CHAPTER

Designing
Interventions
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Describe the interventions presented in the
text.
 Discuss how contingencies related to the
change situation affect the design of
effective organization development (OD)
interventions.
 Discuss how contingencies related to the
target of change affect the design of
effective OD.
2
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Definition of an Intervention

An intervention is a set of sequenced and

planned actions or events intended to help
the organization increase its effectiveness.
Interventions purposely disrupt
the status quo.

3
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Four Major Types of Interventions

 Human Process Interventions

 Technostructural Interventions
 Human Resources Management
Interventions
 Strategic Change Interventions

4
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Human Process Interventions

 Process Consultation
 Third-party Interventions (Conflict
Resolution)
 Team Building
 Organization Confrontation Meeting
 Intergroup Relations
 Large group Interventions

5
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Technostructural Interventions

 Structural Design
 Downsizing
 Reengineering
 Parallel Structures
 Total Quality Management
 High-Involvement Organizations
 Job Enrichment
 Self-managed Work Teams
6
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Human Resources Management Interventions

 Goal Setting
 Performance Appraisal
 Reward Systems
 Coaching and Mentoring
 Management and Leadership Development
 Career Planning and Development
 Managing Work Force Diversity
 Employee Stress and Wellness
7
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Strategic Change Interventions

 Organization Design  Learning

 Integrated Strategic Organizations
Change  Built-to Change
 Culture change Organizations
 Dynamic Strategy  Mergers and
Making Acquisitions
 Self-designing  Alliances
Organizations  Networks

8
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Characteristics of Effective Interventions

 Is it relevant to the needs of the

organization?
 Valid information
 Free and Informed Choice
 Internal Commitment
 Is it based on causal knowledge of
intended outcomes?
 Does it transfer competence to manage
change to organization members?
9
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Designing Effective Interventions

 Contingencies Related to the Change

Situation
 Individual differences among organization
members
 Organizational factors (management style,
technical uncertainty)
 Dimensions of the Change Process (degree of
top management support)
 Expertise of the change practitioner
 Cultural Values and Economic contingencies
10
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Cultural Values

 Context Orientation
 Power Distance
 Uncertainty Avoidance
 Achievement Orientation
 Individualism

11
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Context Orientation

 The extent to which meaning in

communication is carried in the words
 Organizations in high context cultures tend
to value ceremony and ritual, the structure
is less formal, there are fewer written
policies, and people are often late for
appointments

12
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Power Distance

 Extent to which members of a society

accept that status and power are
distributed unequally in an organization
 Organizations in these cultures tend to be
autocratic, possess clear status differences,
and have little employee participation

13
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Uncertainty Avoidance

 The extent to which members of a society

tolerate the unfamiliar and unpredictable
 Organizations in these cultures tend to
value experts, prefer clear roles, avoid
conflict, and resist change

14
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Achievement Orientation

 The extent to which people in a society

value assertiveness and the acquisition of
material goods
 Organizations in these cultures tend to
associate achievement with wealth and
recognition, value decisiveness, and
gender roles are clearly differentiated

15
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Individualism

 The extent to which people in a society

believe they should be responsible for
themselves and their immediate family
 Organizations in these cultures tend to
encourage personal initiative, value time
and autonomy, accept competition, and
autonomy is highly valued

16
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Economic Development

 Subsistence Economies
 Primarily agriculture-based
 Industrializing Economies
 Moderately developed and tend to be rich in
natural resources
 Industrial Economies
 Highly developed and emphasize
nonagricultural industry

17
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Cultural and Economic Contexts of
International OD Practice

Cultural Fit with OD Practice

Low High
Moderate
South Pacific India
Level of Economic

South Africa
Development

South America
Middle East

Central America
Eastern Europe United Kingdom
Asia Scandinavia
High USA

18
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Contingencies Related to the
Target of Change

 Organizational Issues
 Strategic Issues
 Technology and Structure Issues
 Human Resources Issues
 Human Process Issues
 Organizational Levels
 Individual, group, organization and
transorganization

19
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Strategic Issues

 What are the functions, products, services,

markets of the organization
 How to gain competitive advantage
 How to relate to environment
 What values will guide organizational
functions

20
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Technology & Structure Issues

 How to divide labor

 How to coordinate departments
 How to produce products or services
 How to design work

21
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Human Resources Issues

 How to attract competent people

 How to set goals and reward people
 How to plan and develop people’s careers

22
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Human Process Issues

 How to communicate
 How to solve problems
 How to make decisions
 How to interact
 How to lead

23
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.