Seemal Shahbaz

Msc 4th semester

Roll no 510
Explain the diagnostic process of OD
Organizational Diagnosis and Development
Introduction to Organizational Diagnosis and diagnostics
Organizational Diagnosis is an effective ways of looking at an organization to determine gaps between
current and desired performance and how it can achieve its goals.

In recent years organizational diagnosis has evolved from a technique used as part of the organizational
development process to a major technique in its own right.

Effective diagnosis should be an organic process in that as you start to look at an organization and its
structures and what it does and does not do, change starts, as change progress so does the ‘now’
performance and as such the diagnosis process also needs to re-start.

The BIR methodology looks at taking a ‘snapshot’ in time in a way which is quick and relatively
unobtrusive. This allows decisions to me made, plans developed and actions implemented rapidly…
Then using the benchmarking facility another snapshot of the organzation can be made and new plans
developed. A bit like the old story of “how do you eat an elephant? … one bite at a time. Developing an
organization is no different.

With each iteration of a diagnostic process so new changes are identified and prioritized. This not only
keeps the development process alive – it makes it “the way we do business here”.

Remember the basics

All too often in organizational diagnostics and development we focus on the ‘new’ and ‘interesting’
aspects of what we do. It is however vital that we periodically bring ourselves back to the basics…

The purpose of the organization is essentially a vehicle for producing profits for its owners. Or delivering
valued services to its clients in not for profits. To meet the goals and get the best return on investment
(ROI), the owners of a company employ managers who are responsible for setting performance
objectives and reaching then through the appropriate use of a number of resources such as people,
equipment, machinery etc.

The Diagnostic Cycle

The purpose of a diagnosis is to identify problems facing the organization and to determine their causes
so that management can plan solutions.

An organizational diagnosis process is a powerful consciousness raising activity in its own right, its main
usefulness lies in the action that it induces.
The major steps of a diagnostic cycle include
Orientation

Goal setting

Data gathering

Analysis/ Interpretation

Feedback

Action Planning

Implementation

Monitoring/ Measure

Evaluation

Forms of Diagnostic
The focus of organizational diagnostics will be different in a range of situations, for example diagnosis
for development or improvement will be different from diagnosis for remedial or problem solving,
although the methodologies may be similar. While the diagnostic tools may well be similar, the
application and outputs can be very different.