ODC Revision 2014/201

5
PART 4: High-Involvement Organization Intervention
Flat ( ), lean ( ) organization structures
contribute to involvement by pushing the scheduling,
planning, and controlling functions typically performed by
management and staff groups toward the shop floor.
Similarly, mini-enterprise, team-based structures
those are oriented to a common purpose or outcome help
focus employee participation on a shared objective.
Participative structures such as work councils and
union-management committees create conditions in
which workers can influence the direction and policies of
the organization.
Job designs that provide employees with high levels of
discretion (), task variety, and meaningful feedback
can enhance involvement. They enable workers to
influence day-to-day workplace decisions and to receive
intrinsic satisfaction by performing work under enriched
conditions. Self-managed teams encourage employee
responsibility by providing cross-training and job rotation
which give people a chance to learn about the different
functions contributing to organizational performance.

Open information systems that are tied to jobs or

work teams provide the necessary information for
employees to participate meaningfully in decision
making. Goals and standards of performance that are
set participatively can provide employees with a sense of

commitment
objectives.

and

motivation

for

achieving

those

Career systems that provide different tracks for

advancement and counselling to help people choose
appropriate paths can help employees plan and prepare
for long-term development in the organization. For
example, open job posting () makes employees
aware of jobs that can further their development.
Selection of employees for HIOs can be improved
through a realistic job preview providing information
about what it will be like to work in such situation. Team
member involvement in a selection process oriented to
potential and process skills of recruits can facilitate a
participative climate.
Training employees for the necessary knowledge and
skills to participate effectively in decision making is a
heavy commitment in HIOs. This effort includes
education on the economic side of the enterprise, as
well as interpersonal skill development. Peer training
is emphasized as a valuable adjunct ( ) to formal,
expert learning.
Reward systems can contribute to EI when information
about them is open and the rewards are based on
acquiring new skills, as well as on sharing gains from
improved performance. Similarly, participation is
enhanced when people can choose among different
1

ODC Revision 2014/201

5
fringe benefits and when reward distinctions among
people from different hierarchical levels are minimized.
Personnel policies that are participatively set and
encourage stability of employment provide employees
with a strong sense of commitment to the organization.
People feel that the policies are reasonable and that the
firm is committed to their long-term development.
Physical layouts ( ) of organizations also can
enhance EI. Physical designs that support team
structures and reduce status differences among
employees can reinforce the egalitarian ( )
climate needed for employee participation. Safe and
pleasant working conditions provide a physical
environment conducive to participation.

PART 5: Workforce Diversity Interventions

Goals
Organizations diversity approach is a function of
internal and external pressures for and against
diversity. Social norms and globalization support the
belief that organization performance is enhanced when
the workforces diversity is embraced as an opportunity.
Managements perspective and priorities with
respect to diversity can range from resistance to
active learning and from marginal ( ) to
strategic. For example, organizations can resist
diversity by implementing only legally mandated policies
such
as
affirmative
action,
equal
employment
opportunity, and so on.
Within managements priorities, the organizations
strategic responses can range from reactive to
proactive. For example, diversity efforts at Texaco and
Dennys had little momentum until a series of
embarrassing race-based events forced a response.
Organizations implementation style can range
from episodic to systemic. A diversity approach will be
most effective when the strategic responses and
implementation style fit with managements intent and
internal and external pressures.
Application Stages
Age
Work design, wellness programs, career planning
and development, and reward systems must be
2

ODC Revision 2014/201

5

adapted to these different age groups and demographic

cohorts to address age diversity.
For the older employee, work designs can reduce the
physical components or increase the knowledge and
experience components of a job. Generation-X workers
will likely require more challenge and autonomy.
Wellness programs can be used to address the
physical and mental health of both generations.
Career planning and development programs will
have to recognize the different career stages of each
cohort and offer resources tailored () to that stage.
Reward system interventions may offer increased
health benefits, time off, and other perks ( ) for the
older workforce while using promotion, ownership, and
pay to attract and motivate the scarcer, younger
workforce.

Gender
Work design, reward systems, and career
development are among the more important
interventions for addressing issues arising out of the
gender trend.
Jobs can be modified to accommodate the special
demands of working mothers. A number of organizations
have instituted job sharing by which two people
perform the tasks associated with one job. The firms
have done this to allow their female employees to pursue
both family and work careers.
Reward system intervention especially fringe benefits
can be tailored to offer special leaves to mothers and

fathers, child-care options, flexible working hours, and

health and wellness benefits.
Career development interventions help maintain,
develop, and retain a competent and diverse workforce.

Race/Ethnicity
Training can increase the likelihood that effective
diversity management programs rely on data and are
responsive,
move beyond eliminating obvious racism to
eradicating () more subtle forms as well
eliminating vague selection and promotion criteria
which can let discrimination persist ()
link diversity management to individual performance
appraisals
develop and enforce appropriate rules
Mentoring programs can ensure that minorities in the
advancement stage
get the appropriate coaching
those successful minority managers and executives
get the chance to share their wisdom and experience
with others

ODC Revision 2014/201

5

Disability
Work design, career planning and development,
and performance management can be used to
integrate the disabled into the workforce.
Traditional approaches to job design can simplify work
to permit physically handicapped workers to complete an
assembly task.
Career planning and development programs need
to focus on making disabled workers aware of career
opportunities. Career paths need to be developed for
these workers.
Performance management interventions including
goal setting, monitoring, and coaching performance,
aligned with the workforces characteristics are
important.
Culture and Values
Employee involvement, reward systems, and
career planning and development can be used to
adapt to cultural diversity.
Employee involvement practices can be adapted to
the needs for participation in decision making.
Reward systems can focus on increasing flexibility. For
example, flexible working hours enable employees to
meet
personal
obligations
without
sacrificing
organizational objectives.
Career planning and development programs can
help workers identify advancement opportunities that are

in line with their cultural values. Some cultures value

technical skills over hierarchical advancement. Others
may see promotion as a prime indicator of self-worth and
accomplishments.
Sexual Orientation
The most frequent response is education and training.
This intervention increases members awareness of the
facts and decreases the likelihood of overt discrimination.
Human resources practices having to do with Equal
Employment Opportunity (EEO) and fringe benefits also
can help to address sexual orientation parity issues.
Organizations need to communicate strongly to its
members and outsiders be made with respect to a
persons sexual orientation.
Besides that, companies can extend health care and
other benefits to the same-sex partners of their
members.

PART 5: Performance Appraisal System Intervention

Element of Appraisal System
Elements
Purpose

Traditional
Approaches
Traditional
approaches conduct
for a variety of

High-Involvement
Approaches
HI are more tailored
to balance the
multiple
4

ODC Revision 2014/201

5

Appraiser

Role of
appraise

purpose, including
affirmative action,
pay and promotion
decisions, and human
resources planning
and development by
using separate
appraisal systems.

organizational and
employee needs by
actively involving all
relevant participants
in assessing the
purpose of appraisal
at the time it takes
place and adjusting
the process to fit that
purpose.

Traditionally, the
appraisers are
supervisor and
managers.

In HI, the appraiser

involves multiple
raters which are
appraisee, coworkers,
and others as also
known as 360-degree
feedback.
HI actively involves
appraisees in all
phases at the
appraisal process.
The appraisee joins
with superiors and
staff personnel in
gathering data on
performance and
identifying training
needs.

Traditionally, the
employee is simply a
receiver of feedback.
The supervisor
unilaterally
completes a form
concerning
performance on
predetermined
dimensions.

Measurem
ent

Timing

Traditionally,
performance
evaluation focused
on the consistent use
of pre-specified traits
or behaviors. Validity
stems largely from
legal tests of
performance
appraisal systems
and leads
organizations to
develop
measurement
approaches such as
behaviorally
anchored rating scale
(BARS) and its
variants.

In HI, validity is not

only a legal or
methodological issue
but a social issue as
well. All participants
are trained in
methods of
measuring and
assessing
performance. The
appraisal process is
more understood,
accepted, and
accurate because it
focuses on both
objective and
subjective measures
of performance.

Traditionally, the
timing of

HI increases the
frequency of
5

ODC Revision 2014/201

5
performance
appraisals are fixed
by managers or staff
personnel and are
based on
administrative
criteria such as
yearly pay decisions.

feedback such as two

times per year. HI
increases the
timeliness of
feedback and gives
employees more
control over their
work.

Application Stages
The process of designing and implementing a performance
appraisal system are:
1. Select the Right People
The design process needs to include human resources
staff, legal representatives, senior management, and
system users.
Members representing a variety of functions need to
be involved in the design process so that the essential
strategic and organizational issues are addressed.

2. Diagnose the Current Situation

A clear picture of the current appraisal process is
essential to designing a new one.
Diagnosis involves assessing the contextual factors
(business strategy, workplace technology, and
employee involvement), current appraisal practices
and satisfaction with them, work design, and the
current goal-setting and reward system practices.
This information is used to define the current systems
strengths and weakness.
3. Establish the Systems Purpose and Objectives
The ultimate purpose of an appraisal system is to help
the organization achieve better performance.
Managers, staff, and employees can have more
specific views about how the appraisal process can be
used.
Potential purpose can include serving as a basis for
rewards, career planning, human resources planning,
and performance improvement or simply giving
performance feedback.
4. Design the Performance Appraisal System
Given the agreed-upon purpose of the system and the
contextual factors, the appropriate elements of an
appraisal system can be established.
These should include choices about who performs the
appraisal,
who
is
involved
in
determining
performance, how performance is measured, and how
often feedback is given.
6

ODC Revision 2014/201

5
Criteria for designing an effective performance
appraisal system include timeliness, accuracy,
acceptance, understanding, focus on critical control
points, and economic feasibility.
5. Experiment with Implementation
The complexity and potential problems associated
with performance appraisal processes strongly
suggest using a pilot test of the new process to spot,
gauge, and correct any flaws in the design before it is
implemented system wide.
6. Evaluate and Monitor the System
Although the experimentation step may have
uncovered many initial design flaws, ongoing
evaluation of the system once it is implemented is
important.

User satisfaction from human resources staff,

manager, and employee viewpoints is an essential
input.
In addition, the legal defensibility of the system should
be tracked by noting the distribution of appraisal
scores against age, sex, and ethnic categories.

Interpersonal and Group Process Approaches

Trans-organizational Change Intervention
Career Development Intervention
Transformational Change Intervention
Mentoring and Coaching Intervention