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Organizational Development

Tom Holland

Assumptions• Organizations are systems composed of component parts.• It is better to improve performance and productivity than to accept

low effectiveness.• Accurate information is helpful; knowledge can lead to health.• Informed, free choices are good for people and organizations.• People should have some ownership and responsibility for their own

jobs.• Adapting to new conditions is good.• Opening up conflicts can lead to productive growth if handled

skillfully.• Change does not have to be haphazard, but the results of change

efforts are not always 100% predictable or controllable.• It is O.K. for us to make mistakes along the way and learn from them

how to improve our efforts.• Both formal and informal relationships are important components for

change.

Principles of Change• Successful change is an on-going journey of learning and growing,

not a quick fix.• Incentives for change must be greater than those for keeping status

quo.• There must be some degree of buy-in and support for new practices

to be tried.• You can’t change everything at once, so start where your people are

right now and what they’re interested in doing.• People are more motivated to make changes they have helped

design.• There will always be anxiety, fear, resistance when doing things

differently. The greater the change, the greater the resistance.• Making positive changes is more effective than negative ones.• There must be some “champions” of the changes and their

purposes.• Steps should be consistent with the values driving the new ways of

working.• Energy and commitment dissipate quickly and motivation wanes as

time lapses.

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Organizational Culture• Culture: that set of unspoken habits, norms,

and practices that guide how a group goes about doing its work

• Group culture develops over time, emerging from the work habits of founders

• It typically focuses on operational maintenance.

• Newcomers are socialized into cultural assumptions about how we do our work here.

• These assumptions and habits are resistant to change, continuing to guide work even when outside conditions change.

Power and politics• Power: the degree to which individuals can influence

others– Position power: authority based on role definition– Relational influence based on informal networks

• Politics: they ways power is used• Power is unequally distributed, may be misused, stifling

engagement and effective performance• Coalitions: people who work together for shared goals• Dominant coalition: those who exercise the most power

in a system• Power analysis: understanding the configuration of

power and the ways it is used to frame situations and agendas for action

• Organizational development: strengthening shared power through interventions designed to increase inclusive political processes and expertise-based influence

Force-field analysis

• Identify those influences that are pushing toward change.

• Identify those influences that are resisting change, supporting the status quo.

• Explore ways to strengthen the pushing influences and diminish the resisting influences.

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Some possible barriers• Reward system reinforces old ways of doing things (such

as following rules rather than producing results.• Trying new things and making mistakes are punished.• Changes may threaten existing balance of power.• Fear that changes may open up conflicts between

individuals or groups.• Fear of the unknown.• Organizational culture resists change. • Leaders demand quick changes or they cave in to

resistances.• The higher the resistances, the lower the prospects for

successful change.

Engage people in finding solutions

• In what ways do the findings from this assessment enrich our understanding of the issue that prompted it?

• Given those findings, what are some things we could do to improve our performance?

• What would be going on here if this organization (place/ community) were functioning as we would like?

• What are the results we want to accomplish?• What sorts of changes and steps would be useful for us

to try in reaching those results?• What are some small-scale experiments we could try

that could take us there?• Who should do what, when?• How should we monitor our progress and assess our

results?

Types of interventions

• Individuals• Teams• Inter-groups• Total organizations• Communities

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Types of interventions and uses at the individual level

• Training: helping person learn specific skills.• Coaching: guidance on solving interpersonal problems

(using, for example, 360 assessments, Johari’s window, Myers-Briggs, stress management techniques)

• Goal setting: helping people formulate goals and priorities for improving their effectiveness

• Performance appraisal: modifying ways of assessing employee performance and using feedback to improve.

• Job descriptions: useful when job duties are ambiguous and expected results unclear.

• Career planning: for individuals who have outgrown their roles and want new skills and challenges.

• Procedures manual: formalizing the approved methods for handing common problems in work.

• Process improvement: steps to improve the effectiveness of ways people do their work.

Team level: Characteristics of strong teams

• Understanding, relevance and commitment to shared goals

• Open communication of ideas and feelings• Active participation and distribution of leadership• Flexible use of decision-making procedures• Encouragement and constructive management of

conflicts• Equality of power and influence• High group cohesion• Strong problem-solving strategies• Interpersonal effectiveness• Positive interdependence

Interventions at the team level• Team building: activities to increase work group

cohesiveness, reduce biases, build trust• Job enrichment: changing mix of job responsibilities so

members have greater responsibilities• Quality of work life: improving work conditions and

employee participation in decisions that affect them and org.

• Quality circles: using small work groups to identify ways to improve performance and effectiveness

• Goal setting: helping work groups establish shared goals and steps for improvement

• System mapping: clarifying inputs, transformations, outputs, and feedback loops to improve efficiency

• Conflict management: reducing destructive conflict between members of a work group through healthier communications

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Conflict management(in increasing order of difficulty)

• Recognize that some differences are useful and always present– Substantive issues– Emotional issues

• Prevent initiation of conflicts by developing clear understanding of triggering factors

• Set limits on ways conflict may be expressed• Help individuals cope differently with

consequences of conflict• Resolve basic issues underlying the conflict

Interventions at the inter-group level

• Goal setting: negotiating changes between teams through agreements on shared goals and ways of working

• Work flow planning: improving the flow of work and products from one part of the organization to another

• Inter-team development: two or more work groups work to improve their relationships

• Cross-training / job rotation: building skills and knowledge needed to work in another part of the organization

Interventions with total organization

• Management by objectives: setting shared goals and steps for achieving desired results

• Strategic planning: establishing long-term goals and directions for the whole org.

• Re-engineering: radical re-design of work processes to improve efficiency

• Total quality systems: improving value and excellence across components of the organization through feedback and ongoing changes

• Structural change: altering reporting relationships and objectives for component parts of the organization

• Culture transformation: changing assumptions about who we are, why we are here, what are “right” and “wrong” ways of doing things

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Interventions at the community level

• Neighborhood resource development: concerted efforts to expand or improve services available in neighborhoods

• Economic development: working to increase job opportunities in an area

• Public education: systematic efforts to improve public awareness and understanding of an issue or problem

• Political advocacy: efforts to influence votes on issues or candidates; efforts to influence the decisions of public officials on issues affecting a community or region

• Civil disobedience: planned steps of violating laws seen to be unjust

Guidelines for planning interventions

• Explore possible solutions to problems identified, not more detailed dissections of the problems.

• Brainstorm alternative routes to success before evaluating them.

• Consider realistic constraints on choices and changes.• Consider short-term and longer-term implications of

alternatives.• Make sure choices serve to advance org. mission• Go with alternative that generates most support.• Begin with small-scale experiments working toward

solutions.• Identify criteria for monitoring results.• Verbally rehearse steps to take.• Identify possible barriers and ways to deal with them.• Make sure steps, tasks, expectations are clear.

Leading Change Effectively• 1. Identify participants for change efforts,

depending on level and issue.• 2. Explore together the findings of

assessment and implications for people and the organization (or community).

• 3. Formulate specific areas for change, targets and goals.

• 4. Link everything with the mission of the organization. Why are we doing this?

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5. Formulate work plans for achieving changes together

a. Specify objectives for each dimension. What do we want to accomplish?

b. Identify results to be attained for each objective.

What will success look like in each area?c. Set clear work assignments and timetable.

Who will do what, by when?d. Identify evidence of success.

Assessed by what criteria?e. Publicize intended results and steps.

How will we be accountable to others?

6. Make success a team effort• Be sure everyone knows what is expected

of her/him and how that links to group goals

• Articulate how each individual’s talents contribute to success of the whole

• Identify means for problem-solving and accountability as a team (what will we do when problems and barriers show up?)

• Specify methods for reporting and communicating progress (how will we know it’s done?)

• Monitor, evaluate, and report on results• Find ways to reward successes

7. Coordinate implementation

• Maintain emphasis on mission and goals• Keep in contact with team members• Empower and encourage them to sustain

movement toward goals• Accept the anxieties of change• Encourage risk-taking and nontraditional

ideas and actions• Remind members to hold themselves and

others accountable• Take barriers and obstacles back to the

group for solutions (don’t fix it)

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8. Reinforce Changes• Communicate progress widely, using

multiple means• Articulate the connections between

actions and results• Recognize and reward successes• Report results to others outside team• Encourage group learning from experiences

(sharpen the saw)

• Develop and nurture new leaders, ensuring leadership succession

• Model the behaviors expected of others