Organisation Development Unit 1: Rajeev Nair

Organisation Development
Unit 1
Rajeev Nair
Overview
• Late 1950s and early 1960s – emerged out of the insights from
group dynamics and from the theory and practice of planned
change
• Today – an integrated framework - solving problems confronting
the human side
• About how people and organisation function and how to get
them to function better.
• Based on the knowledge from behavioural science disciplines:
psychology, social psychology, sociology, anthropology, systems
theory, organisational behaviour, organisational theory and
management
• OD practitioners are consultants trained in the theory and
practice of OD, with knowledge of underlying behavioural
sciences.
OD Programmes
• Long term, planned, sustained efforts
• Begin when an undesirable situation is identified – for
change
• Role of OD Professional – design and implement the
change programme – develop a strategy – for desired goals
• Two major goals:
– To improve the functioning of I, T, and O
– To teach organisational members how to continuously improve
their own functioning
• OD deals with gamut of people problems and work system
problems – where I, T and O – not realising their potential –
OD can improve the situation
Definition
• Systematic application
• Transfer of behaviour science knowledge
• To the planned development, improvement
and reinforcement of strategies, structures
and processes
• That lead to organisational effectiveness
Concept
• OD applies to changes in structure, strategies

and process
• OD – based on the application and transfer of
BS knowledge and practice
• OD is concerned with managing planned
change
• OD – creation and subsequent reinforcement
of change
OD Vs Change Management
• OD – BS foundation – values of human
potential, participation and development in
addition to performance and competitive
advantage
• Change management – focuses narrowly on
values of cost, quality and schedule.
• OD involves change management but Change
management may not involve OD
History
• Growth of National Training Laboratories
(sensitivity training or T – groups)
• Action research by social scientists – managing
change – survey feedback technique
• Normative approaches
• Productivity and quality of work life
• Strategic change and organisational
transformation
Growth and Relevance
Three major trends:

• Globalisation
• Information Technology
• Managerial Innovation
Key Role
• Helping organisations change themselves
• Helping organisations assess themselves and their environments
and revitalise and rebuild their strategies, structures and processes.
• Helping members to go beyond surface changes to transform the
underlying assumptions and values governing their behaviour
• Helps the managers and staff personnel perform their task more
effectively
• Provides the skills and knowledge necessary for establishing
effective interpersonal relationships
• Shows personnel how to work efficiently with others in diagnosing
complex problems and in devising appropriate solutions
• Helps others become committed to the solution, thereby increasing
chances for their successful implementation
Values, Assumptions & Beliefs
• Belief : a proposition about how the world
works that the individual accept as true
• Values: are also beliefs – beliefs about what is
desirable or good
• Assumptions: beliefs that are regarded as so
valuable and obviously correct that they are
taken for granted and rarely examined or
questioned.
OD Values
• Humanistic
• Optimistic
• Democratic
Shapes the goals and distinguish from other business
strategies
Developed from behavioural science research and
from experiences and observations of practicing
managers
Provides structure and ability for people
Assumptions &Values for dealing with-
1. Individual
Most individuals have drives towards personal
growth and development if provided an
environment that is both supportive and
challenging
Most people desire to make, and are capable
of making, a greater contribution to attaining
organisational goals
2. Groups
One of the most psychologically relevant reference
groups for most people is the work group, including
peers and boss. What occurs in the work group, at
both the formal and informal levels, greatly influences
feelings of satisfaction and competence
Most people wish to be accepted and to interact
cooperatively with at least one small reference group
Most people are capable of making greater
contributions to a group’s effectiveness and
development
3. Organisations
Traditional hierarchical forms of organisation –
obsolete. Highlight the need for win-win
situation. Creating cooperative rather than
competitive organisational dynamics is a
primary task of the organisational leaders.
It is possible to create organisations that on the
one hand are human, developmental and
empowering and on the other hand are high
performing in terms of productivity, quality of
output and profitability
OD Practitioner
Refers at least to three sets of people:
• People specialising as a profession – internal or
External consultants
• People specialising in the fields related to OD:
reward systems, organisation design, total quality,
information technology and business strategy
• Managers and administrators who have gained
competence in OD and who apply it to their work
areas
Common Characteristics
• Share a common set of humanistic values

promoting open communications, employee
involvement and personal growth and
development
• Common training, skills and experience in the
social process of organisations
Competencies of an Effective OD Practitioner
Knowledge
Skills
Foundation
General
Core Competencies
Skills:
Foundation
competencies 1. Managing the
consulting the
Core competencies process
1. Organisation Behaviour 2. Analysis/ Diagnosis
2. Individual Psychology 1. Organisation design 3. Designing/ choosing
3. Group Dynamics 2. Organisation research appropriate,
4. Management and 3. System dynamics relevant
Organisation Theory 4. History of OD and interventions
5. Research methods / change 4. Facilitation and
statistics 5. Theories and models of process consultation
6. Comparative cultural change 5. Developing client
perspectives capability
7. Functional knowledge of 6. Evaluating
business organisational
change
General competencies:
Intrapersonal skills or self-management competence

Interpersonal skills
General consultation skills
Organisation development theory
Organisation Development
Unit 2
Rajeev Nair
Models &Theories of Planned Change
• Kurt Lewin’s change model

• Burke - Litwin model of organizational change
• General model of planned change
• Systems theory
Lewin’s Model
• Change: modification of those forces keeping a system’s
behavioural stable
• A particular set of behaviour at any moment in the time
is the result of two groups of forces: those striving to
maintain the status quo and those pushing for change
Three stage model of the change process:
• Unfreezing: reducing those forces maintaining OB at its
present level.
• Moving: shifts the behaviour of the organization,
department or individual to a new level
• Refreezing: stabilizes the organization at a new state of
equilibrium
Burke – Litwin Model
• Creating first order (transactional) and second order
(transformational) change
• First order – some features change but the fundamental nature
remains the same – can be termed as transactional, evolutionary,
adaptive, incremental or continuous change
• Second order – the nature of the organization is fundamentally
and substantially altered – transformed organization – can be
termed as transformational, radical or discontinuous stage
• Organizational climate vs. organizational culture: part of the model
• The basics of the model – OD interventions directed toward
structure, management practices and systems policies and
procedures – first order change, interventions directed toward
mission and strategy, leadership and organization culture – second
order change
General Model of Planned Change
• Entering and contracting ->

• Diagnosing ->
• Planning and Implementing change ->
• Evaluating and Institutionalizing change
• (linked back to all factors)
Systems Theory
Informal
organisation
Input Output
Environment System
Resources Strategy Work Formal
Unit
organisation
History Individual
People
Foundations of OD
Participation and Empowerment:
• One of the most important foundations of OD
– pillars of OD practice
• Rules of thumb: involve all those who are part
of the problem or part of the solution – have
decisions made by those who are closest to
the problem
Teams and Team work:
• Work teams are the building blocks of organizations
• Teams must manage their culture, processes, systems and relationships if they are to be
effective
• Putting empowered individuals into teams creates extraordinary effects on
performance and satisfaction
Important:-
• Much individual behavior is rooted in the socio-cultural norms and values of the work
team
• Many tasks are so complex, they cannot be performed by the individuals; people must
work together to accomplish them
• Teams create synergy
• Teams satisfy people’s needs for social interaction, status, recognition and respect –
teams nurture human nature
OD interventions are mainly intended for improving team performance: team building,
intergroup team building, process consultation, quality circles, parallel learning
structures……
Parallel Learning Structures:
• 1974 – Dale Zand – Collateral organization – to deal with ill-

structured problems the formal organization unable to solve
• Specially created organizational structures for planning and
guiding change programs especially when the change involves
a fundamental shift in the organization’s methods of work or
culture
• Vehicle for learning how to change the system and then
leading the change process
• The key thing is that they create a bounded space and time
for thinking, talking, deciding and acting differently than
normally takes place at work
• People act in a way that promotes learning and adaptation
A Normative –Reeducative Strategy of Changing:
Chin and Benne describe three types of strategies for changing –

• Empirical-rational strategies based on the assumptions that
people are rational, will follow their rational self-interest and will
change if and when they come to realize change is advantageous
to them
• Normative –Reeducative strategies based on the assumption that
norms form the basis for behavior, and change comes through
reeducation in which old norms are discarded and supplanted by
new ones
• Power-coercive strategies based on the assumption that change
is compliance of those who have less power with the desires of
those who have more power
OD falls in normative-reeducative strategies.
• Built upon human motivation

• Rationality and intelligence of men are not denied
• Patterns of action and practice are supported by socio-
cultural norms and by commitments on the part of
individuals to these norms
Norms help determine individual behaviour and a
normative-reeducative strategy of change pervades the
practice of OD
Action Research Process/Approach:
• Problem identification
• Consultation with behavioural science expert
• Data gathering and preliminary diagnosis
• Feedback to a key client or group
• Joint diagnosis of the problem
• Joint action planning
• Action
• Data gathering after action

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Organisation Development

• OD applies to changes in structure, strategies

Three major trends:

• Share a common set of humanistic values

Intrapersonal skills or self-management competence

• Kurt Lewin’s change model

• Entering and contracting ->

• 1974 – Dale Zand – Collateral organization – to deal with ill-

Chin and Benne describe three types of strategies for changing –

• Built upon human motivation

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