CHAPTER

6 Organization Development & Change

11 edition Thomas G. Cummings • Christopher G. Worley

Collecting, Analyzing, and

Feeding Back Diagnostic
Information
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 Learning Objectives

• Understand the importance of the diagnostic

relationship in the OD process.
• Describe the methods for collecting diagnostic
data.
• Understand the primary techniques used to
analyze diagnostic data.
• Outline the process issues associated with
data feedback.
• Describe and evaluate the survey feedback
intervention.
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 The Diagnostic Relationship

• Who is the OD Practitioner?

• Why is the practitioner here?
• Who does the practitioner work for?
• What does the practitioner want and why?
• How will the practitioner protect your confidentiality ?
• Who will have access to the data?
• What’s in it for you (the organization)?
• Can the practitioner be trusted?

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Cycle of Data Collection and Feedback

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 Collecting Data

• Questionnaires
• Interviews
• Observations
• Unobtrusive Measures

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 Surveys and Questionnaires

• Major Advantages
• Responses can be quantified and summarized
• Large samples and large quantities of data
• Relatively inexpensive
• Major Potential Problems
• Little opportunity for empathy with subjects
• Predetermined questions -- no chance to change
• Over-interpretation of data possible
• Response biases possible
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 Interviews

• Major Advantages
• Adaptive -- allows customization
• Source of “rich” data
• Process builds rapport and empathy with subjects
• Major Potential Problems
• Relatively expensive
• Bias in interviewer responses
• Difficult to code and interpret
• Self-report bias possible
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 Observations

• Major Advantages
• Collects data on actual behavior, rather than
reports of behavior
• Real time, not retrospective
• Adaptive and objective
• Major Potential Problems
• Difficult to coding and interpret
• Sampling inconsistencies
• Observer bias and reliability can be questioned
• Can be expensive
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 Unobtrusive Measures

• Major Advantages
• No response bias
• High face validity
• Easily quantified
• Major Potential Problems
• Privacy, access and retrieval difficulties
• Validity concerns
• Difficult to code and interpret

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 Sampling

• Sample Size
• Population vs. Sample
• Importance of Sample Size
• Sample Selection
• Random
• Stratified

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 Analyzing Techniques

• Qualitative Tools
• Content Analysis
• Force-field Analysis
• Quantitative Tools
• Descriptive Statistics
• Relations Between Measures (correlation)
• Difference Tests

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Force-Field Analysis of Work-Group Performance

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 Feeding Back Data

The success of data feedback depends largely

on its ability to arouse organizational
action and to direct energy toward
problem solving.
Both the content and process of data
feedback impact whether the organization
will be energized to act.

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 Content of Feedback

• Relevant • Limited
• Understandable • Significant
• Descriptive • Comparative
• Verifiable
• Unfinalized
• Timely

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 Effects of Feedback

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 Effective Feedback Meetings

• People are motivated to work with the data

• The meeting is appropriately structured
• The right people are in attendance
• Knowledge of issues
• Ownership and interest
• Power and Influence
• The meeting is facilitated

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 Steps in Survey Feedback

• Members are involved in designing the survey

• The survey is administered to all members of the
organization or work group
• The data is analyzed and summarized
• The data is presented to the stakeholders (top-
down or bottom-up)
• The stakeholders work with the data to solve
problems or develop action plans

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Feedback and Organizational Dependencies

• Recognize relationships between

participating organizational units
• Greater dependency among organization
units requires coordinated survey feedback
taking into account relationships between
groups.

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 Limitations of Survey Feedback

• Ambiguity of Purpose
• Distrust
• Unacceptable Topics
• Organizational Disturbances

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