly positive relationship between two
variables, whereas a correlation of − 1.0 signifies a perfectly
negative relationship. A correlation of 0 implies a “shotgun”
scattergram where there is no relationship between two
variables.
 Quantitative Tools
• c.
Difference Tests The final technique for analyzing
quantitative data is the difference test. It can be used to
compare a sample group against some standard or
norm to determine whether the group is above or
below that standard. It also can be used to determine
whether two samples are significantly different from
each other.
 Summary
• This chapter described several different methods for
collecting and analyzing diagnostic data. Because
diagnosis is an important step that occurs frequently in
the planned change process, a working familiarity with
these techniques is essential. Methods of data
collection include questionnaires, interviews,
observation, and unobtrusive measures.
• Methods of analysis include qualitative techniques,
such as content analysis and force-field analysis, and
quantitative techniques, such as the determination of
mean, standard deviation, and frequency distributions;
scattergrams and correlation coefficients; as well as
difference tests.
•Thanks.