Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
OD practitioners
• OD practitioner: In every large-scale planned change
program, some person or group is usually designated to lead
the change called OD practitioner.
• OD PRACTITIONER IS Change leader, the person leading
or guiding the process of change in an organization
• “OD practitioner: is the person who initiates,
stimulates, or facilitates a change program, and may
come from inside or outside the organization”
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Intervention
• Intervention refers to the practitioner’s entry into
the client system and includes several different
roles and activities
• Intervention is coming between members of
organization for purpose of change.
• External practitioner usually intervenes through
top manager.
• Change begins with the intervention of the
practitioner in the system to be changed
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Client/Client System
• Client may be organization, certain divisions,
or an individual.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Readiness of Organization for OD
• Key personnel first decide if change needed
• Learning goals of OD appropriate?
• Cultural state of client ready for OD?
• Key people involved?
• Members prepared and oriented to OD?
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
External and internal practitioners
• already members of
the organization
• either managers
practicing OD or OD
Internal specialists that may be
from the human
practitioners resources
brought in from External
outside
the organization as OD practitioners
specialists and are
often referred to as
consultants.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
External and internal practitioners
Advantages Dis Advantages
• Different viewpoint and • Unfamiliar with
objectivity organization.
• Not dependent upon the • Unfamiliar with culture,
organization communication networks,
and power systems
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Internal practitioners
• Member of organization who can be:
– A top executive.
– Employee who initiates change in work group.
– From human resources or OD department.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Internal practitioners
Advantages Disadvantages
• Familiar with culture • May lack specialized
and norms. skills.
• Knows power • Lack of objectivity.
structure. • Likely to accept
organizational system.
• Personal interest in
• May lack necessary
organization
power and authority.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
External -internal practitioner TEAM
• Team combines external practitioner working
with internal practitioner
• Probably the most effective approach
• Partners bring complementary resources
– External practitioner brings expertise, objectivity, and
new insights
– Internal practitioner brings knowledge of issues and
norms, and awareness of strengths and weaknesses
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Cont…
• Provides support to one another
• Achieve greater continuity over OD program.
• Team combines advantages of both while
minimizing disadvantages.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
OD Practitioner Styles
• Practitioners have variety of styles. View styles
as degree of emphasis placed upon 2
dimensions:
– Effectiveness - degree of emphasis upon goal
accomplishment.
– Morale - degree of emphasis upon relationships
and participant satisfaction.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
CHEERLEADER PATHFINDER
MORALE
PERSUADER
STABILIZER ANALYZER
LOW
EFFECTIVENESS
LOW Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof. HIGH
1. Stabilizer style: - Maintains low profile. Tries to survive by following
directives.
2. Cheerleader style: - Places emphasis on member satisfaction. Does not
emphasize organization effectiveness
3. Analyzer style: - Places emphasis on efficiency. Little attention to
satisfaction of members.
4. Persuader style: - Seeks compromise between cheerleader and
analyzer styles. Achieves average performance
5. Pathfinder style: - Seeks high organization efficiency and high member
satisfaction. Desired style for OD practitioner.
Pathfinder Practitioner Focuses on Six Processes:
• Communication
• Member roles in groups
• Group problem-solving
• Group norms and growth
• Leadership and authority
• Inter-group cooperation
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
INTERVENTION
3. Interventions
2. Diagnosis
intervening and
facilitating change
1. Data gathering from the current
assisting in a
level to some ideal
collaborative
or desired level.
analysis or problem
helping the client
areas and planning
determine its
strategies
current level or state
of change
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
OD Practitioner Role in the Intervention
• OD Practitioners
– Operates on belief that team is basic building
block.
– Concerned with how processes occur.
– Believes that assisting client, not taking control
– will lead to lasting solution
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
OD Practitioner Skills and Activities
• Activates • Skills
– Team development – Leadership
– corporate change – Project management
– Strategy development – Communication
– Management
development – Problem-solving
– Employee development – Interpersonal
– Technology integration – Personal
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Forming Practitioner-Client Relationship
• A system of interacting elements Consists of: Practitioner,
Client contact, Client target system.
• Initial Perceptions: Initial intervention-an evaluation by
client and practitioner of each other.
– First impressions important. Relationship based on mutual
trust and openness.
• Dilemma Interactions Includes:- Questions about
– client’s definition of problem
– Client’s awareness of need for change
– Client’s unrealistic expectations
– Client’s misuse of power
– Value differences with client and practitioner.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Perception
• “Process whereby individuals give meaning to
environment by interpreting and organizing sensory
impressions. People behave on basis of what is
perceived versus what really is”
– Selective Perception: - Selectivity of information that is
perceived. Process in which people tend to ignore
information that conflicts with their values. Accepts other
information that agrees with their values
– Closure: - Tendency of individual to fill in missing
information in order to complete perception. A person
perceives more in the situation than is really there.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Practitioner Style Model
• Practitioner brings knowledge, skills, values, and
experience. Client system has own subculture and
readiness for change. Together determine
practitioner’s style and approaches.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Developing a Trust Relationship
• Openness and trust between practitioner and client
essential.
– Basic responses to build trust: Questions, Advising,
Reflection, Interpretation, Self-disclosure., Silence
• Creating Climate for Change
– Practitioner -“practice what he or she preaches.”
– Create climate of openness, authenticity, and trust
• The Formalization of Operating Ground Rules:
– Formalization of obligations in contract advisable for external
practitioner. Internal practitioner does not need contract, but
ground rules should be formalized.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Practitioner-Client Relationship Modes
• Eric H. Neilson has identified several basic
dimensions in the practitioner-client relationship
• can be used as indicators of the climate for
change
• In order to collaboratively change the
organization’s culture, members need to
– share their ideas, assumptions, perceptions, and
feelings, and
– accept personal responsibility for their own behavior
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
• Apathetic: - Keeps quiet about true ideas with
practitioner. Skeptical about change.
• Gamesmanship: - Keeps quiet about true ideas
with practitioner. Manipulates strategic factors
• Charismatic: - View of changes taken from
leaders’ cues.
• Consensus: - Both client and practitioner share
perceptions. Differences are worked through. OD
– practitioner attempts to operate from this mode.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
Red Flags in Practitioner-Client Relationship
• Level of commitment to change of client: At times the
client system is not really committed to a change program.
Members may verbally express commitment to the proposed OD
program, but their behaviors are not congruent with their words
• Degree of power to influence change: Sometimes a lower-
level manager invites the practitioner into the organization. This
member is committed to change but lacks any real capability to
influence the system
• Client’s manipulative use of practitioner power: In
certain situations there may be a conflict or an internal power
struggle, and the client may wish to involve the practitioner as a
weapon against other factions or individuals within the organization
system.
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
THANK YOU
Unnati Gandhi, Asst. Prof.
