SEMINAR REPORT ON ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT

SUBMITTED TO: Shavina Goyal

SUBMITTED BY: Harsaveen Waraich Roll no-5725 MBA(Global) 2nd yr

TABLE OF CONTENTS
S.No TOPIC
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Introduction Definition Theories of change Process for change Resistance to change Advantages &disadvantages Case Study 1 2 3,4 5,6 7 8,9 10,11,12,13,14

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ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Meaning & Definition of OD Introduction Basics of OD Managing change through OD Implementing OD programme Steps in OD process Benefits of OD Limitations of OD Case Study 15 16 17,18,19 20 21,22,23,24 25,26 27 28 29,30

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INTRODUCTION:
Change in organizations is probably one of the few constants organizational members can rely on to happen now and in the future. Logically, those that implement change would hope for a successful outcome that benefits the majority of those involved. That outcome of course, is not always the case. The process of change is a phenomenon that takes place in organizations large and small, for-profit or non-profit, and industrial or academic in nature. Given the political, social and economic climate of today, some form of change is inevitable and has become a common event for organizations and their stakeholders. Factors such as the fluctuating economy, changes in competition, customer bases, technology, and the ongoing development and evolution of organizations are just some of the issues contributing to organizational change. For organizations to survive, compete and prosper, changes in policies, members, and products must occur over time. An organizations future growth and survival depends on its ability to successfully implement change that has as its goal to ultimately improve the organization in some way. Communicative elements can positively and/or negatively facilitate the change processes of organizations. In studying organizational change, one would logically assume that organizations would strive to have an efficient, successful change event that is a satisfactory experience for all those involved. Not every organization attains this goal, however. Very often the inability to successfully implement change is a result of the failure to produce shared understanding or meaning among organizational members involved in the change (Lewis, 2000). The ability or inability to successfully implement change is thus based on the concept of the creation of meanings for purposes of this study.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT

DEFINITION:

Some generic definitions of organizational change have been offered by theorists. For example, Burnes noted that organizational change refers to understanding alterations within organizations at the broadest level among individuals, groups, and at the collective level across the entire organization (1996). Another definition is that change is the observation of difference over time in one or more dimensions of an entity (Van de Ven and Poole, 1995). But these definitions fail to capture the assumptions inherent in different models or theories of change. For example, cultural and social-cognition theories of change would replace the word observation with the word perception in the second definition above. Theorists exploring change through a cultural or social-cognition perspective would examine not dimensions (typically, organizational structural characteristics such as size), but values or organizational participants mental maps. Because the language relating to change differs, a common language is difficult to find. However, certain concepts are common across various models, such as forces or sources of change and first-order or second-order change. These common concepts are noted within key sources of change literature such as Burnes, 1996; Goodman, 1982; Levy and Merry,1986; and Raja gopalan and Spreitzer, 1996. As these scholars studied change, these concepts became critical points of concern in their analyses. Forces and sources examine the why of change. First and second/second order, scale, foci, timing, and degree all refer to the what of change. Adaptive/generative, proactive/reactive, active/static, and planned/unplanned refer to the how of change. Last, the target of change refers to the outcomes. As a campus begins to engage in a change process, members of the organization need to first examine why they are about to embark on the process, the degree of change needed, and what is the best approach to adopt.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT

THEORIES OF CHANGE:

Six main categories of theories of change assist in understanding, describing and developing insights about the change process: (1) Evolutionary (2) Teleological (3) Life cycle (4) Dialectical (5) Social cognition (6) Cultural. Each model has a distinct set of assumptions about why change occurs, how the process unfolds, when change occurs and how long it takes, and the outcomes of change. The main assumption underlying evolutionary theories is that change is a response to external circumstances, situational variables, and the environment faced by each organization (Morgan,1986). Social systems as diversified, inter dependent, complex systems evolve naturally over time because of external demands (Morgan,1986).

Teleological theories or planned change models assume that organizations are purposeful and adaptive. Change occurs because leaders, change agents, and others see the necessity of change. The process for change is rational and linear, as in evolutionary models, but individual managers are much more instrumental to the process (Carnall,1995; Carr, Hard, and Trahant,1996). Life-cycle models evolved from studies of child development and focus on stages of growth, organizational maturity, and organizational decline (Levy and Merry,1986). Change is conceptualized as a natural part of human or organizational development.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT

Dialectical models, also referred to as political models, characterize change as the result of clashing ideology or belief systems (Morgan,1986). Conflict is seen as an inherent attribute of human interaction. Change processes are considered to be predominantly

bargaining, consciousness-raising, persuasion, influence and power, and social movements (Bolman and Deal,1991).

Social-cognition models describe change as being tied to learning and mental processes such as sense making and mental models. Change occurs because individuals see a need to grow, learn, and change their behaviour. In cultural models, change occurs naturally as a response to alterations in the human environment; cultures are always changing (Morgan,1986). The change process tends to be long-term and slow. Change within an organization entails alteration of values, beliefs, myths, and rituals (Schein,1985). Some researchers suggest using several models or categories, as each sheds light on different aspects of organizational life (Van de Ven and Poole,1995). The advantage to multiple models is that they combine the insights of various change theories. Bolmans and Deals (1991) reframing of organizations and Morgans (1986) organizational metaphors illustrate how assumptions from teleological, evolutionary, political/cultural, social-cognition, and lifecycle models can be combined to understand change.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT

PROCESS FOR CHANGE:

There are a number of factors both internal and external which affect organizational functioning. Any change in these factors necessitates changes in an organization. The more important factors are as follows: A. External Forces External environment affects the organizations both directly and indirectly. The organizations do not have any control over the variables in such an environment. Accordingly, the organization cannot change the environment but must change them to align with the environment. A few of these factors are:
1.

Technology- technology is the major external force which calls for change. The adoption of new technology such as computers, telecommunication systems and flexible manufacturing operations has profound impact on the organizations that adopt them. The substitution of computer control for direct supervision, is resulting in wider spans of control for managers and flatter organizations. Sophisticated information technology is also making organizations more responsive: both the organizations and their employees will have to become more adaptable. Many jobs will be reshaped. Individuals who do routine, specialised and narrow jobs will be replaced by workers who can perform multiple tastes and actively participate in decision making. Marketing conditions- marketing conditions are no more static. They are in the process of rapid change as the needs, desires and expectations of the customers change rapidly and frequently. Moreover,there is tough competition in the market as the market is flooded with new products and innovations everyday. New methods of advertising are used to influence the customers. Today the concept of consumerism has gained considerable importance and thus the consumers are treated as the kings. Moreover , the competition today has some significant new twists. Most markets will soon be international because of decreasing transportation, communication costs and the increasing export orientation of business.
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3.

Social changes- social and cultural environment also suggest some changes that the organizations have to adjust for. There are a lot of social changes due to spread of education, knowledge and a lot of government efforts. Social equality e.g. equal opportunities to women, equal pay for equal work, has posed new challenges for the management. The management has to follow certain social norms in shaping its employment, marketing and other policies. Political forces- political environment within and outside the country have an important impact on business especially the transnational corporations. The interference of the government in business has increased tremendously in most of the countries. The corporate sector is regulated by a lot of laws and regulations. The organizations do not have any control over the political and legal forces, but they have to adapt to meet the pressure of these forces.

4.

B. Internal Forces Internal forces are too many and it is very difficult to list them comprehensively. However, major internal causes are explained as follows:
1.

Nature of the work force- the nature of the work force has changed over a passage of time. Different work values have been expressed by different generations. Workers who are in the age group of 50plus value loyalty to their employers. Workers in their mid thirties to mid forties are loyal to themselves only. The youngest generation of workers is loyal to their careers. The profile of the workforce is also changing fast. Change in managerial personnel- change in managerial personnel is another force which brings about change in organization. Old managers are replaced by new managers, which is necessitated because of promotion, retirement, transfer or dismissal. Each manager brings his own ideas and way of working in the organization. Sometimes, even though there is no change in personnel, but their attitudes change. As a result, the organization has to change accordingly.
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RESISTANCE TO ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE:

The resistance to change can have some very unfavourable consequences if the change is considered or perceived to be a threat to the individual or the group it can result in:

Implicit defensive behaviour such as loss of loyalty to the company, loss of motivation to work, persistent reduction in output, excessive absenteeism, sullen hostility, increase in errors and so on. Overt defensive behaviour such as civil disobedience, strikes, slowdown of work or aggressive unionism. These signs of resistance would require that management should play a very active and constructive role in convincing all the employees that the change would be beneficial to all the parties concerned.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES:

While some change is inevitable, taking steps to reduce the impact can leave the organization healthier in the long run. Change in an organization is created either internally or externally. Depending on the source of change, there are different advantages and disadvantages associated with the change.

Advantages of Internally Imposed ChangeMake the most of an internally created change, such as someone retiring or someone lobbying for a vending machine in the office. When change starts from within the organization, it is often received in a more positive manner. Internal change has many advantages for an organization, including increased morale among the employees, a sense of employee empowerment and control and a high likelihood of the change becoming permanent. Because the change originates from the group, it is more easily accepted and becomes the norm.

Advantages of Externally Imposed ChangeCreate change from outside the organization when change needs to happen quickly and the organization is not yet ready for the change. While external change is harder to accept than internal change, there are some distinct advantages for external change in an organization. This type of change can help jump start a declining organization and can change its course completely. One example of this is if a company is bought out by a larger company. This external change can help save the smaller company by looking objectively at the situation and changing when needed. Another advantage of external organizational change is that many organizations tend to reach a plateau level if left unchanged for too long. People become comfortable in their ways and stop seeking new and better ways to accomplish things. External change is good for improving the organization when it cannot be done internally.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT

Disadvantages of Internally Imposed ChangeNot all change is a good thing, and sometimes internally generated change can breed bad results. If a team or organization has a very domineering member, the internal change will often be a result of that single person and will therefore be too single-minded to be good for the organization at large. Additionally, when teams have been working together for too long in the same environment, the group mentality can take over and create unproductive change within the organization. When this type of internally imposed change is happening, bring in external resources to help manage the process.

Disadvantages of Externally Imposed ChangeWhen change is forced on an organization, often the organization will rebel. One of the main disadvantages of externally imposed change is that it is unsuccessful in the long term. Often, external resources can force the change for a while, but when those people move on to different roles, the organization will return to its previous behaviors. Additionally, the change process itself can cause temporary chaos within the organization and actually reduce productivity for a couple of weeks or months.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT

CASE STUDY OF NOKIAS BOOSTER PLAN:

In January 2004, Nokia, the largest mobile phone maker in the world, announced and then implemented what, for most companies, would represent a fundamental organisational change. In order to focus more closely on changing customer aspirations, its nine business units were restructured into four. At the same time, in order to ensure speed of innovation and production across the globe, all customer and market operations, product development operations, and manufacturing, logistics and support activities, were reorganised into three horizontal business units. This daunting organizational change was made fully effective within one week and involved about 100 people assuming new jobs. For the rest of Nokias employees, there was no need to change jobs; the modular teams of which they were members were simply reconfigured. The discipline, philosophy and mindset of reconfiguration through standardization and shared platforms ensured that Nokia is able to skillfully and rapidly reconfigure its human resources to meet changing customer needs. Six years later and the senior team at Nokia remains as committed as ever to deep employee involvement in strategy and implementation via a modular, project-based structure. What has changed is the development of technological platforms capable of bringing together thousands of people from across the world with speed and ease. The capacity of social networks to create engagement and innovation is seen to be crucial to the long-term success of Nokia. The ideas of involvement and constant strategizing were put to the test in early 2009 when, in the face of one of the worst recessions the industry had experienced, the decision was taken to actively engage employees in a major business transformation. The focus was on Nokias Markets business, a newly formed enterprise tasked with consumer retention and the creation of consumer solutions. As in the past, the emphasis was on building a more adaptive, flexible organization and using all the talents of the employees in the Markets business. Enter the Booster Programme. The genesis of the Booster Programme, launched in late 2008, could be traced to the wide involvement of the strategy-planning process and to the flexibility and project orientation of the modular structure. It began with a design team comprised of Maximilian Kammerer, Ian Gee and the two of us designing a process that would meet three aims.
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First, we wanted to boost every employees basic awareness and skills by expanding the capacity of regional teams to work effectively across functions. Second, we needed to boost the capacity to acquire and use external resources to meet performance goals. And, finally, we wanted to enable the whole business to transform from a line-based organization to one in which competencies would be pooled through a project or programmatic structure. The programme was ambitious. It had to cover all 5,000 employees of the business unit, encourage cross-functional and cross-hierarchical working and be capable of being rolled out across the world in the space of three months and with a relatively low budget. What was clear to the design team was that the traditional form of initiating topdown change would be too slow and would ignore the capacity of emerging technologies to allow employees to be part of the solution. The social-network technologies rapidly emerging on the back of Enterprise 2.0 tools created the environment for Nokias long term commitment to employee involvement to play out in a faster manner. However, the team decided on a blended solution with two main streams of activities: a two-day face-to-face workshop with team leaders followed by the much broader involvement of the whole community through an online social network community. The two-day workshops were staged in locations across the world, including Beijing, White Plains (New York), Helsinki, London and Dubai. About 100 potential change leaders were part of each workshop. When all workshops were completed, the 700 participants then returned to their teams to engage them in the ongoing process. It was at this point that the online community came to the fore. Working with specialist partners, the design team created an intranet site accessible to workshop participants and all employees of the Markets business. The online community was designed to host conversations and communications with senior managers as well as to provide information and ideas from content experts and community members. This combination of traditional communications techniques (face-to-face workshops with team leaders) and new forms of interaction (an online community) created a groundswell of enthusiasm. All 5,000 members of the business participated in the new structure and business practices. It was clear that the Booster online community went way beyond polished corporate communication. Moreover, it created an open dialogue between community members, frontline employees and senior managers about real challenges, concrete ideas and required support.
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Of course, such an online community was able to rapidly reach the 5,000 employees in a consistent and boundary less way across functions, units, hierarchies and geographies. It was clear that the programme had made a real difference an employee pulse survey conducted across the business showed that across all 18 items those who had participated in Booster were clearer about their objectives, more likely to work in the new project based mode, more satisfied with Nokia as a place to work and had higher feelings of personal achievement. Online benefits Looking back on the year, we found that building the online community had four distinct benefits. Nokia could now:

Scale fast, globallyWith one single-access point, 5,000 employees representing all functions, hierarchies, units and geographies could converse with each other on important issues, share ideas and knowledge and ask questions of each other. All 5,000 employees in the group received the same information at the same time, whatever their level, role or location. The online community effectively did away with the typical top-down communication approach which, given the pace of todays marketplace, would certainly have been too slow.

Share its agendaToo often in traditional forms of engagement and communication, employees are simply passive listeners. We found that with careful support and maintenance, the online community created real opportunities for employees in the business to be active and to make the companys agenda their agenda.

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We found that many people elected to steer discussions that interested them, post content they thought others would find useful, create groups of like-minded people around specific topics or raise igniting questions or issues. At the same time, others reacted to the ideas in the community or even remained silent users, preferring mainly to read and take in information. The online community also ignited a host of unintended actions. For example, one team in Germany took the initiative to invite 100 colleagues to an empty hangar, where they shared material from the Booster community and facilitated a Q&A session.

Encourage co-creationThe senior team at Nokia has always espoused cooperation as a means to tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience of employees. That, really, is what open innovation is all about. Whats changed in the last five years is the way that community-based technologies can facilitate and speed this process. The Booster online community enabled senior managers and content experts to frame the initial comments and set the tone. It was then possible for the community of employees to decide how best to implement these ideas. Indeed, we found that employee discussion threads quickly moved from commenting on the strategic direction to more practical ideas on how to make operational changes. After six months, there were over 3,000 discussion threads posted. Many discussion threads were in the form of questions or described the context under which employees saw the changes as possible or difficult to achieve. These discussion threads reduced repetition and meant that the conversation always moved forward across boundaries.

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Engage people in a journey, not an eventToo often, many believe that change is an independent event with its effects devolving from initial shock waves to mere ripples and, finally, to dead calm. We discovered that, although the two-day events were important, the online community that followed them ensured that the journey became more important than the event. The Booster community provided the journey, the road map, the compass and tools that allowed each team leader to embark on their own journey and to open it to many more. The design team did much to support the community by posting messages, articles or presentations from content experts, two-minute videos from senior managers, or quizzes and assignments such as mystery shopping. By doing so, the design team was able to keep energy levels high and engagement at maximum.

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ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
MEANING:
Organization development (OD) is a planned, organization-wide effort to increase an organization's effectiveness and viability. Warren Bennis has referred to OD as, a response to change, a complex educational strategy intended to change the beliefs, attitudes, values, and structure of an organization so that it can better adapt to new technologies, markets, challenges, and the dizzying rate of change itself". OD is neither "anything done to better an organization" nor is it "the training function of the organization"; it is a particular kind of change process designed to bring about a specific end result. OD can involve interventions in the organization's "processes," using behavioral science knowledge employee surveys, participative management, and overall system improvement.

DEFINITION:
Theory and practice of planned, systematic change in the attitudes, beliefs, and values of the employees through creation and reinforcement of long-term training programs. OD is action oriented. It starts with a careful organizationwide analysis of the current situation and of the future requirements, and employs techniques of behavioural sciences such as behaviour modelling, sensitivity training, and transactional analysis. Its objective is to enable the organization in adopting-better to the fast-changing external environment of new markets, regulations, and technologies.

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INTRODUCTION:
The core of OD is organization - a group working toward one or more shared goal(s), and development - the process an organization uses to become more effective over time at achieving its goals. OD is a long range effort to improve organization's problem solving and renewal processes, particularly through more effective and collaborative management of organizational culture, often with the assistance of a change agent or catalyst and the use of the theory and technology of applied behavioral science. Although behavioral science has provided the basic foundation for the study and practice of organizational development, new and emerging fields of study have made their presence known. Experts in systems thinking, leadership studies, organizational leadership, and organizational learning (to name a few) whose perspective is not steeped in just the behavioral sciences, but a much more multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary approach have emerged as OD catalysts. These emergent expert perspectives see the organization as the holistic interplay of a number of systems that impact the process and outputs of the entire organization. More importantly, the term change agent or catalyst is synonymous with the notion of a leader who is engaged in leadership - a transformative or effectiveness process - as opposed to management, a more incremental or efficiency based change methodology. Organization development is an ongoing, systematic process of implementing effective organizational change. Organization development is known as both a field of applied behavioral science focused on understanding and managing organizational change and as a field of scientific study and inquiry. It is interdisciplinary in nature and draws on sociology, psychology, and theories of motivation, learning, and personality. Organization development is a growing field that is responsive to many new approaches including Positive Adult Development.

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ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT BASICS:

Although the field of OD is broad, it can be differentiated from other systems of organizational change by its emphasis on process rather than problems. Indeed, traditional group change systems have focused on identifying problems in an organization and then trying to alter the behavior that creates the problem. But Margaret Neale and Gregory Northcraft observed in Organizational Behavior: A Management Challenge that OD initiatives focus on identifying the behavioral interactions and patterns that cause and sustain problems. Then, rather than simply changing isolated behaviors, OD efforts are aimed at creating a behaviorally healthy organization that will naturally anticipate and prevent (or quickly solve) problems. OD programs usually share several basic characteristics. For instance, they are considered long-term efforts of at least one to three years in most cases. In addition, OD stresses collaborative management, whereby managers and employees at different levels of the hierarchy cooperate to solve problems. OD also recognizes that every organization is unique and that the same solutions cannot necessarily be applied at different companiesthis assumption is reflected in an OD focus on research and feedback. Another common trait of OD programs is an emphasis on the value of teamwork and small groups. In fact, most OD systems use small teamsor even individualsas a vehicle to implement broad organizational changes. The catalystwhether a group or individualthat facilitates the OD process is known as the "change agent." Change agents are often outside consultants with experience managing OD programs, although companies sometimes utilize inside managers. The advantage of bringing in outside OD consultants is that they often provide a different perspective and have a less biased view of the organization's problems and needs. The primary drawback associated with outside change agents is that they may lack an in-depth understanding of key issues particular to the company.

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In addition, outside change agents may have trouble securing the trust and cooperation of key players in the organization. For these reasons, some companies employ an external-internal team approach, which seeks to combine the advantages of internal and external change agents while minimizing the drawbacks associated with the two approaches. "Are change agents necessary for organizational development to take place?" queried Gibson, Ivancevich, and Donnelly, authors of Organizations: Behavior, Structure, Processes . "Once we recognize that organizational development involves substantial changes in how individuals think, believe, and act, we can appreciate the necessity of someone to play the role of change agent. But who should play the role? Existing managers? New managers? Or individuals hired specifically for that purpose? Depending upon the situation, any of these can be called upon to orchestrate the organizational development process. The point is that the role of the change agent is necessary for organizational development to occur."

Sponsoring organization The initiative for OD programs comes from an organization that has a problem. This means that top management or someone authorized by top management is aware that a problem exists and has decided to seek help in solving it. There is a direct analogy here to the practice of psychotherapy: The client or patient must actively seek help in finding a solution to his problems. This indicates a willingness on the part of the client organization to accept help and assures the organization that management is actively concerned. Applied behavioral science One of the outstanding characteristics of OD that distinguishes it from most other improvement programs is that it is based on a "helping relationship." Some believe that the change agent is not a physician to the organization's ills; that s/he does not examine the "patient," make a diagnosis, and write a prescription. Nor does she try to teach organizational members a new inventory of knowledge which they then transfer to the job situation.

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Using theory and methods drawn from such behavioral sciences as industrial/organizational psychology, industrial sociology, communication, cultural anthropology, administrative theory, organizational behavior, economics, and political science, the change agent's main function is to help the organization define and solve its own problems. The basic method used is known as action research. This approach, which is described in detail later, consists of a preliminary diagnosis, collecting data, feedback of the data to the client, data exploration by the client group, action planning based on the data, and taking action. Systems context OD deals with a total system the organization as a whole, including its relevant environment or with a subsystem or systems departments or work groups in the context of the total system. Parts of systems, for example, individuals, cliques, structures, norms, values, and products are not considered in isolation; the principle of interdependency, that is, that change in one part of a system affects the other parts, is fully recognized. Thus, OD interventions focus on the total culture and cultural processes of organizations. The focus is also on groups, since the relevant behavior of individuals in organizations and groups is generally a product of group influences rather than personality. Improved organizational performance The objective of OD is to improve the organization's capacity to handle its internal and external functioning and relationships. This would include such things as improved interpersonal and group processes, more effective communication, enhanced ability to cope with organizational problems of all kinds, more effective decision processes, more appropriate leadership style, improved skill in dealing with destructive conflict, and higher levels of trust and cooperation among organizational members. These objectives stem from a value system based on an optimistic view of the nature of man that man in a supportive environment is capable of achieving higher levels of development and accomplishment. Essential to organization development and effectiveness is the scientific method inquiry, a rigorous search for causes, experimental testing of hypotheses, and review of results.

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MANAGING CHANGE THROUGH ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT :

Organization development initiatives do not automatically succeed. The benefits of effective OD programs are myriad, as many executives, managers, and business owners will attest. But OD interventions that are pursued in a sloppy, half-hearted, or otherwise faulty manner are far less likely to bring about meaningful change than those that have the full support of the people involved. Writing in the Academy of Management OD Newsletter, consultant William G. Dyer stipulated several conditions that had to be present if an OD intervention could have any meaningful chance of bringing about the desired change:

Ownership and all involved personnel needed to be genuinely and visibly committed to the effort. People involved in OD have to be informed in advance of the nature of the intervention and the nature of their involvement in it. The OD effort has to be connected to other parts of the organization; this is especially true of such areas as the evaluation and reward systems. The effort has to be directed by appropriate managers and guided by change agents (which, if used, must be competent). The intervention should be based on accurate diagnosis of organizational conditions. Owners and managers should show their commitment to OD at all stages of the effort, including the diagnosis, implementation, and evaluation. Evaluation is key to success, and should consist of more than asking people how they felt about the effort. Owners and managers need to show employees how the OD effort relates to the organization's goals and overriding mission.

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IMPLEMENTING OD PROGRAMS:
OD efforts basically entail two groups of activities: "action research" and "interventions." Action research is a process of systematically collecting data on a specific organization, feeding it back for action planning, and evaluating results by collecting and reflecting on more data. Data gathering techniques include everything from surveys and questionnaires to interviews, collages, drawings, and tests. The data is often evaluated and interpreted using advanced statistical analysis techniques. Action research can be thought of as the diagnostic component of the OD process. But it also encompasses the intervention component, whereby the change agent uses action plans to intervene in the organization and make changes, as discussed below. In a continuous process, the results of actions are measured and evaluated and new action plans are devised to effect new changes. Thus, the intervention process can be considered a facet of action research. OD interventions are plans or programs comprised of specific activities designed to effect change in some facet of an organization. Numerous interventions have been developed over the years to address different problems or create various results. However, they all are geared toward the goal of improving the entire organization through change. In general, organizations that wish to achieve a high degree of organizational change will employ a full range of interventions, including those designed to transform individual and group behavior and attitudes. Entities attempting smaller changes will stop short of those goals, applying interventions targeted primarily toward operating policies, management structures, worker skills, and personnel policies. Typically, organization development programs will simultaneously integrate more than one of these interventions. A few of the more popular interventions are briefly described below.

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INTERPERSONAL INTERVENTIONS Interpersonal interventions in an OD program are designed to enhance individual skills, knowledge, and effectiveness. This type of program utilizes group dynamics by gathering individuals together in loosely structured meetings. Subject matter is determined by the group, within the context of basic goals stipulated by a facilitator. As group members try to exert structure on fellow members, group members gain a greater awareness of their own and other's feelings, motivations, and behaviors. Other types of interpersonal interventions include those designed to improve the performance review process, create better training programs, help workers identify their true wants and set complementary career goals, and resolve conflict. GROUP INTERVENTIONS OD group interventions are designed to help teams and groups within organizations become more effective. Such interventions usually assume that the most effective groups communicate well, facilitate a healthy balance between both personal and group needs, and function by consensus as opposed to autocracy or majority rule. Group diagnostic interventions are simply meetings wherein members of a team analyze their unit's performance, ask questions about what the team needs to do to improve, and discuss potential solutions to problems. The benefit of such interventions is that members often communicate problems of which their coworkers were unaware. Ideally, such communication will spur problem-solving and improved group dynamics. Role analysis technique (RAT) is used to help employees get a better grasp on their role in an organization. In the first step of a RAT intervention, people define their perception of their role and contribution to the overall company effort in front of a group of coworkers. Group members then provide feedback to more clearly define the role. In the second phase, the individual and the group examine ways in which the employee relies on others in the company, and how they define his or her expectations.
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RAT interventions help people to reduce role confusion, which can result in either conflict or the perception that some people are not doing their job. A popular intervention similar to RAT is responsibility charting, which utilizes a matrix system to assign decision and task responsibilities. INTERGROUP INTERVENTIONSIntergroup interventions are integrated into OD programs to facilitate cooperation and efficiency between different groups within an organization. For instance, departmental interaction often deteriorates in larger organizations as different units battle for limited resources or become detached from the needs of other units. Conflict resolution meetings are one common intergroup intervention. First, different group leaders are brought together to secure their commitment to the intervention. Next, the teams meet separately to make a list of their feelings about the other group(s). Then the groups meet and share their lists. Finally, the teams meet to discuss the problems and to try to develop solutions that will help both parties. This type of intervention, say supporters, helps to gradually diffuse tension between groups that has arisen because of faulty communication. Rotating membership interventions are used by OD change agents to minimize the negative effects of intergroup rivalry that arise from employee allegiances to groups or divisions. The intervention basically entails temporarily putting group members into their rival groups. As more people interact in the different groups, greater understanding results. OD joint activity interventions serve the same basic function as the rotating membership approach, but these involve melding members of different groups to work together toward a common goal. Similarly, common enemy interventions achieve the same results by finding an adversary common to two or more groups and then getting members of the groups to work together to overcome the threat. Examples of common enemies targeted in such programs include competitors, government regulation, and economic conditions.
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COMPREHENSIVE INTERVENTIONS OD comprehensive interventions are used to directly create change throughout an entire organization, rather than focusing on organizational change through subgroup interventions. One of the most popular comprehensive interventions is survey feedback. This technique basically entails surveying employee attitudes at all levels of the company and then disseminating a report that details those findings. The employees then use the data in feedback sessions to create solutions to perceived problems. A number of questionnaires developed specifically for such interventions have been developed. Structural change interventions are used by OD change agents to implement organizational alterations related to departmentalization, management hierarchy, work policies, compensation and benefit incentives programs, and other cornerstones of the business. Often, the implemented changes emanate from feedback from other interventions. One benefit of change interventions is that companies can often realize an immediate and very significant impact in productivity and profitability (provided the changes are warranted and implemented appropriately). Sociotechnical system design interventions are similar to structural change techniques, but they typically emphasize the reorganization of work teams. The basic goal is to create independent groups throughout the company that supervise themselves. This administration may include such aspects as monitoring quality or disciplining team members. The theoretic benefit of sociotechnical system design interventions is that worker and group productivity and quality is increased because workers have more control over (and subsequent satisfaction from) the process in which they participate. A fourth OD intervention that became extremely popular during the 1980s and early 1990s is total quality management (TQM). TQM interventions utilize established quality techniques and programs that emphasize quality processes, rather than achieving quality by inspecting products and services after processes have been completed.
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STEPS IN OD PROCESS:
It is very difficult to give a model of OD which will be applicable to all the organizations. Theorists and practitioners differ about the various steps and sequences in OD. This is because of the reason that most of the ideas in OD have generated from practices and these practices have differed from organization to organization. Keeping in view all the different steps given by different researchers, we can frame a typical complete OD programme which includes a number of steps:1. Initial diagnosis of the problem- in the first step, the management should try to find out an overall view of the situations to find the real problem. Top management should meet the consultants and the experts to determine the type of programme that is needed. In the first stage only, the consultants will meet various persons in the organization and interview them to collect some information. 2. Data collection- in this stage, the consultant will make the surveys to determine the climate of the organization and the behavioural problems of the employees. The consultant will meet groups of people away from their work environment to get some answers to the questions such as: What specific job conditions contribute most to their job effectiveness? What kind of conditions interfere with their job effectiveness? What changes would they like to make in the working of the organization? 3. Data feedback and confrontation- the data which has been collected in the second step will be given to the work groups, who will be assigned the job of reviewing the data. Any areas of disagreement will be mediated among themselves only and priorities will be established for change.

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4. Planning strategy for change- in this stage, the consultant will suggest the strategy for change. He will attempt to transform diagnosis of the problem into proper action plan involving the overall goals for change, determination of basic approach for attaining these goals and the sequence of detailed scheme for implementing the approach. 5. Intervening in the system- it refers to the planned programmed activities during the course of an OD programme. These planned activities bring certain changes in the system, which is the basic objective of OD. There may be various methods through which external consultant intervenes in the system such as education and laboratory training, process consultation, team development etc. 6. Team building- during the entire process, the consultant encourages the groups to examine how they work together. The consultant will educate them about the value of free communication and trust as essentials for group functioning. The consultant can have team managers and their subordinates to work together as a team in OD sessions to further encourage team building. 7. Evaluation- OD is a very long process. So there is a great need for careful monitoring to get precise feedback regarding what is going on after the OD programme starts. This will help in making suitable modifications whenever necessary. For evaluation of OD programme, the use of critique sessions, appraisal of change efforts and comparison of pre and post training behavioural pattern are quite effective.

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BENEFITS OF OD:
Following are the benefits of OD:1. Provides opportunities for people to function as human beings rather than mere resources in the production process. 2. Give each member of the organization opportunity to develop to his full potential.
3.

Seeks to make the organization more effective in meeting all its goals.

4. Tries to create an environment in which exciting and challenging work can be found. 5. Gives people in the organization the chance to influence how they relate to work, the organization and the work environment. 6. Treats each human being as a person with a complex set of needs, all of which are important in his work and life.

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LIMITATIONS OF OD:
OD is an important technique of introducing change. But as a method of inducing change, it has certain limitations also. These are as follows:1. OD is based on the behavioural sciences concepts. Behavioural sciences themselves have many limitations, which are passed onto and applicable to OD also.
2.

OD requires the use of certain diligent and highly motivated persons, who can take initiative to bring about change, but in organizations, people are, generally, complacent who are not willing to make the required efforts and they are not helpful in implementing organizational development.

3. OD cannot be applied without giving due considerations to the circumstances existing within the organization. The local circumstances may pose a problem in adapting to change. Task of the organization and the characteristics of its membership also put limitations on the effectiveness of OD.

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CASE STUDY: Organizational Development Improved Team Effectiveness The Challenge Declining employee morale, conflict within and between workgroups, and employee performance problems led a newly appointed Division Manager of a Federal agency to seek the help of TATC Consultings Organizational Development practice. Our Approach After an initial meeting to obtain background information from the Division Manager, we began work on the project. Phase 1: Assessed the Situation

Administered the Campbell Organizational Survey (COS) to all staff. Interviewed all 25 staff members and supervisors.

Met with EEO staff and union representatives The assessment identified the following key themes:

Employees were strongly committed to their work. Work group supervisors were seen as having an autocratic leadership style and poor listening skills. No sense of teamwork within/across work units. No accountability for completing necessary paperwork. No regular communication from supervisors/managers to employees.

Only a moderate level of trust in the Division Manager. A summary of the assessment was reported back to senior management and to all staff in a series of feedback sessions.

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Phase 2: Designed and Conducted the Intervention

 Established a staff-based Process Improvement Committee (PIC) to develop recommendations for changes in work processes Provided individual coaching to senior leaders and supervisors on leadership styles and effective communication and feedback Led a series of team-building and training sessions with staff focused on communication processes, conflict management approaches, and preferred work styles Results Achieved Recommendations for revised work systems developed by the PIC were approved by senior management and implemented resulting in cost efficiencies and time savings Measurable increases in morale and intra- and inter-group cooperation Supervisors and managers began a program of regular communication with their staff Managers and staff experienced a reduction in their work-related stress

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