MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Organisational Development Contact details: Regenesys Business School Tel: +27 (11) 669-5000 Fax: +27 (11) 669-5001 Email: info@regenesys.co.za www.regenesys.co.za
Version Control: 7.3_f Date of Publication: May 2014 Publisher: Regenesys Management Place of Publication: Sandton Document Change History Date Version Initials Description of Change 19 July 2013 6 Typographical amendments 23 August 2013 7.1 CT Revised learning outcomes; additional and revised content; and referencing style changes 19 February 2014 7.2_f FVS Formatting 6 May 2014 7.3 CT New prescribed textbook; Emerald articles; continuous improvement; and concluding case study. 6 May 2014 7.3_f SK Formatting This study guide highlights key focus areas for you as a student. Because the field of study in question is so vast, it is critical that you consult additional literature. Copyright Regenesys, 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable for criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
CONTENTS 1. WELCOME TO REGENESYS... 5 2. INTRODUCTION... 6 2.1 TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODOLOGY... 6 2.2 ALIGNING ORGANISATIONAL, TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL OBJECTIVES... 7 3. ICONS USED IN THIS STUDY GUIDE... 8 4. STUDY MATERIAL FOR THE MODULE... 9 5. RECOMMENDED RESOURCES... 9 5.1 RECOMMENDED READING... 9 5.2 RECOMMENDED ARTICLES... 9 5.3 RECOMMENDED MULTIMEDIA... 10 5.4 ADDITIONAL SOURCES TO CONSULT... 11 6. LEARNING OUTCOMES... 12 7. SCOPE AND LEARNING GUIDANCE... 12 7.1 UNDERSTANDING THE ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT... 13 7.1.1 THE HISTORY OF ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT... 13 7.1.2 DEFINING IMPORTANT CONCEPTS... 17 7.1.3 THE ROLE OF CULTURE IN ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT... 28 7.1.4 RATIONAL, EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE REQUIRED FOR OD... 35 7.1.5 CONGRUENCE ALIGNING THE DRIVERS OF ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE... 36 7.2 ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODELS AND PROCESSES... 39 7.2.1 FEW ABSOLUTES (AND STRAIGHTFORWARD CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS)... 39 7.2.2 ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND BUSINESS STRATEGIES... 40 7.2.3 TEXTBOOK OD VS. REAL LIFE OD... 41 7.2.4 WHAT IS A MODEL?... 41 7.2.5 DEVELOPING AN OD MODEL... 43 7.2.6 TRANSFORMATION MODEL... 46 7.2.7 SIMPLE INTERVENTION-FOCUSED PROCESS... 48 7.2.8 THE ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS... 48 7.2.9 SYSTEMS THEORY... 50 7.2.10 A FOCUS ON PROCESS, STRUCTURE OR PEOPLE?... 51 7.2.11 TAKING COGNISANCE FOR THE NEED FOR CHANGE... 53 7.2.12 CHANGE AS LEARNING... 54 7.2.13 WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OD?... 57 7.2.14 ETHICAL STANDARDS IN OD... 61 7.3 ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS... 63 7.3.1 OD INTERVENTIONS AT THREE LEVELS INDIVIDUAL, TEAM, ORGANISATION... 63 7.3.2 HOW TO ENSURE SUCCESSFUL OD INTERVENTIONS... 68 7.3.3 TERMINATION... 72 8. CASE STUDY: BECOMING A COMPANY THAT QUESTIONS EVERYTHING... 74 9. REFERENCES... 77 10. GLOSSARY OF TERMS... 80
List of Tables TABLE 1: THE 'FATHERS' OF OD... 15 TABLE 2: ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE - COMMON CHARACTERISTICS... 29 TABLE 3: COMPONENTS OF A MODEL... 42 TABLE 4: WHEN WE USE MODELS... 43 TABLE 5: ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS... 49 TABLE 6: TYPES OF 'SYSTEMS'... 51 TABLE 7: DESIGNING ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES... 52 TABLE 8: FORCES OF CHANGE... 54 TABLE 9: ASSESSING AN ORGANISATION'S LEARNING CULTURE... 55 TABLE 10: INTERVENTIONS AIMED AT DEVELOPING THE INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE... 64 TABLE 11: EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT PROGRAMMES... 65 List of Figures FIGURE 1: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR (OB) DISCIPLINES... 18 FIGURE 2: ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT'S FIVE STAGES... 21 FIGURE 3: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO OD... 23 FIGURE 4: MODEL OF ACTION RESEARCH PROCESS... 24 FIGURE 5: THE OD LOOP... 26 FIGURE 6: STAGES OF SOCIALISATION... 33 FIGURE 7: COMPONENTS OF THE CONGRUENCE MODEL... 37 FIGURE 8: COMPONENTS OF A MODEL... 42 FIGURE 9: BASIC OB MODEL... 45 FIGURE 10: TRANSFORMATION MODEL... 46 FIGURE 11: ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT PROCESS... 48 FIGURE 12: ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (OD) PROCESS... 49 FIGURE 13: OD CONSULTANT STYLES... 60 FIGURE 14: CHARACTERISTICS OF CHANGE... 68 FIGURE 15: THE PROCESS OF TRANSITION... 69 FIGURE 16: STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH CHANGE... 70 FIGURE 17: STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS... 71
1. WELCOME TO REGENESYS Have a vision. Think big. Dream, persevere and your vision will become a reality. Awaken your potential knowing that everything you need is within you. Dr. Marko Saravanja At Regenesys we help individuals and organisations achieve their personal and organisational goals by enhancing their management and leadership potential. We approach education and development holistically, considering every interaction not only from an intellectual perspective but also in terms of emotion and spirituality. Our learning programmes are designed to transform and inspire your mind, heart and soul, and thus allow you to develop the positive values, attitudes and behaviours required for success. Having educated more than 100 000 students based in highly reputable local and international corporations across more than 160 countries since the inception of Regenesys in 1998, we are now one of the fastest growing and leading institutions of management and leadership development in the world. Regenesys ISO 9001:2008 accreditation bears testimony to our quality management systems meeting international standards. Regenesys is accredited with the Council on Higher Education. Our work is rooted in the realities of a rapidly changing world and we provide our clients with the knowledge, skills and values required for success in the 21st century. At Regenesys you will be treated with respect, care and professionalism. You will be taught by business experts, entrepreneurs and academics who are inspired by their passion for human development. You will be at a place where business and government leaders meet, network, share their experiences and knowledge, learn from each other and develop business relationships. You will have access to a campus in the heart of Sandton, with the tranquillity of a Zen garden, gym and meditation room. We encourage you to embark on a journey of personal development with Regenesys. We will help you to awaken your potential and to realise that everything you need to succeed is within you. We will be with you every step of the way. We will work hard with you and, at the end, celebrate your success with you. Areas of Expertise Regenesys Business School 5
2. INTRODUCTION Welcome to your module on Organisational Development (OD). The purpose of this module is to develop your understanding and use of the concepts of organisational development and the models and processes required. OD values collaborative and participative processes to achieve improved and sustainable performance. It is useful to begin by reflecting on the following principles by two leading authors on the subject (Robbins and Judge, 2008): Respect for people individuals are perceived as responsible, conscientious and caring and should be treated with dignity and respect. Trust and support the effective and healthy organisation is characterised by trust, authenticity, openness and a supportive climate. Power equalisation effective organisations de-emphasise hierarchical authority and control. Confrontation problems are not swept under the rug, they should be confronted openly. Participation the more the people who will be affected by the change are involved in the decisions surrounding that change, the more they will be committed to implementing those decisions. 2.1 TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODOLOGY Regenesys uses an interactive teaching and learning methodology that encourages self-reflection and promotes independent and critical thinking. Key to the approach utilised is an understanding of adult learning principles, which recognise the maturity and experience of participants, and the way that adult students need to learn. At the core of this is the integration of new knowledge and skills into existing knowledge structures, as well as the importance of seeing the relevance of all learning via immediate application in the workplace. Practical exercises are used to create a simulated management experience to ensure that the conceptual knowledge and practical skills acquired can be directly applied within the work environment of the participants. The activities may include scenarios, case studies, self-reflection, problem solving and planning tasks. Training manuals are developed to cover all essential aspects of the training comprehensively, in a user-friendly and interactive format. Our facilitators have extensive experience in management education, training and development. Please read through this Study Guide carefully, as it will influence your understanding of the subject matter and the successful planning and completion of your studies. Regenesys Business School 6
2.2 ALIGNING ORGANISATIONAL, TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL OBJECTIVES This module will draw on a model developed by Regenesys Management, demonstrating how the external environment, the levels of an organisation, the team and the components of an individual are interrelated in a dynamic and systemic way. The success of an individual depends on his or her self-awareness, knowledge, and ability to manage these interdependent forces, stakeholders and processes. The degree of synergy and alignment between the goals and objectives of the organisation, the team and the individual determines the success or failure of an organisation. It is, therefore, imperative that each organisation ensures that team and individual goals and objectives are aligned with the organisation s strategies (vision, mission, goals and objectives, etc); structure (organogram, decision-making structure, etc); systems (HR, finance, communication, administration, information, etc); culture (values, level of openness, democracy, caring, etc). An effective work environment should be characterised by the alignment of organisational systems, strategies, structures and culture, and by people who operate synergistically. REGENESYS INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT MODEL Regenesys Business School 7
3. ICONS USED IN THIS STUDY GUIDE Icons are included in the Study Guide to enhance its usability. Certain icons are used to indicate different important aspects in the Study Guide to help you to use it more effectively as a reference guide in future. The icons in this Study Guide should be interpreted as follows: Definition The definitions provide an academic perspective on given terminology. They are used to give students a frame of reference from which to define a term using their own words. Examples The example icon is used to indicate additional text that illustrates the content under discussion. This includes templates, simple calculations, problem solutions, etc. Video clip or presentation This icon indicates a hyperlink to a video clip or presentation on the subject matter for discussion. It is recommended that students follow the link and listen to or read the material it provides. Interesting source to consult The source icon is used to indicate text sources, from the internet or resource centre, which add to the content of the topic being discussed. In a nutshell This icon indicates a summary of the content of a section in the workbook and is used to emphasise an important issue. Calculations This icon indicates mathematical or linguistic formulae and calculations. Self-reflection Students complete the self-reflection activity in their own time. It requires students to think further about an issue raised in class or in the learning material. In certain instances students may be required to add their views to their assignments. Tasks The task icon indicates work activities that contact students must complete during class. These tasks will be discussed in class and reflected upon by students and facilitators. E-learning students can use these tasks simply to reinforce their knowledge. Note This icon indicates important information of which to take note. Regenesys Business School 8
4. STUDY MATERIAL FOR THE MODULE You have received material that includes: Study guide Recommended reading Assignment These resources provide you with a starting point from which to study the contents of this module. Additional resources to help you complete this module will be provided online via the link to this module. Guidance on how to access the material is provided in the Academic Handbook you received when you registered for this qualification. 5. RECOMMENDED RESOURCES A number of recommended resources have been identified to help you complete this module. 5.1 RECOMMENDED READING The following textbook is recommended and must be used to complete the module: Brown, D. 2013, Experiential Approach to Organisational Development, International Edition, 8 th ed., Pearson Education Limited. Please ensure you order or download your textbook before you start with the module. 5.2 RECOMMENDED ARTICLES Barner, R. 2006, 'Managing Complex Team Interventions', Team Performance Management, 12 (1/2), 44-54. Hubbell, L. 2004, 'Struggling with the Issue of Who the Client is in Organization Development Interventions', Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 25 (5), 399-410. Kotter, J. 1995, 'Leading Change. Why Transformation Efforts Fail', Harvard Business Review, 85 (1), 96-127. Regenesys Business School 9
Lurey, J.S., and Griffin, M. 2002, 'Action Research: The anchor of OD practice', OD Practitioner. 34 (3), 15-20, http://www.plusdelta.net/articles/action_research_od_practice.pdf (accessed 2 May 2014). Rowland, H. 2007, 'Organizational Development: The New Buzz Word', Strategic Direction, 23 (1), 3. Tee Suan Chin, S., Yoon Kin Tong, A., and Yoon Kin Tong, D. 2011, 'The Roles of Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence at the Workplace', Journal of Human Resources Management Research, Vol. 2011. Vemić, J. 2007, 'Employee training and development and the learning organization', Economics and Organization, 4 (2), 209-216. http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/eao/eao200702/eao200702-13.pdf (accessed 2 May 2014). Additional articles that may prompt discussions and further assist you in completing this module will be saved on Regenesys Online under the relevant course. Please visit the site regularly to access these additional sources. 5.3 RECOMMENDED MULTIMEDIA Amabile, T., 2011, 'The Power of Progress' [video], http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byct7xb2pc&list=pl017549c9d4822c59 (accessed 16 August 2013). Anderson, D. 2009, 'The Future of Organisation Development' [video], http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nmz1ux5xue (accessed 16 August 2013). Blanchard, K. 2008, 'Ken Blanchard change strategy' [video], http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmk6yy-zfie (accessed 10 September 2012). Denison, D., 2010, 'What is organisational culture? Why culture matters to your organisation' [video], http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd0kf3wd120 (accessed 16 August 2013). Regenesys Business School 10
5.4 ADDITIONAL SOURCES TO CONSULT As a higher education student, you are responsible for sourcing additional information that will assist you in completing this module successfully. Below is a list of sources that you can consult to obtain additional information on the topics to be discussed in this module: Emerald NetMBA: MindTools: Brunel Open Learning Archive: ProvenModels: 12manage.com: Alliance Online: The Free Management Library: The Charity Village: TEDx This is an online database containing journal articles that are relevant to your modules. Please refer to the attached Emerald manual to assist you to download required articles. Information on how to access Emerald is provided in your Academic Handbook. You will receive access to the database once you register as a student. This is one of several web sites that provide a selection of MBA constructs and discussion. It is one of the better of these addresses. http://www.netmba.com/ MindTools.com is a very useful source of ideas, constructs, management models, etc with even more useful commentary and description. http://www.mindtools.com/ A Brunel University support-site that provides an easily accessible library of ideas, concepts, constructs techniques, tools, models, etc. http://www.brunel.ac.uk/ ProvenModels' Digital Model Book presents digitalised management models categorised in a clear, consistent and standardised information structure to improve the usability and reusability of management literature. Management models are important generalisations of business situations when applied in context and are powerful tools for solving business issues. http://www.provenmodels.com/ This is a website on which one can access numerous models as well as global comments on the models and principles. This could also serve as a place for you to voice your ideas and get feedback from all over the world. http://www.12manage.com/ The Alliance for Non-profit Management's general introduction to strategic planning is built around 15 questions that cover just about all aspects in brief (click on Strategic Planning.) http://www.allianceonline.org/faqs.html The Free Management Library can be used to improve your organisation, and for your own personal, professional and organisational development. This is by far the most comprehensive overview of all aspects of strategic planning covering all stages of the process. http://www.managementhelp.org/np_progs/sp_mod/str_plan.htm A series of 12 very short articles by Ron Robinson, an independent Canadian consultant, appeared on Charity Village between November 2001 and October 2002. These articles are refreshing in that they do not advocate a one best way for all types of nonprofit organisations. They discuss various ways of approaching the strategic planning process. https://charityvillage.com/topics/management/planning/strategic-planning.aspx?page1424=2 The TEDx programme (Technology, Entertainment and Design) was created to help communities, organisations and individuals to spark conversation and connection through local TED-like experiences. It includes topics from science to business to global issues in more than 100 languages their mission is to spread ideas ("to make great ideas accessible and spark conversation"). https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization There are many more sites and articles available that can help you to successfully complete this module. You are encouraged to post the website addresses or URLs of any additional interesting sites that you come across on the Regenesys Learning Platform. In this way, you can assist other students to access the same wonderful information that you have discovered. Regenesys Business School 11
A word of caution not all information available on the Internet is necessarily of a high academic standard. It is therefore recommended that you always compare information that you obtain with that contained in accredited sources such as articles that were published in accredited journals. 6. LEARNING OUTCOMES Upon completing this module, participants should be able to: Select and apply appropriate knowledge and skills in evaluating organisational development models and processes; Design and propose organisational development and change management tools and processes across different business sectors; Evaluate the role organisational culture plays in organisational development; Understand and review critical success factors of organisational development; Critique current and preferred organisational development interventions; Understand and evaluate the intricate interface between organisational development strategies and business strategy; and Examine ethical issues in the identification, formulation and implementation of organisational development interventions. 7. SCOPE AND LEARNING GUIDANCE A number of topics will be covered to help you achieve the learning outcomes of this module. It is important to study each of these sections to ensure that you expand your knowledge in the subject and are able to complete the required assessments. The sections that will be dealt with include: Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Understanding the Organisational Development Context Organisational Development Models and Processes Organisational and Development Interventions A more detailed framework of what is required for each of these topics follows under each section heading. A number of questions to probe discussion and guide you towards comprehension and insight are also provided. The timetable under each section heading provides guidance on the time to be spent to study each section. It is recommended that you follow the given timetable to ensure that you spend the appropriate amount of time on each section. Following the timetable will ensure that you have covered the required sections relevant to each assignment and have appropriate time to prepare for the examination. Regenesys Business School 12
7.1 UNDERSTANDING THE ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT Timeframe: Learning Outcomes: Recommended Book: Recommended Articles: Recommended Multimedia: Section Overview Minimum of 40 hours Evaluate the role organisational culture plays in organisational development; and Understand and evaluate the intricate interface between organisational development strategies and business strategy. Chapters 1 to 5 in Brown, D. 2013, Experiential Approach to Organisational Development, International Edition, 8 th ed., Pearson Education Limited. Lurey, J.S., and Griffin, M. 2002, 'Action Research: The anchor of OD practice', OD Practitioner. 34 (3), 15-20, http://www.plusdelta.net/articles/action_research_od_practice.pdf (accessed 2 May 2014). Anderson, D. 2009, The Future of Organisation Development [video], http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nmz1ux5xue (accessed 16 August 2013). Denison, D., 2010, What is organisational culture? Why culture matters to your organisation [video], http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd0kf3wd120 (accessed 16 August 2013). Tee Suan Chin, S., Yoon Kin Tong, A., and Yoon Kin Tong, D. 2011, 'The Roles of Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence at the Workplace', Journal of Human Resources Management Research, Vol. 2011. In this opening section we explore the context within which Organisational Development (OD) takes place. Beginning with the history of OD, we move to a range of important considerations including: organisational behaviour, change, and culture. Keep in mind, the aim of this Study Guide is to complement the texts provided in your recommended textbook (Brown, 2013). The activities in this Study Guide, together with Brown's (2013) hands-on tasks are designed to provide you with a rich and comprehensive understanding of the topic and prepare you to complete your assignment and examination. Ensure you set aside sufficient time to engage meaningfully with these learning opportunities. 7.1.1 The History of Organisational Development Organisational Development (OD) is a field of Human Resource Management and has its foundations in the behavioural and social sciences with the intention of delivering sustainable organisational performance. The process has become synonymous with change or process improvement (generally in organisations that have a problem). Regenesys Business School 13
Chrysler Motor Company OD initiative In the early 1990s, Chrysler had terrible customer service and marketing, with a history of innovation, but at the present time, out-dated products. Its market share was falling, and its overhead and losses were high. Bob Lutz, then president, wanted Chrysler to become the technology and quality leader in automobiles a clearly global vision. A programme of cultural change known as 'Customer One' was built around it. The results were impressive: overhead was cut by almost $5 billion in under four years, the stock price quadrupled, and the company reversed its slide into bankruptcy and became profitable. A completely new and competitive line of cars and trucks has appeared each year since. They did this with the same people, but working in different ways. (Fox, 2013) The examples of OD below are not exhaustive, but they do point out the range of activities for which OD applies. Examples of OD situations (Adapted from McLean, 2005): To develop or enhance the organisation's mission statement (statement of purpose) or vision statement (what it wants to be) To help align functional structures in the organisation so they are working together for a common purpose To create a strategic plan (including goals) for how the organisation is going to make decisions about its future and achieving that future To manage conflict that exists among individuals, groups, functions, sites/branches, etc., when such conflicts disrupt the ability of the organisation to function in a healthy way To put in place policies, procedures and processes that will help improve operations on a continuous basis To create a collaborative environment that helps the organisation to be more effective and efficient and responsive To create reward systems that are compatible with the goals of the organisation To assess the working environment and identify strengths on which to build and areas in which change and improvement are needed To provide help and support for employees (coaching and mentoring) To assist in creating systems for providing feedback on individual and group performance Whilst many organisations have invested heavily in organisational development interventions (also known as transformational change) many have also failed to deliver performance in a sustainable way. More recently, OD practitioners have recognised that "every part of an organisation is integral to a system that relies on and impacts other elements of the internal and external environment in which the organisation operates," (Organisational Development Practitioners, 2012). This implies that OD is strongly linked to people and systems and it is argued that those who practice OD successfully have strong humanistic and democratic approaches to organisational change people and collaboration are key features of OD interventions (ibid, 2012). Regenesys Business School 14
Through retracing the steps of the 'Founding Fathers' of OD this connection between people and collaboration becomes more evident. OD founding fathers The following table summarises the evolvement of OD major contributors. TABLE 1: THE 'FATHERS' OF OD Kurt Lewin (1998-1947) From Lewin came the ideas of group dynamics and action research, which underpin the basic OD process. As early as World War II, Lewin experimented with the 3-step process of planning, taking action, and measuring results (this became the forerunner to OD). In the mid 1950s the concept of OD became popular Douglas McGregor and Richard Beckhard Rensis Likert Edgar Schein Bob Tannenbaum Whilst consulting together in the 1950s, the two coined the term 'Organisational Development' to describe an innovative bottom-up change effort that did not fit traditional consulting categories at that time. As a consequence of their early work and working with groups in organisations, the realisation that culture was an important factor in influencing group members (along with other developments in the behavioural sciences) combined to support the move to organisational development. Likert developed quantitative and pragmatic approaches to social problems and social measurements (e.g. the famous Likert scale). His research interests and collaborative efforts with other researchers focused on participative management (i.e. supportive relationships between organisational members, multiple overlapping structures with groups consisting of superiors and their subordinates, group problem solving by consensus, and overlapping memberships between groups by members or serve as 'linking pins'). Schein is one of the most well known theorists working with organisational culture and credited with inventing the term 'corporate culture'. His research shows how national, organisational and occupational cultures influence organisational performance. His models are used to analyse all forms of cultures and presumes that cultures can be explained and understood by looking at the core values and assumptions of a given culture (i.e. visible elements, espoused values and artefacts, behaviours, expected behaviours, dress codes, etc.). His humanist vision profoundly affected the field of organisational development starting from a deep-seated belief about the importance of personal consciousness and the capacities of people to grow themselves psychologically (i.e. interpersonal sensitivity). Tannenbaum's work was the forerunner of human capital as a corporate asset (e.g. utilising of group dynamics as an important pedagogy for promoting increased awareness of self and impact on others as essential to team play in the corporate environment). He argued that leadership effectiveness derives from awareness of one's own basic assumptions about human nature and the testing out and revision of those assumptions. (Adapted from Organisational Development Practitioners, 2012) Regenesys Business School 15
Task Questions 1. We have selected three conceptual areas from the above text, e.g. 'individual', 'team' and 'organisation'. Discuss the existence and potential linkages (cohesion) between these in your organisation using the following guidelines: a) Individuals (i.e. personal consciousness/awareness of self and impact on others, collaborative, humanistic and democratic) b) Teams (i.e. group problem solving by consensus) c) Organisational systems (i.e. participative management) 2. In your opinion, what is the link between 'sustainable performance' and the concepts discussed in 1.? 3. Do you agree that, "Every part of an organisation is integral to a system that relies on and impacts other elements of the internal and external environment in which the organisation operates"? Why/why not? It is useful at this point to reflect on Beckhard's assumptions about the functioning of organisations including (Beckhard in Organisational Development Practitioners, 2012): 1. The fundamental building blocks of an organisation are groups (teams), and therefore the basic units of change are groups and not individuals. 2. One of the most relevant change goals is the reduction of inappropriate competition between parts of the organisational and the development of more collaborative conditions. 3. Decision-making in a healthy organisation is located where the information sources are rather than in a particular role or level of hierarchy. 4. Organisations, sub units of the organisation, and individuals continuously manage their work against goals. 'Controls' are the interim measures, not the basis of managerial strategies. 5. One goal of a healthy organisation is to develop open communication, mutual trust, and confidence between and across levels. 6. People support what they help create. People affected by a change must be allowed active participation and a sense of ownership in the planning and conduct of the change. Beckhard's assumptions (ibid, 2012) give us an indication of some of the principles conducive to organisational change readiness. Task Questions Review the Beckhard's assumptions and then complete the following: 1. Discuss why Beckhard draws attention to these assumptions in the context of organisational development and change. 2. Reflect on organisational behaviour in your organisation against these assumptions. 3. What have you learned from Beckhard's assumptions? How does it make you think differently about organisational behaviour conducive to organisational development, i.e. sustained performance? Regenesys Business School 16
7.1.2 Defining Important Concepts Before we consider the definition of OD it is useful to reflect on the important concept of organisational behaviour (OB). Organisational Behaviour (OB) Organisational Behaviour (OB) incorporates research into the impact of individuals, groups, and structure (systems) on behaviour within organisations for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving organisational effectiveness. "Organisational Behaviour (OB) is the study of what people do in an organisation and how their behaviour affects the organisation's performance." (Robbins and Judge, 2013:44) Simply put, OB suggests the following key elements contribute to organisational behaviour: Organisation behaviour (OB) is a field of study. It studies three determinants of behaviour: o Individuals o Groups o Structure (systems) It applies the knowledge obtained to make the organisation more effective. OB is built on the behavioural science disciplines of psychology, social psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Consider Figure 1 below. Psychology focuses on the individual, in particular measuring and explaining human behaviour. Industrial and organisational psychologists have made a particularly strong contribution to OB (as listed under contributions in the figure below). Social psychology (a branch of psychology) blends concepts from both psychology and sociology to focus on people's influence on one another. Robbins and Judge (2013:48) point out that one major area of study is change how to implement it and how to reduce barriers to its acceptance. Sociology is the study of people in relation to their social environment or culture, most importantly, organisational culture. Anthropology is the study of societies a still broader focus. Anthropologists have helped us to understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes and behaviour between people from different national cultures. Regenesys Business School 17
Task Questions Using the diagram below (Figure 1) to guide you complete the following tasks: 1. Discuss why it is important to think about the three units of analysis: Individual Group Structure (systems) 2. What are the potential consequences of ignoring any one of these in the study of organisational behaviour? FIGURE 1: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR (OB) DISCIPLINES (Adapted from Robbins and Judge, 2013:47) Regenesys Business School 18
Organisational Development (OD) It is useful to think of OD as a collection of change methods aimed at improving and sustaining organisational effectiveness and employee well being. As the fathers of OD found, together with modern writers (Robbins and Judge, 2013:621), OD methods value human and organisational growth, collaborative and participative processes and a spirit of enquiry. It is notable, that contemporary OD borrows heavily from the postmodernist philosophy of placing a heavy emphasis on the subjective ways in which people see their environments (particularly across generations and cultures in the workplace). The change manager (or agent) may take the lead in OD, however, each of us make sense of our world of work through different lenses. This means we need to collaborate to achieve shared understanding. Collaboration infers an underlying set of values: respect for other people's ideas, deemphasising hierarchical authority and control, open confrontation of problems (not swept under the rug), and active participation in decision making. OD is planned change designed and facilitated to improve organisational effectiveness, i.e. sustained performance. It is specifically interested in applying the knowledge of OB to the actual change process within the organisation (Robbins et al., 2009:490). The fundamental characteristics of OD programmes: Change a planned strategy bringing about organisational change Collaborative approach includes the involvement and participation of the organisational members most affected by the changes Performance emphasis on ways to improve performance Humanistic orientation relies on humanistic values about people while opening up opportunities for increased use of human potential Systems approach concerned with the interrelationship of divisions, departments, groups/teams, individuals as interdependent sub systems of the whole Scientific methods based on scientific approaches to increase organisational effectiveness (e.g. rigorous action research process) (Brown, 2013:3) Brown (2013:2) emphasise that OD comprises: "long-range efforts and programmes aimed at improving an organisation's abilities to survive by changing its problem-solving and renewal processes". This infers a solution-focused culture that requires planned effort. "Organisational development is an effort: (1) planned, (2) organisation-wide, (3) managed from the top, (4) to increase organisational effectiveness and health, through (5) planned interventions in the organisation's processes using behavioural science knowledge." (Beckhard in Brown, 2013:2) Regenesys Business School 19
Bennis (in Brown, 2013:4) emphasise three factors that underlie the emergence of OD: 1. The need for new organisational forms (organisations tend to adopt forms appropriate to a particular time; in today's world the rate of change is frequent in which case organisations must be more adaptive); 2. The focus on cultural change (every organisation forms its own culture; the only real way to change is to alter the organisational culture); and 3. The increase in social awareness (due to the changing social climate, tomorrow's employee will no longer accept autocratic styles of management and therefore greater social awareness is required; think specifically of Generation Y). Think critically about the three statements made by Brown (2013:4). Can you identify the need for these three factors in your organisation: New organisational form? Cultural change? Increased social awareness? What OD is not (Brown, 2013:2-3): OD is not a micro approach to change (management development is aimed at changing individual behaviour whereas OD is focused on the macro goal of developing organisationwide improvement in managerial style); OD is not any single technique (OD uses multiple techniques, eg total quality management and performance management); OD does not include random or ad hoc changes (OD uses a system-wide diagnosis of problems that result in change efforts); and OD is not exclusively aimed at raising morale or attitudes (OD is aimed at overall health and effectiveness). Brown's (2013) approach to OD Brown (2013:12) recommends a 5-stage approach to OD as shown in Figure 2 below. Within this process the emphasis is placed on "a combination of individual, team, and organisational relationships" (Ibid). As with other authors and documented organisational practice, organisational development programmes use the action research model. "Action research involves collecting information about the organisation, feeding it back to the client system, and developing and implementing action programmes to improve system performance." (Brown, 2013:13) We will consider this research model in more detail later in this Study Guide. Regenesys Business School 20
FIGURE 2: ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT'S FIVE STAGES Stage 1 Anticipate need for change Stage 5 Self-renewal, monitor and stabilise Stage 2 Develop the practitionerclient relationship Stage 4 Action plans, strategies and techniques Stage 3 The Diagnostic phase (Brown, 2013:13) Brown (2013-2014) describes the stages as follows: Stage 1 Anticipate a need for change leadership recognises the impending need for change since the organisation is somehow entering into a state of disequilibrium or needs improvement. Disequilibrium may be a consequence of several things including the result of growth or decline; or from competitive, technological, legal, or social changes. Leadership is responsible for 'sensing' this need for change. Stage 2 Develop the practitioner-client relationship the practitioner (internal or external to the organisation) or practitioners are identified and the roles clarified. Brown (2013:13) provides the example of one organisation where OD started at the vice president level, and by using internal OD practitioners the OD programme was gradually expanded to include line managers and workers. OD practitioners may also be external to the organisation. Stage 3 The diagnostic process once the roles are clarified the organisation and OD practitioner start gathering data about the system for diagnosis. Key to success is the depth of problem analysis (root causes). As Brown (2013:14) points out: "A weak, inaccurate, or faulty diagnosis can lead to a costly and ineffective change programme." The diagnosis provides the basis for selecting effective change strategies and techniques. Stage 4 Action plans, strategies and techniques here interventions, activities, or programmes aimed at resolving problems and increasing organisational effectiveness are determined. OD techniques might include total quality management, job design, role analysis, goal setting, team building, and intergroup development. This is essentially the implementation stage and consequently one of the longest stages. Regenesys Business School 21
Stage 5 Self-renewal, monitor and stabilise in this stage the programme has been implemented and now it is time to monitor results and stabilise the desired change. Perhaps one of the most difficult stages since it is here that the results of the preceding efforts become evident. Further, means must be devised to make sure the new behaviours are stabilised and internalised and hence the system must be able to sustain itself. Task Questions 1. Reflect critically on the following statement by Brown (2013:15): "The most important lesson managers need to learn is that there are only two kinds of companies those that are changing, and those that are going out of business." Discuss why sensing change is a critical competence of leadership. 2. Using examples from your workplace and the following statement, discuss what OD is not: "OD is focused on the macro goal of developing organisation-wide improvement". Your recommended textbook is structured around the model described above. To understand and appreciate the significance of each of the stages you are encouraged to read Brown's (2013) work critically and synthesise key learning points as they apply to each stage. Some students might find it useful to place this model on a single sheet and use it as the starting point of a mind map. Using an integrated approach to OD As with all our modules, we do not prescribe a single view of learning. Harvey and Brown (in Bagraim, Cunningham, Potgieter, and Viedge, 2007:384) distinguish between three approaches to OD as shown in Figure 3 below: structural, technical and behavioural. Together these combine to form an integrated approach to OD. It is argued that if you make changes in any one of the approaches this impacts on the other approaches, which in turn impacts on organisational effectiveness and efficiency, sustained performance, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. Notably, top management, an OD consultant, OD cross-functional task team/s and all other members of the organisation drive the OD process. Regenesys Business School 22
FIGURE 3: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO OD (Adapted from Bagraim, Cunningham, Potgieter, and Viedge, 2007:385) French and Bell (1999:25) emphasise OD is aligned to the organisation's vision, which infers strategic purpose: Organizational development is a long-term effort, led and supported by top management, to improve an organization s visioning, empowerment, learning, and problem-solving processes, through an ongoing, collaborative management of organization culture with special emphasis on the culture of intact work teams and other team configurations using the consultant-facilitator role and the theory and technology of applied behavioural science, including action research. This definition emphasises that OD takes time a few years in most cases. Top management must lead and champion the change process initiated by the analysis of the organisational behaviour. Visioning forms part of this definition and draws our attention to the process through which the organisation creates a shared understanding of the organisation s products and/or services, how it will deliver these, and what members of the organisation can expect from each other. The emphasis on empowerment is a reminder to consult and engage with a wide range of people in creating and delivering on the strategy. Learning processes are those processes that enhance learning in an organisation, especially through interacting, listening and self-examination. OD is also about problem solving in that one goal of OD is to help organisations and their people to solve their own problems. The definition emphasises culture as a key element in organisations that requires management, which should be collaboratively managed. Regenesys Business School 23
Changing processes are often a starting point for OD changing how people do things but unless it is backed up by the cultural change to support and institutionalise the process changes, the change will not be permanent. French and Bell (1999) also recognise that work teams are central to accomplishing organisational work they are the building blocks of organisations. OD can be performed by internal change managers or change agents/od leaders, but French and Bell s definition conveys their belief that leaders benefit from external professional assistance in planning and implementing OD. The definition includes homage to the behavioural sciences as discussed in the section above, affirming that OD is an applied discipline, and a participative model of action research. Refer to the figure below (Figure 4). Action research involves three steps (McGinty, 2011): 1. Unfreezing faced with a problem, the individual, group or organisation becomes aware of a need to change. 2. Changing The situation is diagnosed and new models of behaviour are explored and tested and where appropriate the process is repeated by returning to the planning stage (feedback loop A). 3. Refreezing Application of the new behaviour is evaluated and where appropriate the process is repeated either by returning to the planning stage (feedback loop C) or the action stage (feedback loop B). Therefore, we can say that action research provides for a cyclical process of change that involves the 'client system' in a diagnostic, active learning, problem finding, and problem-solving process. It is unlike standard research that identifies the problem and culminates in a report on which decisions are based rather it is a 'living and breathing' form of research that sets in motion a long-range, cyclical, self-correcting mechanism for maintaining and enhancing effectiveness of the 'client system' (McGinty, 2011). FIGURE 4: MODEL OF ACTION RESEARCH PROCESS (McGinty, 2011) Regenesys Business School 24
Read the article below for a detailed description of action research used in OD practice. Lurey, J.S., and Griffin, M. 2002, 'Action Research: The anchor of OD practice', OD Practitioner. 34 (3), 15-20, http://www.plusdelta.net/articles/action_research_od_practice.pdf (accessed 2 May 2014). In summary, distinguishing features of OD include: 1. OD focuses on culture and processes. 2. OD encourages collaboration between leaders and members in managing culture and processes. 3. Teams are important for OD activities. 4. OD focuses on the human and social side of the organisation but also, in so doing, has an impact on and considers the technological and structural sides. 5. Participation and involvement at all levels in problem solving and decision-making are hallmarks of OD. 6. OD focuses on total system change. 7. OD practitioners are facilitators, collaborators, and co-learners. 8. An overarching goal of OD is for the 'client system' to solve its problems on its own. 9. OD relies on an action research model. 10. OD takes a developmental view it seeks the betterment of individuals and the organisation. Task Questions Identify initiatives in your organisation that demonstrate similar features to the ten points given above. What is the Difference between OD and Change Management? Whilst we have alluded to OD being a collection of change management strategies, some authors prefer to see change 'management' as playing a part in the overall process. In this case, it is useful to place change management within the context of OD using the diagram below (Figure 5). As the loop suggests, change management follows leadership initiatives, bottom diagnosis, situation awareness, and the OD interventions. Regenesys Business School 25
FIGURE 5: THE OD LOOP (Author Unknown, 2013) Task Questions Discuss the following statements (Brown, 2013:13): 1. OD uses change management principles to effect the changes required. 2. The primary difference between OD and other behavioural science techniques is the emphasis upon viewing the organisation as a total system of interacting and interrelated elements. OD is the application of an organisation-wide approach to the functional, structural, technical, and personal relationships in organisations of which change management is a part. Value-driven Behaviour Organisations are essentially a network of relationships. The way people work with each other, as driven by their values, is critical to organisational effectiveness (Bolsmann, Rugunanan, and Routledge, 2003:44). The consequences of not evaluating values during an OD intervention are described as follows: failing to take values into account leaves OD as a list of intervention techniques to be studied without understanding the reasons why those interventions were developed or when the practitioner should apply them" (Anderson, 2012:38) Regenesys Business School 26
Values allow OD practitioners to (Anderson, 2012:38-39): Guide choice on how to proceed Identify and enhance the vision of the organisation and drive the intervention further than individual interventions Extend the intervention beyond change management Assist in the promotion of communication and clarifying positions Inform evaluation Some values driving OD are (Anderson, 2012:45): Participation, involvement and empowerment The importance of groups and teams Growth, development and learning Valuing the individual holistically Communication and collaboration Authenticity, openness and trust OD, a value-driven discipline, underlines the importance of aligning OD interventions to the strategy of the organisation (which underlies the organisational values). OD interventions need to be linked to organisational values to ensure organisational growth and therefore organisational strategic success. The fact that most textbooks talk about OD propose that it be guided by a set of values which leads us to consider that areas of research and practice are values-laden. They are not free of ideological positions about humanness or principles of what is right or good. Donald Anderson provides insight into the need for OD practitioners in the clip below. Visit the website below and listen to his views concerning the future of organisational development: Anderson, D. 2009, 'The Future of Organisation Development', http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nmz1ux5xue (accessed 16 August 2013). Task Questions 1. Do you agree with the way in which 'change' is described in the video clip? 2. How much change is involved in your job? 3. What is the future of OD in your organisation? Regenesys Business School 27
7.1.3 The Role of Culture in Organisational Development Organisational culture is the system of shared meaning held by the employees it is a phenomenon that is often difficult to describe, but we know it when we see it, or experience it. Organisational culture refers to: "A system of shared meanings, including the language, dress, patters of behaviour, value system, feelings attitudes, interactions, and group norms of the members." (Brown, 2013:8) In particular norms refer to the shared ideas regarding what members of groups should do and feel, how this behaviour should be regulated and what sanctions should be applied when behaviours do not coincide with the social expectations of the group (Ibid). Consider the following two scenarios (Adapted from Robbins, and Judge, 2013:547): Organisation A: A manufacturing firm where managers are expected to document all decisions explicitly and "good managers" are those who can provided detailed data to support their recommendations. Creative decisions that incur significant change or risk are not encouraged. Because managers of failed projects are openly criticised and penalised, they try not to implement ideas a common phrase is "if it ain't broke don't fix it". There are extensive rules, which are monitored closely. High productivity is expected, regardless of the impact on employee morale or staff turnover. Work activities are designed around individuals with distinct departments and lines of authority. Performance evaluations and rewards emphasise individual effort. Organisation B: Also a manufacturing firm, however, management encourages and rewards risk taking and change. Decisions, based on intuition, are valued as much as those that are well rationalised. Management and the teams pride themselves on their history of experimenting with new methods, technologies and whilst there are some failures many new and innovative products are introduced regularly. Employees with good ideas are told to run with them any failures are treated as learning experiences. There are few rules and regulations and supervision is loose because management believes its employees are hardworking and trustworthy. Whilst management is concerned with high productivity it believes that this comes through treating people right. Job activities are designed around teams and people are encouraged to source knowledge and support across functions and authority levels. Individuals and teams have goals and rewards are based on the outcomes of both employees are given considerable autonomy in choosing the means by which the goals are attained. The characteristics in Table 2 below help us to determine and quantify organisational culture this is important because culture can be a liability when the shared values do not agree with those that further the organisation's effectiveness. As Robbins and Judge (2013:552) argue this is most likely when an organisation's environment is undergoing change and its entrenched culture may no longer be appropriate (or may even restrict or provide a barrier to change). Consider that each characteristic exists on a continuum from low to high and that your organisation can be appraised against each characteristic (one being low and ten being high). Regenesys Business School 28
By building a composite picture of your organisation's culture, you establish a basis for shared understanding how things are done. TABLE 2: ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE - COMMON CHARACTERISTICS Characteristics Innovation and risk taking Attention to detail Outcome orientation People orientation Team orientation Aggressiveness Stability Descriptions The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks. The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail. The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve them. The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organisation. The degree to which work activities are organised around teams rather than individuals. The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easy going. The degree to which organisational activities emphasise maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth. Scale of 1-10 (Robbins and Judge, 2013:546-547) Task Questions 1. Use the data collection tool above (Table 2) and assess your organisation's culture. A rating of 1 means a low degree of the selected characteristic and 10 signifies a very high degree of that characteristic. 2. Ask a sample of colleagues in your organisation to complete the assessment and then compare the results. 3. Do you all share the same perspectives of the culture in your organisation? Why/why not? 4. Are there any common themes? What are these and what significance might these have on change in your organisation? Sub Cultures Although there might be agreement amongst an organisation s members that its culture has common properties, there may also be subcultures in an organisation. These subcultures espouse the values of the dominant culture plus additional values. This may be a natural phenomenon, e.g. the culture in the finance department may be different to say the marketing department (left brain versus right brain). Whilst this may be acceptable, it's useful to make these distinctions when planning for organisational development. Regenesys Business School 29
Strong Versus Weak Cultures Robbins and Judge (2013:548) describe a strong culture where most employees responding to management surveys have the same opinion about the organisation, in particular the vision, mission, and values. When the culture is strong the employees influence member behaviour the high degree of 'sharedness' and intensity creates a climate of high behavioural control. The unanimity of purpose builds cohesiveness, loyalty and organisational commitment. Culture (especially a strong one) can also be a liability to organisational development. Three potential liabilities are (Robbins et al., 2009:428): Culture as a barrier to change Culture as a barrier to diversity Culture as a barrier to acquisitions and mergers Of course, if the culture is misaligned (does not serve the organisation's vision, mission and desired values), and it is strong, this may be potentially destructive (dysfunctional) and difficult to change. We shouldn't ignore the potentially dysfunctional aspects of culture, especially a strong one, on our organisational effectiveness. Watch the video clip below. It explains the concepts of organisational culture and argues why it matters in organisations. Denison, D., 2010, What is organisational culture? Why culture matters to your organisation [video], http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd0kf3wd120 (accessed 16 August 2013). Task Questions After watching the video above discuss the following: 1. How does an 'iceberg' help us to explain organisational culture? 2. Why do we look backwards to understand culture? 3. What are the values of the past in your organisation? And in the future? Regenesys Business School 30
Values as Cultural Building Blocks Read the following article discussing personal values and beliefs in the workplace: Personal values and beliefs in the workplace Values are quite often, a very subjective thing. Values are defined as the ideals, customs, or institutions of a society toward which the people of the group have an affective, or emotional regard. Consequentially, it's very easy to see how values can vary from society to society, and person to person. These values can have a very strong impact on an individual s satisfaction with their job. If the values of an individual conflicts with the practices of their employer's organization, it can cause incredibly low levels of job satisfaction in the employee. Values are very important to most people, and when compromised, they become very unhappy and potentially even depressed with their circumstances, but when the organization follows practices that are in agreement or unison with the individuals own values, it can improve the employee's sense of job satisfaction and happiness with their job because they are working for an organization that shares similar beliefs. Values differ from one person to the next person. Although something may be important to one person working for a particular organization, their co-worker who works in the cubicle next to them may not share the same opinions, beliefs or values as this. Generally, if kept in perspective, difference of values between employees does not cause problems in the workplace. However, when the practices of the organization as a whole conflict with an employee of the organization's values, it can be the start of problems, and low levels of job satisfaction in the employee. Further, when the values of an individual employee conflict with the actions of an employer it causes a great deal of stress and tension in the workplace, whether it is noticed or unnoticed. An employee may feel very out of place, awkward or a misfit in the work environment, especially if many of his or her co-workers have voiced their agreement with whatever practice the organization is enacting that the particular employee disagrees with. This can lead to the employees feeling uncomfortable around their co-workers, creating a tenser situation for themselves. They may begin dreading coming to work, and engage in both psychological and physical withdrawal behaviours. These withdrawal behaviours can, and usually, lead to either termination or voluntary resignation of the employee. (Van Vleet, 2011) As the article describes, values underlie attitudes and behaviours. It is argued that there must be a match between an individual s values and those that predominate in the organisation. Organisational values that are "in unison and agreement with an individual employee's values can strengthen the bonds that the individual has with his/her employing organisation", (Van Vleet, 2011). As Van Vleet (2011) states: "Some differences in values may be considered more important or less important than others and the level at which an individual ranks a value can affect how much of an impact a conflict of values between the individual and the organisation's practices can have on the individual's job satisfaction and happiness with his/her employer." Regenesys Business School 31
1. What are some of the most important values that you bring with you to the workplace? 2. Are these values synonymous with your organisation's values? 3. What impact does this have on your job satisfaction? 4. As a manager, how important is it to understand organisational, team and individual values? There are a number of functions culture can perform in an organisation, not the least of which reducing staff turnover as highlighted in Van Veet's (2011) article above. Culture has the following functions (Robbins et al., 2009:427): It distinguishes the organisation a boundary-defining role It conveys a sense of identity to the organisation It can facilitate commitment to something larger than individual self-interest It enhances social system stability the social glue that binds the organisation by delineating appropriate standards for what employees say and do It serves as a meaningful 'control' (or rather guiding) mechanism that shapes the attitudes and behaviour of employees Creating and Sustaining Culture Since much of what we do now, depends on what we did in the past and our relative success in doing so, the ultimate source of an organisation s culture is its founders (or long-term managers). There are three ways in which founders influence culture-creation. They: Appoint and keep employees who think and feel the way they do Socialise (or may even indoctrinate) employees to their way of thinking and feeling Model behaviour that encourages employees to identify with them, thereby internalising their beliefs, values, and assumptions 1. Do I seek out new employees who have values that are consistent with our organisation? Why/why not? 2. How does the way that I think and feel affect those reporting to me? 3. Do my behaviours have the effect of 'socialising' others to our desired culture? 4. In the event of change at our organisation, how important is it for me to model my behaviour according to the desired change? Once a culture has been established, how is it sustained, assuming it is a culture worth sustaining? One way is to give employees a set of similar experiences, in particular during the selection process, by the actions of top management, and through socialisation methods (Robbins et al., 2009:430). The selection process sustains a culture by selecting employees who affirm its core values and not selecting those who attack them. Because selection is a two-way process, employee candidates themselves may step out of the process if they identify a conflict in values. Regenesys Business School 32
Top management has a significant influence on the culture of an organisation. Through the behaviour of top managers, messages are sent to employees about what is appropriate/accepted and what is not from dress code to expected levels of freedom in decision-making, and openness to innovation. The adaptation process, which assists new employees to adjust to the organisational culture, is called socialisation. Although the most critical stage in socialisation is at the point of entry, an employee will be socialised by its organisation throughout their career there. The three stages of socialisation are illustrated below. FIGURE 6: STAGES OF SOCIALISATION Pre- arrival A socialisa)on model Encounter Produc)vity Metamorphosis Commitment Turnover (Robbins and Judge, 2013:555) The three-stage process impacts on the employee s productivity, commitment and intention to stay within the organisation (turnover). Successful metamorphosis should have a positive impact on new employees' productivity and their commitment to the organisation and reduce their propensity to leave the organisation. Whilst socialisation has a role to play in organisational development and new employees, how do existing employees learn the culture? Some of the most important forms through which culture is transmitted are (Robbins et al., 2009:432): Stories Rituals Material symbols Language Regenesys Business School 33
Stories are used to convey what the organisation stands for (or is about) they are metaphorical ways to emphasise certain values. A story about the founder starting a company in a garage with no resources or capital is sharing and reinforcing the values of determination and passion. A story about a team of colleagues working late into the night to meet a deadline is reinforcing the value of sacrifice and teamwork. Rituals are those repetitive activities that express and reinforce the key values of the organisation. Organisational chants are an example of a ritual. Rituals are repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the key values of the organisation, which goals are most important, which people are important, and which are expendable." (Robbins and Judge, 2013:559) Like weddings and funerals in communities, rituals within the organisation declare what the culture approves of, affirms those working according to the behavioural boundaries, and release emotions of pride and belonging. Rituals can be significant in the face change. Material symbols include office layout and resources allocated to team members or executives (e.g. types of travel permitted, office size and furnishings, work attire, workplace food, rest spaces, etc.). These all send messages to members of the organisation about who is valued, how power is rewarded (if at all); to what extent the organisation is authoritarian or participative; whether or not rest is allowed; and to what extent health and wellness are valued, as well as what constitutes health. Language is a vast area of study in understanding how groups generate and maintain culture. In its boundary-setting function, culture uses language to delineate those in the know by using jargon. Language is also used to emphasise or de-emphasise elements of protocol. Members may be called by their first names, their role titles (CEO/ Chairman), or their qualification title (Mr or Dr). There is either a high or low tolerance in organisations for casual speech, cursing, gender sensitive language, language of protocol ( Mr Chairman, I have addressed the stakeholders ), as well as clear delineations about who may speak to whom and under which circumstances. Task Questions 1. Identify example of the following in your organisation: Socialisation Stories Rituals Material symbols Language 2. In your opinion, how useful are these (have these been) in organisational development (and change) at your organisation? Regenesys Business School 34
Creating an Ethical and Positive Organisational Culture This section (Robbins and Judge, 2013:559-560) looks at ethical cultures. A culture that shapes high ethical standards is one that is: High in risk tolerance Low to moderate in aggressiveness Focused on means as well as outcomes When the culture is strong and supports high ethical standards Robbins and Judge (2013:559) argue that it should have a very powerful and positive influence on employee behaviour. Organisations across the private and public sector that have failed to establish proper codes of ethical conduct are reported on regularly in the media. 1. Recent ruling by the Competition's Board on collusion in the Construction Industry. 2. Corruption and maladministration in our municipalities. 3. Dumping of toxic waste. 4. Theft of intellectual property. 5. Reckless use of chemicals. Task Questions 1. How does your organisation define 'ethical standards'? 2. In your opinion, why have Robbins and Judge (2013) highlighted the following in shaping ethical standards?: High in risk tolerance Low to moderate in aggressiveness Focused on means as well as outcomes 7.1.4 Rational, Emotional and Spiritual Intelligence required for OD It is argued that for organisational development to succeed a combination of rational (IQ), emotional (EQ) and spiritual intelligence (SQ) are required. While we are familiar with IQ one's cognitive abilities the other two intelligences are often less well understood. Consider the explanations below. Regenesys Business School 35
Emotional intelligence (EQ): "The majority of problems in our personal lives and organisations are related to relationships and not material things. Relationship management is about empathy, integrity, negotiation and compassion a set of abilities called emotional intelligence. Although seemingly simple, these competencies have a most profound and strategic effect on people and organisations. We are living in an era of information and a global knowledge economy where human capital is increasingly valued more than financial capital. Emotional intelligence is an ability to understand and manage one's own emotions and those of others to direct, control and express feelings in order to make the right decisions, act effectively and achieve a set goal. It is about transforming anger into love, depression into excitement and fear into freedom. Emotional energy, when managed and channelled in the right direction, propels an individual or organisation to a higher level of performance by generating commitment, happiness and passion that breeds success. This energy becomes a source of competitive advantage. The opposite is true, when emotional energy is mismanaged; it creates a vicious cycle of destruction and unhappiness which leads to depression, conflict, demotivation and low performance." (Saravanja, 2011:17) Spiritual intelligence (SQ): "Currently, EQ has been challenged by spiritual intelligence (SQ). SQ is about intuition, insight and awareness. It is about wisdom, meaning and truth. Danah Zohar, and expert in SQ, argues that SQ is the highest form of intelligence and that SQ is the foundation for effective functioning of both IQ and EQ. As the business world changes, spiritual capital is becoming a buzzword, challenging emotional capital. Charles Darwin said, "it is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change." (Saravanja, 2011:18) IQ, EQ, and SQ are especially important when selecting the different roles required in the organisational development process, e.g. the change manager and change champions. Read more about SQ in the workplace in the article below: Tee Suan Chin, S., Yoon Kin Tong, A., and Yoon Kin Tong, D. 2011, 'The Roles of Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence at the Workplace', Journal of Human Resources Management Research, Vol. 2011. 7.1.5 Congruence Aligning the Drivers of Organisational Performance Before we conclude this section, it is important to explore your understanding of 'congruence' (or fit). The Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model (in Falletta, 2008) specifies inputs, throughputs, and outputs, which describe the: "Degree to which the needs, demands, goals, objectives, and/or structures of one component are consistent with the needs, demands, goals, objectives, and/or structures of another component". Regenesys Business School 36
For example, a task demands compliance with policies and procedures (a level of skill and knowledge) and likewise the individuals available to perform the task must possess the required skills and knowledge. The model is termed the congruence model based on the fit between the system components. FIGURE 7: COMPONENTS OF THE CONGRUENCE MODEL (Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model in Falletta, 2008) Throughout this module keep in mind the concept of 'organisational alignment'. Home study There are numerous organisation-wide frameworks that OD managers can use. Carry out your own research on the following: 1. McKinsey 7S Framework 2. Tichy's Technical Political Cultural (TPC) Framework Regenesys Business School 37
Recap Questions Sketch a mind map of the points covered in this opening section placing Organisational Development at the centre of your mind map. Your mind map should have at least 10 preliminary arms, e.g.: 1. How history has informed OD 2. Sustainable Performance 3. Organisational behaviour (OB) 4. Individuals, groups, and structures/systems 5. Strategic alignment/purpose 6. Change 7. Culture 8. Value-driven behaviour 9. Ethics 10. IQ, EQ, and SQ 11. Congruence and other organisation-wide frameworks When you have completed your mind map (including all the extensions) prestik this up on the wall and carry out a gallery walk (reflect on your colleague's mind maps). Important: At Masters Level, National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 9, you must be able to presents texts guided by the framework described below. In order to achieve this you must read widely particularly the sources recommended in this Study Guide: A. Knowledge content (factual, conceptual and procedural knowledge multiple perspectives) B. Understanding/explanation (definitions, theories, models, relationships, frameworks, processes/procedures) C. Application (use of knowledge for a specific purpose, e.g. citing of explained examples) D. Analysis (breaking down/segmenting into parts and describing how the parts relate to the whole in examples given) E. Synthesis (drawing together of the discussion to formulate conclusions) F. Evaluation (making of judgements based on specific criteria and/or standards) G. Insight (recognising components of a new structure, creating something new, demonstrating original thought) Students will be penalised both in the assignment and examination by failing to demonstrate the above. Applying synthesis, evaluative competence, and providing insights (original thought) will significantly elevate the quality of your submissions but only if these are supported by the early stages in the framework (e.g. knowledge, understanding, application and analysis). If you are unsure as to the requirements for answering questions at NQF Level 9 please revert to your facilitator or academic head for guidance. Regenesys Business School 38
7.2 ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODELS AND PROCESSES Timeframe: Learning Outcomes: Recommended Book: Recommended Articles: Recommended Multimedia: Section Overview Minimum of 40 hours Select and apply appropriate knowledge and skills in evaluating organisational development models and processes; and Design and propose organisational development and change management tools and processes across different business sectors. Examine ethical issues in the identification, formulation and implementation of organisational development interventions. Chapters 6 and 7 in Brown, D. 2013, Experiential Approach to Organisational Development, International Edition, 8 th ed., Pearson Education Limited. Hubbell, L. 2004, 'Struggling with the Issue of Who the Client is in Organization Development Interventions', Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 25 (5), 399-410. Rowland, H. 2007, 'Organizational Development: The New Buzz Word', Strategic Direction, 23 (1), 3. Amabile, T., 2011, 'The Power of Progress' [video], http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byc-t7xb2pc&list=pl017549c9d4822c59 (accessed 16 August 2013). The purpose of this section is to provide the models, processes, and techniques to carry out organisational development. Key to the process is an understanding of 'action research'. Keep in mind that systems' thinking is at the heart of all process changes and that linear thinking can lead to poor outcomes. 7.2.1 Few Absolutes (and straightforward cause-and-effect relationships) OB and OD deal with people and, in particular, with their behaviours, relationships and culture. These are slippery concepts and are hard to pin down to a simple formula. In the study of OB and OD, we make attempts to assess what will happen given certain variables and to set those variables up in organisations in the hope of changing for the better, but: People are complex and complicated, and so too must be the theories developed to explain their actions" (Robbins et al., 2009:11). Watch the following video, which highlights a simple but powerful concept. Amabile, T., 2011, 'The Power of Progress' [video], http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byct7xb2pc&list=pl017549c9d4822c59 (accessed 16 August 2013). Regenesys Business School 39
Task Questions 1. What is the connection between an 'Organisational Development process' and 'Action Research'? 2. Why is action research recommended for an OD process? 3. What are the key learning points, from the video clip, in terms of OD? 7.2.2 Organisational Development Strategies and Business Strategies Essentially, the purpose of a business strategy is (Lewis, n.d.): To set the context of values and purpose of an organisation To clarify and define the organisation's goals To provide guidelines for the allocation of resources to achieve the purpose and goals of the organisation To guide the behaviour and activities of the organisation as a whole Whilst human resource management focuses on aligning human resource plans to the strategic plans of an organisation and identifying and supplying the human resource needs of the organisation, for the OD manager/consultant, it goes further than that OD is concerned with the structures and processes of the organisation as well. The OD manager/consultant needs to evaluate how the human resources will ensure strategic success through the structures of the organisation and the processes the organisation adopts. An effective organisational development intervention will, therefore, provide the organisation with a map to achieve the business strategy through organisational systems and processes. Without the link between the OD intervention strategy and the business strategy both plans will fail. Task Questions 1. Keeping in mind that "structure follows strategy" what is the structure in your organisation and does this structure support the organisation's long-term strategy? 2. How, in particular, is the HR strategy aligned to the Business Strategy? Regenesys Business School 40
7.2.3 Textbook OD vs. Real Life OD What has already been discussed and what follows in this module are a number of guidelines about how best to manage change through organisational development. It is very important to learn these fundamental principles, phases and critical considerations. However, OD often happens in ways that do not look exactly like the formal guidelines. The article, 'Organizational Development: The New Buzz Word' (Rowland, 2007) reviews management development and focuses on practical implications. Although good OD is written up in many textbooks at least three of which are referred to in this module the reality within an organisation is different, with the HR or OD practitioner having to work more opportunistically. Rowland, H. 2007, 'Organizational Development: The New Buzz Word', Strategic Direction, 23 (1), 3. Now that we have considered some of the overriding issues we turn to models and process. 7.2.4 What is a Model? A theory is an explanation of an aspect of the social, artistic or natural world. It is a set of knowledge principles that applies in a variety of situations. The word derives from the ancient Greek word thoeria, which means, looking at, viewing, beholding". So, a theory is a way of seeing or looking at a phenomenon. Like a theory, a model also represents a process or phenomenon or set of concepts. It tends to do this graphically. A model is also a sound way of applying the thinking of one discipline to another. For example, the design of a building s air-conditioning system could be based on a model of respiration in the human body. A model (figure or picture) that represents how an idea or process is supposed to work makes a visual statement of activities and the results you expect to see from your idea in particular the desired effect (Milstein and Chapel, 2012). It can also show the route taken to a specific destination (the rationale of the approach). The components of a model are given in Table 3 and discussed in Table 4. Regenesys Business School 41
TABLE 3: COMPONENTS OF A MODEL Purpose Context Inputs Activities Outputs Effects The purpose is expressed as opportunities or problems that the model will address. The context (or conditions) is the environment in which the model will be applied. These will indicate the resources, e.g. human resources used for the effort or initiative. These could also include constraints. This indicates what the initiative will do with the resources to initiate the process. Once the activities have been conducted, the evidence of the initiative provides the outputs. The results of the initiative and the impact it might have are indicated in this section of the model. (Milstein and Chapel, 2012) Diagrammatically, the components are presented in Figure 8 below. FIGURE 8: COMPONENTS OF A MODEL (Milstein and Chapel, 2012) According to Milstein and Chapel (2012) a model could be used in the following ways during an OD intervention: Regenesys Business School 42
TABLE 4: WHEN WE USE MODELS During planning to: During implementation to: During staff and stakeholder orientation to: During evaluation to: During advocacy to: Clarify the OD strategy Identify appropriate outcome targets (and avoid over-promising) Align your efforts with those of other departments Write a request for resources Assess the potential effectiveness of the approach Set priorities for allocating resources Estimate timelines Identify necessary partnerships Negotiate roles and responsibilities Focus discussions and make planning time more efficient Provide an inventory of what you have and what you need to operate the initiative Develop a management plan Incorporate findings from research Make mid-course adjustments Reduce or avoid unintended effects Explain how the overall OD initiative works Show how different people will work together Define what each person is expected to do Indicate how one would know if the initiative is working Document accomplishments Organise evidence about the OD initiative Identify differences between the ideal OD initiative and its real operation Determine which concepts will (and will not) be measured Frame questions about attribution (of cause and effect) and contribution (of initiative components to the outcomes) Specify the nature of questions being asked Prepare reports and other feedback Tell the story of the OD initiative Justify why the OD initiative will work Explain how resource investments will be used (Adapted from Milstein and Chapel, 2012) 7.2.5 Developing an OD model When developing a model, one needs to consider the dependent and independent variables of the situation. These are discussed below. Regenesys Business School 43
Dependent and Independent Variables Dependent variables are those factors that researchers want to predict or affect, and OD managers/consultants want to alter or improve through an intervention of the independent variables. They are, for example: Productivity Absenteeism Turnover Deviant workplace behaviour 'Citizenship' behaviour Job satisfaction When managers engage in an OD process of change, they are usually responding to a gap, issue or problem, which they see reflected through variables such as those listed above. For example, they might engage in a change process to address the challenge of high staff turnover and/or low productivity. The risk is that managers limit their focus to these variables the symptoms instead of paying attention to the root causes. These root causes are reflected in the independent variables. Independent variables are the presumed cause of some change in a dependent variable (Robbins et al., 2009:20). They are the answer to the question: What can affect productivity, absenteeism, turnover, workplace behaviour, and job satisfaction? Robbins et al. (2009:20) identifies three levels of independent variables. These are: Individual-level variables Group-level variables Organisation-system-level variables Examine the model presented by Robbins et al., (2009:21) below (Figure 9). Regenesys Business School 44
FIGURE 9: BASIC OB MODEL (Adapted from Robbins, et al., 2009:21) Regenesys Business School 45
This is a very comprehensive model of OB and helps researchers, managers and consultants to focus on and consider all possible variables independent and dependent when working with organisational effectiveness. 7.2.6 Transformation Model Moerdyk s (2003:58) OD model is similar to Robbins et al. s OB model in some ways. Like Robbins et al. s model, it is a systems model with input, transformation, output and feedback stages. Unlike Robbins et al. s model (which focuses our attention on productivity, absenteeism, etc.) it does not presuppose the nature of the outcomes that are required, but rather suggests that the outputs can be analysed at four levels external stakeholders, individual, team and organisation. These are illustrated below: FIGURE 10: TRANSFORMATION MODEL (Moerdyk, 2003:58) Regenesys Business School 46
Moerdyk (2003) outlines the characteristics of the transformation model as follows: A circular rather than linear model the feedback loop suggests a continuous process requiring ongoing interventions and transformations An alignment model, in that it emphasises that the various transformation processes need to be aligned with each other and with organisational objectives and strategies A multilevel model, in that it sees interventions taking place at different levels in the organisation, from strategic determination to detailed interventions at the individual and group levels Pluralistic, in so far as it considers inputs and outcomes from the point of view of its various internal and external stakeholders A socio technical model, in that it considers the harder, more technical aspects such as job and organisation design and the softer, more social issues such as culture and leadership issues Value-free, in that it does not pre-suppose the nature of the outcomes that are required these have to be negotiated with and between the various stakeholders Flexible and responsive to organisational and environmental influences. This model also helps us understand the OD process in the following ways: It can be an analytic and diagnostic tool as the OD manager/consultant can move from left to right considering all the inputs, transformation elements and then outputs in an organisation. The OD manager/consultant can ask: What environment, resource and history elements come into the system and have an impact on various tasks, culture, leadership, people, policy and organisational structure elements within the organisation? This is all done through the critical step of examining the organisational vision and mission. Moerdyk (2003:59) states the following: These questions and investigations can give information about alignment among the six transformation factors, determining the degree to which each is properly designed and managed, as well as the extent to which each aspect is aligned with the others and with the organisations vision and mission. The OD manager/consultant can then ask what outputs appear to be emerging in relation to the organisation, teams, individuals, and external stakeholders. After diagnosis, the he/she can move from right to left on the model; first establishing what outputs the organisation wants or needs, and then planning interventions within the organisation to achieve these. These interventions could involve the training of people, rebuilding processes, and helping the transition stage with team-building or related activities. Regenesys Business School 47
7.2.7 Simple Intervention-Focused Process The process developed by Schermerhorn (2004:242) below (Figure 10) gives an overview of steps to follow in an OD process. This process is more specifically focused on what we must do to complete an OD intervention, than the interlinked factors that Moerdyk (2003) and Robbins et al. (2009) present. FIGURE 11: ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Establsih a change rela/onship Create links with members of client system Diagnosis Gathering and analysing data, se<ng change objec/ves Interven/on Taking collabora/ve ac/on to implement desired change Evalua/on Following up to reinforce and support change Achieve a terminal rela/onship Withdraw to leave members of client system self- reliant Unfreezing Changing Refreezing (Schermerhorn, 2004:242) 7.2.8 The Organisational Development Process Broadly, a process is a series of logically related activities or tasks performed together to produce a defined set of results. We begin by showing a simple cyclical process, however, keep in mind that a process can have iterations in which the process loops back to previous activities. This was demonstrated when we discussed action research. According to Malhotra (2009) the process of organisational development involves the following activities (see Figure 12): Regenesys Business School 48
FIGURE 12: ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (OD) PROCESS Initial Diagnosis Evaluation and Follow up Data Collection Inter-Group Development Data Feedback Team Building Selection of Interventions Action planning and problem solving Implementation of interventions (Malhotra, 2009) Each of the process steps are summarised in the following table. Note that whilst the process appears linear, looping back to prior process steps may be required. TABLE 5: ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Initial diagnosis Data collection Data feedback Organisations identify or experience problems hindering sustainable performance and growth (or daily activities which could be solved through OD interventions). The OD manager/consultant will then diagnose these problems using different methods e.g. interviews, questionnaires, and/or observation. He/she will collect and document the data, analyse and report on the findings. He/she will collect and document the primary data. Secondary data is also collected concerning the organisational climate and behavioural problems (e.g. management reports, industry data, human resource information, etc.). The data collected are analysed/interpreted by the OD manager/consultant and feedback is given to decision makers. Regenesys Business School 49
Selection (and design) of interventions Implementation of interventions Action planning and problem solving Team building Inter-group development Evaluation and follow up Intervention strategies are identified and designed in alignment with the strategic plan/direction of the organisation (including policies, procedures, and other internal and external systems). The intervention strategies are implemented in the organisation. Through the interventions, specific problems are identified and groups prepare recommendations and specific action plans to solve these problems. Team building exercises are introduced and practiced. The OD manager/consultant encourages group meetings and forms part of group/team discussions to achieve results or plan actions. The OD intervention is evaluated against the desired outcomes identified to ensure change has taken place. (Adapted from Malhotra, 2009) The process described above is one of many processes. Remember, a process must allow some flexibility. According to McLean (2005:18) most OD processes are based on an action research model as discussed in the previous section. 7.2.9 Systems Theory A 'system' is described by (Laszlo and Krippner, 1998) as: a complex of interacting components together with the relationships among them that permit the identification of a boundary-maintaining entity or process. We can derive from the definition above that a 'system' has multiple and different parts (units) working together to achieve a purpose. According to Brown (2011:38), a 'system' has five qualities that are useful to keep in mind in designing the model and process to be followed: A 'system' is designed to reach an objective A 'system' has a recognised arrangement In the recognised arrangement, the elements are dependent The 'system' has a definite flow The bigger picture of the 'system' is more important than the individual activities/elements. Systems theory focuses on complexity and interdependency. This means that a 'system' is viewed as a whole with its subsystems and the relationships between the subsystems. Regenesys Business School 50
According to Anderson (n.d.), Systems Theory: is an interdisciplinary approach of evaluating how various parameters, characteristics, or phenomenon interact; and focus primarily on the effects of those interactions. Anderson (n.d.) differentiates between three types of 'systems' (Table 6): TABLE 6: TYPES OF 'SYSTEMS' Closed system Open system Isolated system Nothing happens beyond the boundaries of the system. Boundaries can be crossed and often experienced as uncontrolled. These systems are open yet changes are controlled or limited. (Anderson, n.d.) Systems Theory analyses the behaviour of complex 'systems'. In order for the organisation (the larger 'system') to be successful, the components/units (subsystems) must work together. Success therefore relies on synergy, interrelations and interdependencies between the units (Ingram, 2012). Applying Systems Theory in organisations relies on employees working towards a goal together in units dependent on one another and synergised. This ensures that everyone is working together but on his/her own tasks, which form part of the bigger strategy of the organisation. 7.2.10 A Focus on Process, Structure or People? Contemporary theorists can be categorised as process-focused, structure-focused and peoplefocused (Bolsmann, 2003:72-80). Each type of OD theory will inform the choice of OD intervention that an OD manager/consultant might use. These interventions are explained below. Process-focused OD Process-focused OD looks at internal organisational processes and assumes that changing the organisation from within can help to enhance (or heal) any state of 'ill health' that an organisation experiences. Process-focused OD looks at the way information, money and resources move around within and into/out of an organisation, and attempts to address any blockages, backlogs, repeats or related problems. Regenesys Business School 51
Structure-focused OD The structural relationships in which people work have a bearing on employees attitudes and behaviours, (Robbins et al., 2009:419). Structure-focused OD tends to be underpinned by the reengineering and radical re-invention of an organisation. The emphasis is on drastically re-thinking what an organisation does and how to structure it to support this offering. With an emphasis on leaner organisations that are knowledge-focused rather than labour-heavy, structure is often a consideration in a radical OD change processes. To understand this model one needs to understand different organisational structures and their purposes. Organisational structure is defined by Robbins et al. (2009:401) as: Organisational structure defines how jobs/tasks are formally divided, grouped and coordinated. To design an organisational structure, managers should consider the following: Work specialisation Departmentalisation Chain of command Span of control Centralisation and decentralisation Formalisation (Robbins et al., 2009:401) These key issues are summarised in Table 7 for discussion. TABLE 7: DESIGNING ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES Work specialisation Departmentalisation Chain of command Managers need to interrogate the job tasks of individual employees. To do this, jobs need to be broken down into steps, which indicate the tasks needed to complete each of the jobs. An employee job specification is then developed within the steps identified in the job tasks. Developing the work specifications will then counter two employees doing the same task and jobs will be specific and related to strategic objectives. Reflecting on the models presented above, work specialisation is done for the individual level of organisational development. Departmentalisation refers to how jobs are grouped together. The most often used technique to departmentalise is to group according to function. Another method to departmentalise is to group jobs by the organisation's products. Departmentalisation forms a unit, which comprises of groups. Clearly, this reflects the group level of organisational development. The chain of command reflects on the reporting line of the organisation. It is a line from the top management of the organisation to the lower levels of the organisation. Within the chain of command are two concepts, 'authority' and 'unit of command'. Authority refers to the notion that managers give commands and expect these to be followed. The unity of command refers to the principle that each employee has one manager to report to. Regenesys Business School 52
Span of control Centralisation and decentralisation Formalisation The span of control asks the question: how many employees can one manager manage? This is essential to organisations as it dictates the different levels of management the organisation will have. Remember, however, the more levels of management, the longer it takes to make decisions. Centralisation refers to the way in which decisions are centralised (how many people have the authority to make decisions that influence employees and productivity). If an organisation s functions are centralised, top management makes decisions and employees follow these decisions. An organisation functions as decentralised if middle, and sometimes lower level, managers make decisions for their units. Formalisation reflects the standardisation of jobs. Highly formalised jobs dictate to employees how a job should be done and when it should be done. These employees are expected to handle the same inputs, which result in the same outputs. Job descriptions, work policies and processes are specialised and defined specifically in highly formalised organisations. Standardisation therefore inhibits employees from engaging in alternative behaviours and employees know what is expected of them at all times. Employees operating in low formalised organisations have much more freedom as to their job inputs. (Robbins et al., 2009:401-405) Structure is often the first place to which OD consultants and managers go if they wish to improve productivity or reduce costs. However, restructuring is not always the best way to deal with these challenges and can result in reduced productivity and increased costs if not well designed and managed. Productivity often requires a people-focused OD approach instead (see below) and reducing costs can be about improving process (see above). People-focused OD People-focused OD emphasises cultural and individual changes: By considering the range of individuals with their various influences and persuasions organisations can take these into account and respond accordingly (Bolsmann, 2003:76). The section on culture covered earlier in the Study Guide informs people-based considerations for OB and OD, however, you are encouraged to read more widely. 7.2.11 Taking Cognisance for the Need for Change Organisations are often confronted with forces that require change. These forces include: 1. Global level 2. Regional and sub-regional level 3. National level 4. Organisational level (individual, team, and structure/system levels) Regenesys Business School 53
TABLE 8: FORCES OF CHANGE Global Regional/sub regional The Global Competitiveness Report (Schwab 2012-2013) identifies twelve pillars of competitiveness that drive organisational productivity and competitiveness. The pillars indicate the current and future stages of development of the different countries around the globe. Within the African context, many African leaders are working towards political, social and economic stability with the assistance of various communities: The Southern African Development Community (SADC) New Partnership for Africa s Development (NEPAD) African Union (AU) National Organisational The impact of political unrest has implications for the entire continent, especially infrastructure development and foreign direct investment. Government spending and legislative changes are example of factors affecting change at a national level. The competitive environment determines the organisational context, both locally and internationally. In innovative industries the changes can be rapid and many. The forces of change have to be considered when planning organisational development interventions both current, short-term and in the long-term. 7.2.12 Change as Learning Given that both OB and OD are primarily about how individuals, groups and organisations behave, and OD in particular is about how they change; and given that any observable change in behaviour is prima facie evidence that learning has taken place (Robbins et al., 2009:63), understanding learning is very important to OD managers/consultants. Organisational Learning In his bestselling book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation, Senge (1990), popularised the term learning organisation. The concept of a learning organisation relates closely to the study and practice of OD (Robbins et al., 2009:494-498) because the ability to learn during change as a 'whole-organisation' is critical to organisational success. Many OD theorists and practitioners use Senge s (1990) five disciplines to evaluate and improve organisational effectiveness. Learning organisations master the following basic disciplines: Systems thinking (to examine the interrelationships between the parts; use of systems maps; to comprehend and address the whole; to continue to see the organisation as a dynamic process) Personal mastery (organisations only learn through individuals who learn; not something that you possess rather a lifelong process; managing the gap between our vision and reality) Mental models (how we understand the world and how we take action; requires deep and reflective analysis turning the mirror inward) Regenesys Business School 54
Building a shared vision (a genuine vision; shared pictures of the future; people excel not because they are told to but because they want to) Team learning (when people learn together members grow more rapidly; starts with dialogue; suspend assumptions and think together; recognise the patterns of interaction in teams that undermine learning) As we have emphasised, OD programmes include diagnosis and research a process to understand the current situation. The following example (selected from Progress International, 2013) provides a simple audit (data collection) to assess an organisation's learning culture. Bear in mind that data collection takes many forms (e.g. quantitative, qualitative, primary, secondary), and should follow sound research principles (e.g. reliability and validity). TABLE 9: ASSESSING AN ORGANISATION'S LEARNING CULTURE Pro-learning culture 1-5 Anti-learning culture 1-5 People at all levels ask questions and share stories about successes and failures and what they have learned. Everyone creates, keeps, and propagates stories of individuals who have improved their own processes People take at least some time to reflect on what has happened and what may happen. People are treated as complex individuals. Managers encourage continuous experimentation. People are hired and promoted on the basis of their capacity for learning and adapting to new situations. Performance reviews include and pay attention to what people have learned. Senior managers participate in training programmes design for new or high potential employees. Senior managers are willing to explore their underlying values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations. Conversations in management meetings constantly explore the values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations underlying proposals and problems. Customer feedback is solicited, actively examined, and included in the next operational or planning cycle. Managers presume that energy comes in large part from learning and growing. Managers think about their learning quotient, that is, their interest in and capacity for learning new things, and the learning quotient of their employees. Total for pro-learning culture Managers share information on a need-to-know basis. People keep secrets and don't describe how events really happened. Everyone believes they know what to do, and they proceed on this assumption. Little time or attention is given to understanding lessons learned from projects. People are treated like objects or resources without attention to their individuality Employees proceed with work only when they feel certain of the outcome. People are hired and promoted on the basis of their technical expertise as demonstrated by credentials. Performance reviews focus almost exclusively on what people have done. Senior managers appear to only "kick off" management training programmes (avoiding participation). Senior managers are defensive and unwilling to explore their underlying values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations. Conversations tend to move quickly to blaming and scapegoating with little attention to the process that led to a problem on how to avoid it in the future. Customer feedback is not solicited and is often ignored. Managers presume that energy comes from "corporate success" meaning profits and senior management bonuses. Managers think that they know all they need to know and that their employees do not have the capacity to learn much. Total for anti-learning culture (Progress International, 2013) Regenesys Business School 55
Task Questions 1. Complete the above assessment and then ask a sample of your colleagues to complete the same questionnaire. 2. Compare your findings with your colleagues. 3. What do the results tell you? The purpose of this module is not to cover the process of business research (this is covered in your Research Module). Research methodologies are, however, highly recommended for OD managers to ensure rigorous analysis of the problems. When OD is seen as a 'quick fix' there are very real dangers of failure. Case study Read the case study presented below and answer the questions that follow. Point The case for flexibility in organisation design In today s chaotic and uncertain world, there is essentially only one type of design that will work. That is an organic structure. Our reasoning is: uncertainty is a major determinant of an organisation s structure. Today s organisations face uncertainties caused by constant change in the environment. They also face technological uncertainties as a result of their quest for innovation. These uncertainties require that organisations be flexible. And what type of structure is most adaptive? The organic structure. Organisations face uncertainties because factors like market-demand, competitor s actions, future technological breakthroughs and employees availability are not fully known or understood. Managers have never been all-seeing, allknowing futurists. But in the past couple of decades, change has come with unprecedented speed. When a manager could anticipate a competitor s new product three years in advance, flexibility wasn t that important. Three years provided plenty of lead-time to respond. Nowadays, lead-times are more likely weeks rather than years. And the competitor might be someone who didn t even exist a year ago. So, the type of structure that worked in the 1960s or the 1970s won t work today. Flexibility is the degree to which an organisation is able to absorb, cause, or respond to strategic changes. Organisations that are flexible are able to reposition themselves in a market, change their game plans, or dismantle their current strategies. They are quick on their feet. They can re-employ their resources rapidly to take advantage of new opportunities and extricate themselves from past commitments. It is true that high flexibility comes with a price. It trades off efficiency. The organic structure has redundant functions and wasteful slack. It lacks definitive regulations and clear lines of authority. Yet, today s managers have little choice. They either build structures that are flexible or they risk being defeated by their more adaptive competitors. Regenesys Business School 56
Counterpoint It is true that there is a trade-off between flexibility and efficiency. But don t be too quick to conclude that only the flexible survive. Efficiency is still a desirable attribute in organisations. As long as consumers assess the cost of a product or service before they buy it and there is nothing to suggest that consciousness of costs no longer exists there will be a concern with efficiency. And the mechanistic structure continues to be the most efficient way to organise work activities. Flexibility requires an organisation to possess slack resources. And with their unused or under-utilised resources organisations can be too flexible. Because flexibility comes with high costs, organisations that are over adaptive jeopardise their existence through inefficiency. For instance, the PC maker who is overly flexible will have higher costs than his or her more rigid and efficient competitors. Unless the highly flexible firm can continually generate more innovative products, consumers will not be able to justify the higher costs of its PCs. Mechanistic structures can still thrive. Their high specialisation, formalisation, and rigid decision-making hierarchy make them efficient machines. For completing routine tasks in relatively stable environments, they can consistently underprice and outperform their more flexible counterparts. The case for the mechanistic structure and against flexibility is essentially this. The mechanistic structure maximises efficiency. It allows firms to produce lower costs and to pass those lower costs on in lower prices. As long as there are consumers who value low-price over the latest innovation, the mechanistic structure will survive. Moreover, to the degree that management can insulate its organisation against environmental uncertainty through actions such as forecasting, competitive intelligence, stockpiling inventories, advertising and lobbying it can continue to use the mechanistic structure and enjoy its efficiencies even under conditions of high uncertainty. (Meilich, O. 1997, 'The flexibility-efficiency debate: review and theoretical framework', Conference paper presented at the 1997 Academy of Management Conference Boston, M.A. in: Robbins et al, 2009:416.) Please answer the following questions based on the case study: 1. Together with the Anand and Daft (2007) article, analyse the organisational structure in your organisation. 2. Evaluate the effectiveness of this organisational structure. 3. If you had the authority to redesign your organisational structure, how would you change it? Substantiate the changes you would make within the organisational development framework of growth, performance, and sustainability. 7.2.13 Who is Responsible for OD? OD as a function can be located in various places. It is useful to discuss these separately: An internal OD unit The external consultant Regenesys Business School 57
An Internal OD Unit OD process design and facilitation can be performed by an internal OD unit, whose primary function is the on-going, sustainable, improvement in effectiveness of the organisation through diagnosis, change interventions, and evaluation. When an organisation has an internal OD unit there are a number of benefits. These include: An insider s understanding of the organisation s systems, strategy, culture and people Readily available experts in OD to help with crafting and implementing strategies over the long-term There are also risks and disadvantages to internal OD teams. The OD team may: Be consumed by the organisation s behaviours, culture and systems as a whole, which may result in them sacrificing an honest view of what is really going on Be perceived as being on the side of management and therefore, understood to be an implementation arm of executive strategy, without consultation with the rest of the employees Include OD units comprised of junior level human resource employees that cannot transform high-level strategy thus making any OD intervention limited in its efficacy It is advisable that OD is carried out by managers with a well-developed knowledge of the OD discipline together with robust research and analytical competencies. Also worth noting is the threat that managers may be defensive about the performance of their units or teams, or their own outputs, and so may not accurately diagnose or offer a true reflection of organisational needs. The External Consultant For many organisations, the preferred approach is an external OD consultant. This approach allows the consultant to collaborate and facilitate, without being consumed by the organisation s culture and ideally he/she can lead the client system to solve its own problems. However, this approach does carry the risk of dependence and is potentially more expensive. External consultants can be very costly and this, combined with the threat of dependence if the process is not well managed, can cause the cost of change to accumulate. Focusing on the external consultant approach, French and Bell (1999:29-30) outline Schein s basic models of consultation: The purchase-of-expertise model; the doctor-patient model and the process-consultation model. The purchase-of-expertise model involves the client identifying a need, and hiring a consultant to meet that need (e.g. a training and development consultant). In the doctor-patient model the client identifies a more general state of ill health. The client then hires a consultant to diagnose the causes, and propose a remedy (e.g. the organisation may be experiencing an organisation-wide lack of responsiveness to customers). Regenesys Business School 58
The process consultation model involves the consultant working with leaders and their groups/teams to diagnose weaknesses and strengths (not just a need or state of ill health as with the above models). Thus the consultant helps the organisation to improve its own ability to diagnose strengths and weaknesses. The process consultant should not withhold his/her expertise on matters of the learning process itself; and he/she should be very careful not to confuse being an expert on how to help an organisation to learn, with being an expert on the actual management problems, which the organisation is trying to solve. (French and Bell, 1999:259) The OD Consultant s Behaviours There are particular OD consultant behaviours, which are likely to yield greater success than others. In particular, an OD consultant needs to avoid trying to please the client and play the expert role (French and Bell, 1999:29). It should not be the intention of the organisation to depend on the OD consultant with regards to all technical matters. Rather, the consultant needs to be an expert in OD process drawing on the client in terms of technical matters specific to the issues. The OD consultant must display very strong facilitation skills; play the role of facilitator without being an instructor. This means, the OD consultant must be extremely good at using questioning and dialogue to surface issues and assist members of the client organisation to diagnose and solve problems themselves. Further, the OD consultant must be able to raise, present/confront, and manage issues, whilst remaining objective. By being absorbed by the culture, emotions and organisational issues, the OD consultant sacrifices a certain independence and distance, both of which are required to assist the client organisation. The OD consultant needs to model behaviours recommended by the change process (French and Bell, 1999:263). For example, if the consultant is advocating that managers in the organisation should learn to facilitate meetings and draw out contributions from staff at meetings, he/she will have to ensure that this is how he/she facilitates meetings or group encounters with the client. Harvey and Brown (in Bagraim, Cunningham, Potgieter, and Viedge, 2007) use the following two axes to plot the various OD consultant styles: Emphasis on morale Emphasis on effectiveness Refer to Figure 13 below. The stabiliser is focussed on following directives of top management in a mechanical way, whilst remaining emotionally uninvolved and without challenging the status quo paying 'lip service' to management. Few visible goals are evident and little change takes place in either effectiveness or participant satisfaction (an indication that top management is not serious or committed to proposed changes). Regenesys Business School 59
The cheerleader style is focussed on achieving harmonious relationships with high employee morale conflict is avoided. The likely outcome is that important issues are not surfaced (they will persist). In the analyser approach the consultant is objective, but problems are identified, analysed and solutions offered without taking member satisfaction into account. This type of consultant is likely to be quite confrontational and rely on authority and rational problem solving to deal with issues. FIGURE 13: OD CONSULTANT STYLES High( CHEERLEADER( PATHFINDER( Emphasis on morale PERSUADER( Low( STABILISER( ANALYSER( Low( Emphasis on effectiveness High( (Adapted from Bagraim, Cunningham, Potgieter, and Viedge, 2007) The persuader style works hard at trying to balance effectiveness and morale, without optimising either of the two. Finally, in the pathfinder style the consultant strives for both high effectiveness and member satisfaction. He/she believes that effectiveness is only possible when individuals, teams, and the organisational leaders are involved in problem solving. Constructive and open conflict is viewed as a means of unlocking underlying problems, stimulating creative solutions with the objective of greater and sustained effectiveness. Key to the process is collaborative problems solving that challenges underlying patterns of human behaviour in the organisation. The most critical issues and questions are not overlooked. Regenesys Business School 60
The most effective consultant is one who is able to use all of these styles in accordance with the client system needs what the situation requires. However, the pathfinder style is key to meaningful organisation development and change. (Harvey and Brown in Bagraim, Cunningham, Potgieter, and Viedge, 2007:382-383) Task Questions 1. What have been your experiences with OD consultants in your organisation? What styles were evident? 2. How does Harvey and Brown's analysis of consultant styles make you think differently about appointing an OD consultant? 3. How important is it to brief the OD consultant? Justify your response. 4. Locate yourself on Harvey and Brown's analysis chart. What does this tell you about yourself as an OD manager? 7.2.14 Ethical Standards in OD While working with a client to assist them in improving effectiveness, enhancing employee wellbeing and/or improving their own problem-solving resources and capabilities, it is critical to manage the ethics of this potentially challenging relationship delicately. French and Bell (1999:266-268) provide the following guidelines: As an external OD consultant, there is little room for the misrepresentation of one s skills and experience. OD interventions have far reaching consequences, notwithstanding the costs pursuing an intervention that is not likely to work and using an intervention that one does not have the expertise to manage are both ethical violations. The research process, and data collection in particular, must follow ethical standards as recommended by the discipline, for example confidentiality, avoiding misrepresentation and coercion, preventing the skewing/fudging of data, etc. Unethical behaviour can also take the form of collusion when a consultant manages or designs the OD intervention in such a way as to exclude some people or departments, or reveal so-called truths on which a member of the client organisation wishes to focus. False promises to secure trust must be avoided, for example, promising no retrenchments as part of an OD process and then implementing a retrenchment process. External consultants may be tempted to secure the contract by promising unrealistic outcomes. Explicit briefs, monitoring and control including milestones should be considered. Although adherence to statements of ethics helps prevent ethical problems, OD consultants still encounter ethical dilemmas (e.g. role conflict, role ambiguity, employee confidentiality). If the contracting stage is incomplete the subsequent process is open to conflict. Regenesys Business School 61
In 'Struggling with the Issue of who the client is in Organization Development Interventions', the author (Hubbell, 2004) explains how he found himself pulled into the politics of an organisation. The article below notes the author s search for a definitive answer in the literature about who exactly the client is or should be. Within a highly politicised and contentious organisation, it is very difficult for the OD consultant to work for the whole organisation as he/she may be forced to take sides, or get absorbed into a specific subculture. Read Struggling with the Issue of who the Client is in Organization Development Interventions (Hubbell, 2004) and answer the questions. Hubbell, L. 2004, 'Struggling with the Issue of Who the Client is in Organization Development Interventions', Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 25 (5), 399-410. The following example of an ethics encounter highlights the many challenges. Ethics encounter: "One of the fundamental ethical questions facing the OD consultant is how information is disseminated and used. Information is power, and could be used to enhance one's own power base and harm those of others. I remember an experience I had in an organisation, which placed me in a moral dilemma. A manager requested that his employees evaluate his leadership behaviour by means of a questionnaire so that he could improve on it. Unfortunately I was not sure about the level of trust between the manager and his employees. Even though questionnaires may be filled in anonymously, in small groups respondents can be recognised by their handwriting. To prevent the potential misuse of information, I discussed the issue with the employees, first, to probe their willingness to cooperate and, second, to agree on acceptable procedures. We agreed that interviews would be more suitable than questionnaires and that I would show them the report before I passed it on to the manager. This way anonymity was truly guaranteed. Giving them a choice in whether they wanted to meet the request or not gave the OD process credibility and created trust." (Bagraim, Cunningham, Potgieter, and Viedge, 2007:383) Task Questions 1. What can an OD consultant do to avoid taking sides in a highly politicised organisation? 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using an internal OD unit, internal managers, or an external consultant to facilitate change? 3. What are the behaviours and skills required of an OD consultant? 4. How does an OD consultant balance the demands of an organisation with the demands required of rigorous OD processes? Regenesys Business School 62
7.3 ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS Timeframe: Learning Outcomes: Recommended Book: Recommended Articles: Recommended Multimedia: Section Overview: Minimum of 40 hours Critique current and preferred organisational development interventions Understand and review critical success factors of organisational development Chapters 8 to 15 in Brown, D. 2013, Experiential Approach to Organisational Development, International Edition, 8 th ed., Pearson Education Limited. Barner, R. 2006, 'Managing Complex Team Interventions', Team Performance Management, 12 (1/2), 44-54. Kotter, J. 1995, 'Leading Change. Why Transformation Efforts Fail', Harvard Business Review, 85 (1), 96-127. Vemić, J. 2007, 'Employee training and development and the learning organization', Economics and Organization, 4 (2), 209-216. http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/eao/eao200702/eao200702-13.pdf (accessed 2 May 2014). Blanchard, K. 2008, 'Ken Blanchard change strategy' [video], http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmk6yy-zfie (accessed 10 September 2012). The purpose of this section is to explore examples of OD initiatives and review and critique challenges and success factors. 7.3.1 OD Interventions at Three Levels Individual, Team, Organisation Individual interventions Even though every OD intervention needs to consider the many systems that make up an organisation, as well as outside influences, the individual can be the primary site for change. Individual interventions include, for example, coaching, career planning, and education and training. Very often OD is diluted into training and development training and development is not the solve-all intervention it is often held up to be. Nevertheless, it is a critical OD intervention, either on its own, or used in combination with other interventions, such as the implementation of new systems. According to Vemić (2007), training and development increases not only the competitive advantage of an organisation but it also enhances the knowledge of the human capital of organisations, which is the basic trigger of development. To learn more about employee training and development, read the article below: Vemić, J. 2007, 'Employee training and development and the learning organization', Economics and Organization, 4 (2), 209-216. http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/eao/eao200702/eao200702-13.pdf (accessed 2 May 2014). The table below provides examples of interventions aimed at developing the individual employee. Regenesys Business School 63
TABLE 10: INTERVENTIONS AIMED AT DEVELOPING THE INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE Empowerment Interpersonal skill learning Career life planning Stress management and wellness Defined as the shifting of responsibility and decision making to lowest level of competency in the organisation it implies creating the necessary competencies (knowledge, problem solving and decision making skills). It is aimed at utilising the full potential of employees. This area of learning includes sensitivity training, encounter group and T-group work to develop emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence enhances self-awareness (one's own emotions) and the ability to react to and manage the emotions of others. The 'Johari window' can be used as the departure point in interpersonal training. Transactional analysis theory also provides structure for the analysis of interpersonal communication patterns and learning. The purpose of career planning is to develop and promote high-potential employees to positions where their full potential will be realised. The planning process identifies where you are now, where you want to get to, and how you are going to get there. The role of the OD manager/consultant is to assist individuals in identifying realistic and unrealistic goals as well as incongruences between past experiences and future goals (including action plans). OD often 'uproots' the individual's mental and physical resources, which leads to situations of burnout. Individuals react differently to stressors in the environment (e.g. feel alienated, emotionally drained and incapable of achieving, or highly motivated and 'hungry' for more). Interventions such as time management, exercise programmes, and relaxation training assist in the development of stress management. (Adapted from Bagraim, Cunningham, Potgieter, and Viedge, 2007:385-386) Home Study Read up on the following interpersonal training techniques: Johari window Transactional analysis Sensitivity training (laboratory training, encounter groups, or T-groups) Be prepared to present your findings to your colleagues. Group/intergroup Interventions In recent years, there has been a significant focus on the value of teams in the change process. For this reason, team-building activities have become synonymous with OD initiatives. For such activities to work, there need to be group diagnostic (problem-solving) meetings meetings at which members generate problems which are then shared across the groups. Such encounters might then be followed by team building meetings. These meetings usually involve deciding on actions that need to be taken and the people responsible for such actions. Team-building activities can assist in problem solving, improve relationships, or in managing group culture (French and Bell, 1999:29). Regenesys Business School 64
Team building is an area of focus in OD, which uses a range of techniques for serving team-based goals, for example: Role analysis technique helps employees get a clear understanding of their roles in an organisation, and their group/team and reduces role confusion. Firstly, people define their perception of their roles. Group members then provide feedback to more clearly define the roles. Finally, the individuals and the group examine ways in which the employee relies on others in the group and organisation, and how they define their expectations. Responsibility charting is similar to role analysis and uses a matrix to assign decisionmaking and task responsibilities. Other team-based techniques that can be used to improve organisational effectiveness are employee involvement programmes. These include participative management, representative participation and quality circles. Table 11 discusses employee involvement programmes in more detail. TABLE 11: EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT PROGRAMMES Participative management Representative participation Quality circles Participative management uses joint decision making processes which allows all employees to be involved in the decision making process of the organisation. Representative participation involves either work councils or board representatives. Work councils are selected employees nominated to represent employees on decision-making boards. Board representatives are employees who sit on the board of directors and represent the interests of employees. Quality circles are of particular interest as they address specific quality-related OD challenges. A quality circle is a work group of employees and supervisors who share an area of responsibility and meet regularly to discuss quality problems, their causes, and their possible solutions. (Robbins et al., 2009:176) One of the most popular interventions is T-group work. T-groups are designed to help people become aware of their own and their co-worker s behaviour patterns. A typical T-group consists of 10 and 20 volunteers meeting for one to two weeks in sessions that are unstructured, within the goals outlined by the facilitator. By working towards the goal without structure, members learn about their own feelings and behaviours and those of others. The final result is ideally that members identify areas for improvement and act to make these changes (Robbins at al., 2009:490-491). Process consultations are more task-oriented and involve greater input by the OD manager. For example, the OD manager might observe a supervisor in meetings and informal conversations during a workday, and then make specific suggestions as to how the supervisor could alter his/her behaviour to improve performance (Robbins at al., 2009:491). Employee recognition programmes are often used as part of an OD intervention when concerns of motivation are raised. Regenesys Business School 65
In 'Managing Complex Team Interventions', Barner (2006) provides an understanding of the organisational conditions that lead to complexity in team structure, operation, and dynamics. His article introduces guidelines for facilitating complex team interventions. It concludes that teambuilding failures frequently occur when facilitators operate from team archetypes that are radically outmoded, and severely underestimate the complexity of certain team-building issues. The article proposes six guidelines for managing complex team interventions. The focus of these interventions is to improve intergroup relations. Intergroup interventions try to help members of groups to see the value and weaknesses of other groups, and to build empathy with opposing groups. The techniques available in such situations include (French and Bell, 1999: 82): Articulation of perceptions of the other group/s Listing positive feedback, negative feedback and a prediction of what the other group is saying in their list Group interventions can also include 'peace-making activities' such as conflict management sessions, and third-party peace making. The goal of these activities is to improve intergroup and interpersonal relations, reduce dysfunctional competition, and promote a focus on organisational objectives. It involves the role of an OD facilitator/consultant and needs to start with the acceptance of conflict and a willingness to confront it. Mediation and arbitration are forms of third-party support. Read the following journal article to understand the complexities of team interventions: Barner, R. 2006, 'Managing Complex Team Interventions', Team Performance Management, 12 (1/2), 44-54. Organisation-wide OD Interventions These are interventions that address organisation-wide issues by tackling comprehensive matters and overall organisational development. Some techniques that can be used in organisation-wide interventions are total quality management (TQM), strategic planning, organisational visioning, and survey feedback. The elements of TQM for example include: Customer-centred organisational culture Daily treatment of internal staff as valued customers Benchmarking against the best organisations Continuously searching for causes of problems and solving them Participative management Continuous training and development Senior management support of TQM Regenesys Business School 66
Goal-setting theory and management by objectives (MBO) (Robbins et al., 2009:150-152), informs intervention decisions one might make at an organisation-wide level. Goal setting theory suggests that working towards a goal is a motivator, and that: Goals increase performance; that difficult goals, when accepted, result in higher performance than do easy goals; and that feedback leads to higher performance than does non-feedback." (Robbins et al., 2009: 159) Management by Objectives (MBO) can be seen as a technique for putting goal theory into practice. It is a systematic way to utilise goal setting. MBO emphasises participatively set goals that are tangible, verifiable, and measurable (Robbins et al., 2009:151). MBO is just one technique that could form part of an OD intervention, specifically in cases where goal setting is a gap area. Appreciative inquiry (AI) offers a different approach whereas other approaches are aimed at problem identification, appreciative inquiry aims at identifying the positive things in the organisation that are experienced by its members (Bushe in Bagraim, Cunningham, Potgieter, and Viedge, 2007:388). The organisation focuses on successes rather than on its problems. Proponents of this approach claim that it makes more sense to refine and enhance what the organisation is already doing well play to its strengths and competitive advantages. "Appreciative enquiry focuses us on the positive aspects of our lives and leverages them to correct the negative. It's the opposite of 'problem-solving'." (Hammond in Appreciative Inquiry Commons, 2013) Keeping in mind that organisations are social realities constructed by the various groups, in appreciative inquiry a new organisational construct is developed through the interaction of people. The basic premise of this approach is that the organisation will move in the direction into which people enquire. It is argued that appreciative enquiry provides opportunities to create an organisation that is meaningful to its members. The appreciative enquiry process typically consists of four steps (Robbins and Judge, 2008:273): 1. Discovery (What people think are the strengths of the organisation; when do people work at their best and when they felt satisfied with their jobs) 2. Dreaming (Speculations about the possible future of the organisation in five years time describe what is different) 3. Design (Based on the dream articulate and agree on the unique qualities) 4. Destiny (How the organisation is going to fulfil the dream) Regenesys Business School 67
Task Questions Debate the following statement, "Instead of creating a climate for positive change, action research and OD techniques such as survey feedback and process consultation end up placing blame and generating defensiveness. Appreciative enquiry makes more sense to refine and enhance what the organisation is already doing well." 7.3.2 How to Ensure Successful OD Interventions The roller coaster of change In order for an OD manager to introduce change in the most amenable fashion, three processes are required: Understanding some of the characteristics of change Understanding some of the processes of change Identifying the strategies of dealing with change Figure 14 outlines some of the key characteristics of change. When a change management process is implemented, it creates a great deal of anxiety, instability and conflict in an organisation. FIGURE 14: CHARACTERISTICS OF CHANGE (Warrilow, 2011) Regenesys Business School 68
In order to minimise the negative effects of change, it is helpful to implement strategies for dealing with change. The OD manager should be aware that employees undergoing a change management process generally exhibit many different reactions to change (as the diagram below illustrates) but in the main these can be summarised into four different types of behaviours in successive phases: 1. Denial not admitting that anything is going to change in the organisation 2. Resistance refusing to change, and possibly blocking or preventing the change management processes 3. Exploration being more open to the change process and what it offers, exploring what the implications are 4. Commitment committing to the change process and accepting the repercussions of the process FIGURE 15: THE PROCESS OF TRANSITION (NHS, 2013) It is the responsibility of the OD manager to assist employees to reach the commitment stage. If the change management process is not handled well, many employees will remain stuck in the denial and resistance phases (or even leave the organisation). This creates many problems as these employees are generally disgruntled and do not support the change management initiatives. They also often affect other employees negatively. Regenesys Business School 69
Strategies to Manage Change Figure 16 outlines the different strategies that an OD manager can implement to shift employees from one behaviour phase to the next. Keep in mind that it is possible for someone in the exploration phase to slip back into the resistance phase, especially if trust has been lost. Also, not all employees move from one phase to the next at the same time. Some people take longer to shift from denial to resistance, while it might take others a short time to make this shift. FIGURE 16: STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH CHANGE 1. Deny 2. Resist 3. Explore 4. Commit Focuses on past Focuses on future Current situation Old paradigm Change Management Desired future New paradigm Contact people Give information about change Explain the process Explain how individual concerns will be met Explain what they can expect Active listening Clarify expectations Explain change Create a vision Empower and inspire Give additional information Set goals Acknowledge skill requirement Provide training Allow for mistakes Appeal to real needs of people Promote discussion Develop an action plan Acknowledge and reward Give feedback Allow for participation Provide information Stakeholder Analysis A useful technique to manage change is the "What's in it for me" framework (Adapted from NHS, 2013). This framework identifies stakeholders in the change process and considers their different needs and attitudes. Regenesys Business School 70
FIGURE 17: STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS Key people or group WIFM? (What in it for me) Impact Risk What could they do to support or prevent the improvement initiative? What could/should we do to reduce non-compliant activities and encourage support and compliant ones? A B C D E Consider the following in completing the data: (NHS, 2013) A: Enter the names here, either individuals or groups/teams (those expected to be for the change, those expected to be against it, and those expected to be neutral or as yet undecided) B and C: Here record the positive and negative ideas and comments the individuals are likely to express (WIFM criteria might include deep held values and beliefs; working relationships; conditions of work; salary; job security; nature of work/task responsibilities; power; status; position; and identity issues). The more criteria that are negatively affected by the change, the greater the resistance. Changes that negatively interfere with a person's power, status, position and identity are likely to evoke the most emotion. D: List the actions the individuals or members of the group could take to support or resist the initiative (e.g. commitment, apathy, non-compliance) E: Think about what you and/or your team could/should do (e.g. detect and negate potential non-compliant activities; identify and encourage supporting behaviour; people prefer immediate reward so short-term successes are very important). Watch the video clip below in which Ken Blanchard discusses change strategy: Blanchard, K. 2008, 'Ken Blanchard change strategy' [video], http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmk6yy-zfie (accessed 10 September 2012). Read the article by Kotter (1995) and answer the questions below: Kotter, J. 1995, 'Leading Change. Why Transformation Efforts Fail', Harvard Business Review, 85 (1), 96-127. Regenesys Business School 71
Task Questions 1. Refer to 'Managing Complex Team Interventions' (Barner, 2006) and answer the following questions: a. Identify a complex team intervention that could be undertaken in an organisation. b. Review the six guidelines presented in the article and consider how they might help with successful completion of the team intervention. 2. What are some things to avoid in team-based OD interventions? 3. Why is establishing the psychological contract so important in the OD process? 4. Reflect on an organisational transformation process that you have managed, experienced or read about. What were the challenges, failures and successes? 5. Identify an OD intervention that could enhance your organisation's sustained effectiveness and justify why such an intervention is the most appropriate for their needs. What evidence would you need to justify this? 6. Consider what could help an OD consultant to terminate a relationship successfully. 7.3.3 Termination Contrary to the practice of many management-consulting firms, long-term dependency is not the goal of an OD process. Because of this, a clean and appropriate termination must take place. Instead of feeling needed as a consultant, the intention is to increase the problem-solving skills and resourcefulness of the client organisation. The speed at which a client organisation takes on and succeeds at its own problem solving, determines the exit time of the OD consultant. There are many situations in which the consultant is not able to withdraw because the client system has been distracted by urgent matters, which prevent it from continuing the OD intervention. The termination phase must be planned for and discussed with the client. As threats to the termination arise, these need to be discussed with the client so that they can be addressed. Mini Case Studies Case Study 1: An OD manager made the following comments: "OD interventions have defined process steps and expected outcomes within a specific period of time. They support focused and dedicated cross-functional teams responsible to drive the interventions with clear mandates. However, several business challenges exist: 1. Shifting business priorities it is difficult to receive commitment from the teams for the entire duration of the intervention because of shifting business priorities. 2. Sustaining the efforts and involvement of employees for the entire duration as with the passage of time, the efforts fizzle out before the desired results are achieved. 3. Managing employees expectations the interventions are planned and introduced based on certain expectations from employees and leadership, however, with the changing business demands, the desired outcome of the interventions also keep on changing. What advice can you give to this OD manager? Draw on the learning from this module to substantiate your advice. Regenesys Business School 72
Case Study 2: The media is littered with references to Generation X, Generation Y, and Baby Boomers. You read further and in summary learn the following: Generation X loosely defined as people born between 1961 and 1980 this group is characterised in employment terms by the need for constant feedback, variety, independence and an appropriate balance between work, family and social commitments. Generation Y loosely defined as people born between 1981 and 2000 and also known as Millennials, this group is characterised in employment terms by their high (unrealistic) expectations, sense of global environmental responsibility and openness to diversity. Baby Boomers defined as people born between 1943 and 1960, this group is characterised in employment terms by their high sense of self worth and contribution, their commitment and concern for their health and secure future. Discuss how the above information could assist you in managing an OD initiative that contains a mixture of all of the above. Regenesys Business School 73
8. CASE STUDY: BECOMING A COMPANY THAT QUESTIONS EVERYTHING The following short scenario has been adapted from an article on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network (Berger, 2014) for the purposes of case study work. Becoming an Organisation that Questions Everything You are a bright, inquisitive person working for an organisation with long-established policies and work processes in place. You recently noticed one of those processes was not as efficient as it might be, which leads you to reasonably ask: "Why are we doing it this way? Is there a better approach?" Experience has shown, that your organisation doesn t value or appreciate questioning time and again you have heard: "This is the way we've been doing things for 20 years. Who are you to second-guess us?" And, quite often the response has been: "Around here, we expect people to bring us answers, not questions." You have recently been promoted to a senior management position and innovation is key to operational success. The industry has spawned several new competitors with sophisticated and innovative business models and technologies they are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. The organisation might have been originally designed along the lines of a military model (with a hierarchical structure and top-down management) and questioning might be perceived as a challenge to authority, however, you know that things will have to change. Reflecting on some of the issues, one of the key challenges to overcome is the marketing director and his team they view questioning as inefficient. The director, in particular, is always anxious to get things done and has little patience for questions that may slow down meetings, challenge accepted practices, and force managers to spend time explaining and defending their approaches. You lean back reflectively and think what are the consequences of opening the floodgates? For organisations seeking to innovate, adapt to change, and maintain an edge in fast-moving, competitive markets, a questioning culture can help ensure that creativity and adaptive thinking flows throughout the organisation. From your recent studies you have learnt that one of the ways successful organisations consistently separate themselves from the competitive pack is by critically examining and improving the business model from end to end. This requires leadership and it doesn't happen overnight it could take several months to change the culture to one of questioning and ideally innovation. You take out a sheet of paper and start to put some ideas down. How can the organisation create an environment where people are more inclined to question? Is it possible to encourage the "right kind" of questions the ones most likely to lead to productive results? You decide to carry out some research into "a culture of enquiry" and find four key observations by a reputable authors on the subject (Goldberg, Patnaik and Ries in Berger, 2014): Regenesys Business School 74
1. A culture of enquiry starts at the top with leaders who question. Today's business leaders should take on the role of being the chief question-asker. Not easy, since leaders are customarily the ones who provide the answers. Leaders who ask questions well won't just ask highly practical and interrogative questions such as: "How much is it going to cost us?" or "Who is responsible for this problem?" They will ask more open and exploratory questions the kind that can help anticipate what's coming and where new opportunities lie, enabling the organisation to move in new directions. Leaders should use questioning to solicit inputs from people throughout the organisation, using surveys and other tools to ask employees: "We are thinking of doing this what do you think we should do?" At the same time leadership should be willing to answer tough questions from all levels and departments. At Google's weekly TGIF sessions all employees are invited to submit questions to the company's top executives and the one voted up by the rest of the organisation (often the toughest, most controversial questions are then fielded on the spot by the bosses. It sets the tone that anyone can ask anything of anyone else. 2. Questioning should be rewarded (or at least, not punished). To encourage company-wide questioning your research says: "It's not about slogans or putting up posters on the wall it's about the systems and the incentives you create to promote the behaviour." You put a big question mark next to the following advice: "Companies should direct more budgetary resources to those who are exploring unanswered questions, conducting promising experiments, and taking intelligent risks and not to the person with the most confident, best plan or the person with no failures on their record." You recall just recently how your colleague enquired about a problem and was told: "You found the problem now it's your job to fix it." That was a sure way to get her to stop finding problems and asking questions. Perhaps the better approach would have been to ask her how much she'd like to be involved in working on the issue with the understanding that she would be given time and support as needed and that even if they never found a perfect answer to the question she would have earned credit by asking it. 3. Give people time and space to question deeply. The literature you read says that people need to "step back" from day-to-day tasks in order to tackle deeper questions and problems. The various well-publicised personal time policies adopted at companies such as Google, 3M, and W.L. Gore allowing people to devote 10-20% of their time to "passion projects" have yielded innovative and marketable ideas. Arguably to get to those breakthroughs people do need room to pursue ambitious questions that may not be part of their everyday work. 4. Provide the tools to question well. Questioning is a skill and a way of thinking. Your research indicates that it is employees' abilities to organise their thinking around what they don't know that is most valuable. Reflective thinking and the use of multiple question techniques is an important area for cognitive development (e.g. 5-Whys). Of course there is the chance that the organisation could be flooded with poor quality questions so guiding employees to questions rooted in deep critical thinking about the particular challenges and issues of the organisation, its customers, and its industry will be key. Armed with your preliminary research you call a meeting with other senior managers to discuss the need to take the organisation into the future. (Adapted from Berger, 2014) Regenesys Business School 75
Task Questions Mini Case Study 1. Design and propose an organisational development strategy for the scenario provided above. 2. In your proposal evaluate the role strategy, structure, systems, and organisational culture will play in organisational development. 3. Identify change management issues that may arise and strategies to overcome these. 4. Your proposal should conclude with ethical considerations in the identification, formulation and implementation of the organisational development intervention. Regenesys Business School 76
9. REFERENCES Anderson, D. n.d., 'Systems theory', http://www.simpleliberty.org/essays/systems_theory.htm (accessed 16 August 2013). Anderson, D.L. 2012, Organization development: the process of leading organizational change. San Francisco: Sage Publications. Author Unknown, 2013, 'Organisational Development Overview', Western Washington University, http://www.wwu.edu/hr/od/odhome.shtml (accessed 19 August 2013). Bagraim, J., Cunningham, P., Potgieter, T., and Viedge, C. 2007, Organisational Behaviour: A contemporary South African perspective, 2 nd ed., Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers. Barner, R. 2006, 'Managing Complex Team Interventions', Team Performance Management, 12 (1/2), 44-54. Berger, W. 2014, 'Become a Company that Questions Everything', Harvard Business Review Blog Network, http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/04/become-a-company-that-questions-everything/ (accessed 5 May 2014). Bolsmann, C. 2003, 'Contemporary Theories', in Moerdyk, A. and van Aardt, C. (Eds.) Organisational Development: New Methods and Models for Southern Africa, Glosderry: New Africa Books. Brown, D.R. 2013, An Experiential Approach to Organizational Development, 8 th ed., New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Business Dictionary, 2013, 'Definitions', http://www.businessdictionary.com/ (accessed 19 August 2013). Falletta, S. 2008, 'Organisational Diagnostic Models: A Review & Synthesis', http://www.leadersphere.com/img/orgmodelsr2009.pdf (accessed 22 August 2013). Fox, D. 2013, 'Organisational Development', http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/arossett/pie/interventions/od_1.htm (accessed 16 August 2013). French, W.L., and Bell, C.H. Jnr., 1999, Organization Development: Behavioural Science Interventions for Organisational Improvement, 6 th ed., New Jersey, NJ: Prentice Hall. Hubbell, L. 2004, 'Struggling with the Issue of Who the Client is in Organization Development Interventions', Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 25 (5), 399-410. Regenesys Business School 77
Ingram, D. 2012, 'The relationship between systems theory and employee relations', http://smallbusiness.chron.com/relationship-between-systems-theory-employee-relations- 22465.html (accessed 16 August 2013). Kotter, J. 1995, 'Leading Change. Why Transformation Efforts Fail', Harvard Business Review, 85 (1), 96-127. Laszlo, A., and Krippner, S. 1998, 'Systems theories: their origins, foundations, and development', http://archive.syntonyquest.org/elctree/resourcespdfs/systemstheory.pdf (accessed 24 September 2012). Lewis, R. n.d., 'Strategy and Organisational Development', http://www.ralphlewis.co.uk/change_files/strategy%20and%20organisational%20development%2 0Article.pdf (accessed 08 September 2012). Lurey, J.S., and Griffin, M. 2002, 'Action Research: The anchor of OD practice', OD Practitioner. 34 (3), 15-20, http://www.plusdelta.net/articles/action_research_od_practice.pdf (accessed 2 May 2014). Malhotra, J. 2009, 'Process of Organisational Development', http://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/74017-process-organisational-development.aspx (accessed 08 September 2012). McClean, C. 2013, 'Organisational Development Glossary', http://www.predaptive.com/resources/organisational_development_glossary_full_list.html#a (accessed 19 August 2013). McGinty, T. 2011, 'Organisational Development: Action Research', http://www.timothymcginty.com/iyblog/ (accessed 19 August 2013). McLean, G.N. 2005, Organisation Development: Principles, Processes, Performance, San Francisco: Berett-Koehler Publishers Inc. Milstein, B., Chapel, T. 2012, 'Developing a logic model or theory of change', http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1877.aspx (accessed 24 September 2012). Moerdyk, A. 2003, 'Models and Methods', in Moerdyk, A. and van Aardt, C. (Eds.) Organisational Development: New Methods and Models for Southern Africa, Glosderry, South Africa: New Africa Books. NHS, 2013, 'The process of transition', http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/systemsandservices/icd/informspec/careerplan/phi/personal /learningweb/leadership/change (accessed 19 August 2013). Organisational Development Practitioners, 2012, 'The ultimate practitioners guide for all things OD', http://organisationdevelopment.org/ (accessed 15 August 2012). Regenesys Business School 78
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10. GLOSSARY OF TERMS Term Attitude Coaching Culture Knowledge Learning Motivation Primary data Process Secondary data Qualitative data Quantitative Reliability T-group Validity Values Explanation A mental predisposition to behave in a particular way when faced with a particular set of circumstances. Attitudes are built and influenced by beliefs, values, and experiences (mental models). Attitudes can persist even in the face of contrary evidence. A process of guided practice, where one person (often a line manager) leads a dialogue with another person around a pre-determined agenda, the intention being to give greater selfawareness to the person being coached around their strengths and weakness and to increase motivation to change in appropriate ways. The accepted assumptions, beliefs, language, traditions, stories, symbols and values shared by people in the organisation or a sub set of the organisation ("The ways we do things around here."). Information that has been processed by an individual (or team) through the filters of experience and values to create a platform for informing action. Knowledge is therefore created by each individual (or team) rather than given or acquired. The creation of new mental models that directly affect behaviour. Learning is controlled by the learner (not the teacher). It can only be confirmed as having taken place when observable changes in behaviour take place. The drive to perform. Motivation can be internal or external: Internal motivation comes from the employee who wishes to gain mental reward such as achievement and pride. External motivation is provided by the organisation through rewards such as pay and recognition. Data observed or collected directly from first-hand experience specific to the research in question. A formalised way of organising work into a repeatable, measurable and consistent set of parameters. Primary data that was collected by someone else for a purpose other than the current research. Data that approximates or characterises but does not measure the attributes, characteristics or properties of a thing or phenomenon (descriptive). Data that can be quantified (counted, measured, computed) and is amenable to statistical manipulation. Consistency and validity of research methods (or tests) after repeated trials. A group that meets for educational or therapeutic purposes to study its own communication (associated with sensitivity training). Degree to which a research method (or test) measures what it is supposed to measure. An individual's or organisation's underlying principles, which define their mental models and form a basis for decision-making and behaviour. (Business Dictionary, 2013; McLean, 2013) Regenesys Business School 80