Psych 342 - Organizational Development, Assessment, and Intervention

Ageno School of Business – Golden Gate University

***Please note that this is a PRELIMINARY syllabus. All of the content and
grading information is accurate and will not change, but a comprehensive
syllabus which includes session dates and all assignment due dates will be
posted in the course cyber area just prior to the beginning of the course***

Professor: Scott Lingen

Phone (cell): (925) 997-1655
Email: scottlingen@comcast.net

Course Description and Content:

Psych 342: From the GGU Catalogue: Explores how systematic organizational interventions are
accomplished within complex human networks. You will learn how to use behavioral science to
assess an organization’s current state and discover routes to its improvement. Also covered will
be the role of internal and external consultants in intervention and the resulting impact on
human behavior and organizational performance.

In today’s highly competitive and dynamic business environment, it is more important than ever
for managers of all disciplines to be able to effectively deal with the wide range of organizational
challenges with which they are presented. This course touches upon the full spectrum of
organization development (OD) tools and methods which can be utilized to increase organization
effectiveness. Students will gain an understanding of all aspects of OD including definitions and
process models, leading change, elements of discovery and diagnosis, interventions for
individuals, groups and organizations, and organization transformation. While theories are
discussed to provide a foundation for leaning, the emphasis of this course is to provide students
with highly practical problem solving tools which they can quickly take back to any work
environment and apply to real-world challenges and opportunities for growth.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, students should have acquired sufficient knowledge of the field of
organization development that they should (1) understand the basic theories upon which the field
of OD is based, (2) have developed an understanding of the challenges of leading a planned
change initiative and methods to increase the likelihood of success, (3) have developed a
working knowledge of all aspects of the OD intervention process including entering and
contracting, data collection and diagnosis, intervention methodologies, implementation, and
sustaining change, (4) understand the unique challenges of attempting an organization
transformation, (5) understand the roles that consultants, internal or external, can play in the OD
process, and (6) have improved their own facilitation skills through a team facilitation
assignment.
Required Text and Materials:

Textbook: Cummings, T., & Worley, C., (2005) Organization Development and Change.
Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Publishing

Readings/Cases: General Electric: Jack Welch’s Second Wave (A) HBS 9-391-248
Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business
Review, March – April 1995

Recommended Reading:

Block, P. (2000) Flawless Consulting, a Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used. San Francisco,
California: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer

Lecture Materials Developed from the Following Texts:

Adizes, I. (1988) Corporate Lifecycles, How and Why Corporations Grow and Die and What to
Do About It. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall

Block, P. (2000) Flawless Consulting, a Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used. San Francisco,
California: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer

Bridges, W. (1991) Managing Transitions. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Perseus Books

Burke, W. (1992) Organization Development, A Process of Learning and Changing, Second

Edition. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison Wesley Publishing Company

Daft, R. (2001) Organization Theory and Design, Seventh Edition. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-
Western Thompson Learning

Forsyth, D. (1999) Group Dynamics, Third Edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing
Company

French, W., & Bell, C., (1999) Organization Development, Behavioral Science Interventions for
Organization Improvement. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall

Harvey, D., & Brown, D., (2001) An Experiential Approach to Organization Development, Sixth
Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall

Schein, E. (1988) Process Consultation Volume I. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison Wesley

Publishing Company

Tushman, M., & O’Reilly, C. (1997) Winning Through Innovation. Boston, Massachusetts:
Harvard Business School Press

2
Wagner J., & Hollenbeck, J. (2002) Organization Behavior, Securing Competitive Advantage.
Fort Worth, Texas, Harcourt College Publishers

Grading and Course Requirements:

• Attendance and Class Participation. Earning a high score on the class participation
element of your overall grade means not just attending, but being an ACTIVE member of
all class discussions. Additionally, I encourage you to bring in or discuss any articles in
the news relevant to OD such as mergers, acquisitions, executive firings, etc. In courses
such as these, students can learn a great deal from their peers as well as the instructor, so
all benefit from full participation. If you anticipate an absence or you will be significantly
late, please contact me prior to class time.

• Reading Assignments. It is important that you complete each reading assignment prior to
class in order to actively participate in and contribute to class discussions.

• Written Assignments. All written assignments must be completed in Microsoft Word and
submitted electronically into the drop box for that assignment by midnight on the listed
due date. Assignments must be spell checked and proof read – there should be no red or
green underlines when you submit you paper to me. Please use Times New Roman, 12
point font, 1 inch margins and double-spacing. You will be scored for the paper’s
organization, clarity of presentation, accuracy, depth, grammatical correctness and
completeness of treatment. As noted, written assignments are due at midnight on the date
listed. Be aware that there will be a 5% late deduction per day for assignments
submitted late unless you have arranged in advance to submit late due to illness, etc.

• Writing Skills. Good writing skills are essential and include good structural organization
of your paper, clear writing and good grammar. Your success in this course depends
greatly on your written communication skills. If you think you may need assistance, you
should utilize the GGU resources at your disposal such as the Online Writing Lab
(OWL). With the resources available to you, there should be no reason to turn in papers
that are not well written and structurally sound.

• Office Hours and Inquiries. I encourage you to contact me by e-mail (my preferred
method of initial contact) or phone if you have any questions about any part of the
course, assignments, or your performance.

• Class discussions that reveal information about an employer are treated as confidential
and will remain within the confines of the class.

• Class cancellations. If an emergency forces me to cancel a class, I will notify you by

email. If I have all of your email addresses, I will send a group email to all.

3
Total Possible Points: 500

Assignment Points
Intervention Proposal Idea -
Group Facilitation Assignment 25
Restructuring Case Analysis 25
Midterm 50
Intervention Proposal 150
HBR Case Analysis Paper 75
Final Exam 100
Class Participation 75

Note: There will be a 5% per day late penalty assessed on assignments submitted late unless
arrangements have been made with me in advance for late submittal.

Grading Scale:

A+ = 500+ points
A = 470 to 500 points
A- = 450 to 469 points
B+ = 435 to 449 points
B = 415 to 434 points
B- = 400 to 414 points
C = 350 to 399 points
D = 300 to 349 points
F = less than 300 points

Grading will be based strictly upon the above ranges and will not be curved.

Assignment Detail:

Intervention Proposal Idea – This first assignment is where you will provide me a “thumbnail
sketch” of the intervention situation you have chosen. It doesn’t have to be more than a couple of
paragraphs, but it should give me an idea of the background, or what’s driving the need for the
intervention, the scope of the intervention you are proposing, and a little on how you are going to
evaluate it. A simple word document or e-mail will suffice as long as it has the above
information.

Group Facilitation Assignment – Here the class will be split into teams which will facilitate an
exercise with the rest of the class and the instructor. You will be asked to research some simple
OD intervention processes and chose one to facilitate. Examples might be facilitating a
brainstorming methodology, conducting an icebreaker which could be used prior to a meeting, or
facilitating a simple group exercise with a specific goal to improve teamwork. The facilitation
should be brief, approximately 15 minutes, with a short debrief at the conclusion.

4
Restructuring Case Analysis – Here you will be given a simple case to analyze on a growing
young company which needs to transition from their current start-up functional structure to an
organization structure that will serve them best during their next stage of growth. You will
choose any of the structures you think would work best based of those listed in the text. The
important thing to note here is there is no right or wrong structure. You grade will be based on
how well you defend your choice, stating clearly why you believe the structure is the right one,
what are the benefits, and what areas the company will need to look out for when implementing
the new structure. This paper should be approximately 2 pages in length, double spaced.

Midterm – The midterm exam will be “take home”. I will e-mail the exam to each of you about
the middle of the term and it will be due one week from the time you receive it. The midterm
will be one essay question and will be a good way for you to prepare for the final exam at the
end of the term.

Intervention Proposal - Here you will submit the final product of your intervention proposal
based upon the template that was provided and the idea you submitted earlier. The proposal
should follow the exact same format as the template, and is the only document you will submit
that is single spaced so that it looks like an actual proposal. The document should be
approximately 7 – 9 pages when complete, not counting any attachments (survey samples, etc.).

HBR Case Analysis Paper – You will read the above HBR Case on the organization
transformation at General Electric under the leadership of Jack Welsh and the article on
Organization Transformation by John Kotter. Using Kotter’s article and the text readings as a
guide, you will provide a written analysis of the elements of the organization development
process which Jack Welch utilized to transform GE into a leaner, more competitive business
capable of competing in a fast-paced globally competitive environment. You will also be asked
to provide ideas on other OD methodologies not mentioned in the case which might have also
had a positive impact on the transformation process. The paper should be approximately 5-7
pages in length, double spaced.

Final Exam – The final exam will be “take home”. I will e-mail the exam to each of you during
the last week of the term and it will be due one week from the time you receive it.

Class Participation – As stated above, peer-to-peer learning in classroom environments such as

this can be very powerful. In this particular course, it is essential. However this can only be
achieved if all members come to class prepared, having read all assignments listed for that class,
and then voluntarily contribute their thoughts and ideas to the discussion. The best class
discussions occur when differing views are presented and defended while maintaining an
atmosphere of mutual respect for all viewpoints. Of course you can not participate if you are not
in class. The following point deductions will occur for missed class sessions:
1 class missed: 5 point deduction
2 classes missed: additional 10 point deduction
3 classes missed: additional 15 point deduction
If you miss four class sessions, you will have missed over 25% of the classroom content and
this will result in an automatic withdrawal from the course by the instructor.

5
Be advised that perfect attendance does not automatically constitute full points for class
participation. You must be actively engaged in each class session’s discussions in order to earn a
perfect score in this important aspect of your grade.

University Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

Golden Gate University requires that students be honest in their academic work. Academic
dishonesty is viewed as an ethical issue and the violation of the principles expressed in the
University’s Statement of Educational Mission. Academic dishonesty defrauds all those who
depend upon the integrity of the University, its courses, and its degrees. Definitions of academic
dishonesty, identification and reporting procedures, academic and administrative sanctions and
appeal procedures are outlined in detail in the Griffin (student handbook), and are available from
the Division of Student Affairs.

What this means for this class is that all work submitted must either be the original work product
of the student or students (team members), or must be specifically identified as coming from
another source. It is not permissible to copy from other sources without disclosing the source
with usual in-text parenthetical citation and reference page entry. Be advised that the Professor
may select random assignments to submit to turinitin.com and will always submit to turnitin.com
if the writing style appears significantly different than previous work.

Plagiarism is completely unacceptable and will result in academic review with appropriate
consequences as outlined in the Griffin Handbook. If your paper or other work proves to be
plagiarized, it can result in your failing the course and even expulsion from the University.

In your written work, you may include material from various sources, but it MUST be identified
as such. If you have supplied material from another source but have changed the working (called
“paraphrasing”), you must provide the reference to that source (author, date) in the form of a
parenthetical citation (Jones, 1999).

For short passages quoted verbatim, you must put the quoted material inside quotation marks,
and provide the reference information, including page number, in a parenthetical citation
(Jackson, 1998, p. 76). Longer quotations (usually considered over 40 words) do not feature
quotation marks. Each line is indented from the left by a tab space, and the parenthetical citation
is again included, outside the final period of the quotation.

A good reference book for learning how to integrate borrowed material and for learning how to
format citations is the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th
Edition, ISBN 1-55798-243-0. It is not an easy read, but it is a standard formatting publication.
There are easier to use interpretations of the APA format available in print and on the Web.

The University subscribes to an effective plagiarism service that identifies quoted passages in
submitted digital format papers, from a huge body of Internet/Web/research paper mill sources.
Many instructors request that you submit both paper and digital copies of research papers.

Instructor’s Bio

6
Scott Lingen is an organization development professional with over 20 years of experience in
managerial and executive roles in the High Technology industry. During his tenure in a Fortune
500 semiconductor equipment company, Scott held significant roles in a number of functional
areas including Operations, Sales, Marketing, Human Resources, and Human Resources
Development.

His extensive leadership experience in both line and staff roles combined with his knowledge of
organization development concepts and theories acquired through his graduate studies provide
him with a solid foundation to help his clients assess and manage complex organizational issues.

Scott is the Founder and President of Lingen Strategic Systems, an organization development
consulting firm which specializes in the development, implementation, and evaluation of
strategic initiatives.

Scott holds a BA in Psychology from San Jose State University and a Master of Human
Resources and Organization Development from The University of San Francisco. He also
completed the Stanford Executive Institute for Management of High-Technology Companies at
Stanford University.

7
 Psych 342 - Organizational Development, Assessment, and Intervention
Ageno School of Business – Golden Gate University
Fall 2005 ● San Francisco ● Wednesdays 4:00 to 6:40 pm

COURSE OUTLINE

Wk 1 Course and Organization Development Overview

Readings: Chapters 1, 2, & 3
Class Objective: In this session, the objective is twofold. First, students should come
away with a thorough understanding of the course content and learning objectives, what
is expected of them, and how they will be evaluated. Second, an overview of the field of
OD will be presented with class discussion on key topics.
Topics Covered: Mgt. 353 Syllabus, General introduction to OD, the nature of planned
change, and the organization development practitioner.

Wk 2 OD Intervention Overview with focus on Entering & Contracting

Readings: Chapter 4
Class Objective: Students gain an understanding of the building blocks of the OD
intervention with emphasis on the first important step in the process.
Topics Covered: Entering into the OD relationship, clarifying the organizational issue,
determining the relevant client, selecting an OD practitioner, and personal process issues
in entering and contracting. Case discussion on Applications 4-1 & 4-2, American
Healthways. Teams will be formed and requirements reviewed for the “Intervention
Assignment” which will occur during class #7 on 10/19.

Wk 3 Diagnosing Organizations, Groups, and Jobs

Readings: Chapters 5 & 6
Class Objective: Students understand the relevance and significance of properly
conducting the discovery and diagnosis phase of an organization intervention and the
essential elements of the data collection and diagnosis process.
Topics Covered: Need for diagnostic models, the open systems model, comprehensive
model for diagnosing organization systems, organization, group, and individual level
diagnosis. Case discussion on Application 5-1, Steinway’s Strategic Orientation.

Wk 4 Collecting & Feeding Back Diagnostic Information

Readings: Chapters 7 & 8
Class Objective: Students explore and understand the need for collecting quality
diagnostic data, the different types of OD data collection methodologies, and the proper
ways to feed back the results of diagnostic information collected.
Topics Covered: Methods for collecting data, sampling, techniques for analyzing data,
determining the content of the feedback, characteristics of the feedback process. Case
discussion on Application 7-1, American Healthways

8
Wk 5 Designing and Evaluating Organization Development Interventions
Readings: Chapters 9 & 11
Class Objective: Students gain a thorough understanding of the building blocks of the
organization development intervention and the methods utilized to evaluate the
effectiveness of interventions.
Topics Covered: What are effective interventions? Overview of human process,
technostructural, human resources management, and strategic interventions, how to
design effective interventions, implementation and evaluation feedback, measurement,
research design, and institutionalizing interventions. Discussion of intervention template
to be utilized for individual intervention projects.

Wk 6 Leading and Managing Change

Readings: Chapter 10, Read “PolyProd” case on p. 209 of the text.
Class Objective: Students understand the mechanics of change management and the
importance of covering all the necessary bases in attempting planned change within an
organization.
Topics Covered: Motivating change, overcoming resistance to change, creating a vision
for change, developing political support, managing the transition, and sustaining
momentum of the change. Case discussion on Application 10-4, Transition Management
in the HP-Compaq Acquisition. Group project on the “PolyProd” case.

Wk 7 Group Facilitation Exercises

Class Objective: Here’s where we have some fun and you get to meet the course
requirement of “practicing the techniques of the facilitator”. Each team will conduct their
“intervention” with the class per the assignment made in class #2.
Topics Covered: That’s up to you!

Wk 8 Human Process Interventions: Individual and Group Levels

Readings: Chapter 12
Class Objective: Students develop an understanding of the many areas of human process
interventions focused at the individual and group level. As detailed in the topics covered,
these interventions are ones that HR professionals are most often exposed to and familiar
with in most any organizational setting.
Topics Covered: Coaching, training and development, conflict resolution process,
process consultation, third-party interventions, and team building. Discussion of
Application 12-1, Leading Your Business at Microsoft

Wk 9 Human Process Interventions: Organization Level

Readings: Chapter 13
Class Objective: The continued exploration of the human process interventions shifting
to the organization level.
Topics Covered: Organization confrontation meetings, intergroup relations intervention,
and large-group interventions. Discussion of Application 13-2 Improving Intergroup
Relationships in Johnson & Johnson’s Drug Evaluation Department.

9
Wk 10 Technostructural Interventions: Restructuring Organizations
Readings: Chapter 14
Class Objective: Students gain a thorough understanding of one of the most widely-
utilized organization development tools, the reorganization of the organization’s
functions and processes. Different types of organization designs are introduced and
discussed.
Topics Covered: Structural Design (functional, divisional, matrix, process, network),
downsizing, and reengineering. Discussion of assigned case: ACME Technology.

Wk 11 Technostructural Interventions: Employee Involvement & Work Design

Readings: Chapters 15 &16
Class Objective: Students learn how employee involvement and work design
mechanisms can be utilized to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of people and
organizations.
Topics Covered: Employee Involvement, What Is It? Employee involvement
applications, the engineering approach, the motivational approach, the sociotechnical
systems approach, and designing work for technical and personal needs.

Wk 12 Human Resource Management Interventions

Readings: Chapters 17&18
Class Objective: Students explore another widely utilized organization development
tool, the performance management system including employee development, and are
exposed to some tools that can help improve the effectiveness of these important
mechanisms.
Topics Covered: A model of performance management, goal setting, performance
appraisal, reward systems, career planning and development interventions, workforce
diversity interventions, and employee stress and wellness interventions. Introduction to
Lominger Career Architect© Methodology.

Wk 13 Strategic Change Interventions: Competitive and Collaborative Strategies

Readings: Chapter 19
Class Objective: Students gain an understanding of how essential a clearly articulated
organizational strategy is and what the critical linkages are between the organization’s
strategy, their external environment, their people, their structure, and their culture.
Topics Covered: Environmental framework, competitive strategies, and collaborative
strategies. Discussion of the Congruence Model by Nadler, Tushman & O’Reilly.

Wk 14 Strategic Change Interventions: Organization Transformation

Readings: Chapter 20
General Electric: Jack Welch’s Second Wave (A) HBS 9-391-248
Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business
Review, March – April 1995
Class Objective: Students gain an in-depth knowledge of the magnitude of effort
required to truly achieve an organizational transformation through first understanding
theory and then applying theory to one of the great business transformations, General
Electric, using the case study method.

10
 Topics Covered: Characteristics of transformational change, culture change, culture as a
competitive advantage, self-designing organizations, and organization learning and
knowledge management. Additional focus on why transformation efforts fail.

Wk 15 Special Applications of Organizational Development

Readings: Optional reading of chapters 21, 22, 23…Covered in Lecture.
Class Objective: Students gain an understanding of the global implications of OD and
explore the applications of OD within non-industrial settings.
Topics Covered: OD in global settings, differences between international, global, multi-
national, and transnational organizations. Implications of OD applications within various
cultures. OD in non-industrial settings including health care, family business
organizations, school systems, and governmental settings. Final focus is on trends
affecting OD and the future of OD.

11
 Research and Documentation:
6 Free Resources (Live and Online)
for GGU Students
1. For detailed information on using and citing
sources using APA, MLA, and other styles, consult
A Writer’s Reference by Diana Hacker, the textbook
used in GGU English composition classes, available
in the GGU Bookstore, or consult the free website
http://dianahacker.com/writersref/resdoc.html
2. The University Library’s web site offers a wealth
of information to guide you through the research
process. Resources include a sample research paper
and detailed information on evaluating and citing
sources. Available at
http://internet.ggu.edu/university_library/
3. An online tutorial, Core Research Skills, is
designed to help you find, evaluate, and use library
and online sources in your projects and papers. In
every step of the tutorial, a reference librarian is
available to help with specific research needs and
questions. The tutorial is free and can be accessed at
http://www.ggu.edu/cybercampus/FreeDemo
4. At the Writing Center, located in Room P-25 at
the San Francisco campus, you work one-on-one
with experienced writing tutors (most of them GGU
instructors) who are familiar with the types of
writing assignments common in GGU courses.
5. The Online Writing Lab (OWL) offers online
writing help to GGU students. OWL tutors help you
solve specific problems in the work you submit, and
guide you through the writing process. The OWL is
available at
http://www.ggu.edu/academic_programs/division
_general_ed/english_communications/online_writ
ing_lab
6. Ask your instructor about Turnitin.com. Turnitin
helps you avoid unintentional plagiarism. When you
submit a paper to Turnitin’s website, it searches 4.5
billion pages of web and printed sources, documents
any matches, and give you the source for each
match. You can then be sure your sources are
properly documented. Any instructor can set up
Turnitin for his or her students to log in to. In
addition, Turnitin’s homepage has research
resources available to anyone at
http://www.turnitin.com without logging in.
Documenting Sources:
Just 4 Rules
1. For short passages (usually under 40 words)
quoted word for word, “put the quoted material
inside quotation marks (like this is), and provide
the author, date, and page number in parentheses
right after the quotation” (Jones, 1999, p. 76).
2. For longer quotations,
Instead of quotation marks, the quoted
material gets its own paragraph, and the
entire paragraph is indented (given wider
margins than the rest of the paper, like this
paragraph). Then the author, date, and
page number appear in parentheses at the
end of the paragraph, and outside the last
period. (Jackson, 2003, p. 229)
3. If you use material from another source but
change the wording (called paraphrasing), give the
author and date in parentheses (Jones, 1999).
4. At the end of the paper, give full bibliographical
information for all your sources on a page called
References. There are different styles for
documenting sources. GGU recommends the APA
style, which is used in the social sciences. An
instructor, however, may require another style, so
ask. APA references (for a web site, book, and
journal article) look like this:
References
Archer, Z. (n.d.). Exploring nonverbal
communication. Retrieved July 18,
2001, from
http://zzyx.ucsc.edu/~archer
Highmore, B. (2001). Everyday life and
cultural theory. New York:
Routledge.
Morawski, J. (2000). Social psychology a
century ago. American Psychologist,
55, 427-431.
12