OD Process

Process
OD

Learning objectives
Components of OD process
Diagnosis of the whole system
The action i.e. Nature of OD interventions
& analyzing discrepancies
Phases of OD program

Components of OD process
Diagnosis

Action

Program
Management

Diagnosis

The diagnostic component represents a

continuous collection of data about the total
system, its subunits, its processes, & its
culture.

Focus of clients major concerns

What are strengths?

Its problem areas?
Its unrealized opportunities?
Is there any discrepancy between the vision
of desired future & the current situation?
(Diagnosis identifies strengths, opportunities
& problem areas)

Action

Action plans are developed to correct

problems seize opportunities & maintain areas
of strength.

Program
Management
Consists of fact finding about the results of
the actions.

Focuses on
Did the action have desired effects?
Is the problem solved or the opportunities
achieved?

COMPONENTS OF OD PROCESS
System
Diagnosis

Actions directed at
problem/opportunity
No1

Problem/Opportunity 1
Evaluation of effects
of actions

Problem
solved/Opportunity
realized Terminate actions

Yielding
"Strengths"
1,2,3,4

Actions directed at
problem/opportunity
No 2

Problem/Opportunity 2
Evaluation of effects
of actions

Problem
solved
/
Opportunity not realized
Initiate new actions

Yielding
Opportunities
1,2,3,4

Actions directed at
problem/opportunity
No 3

Problem/Opportunity 3
Evaluation of effects
of actions

Problem
solved
/
Opportunity not realized.
Redefine problem; Initiate
new actions

Yielding
Problems
1,2,3,4

Actions directed at
problem/opportunity
No 4

Problem 4 Evaluation

Problem 4 solved; but

new, related problem 5
develops, actions are
directed at problem 5

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Diagnosis
of
the state of the
organization

Actions to correct
problems & realize
opportunities

Evaluation
of
the
effects of Actions/
Interventions

New actions/ interventions

as needed

DIAGNOSIS

Diagnosis Defined
Diagnosis is a collaborative process between
organizational members and the OD
consultant to collect pertinent information,
analyze it, and draw conclusions for action
planning and intervention.

Major methods for

collecting data
Questionnaires
Interviews
Observations
Unobtrusive methods

Questionnaires
One of the most efficient ways of collecting data
Contain fixed-response questions about various features
Administered to large numbers of people simultaneously
Can be analyzed quickly
Permit quantitative comparison and evaluation
Data can easily be fed back to employees

Questionnaires
Major advantages
Responses can be quantified and summarized
Large samples and large quantities of data
Relatively inexpensive
Major potential problems
Predetermined questions - no chance to change
Over interpretation of data possible
Response biases possible

Interviews
Interviews may be highly structured
resembling questionnaires
Interviews may be highly unstructured
starting with general questions that
allow the respondent to lead the way

Interviews
Major advantages
Adaptive - allows customization
Source of `rich data
Process builds rapport with subjects
Major potential problems
Relatively expensive
Bias in interviewer responses
Coding and interpretation can be difficult
Self-report bias possible

Observations
A more direct way of collecting data
Observe organisational behaviors in their
functional settings

Observations
Major advantages
Collect data on actual behaviour, rather than reports of
behaviour
Real time, not retrospective
Adaptive
Major potential problems
Coding and interpretation difficulties
Observer bias and questionable reliability
Can be expensive

Unobtrusive measures
Data is not collected directly from respondents but from
secondary sources
Use records of absenteeism or tardiness, grievances,
quantity and quality of production or service, financial
performance and correspondence with key customers,
suppliers or governmental agencies
Helpful in diagnosing the organisation, group and
individual outputs

Unobtrusive measures
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

Diagnostic activities- Activities designed to

provide an account of things as they are
needed for 2 reasons
First- To know the state of things
Second- To know the effects &
consequences of actions.

Diagnosing the System

Diagnostic
Targets

Information sought

Methods of Diagnosis

Total
Q) What is organizations culture? Q)
Organization Are organizational goals and strategy
understood and accepted? Q) What is
organizations performance?

Examination of
organizational records
rules, regulations, policies
Questionnaire survey
oInterviews (both group &
individual)

Large
complex &
heterogeneou
s sub-systems

Questionnaire survey
Interviews
Observations
Organization records

Q) What are the unique demands on

this subsystem? Q) Are organization
structures and processes related to
unique demands? Q) What are the
major problems confronting this
subsystem?

Diagnosing the System

Diagnostic
Targets

Information sought

Small,
Simple &
relatively
homogeneous
subsystems

Q) What are major problems of

the team? Q) How can team
effectiveness be improved? Q)
Do individuals know how their
jobs relate to organizational
goals?

Intergroup
subsystems

Q) How does each subsystem

see the other? Q) What problems
do the two groups have in
working together? Q) How can
they collaborate to improve
performance of both groups?

Methods of Diagnosis
Individual interviews
Group meeting to review the
interview data
Questionnaires
Observation of staff meetings
And other day- to-day
operations
Confrontation meetings,
Organisation mirroring meetings
Interviews of each subsystem
followed by sharing the data
Meetings or observations of
interactions

Diagnosing the System

Diagnostic
Targets

Information sought

Methods of Diagnosis

Individuals

Q) Do people perform according to

organizations expectations? Q) Do
they need particular knowledge or
skills? Q) What career development
opportunities do they have/ want/
need?

Interviews
Information from diagnostic
meetings
Data available with
HR department

Roles

Q) Is the role defines adequately? Q)

What is the fit between person and
role? Q) Is this the right person for
this role?

Role analysis , MBO

Observations
Interviews

(MBO) is a process of agreeing upon objectives within an organization so that management and employees agree to the
objectives and understand what they are in the organization.

The Confrontation Meeting

What is a confrontation meeting?
One day meeting of entire management of an
organization in which they take a reading of their
own organizational health

Process
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Climate setting 45-60 min.

Information Collecting 60 min.
Information Sharing 60 min
Priority setting and group action planning 75 min.
Action Planning 60-120 minutes
Immediate follow-up by top team 60-180 min.
(Four-six weeks later) Progress review 120 minutes

When is it appropriate to conduct a

confrontation meeting?

Need for the total management group to examine

its own workings
Very limited time available for the activity
Top management wishes to improve conditions
quickly
Real commitment by top management to resolve
the issue
Organization is experiencing , or has recently
experienced, some major change

Organizational Mirroring
Set of activities in which host group
receives feedback about how it is perceived
and regarded from reps across organization
Intended to improve inter-group
relationships

Process
1.
2.
3.

Host group asks key reps from interface group to meet and provide
feedback
Pre- and post interviews by consultant to magnitude of issue(s), prepare
participants and answer their questions
At the actual session:
1. Opening remarks by manager of host group to set tone
2. Guests use fishbowl discussion to maintain natural flow; hosts listen
3. Hosts fishbowl discuss, ask for clarification from guests
4. Subgroups of guests and hosts form to address most important
changes host group needs to make
5. Reconvene in large group to hear summaries of each sub group and
form master task list
6. Action planning, tasks, responsible parties, completion dates
established and agreed, concluding mirroring session
7. Follow-up meeting to assess and review progress

The Fishbowl Technique

What to observe:
communication
power & influence
roles
conflict
norms
decision making
problem solving
leadership
goal clarity
task/maintenance

Diagnosing the Process

Organizational
Processes

Information sought

Methods of Diagnosis

Communication Who talks to whom? Who

patterns & styles initiates? Is there 2 way or 1
& flows
way communication? Is it top
down or down-up? Does the
information reach right
places?

Observations in meetings
Questionnaires , Interviews and
discussion with group members

Goal setting

Q) Do people set goals? Q)

Who participates? Q) Do they
possess necessary skills for
effective goal setting?

Questionnaires , Interviews
Observations

Decision
making,
Problem solving
& action
planning

Q) Who makes decisions? Q)

Are they effective? Q) Are
additional decision making
skills needed?

Observations of problem-solving
meetings , Analysis of videotaped
sessions , Organizational records

Diagnosing the Process

Organizational
Processes

Information sought

Methods of Diagnosis

Conflict
resolution &
management

Q) Where does conflict exist? Q) Interviews

Who are involved parties? Q)
Flowcharting critical processes
How is it being managed?
Meetings between both groups

Superiorsubordinate
relations

Q) What are the prevailing

leadership styles? Q) What
problems arise between
superiors and subordinates?

Strategic
management &
long range
planning

Q) Who is responsible for

Interviews of key policy makers
looking ahead and making long Group discussions
term decisions? Q) Do they have Examination of historical records
adequate tools and support? Q)
Have the recent long range
decisions been effective?

Questionnaires
Interviews

Diagnosis

The Marvin Weisbord Six-Box Model

identifies six critical areas where things must
go right if organisation is to be successful.
According to him, the consultant must attend
to both formal and informal aspects of each
box. This model is still widely used by OD
practitioners

Six-Box Organizational Model

Purposes:
What Business
Are we in?
Relationships: How
Do we manage conflict
Among people?
With technologies?

Leadership

Helpful Mechanisms:
Do we have adequate
technologies?

Structure: How do
we divide up the
work?

Rewards: Do all
needed tasks have
incentives?

Environment

Third wave consulting

First wave refers to AGRICULTURAL
REVOLUTION
Second wave refers to INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION
Third wave refers to the INFORMATION
& TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION

Weisbord identifies 4 useful practices"

for the third wave consultant
Assess the potential for action (look for
situations with committed leadership, good
business opportunities, & energized people)
Get the whole system in the room
Focus on the future
Structure tasks that people can do
themselves

ACTION
COMPONENT

Action Component
Action plans are OD
interventions
specifically tailored to
address issues at
individual, group, intergroup, or
organizational levels as
well as issues related to
selected processes.

Actions

Interventions are the actions taken to produce

desired changes.
Four conditions that give rise to the need for
OD interventions:

The organisation has a problem ( corrective action

to fix it)
Organization sees an unrealized opportunity
( enabling action to seize the opportunity)
Features of organization are out of alignment
(
alignment action to get things back in sync)
Yesterdays vision is no longer good enough
(
action for new vision actions to build necessary
structures, processes and culture to make new
vision a reality)

The nature of OD interventions

OD interventions focus on real problems rather than

hypothetical problems.
Real set of individuals involved in the group & the group
are the problem solvers.
Planning actions, executing actions & evaluating the
consequences of actions of actions are integral to OD.
The interventions activities have 2 goals
1. An educational goal
2. An accomplishing goal

OD problem solving interventions tend to focus on real

problems central to the organizational needs.
OD interventions use several learning models not just one

 Intervention strategies are based on results

of the diagnostic process and the specified
goals of the client system.

Interventions

Human process interventions

Individual
Group based
Inter-group based

Techno structural interventions

Balance score card

BPR
Outsourcing
downsizing

Example:
Team Building (Group based)

Special teams Diagnostic meetings

Team building focused on goal setting, decision
making, problem solving etc.
Building & mainitaining effective interpersonal
relationships
Team building focused on task accomplishment
Role negotiation

Analyzing discrepancies (gaps)

What is happening

Where one is

What should be happening

Where one wants to be

The Program Management

Phases of OD program
Contracting

Entry

Diagnosis

Feedback

WARNER BURKE

Evaluation

Intervention

Planning
change

A model for Managing Change

Program Management Cummings and

Worley identified 5 sets of activities
required for effective change
management:

Motivating Change

Creating a Vision
Developing
Political Support
Managing the
Transition
Sustaining
Momentum

Effective
Change
Management

Program Management Contd..

John P. Kotter Kotters 8-stage process for

managing organizational change:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Establishing a sense of urgency

Creating a guiding coalition
Developing a vision and strategy
Communicating the change vision
Empowering a broad base of people to take action
Generating short term wins
Consolidating gains and producing even more change
Anchoring (institutionalizing) the new approaches
into the culture 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 HBR, Mar-Apr 1995,
p.61

Parallel Learning Structures

A structure (specific division and coordination of
labor) is created that operates side-by-side with the
formal hierarchy and structure with the goal of
increasing organizations learning.
These are the devices for introducing & managing
change in large bureaucratic organizations

 Parallel learning structures are useful when

the organization needs to:
Develop and implement organization-wide
innovations
Foster innovation and creativity within a
bureaucratic system
Capture the organizations collective expertise
Support the exchange of knowledge and
expertise among performers.

Organization
Parallel
Structure

Phase 1: Initial definition of purpose & scope

Phase 2:Formation of steering committee
Phase 3:Communicating to organization members
Phase 4:Formation & development of study
groups
Phase 5: The inquiry process.
Phase 6:Identifying potential changes
Phase 7:Experimental implementation of
proposed changes
Phase 8:Systemwide diffusion & evaluation