ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

ASSIGNMENT
Submitted By : Shivraj Singh Rathore
140701030
Q.1) As a favor to a friend who manages a small team of six
professionals, you agreed to facilitate a team meeting. Fearing that
the meeting would become contentious, your friend asks you to
steer the discussion away from several issues that she knows will
cause an argument. Knowing that these conflicts are the sources of
the teams troubles and are necessary discussion points to help the
team improve, should you bring up the issues anyway and help the
group resolve them, or should you bring up the issues anyway and
help the group resolve them, or should you heed your friends
request?
Sol.) Here in this case I will try to find out the reasons of conflicts between
the team, then only the purpose of a team meeting will be fulfilled. The
following ways will be helpful for her to create a change in the working to
team are as follows :Establish ground rules:- It is very important to establish some ground
rules for the proper functioning of the organization. Listen for something new
and say bring something new to the discussion. Avoid restating the facts and
talking in circles. Avoid power plays and eliminate status or titles from the
discussion.
Listen compassionately: It is very important to listen to the team and ask
every members about the feedbacks about their team members and their
team leader. Avoid thinking of a counterargument while the other person is
speaking. Listen to the other persons perspective rather than listening to
your own thoughts. Dont make an effort to remember points.
Team members should recognize each other for having expressed his view
and feelings. Thanking one another recognizes the personal risk the
individual took in breaking from group think and should be viewed as an
expression of trust and commitment toward the team. Use clarifying
statements to ensure the other party feels understood and listened.
Acknowledge the conflict The conflict has to be acknowledged before it
can be managed and resolved. The tendency is for people to ignore the first

signs of conflict, perhaps as it seems trivial, or is difficult to differentiate from

the normal, healthy debate that teams can thrive on. If you are concerned
about the conflict in your team, discuss it with other members. Once the
team recognizes the issue, it can start the process of resolution.
Discuss the impact As a team, discuss the impact the conflict is having
on team dynamics and performance.
Agree to a cooperative process Everyone involved must agree to
cooperate in to resolve the conflict. This means putting the team first, and
may involve setting aside your opinion or ideas for the time being. If
someone wants to win more than he or she wants to resolve the conflict, you
may find yourself at a stalemate.
Agree to communicate The most important thing throughout the
resolution process is for everyone to keep communications open. The people
involved need to talk about the issue and discuss their strong feelings. Active
listening Add to My Personal Learning Plan is essential here, because to
move on you need to really understand where the other person is coming
from.
Team members can learn skills and behavior to help this. Here are some of
the key ones to work on:

Dealing with conflict immediately avoid the temptation to ignore it.

Being open if people have issues, they need to be expressed
immediately and not allowed to fester.
Practicing clear communication articulate thoughts and ideas clearly.
Practicing active listening paraphrasing, clarifying, questioning.
Practicing identifying assumptions asking yourself "why" on a regular
basis.
Not letting conflict get personal stick to facts and issues, not
personalities.
Focusing on actionable solutions don't belabor what can't be
changed.
Encouraging different points of view insist on honest dialogue and
expressing feelings.
Not looking for blame encourage ownership of the problem and
solution.
Demonstrating respect if the situation escalates, take a break and
wait for emotions to subside.
Keeping team issues within the team talking outside allows conflict to
build and fester, without being dealt with directly.

Q-2) You are the director of operations for the emergency

department of a local hospital. Recent state regulations now
mandate that certain paperwork be completed before and after
each patient's visit, and you have redesigned the intake processes
to adjust for these requirements .You need the administrative and
nursing staff to be on board with these changes, and you know they
will be resistant. How might OD values of participation,
involvement, empowerment, collaboration, and openness suggest
what to do next?
Sol.) As there is some changes in the rules and regulation of the hospitals
when I try to communicate the changes to the administrative and nursing
staff they will resist the change and they feel overburdened, stressful, and
feel that they are overburdened by assigning more responsibility. And as this
is a local hospital, some employees who are not so much educated will also
think that how they will perform the new tasks assigned to them, and they
try to resist through absenteeism etc.
In order to implement employee involvement and empowerment to an
enterprise the following key actions need to take place:
Giving employee the responsibility
Training employee to accept responsibility
Communicating and giving feedback
Giving rewards and recognition
In such programs management usually wants: 1. Access to the workers'
knowledge of the job. 2. Cooperation In the introduction of new technology
without protest. 3. Flexibility regarding job classifications, work rules, job
assignments, the contract for the purpose of greater efficiencies. 4. Contract
changes and sometimes contract concessions.
If the offer of employee involvement is sincere and valid, it should meet the
following six conditions:
1. Management involves the union at the highest levels as an equal partner
from planning, through implementation, and evaluation of employee
Involvement. The union equally selects with management any consultants
who are hired to set up and coordinate employee involvement committee.
2. It is a voluntary process for both union and company. The union selects,
elects, or appoints its representatives on the committees that deal with
employee involvement.

3. Collective bargaining and grievance matters are not a part of the program.
These subjects remain outside of employee Involvement.
4. Management agrees to the proposition in writing that no workers can be
laid off or downgraded as a result of ideas generated by the workers in
employee involvement committees.
5. Money savings of employee involvement are shared with workers through
items such as more money in the paycheck, free training, upgrading, a
shorter workweek, etc. The union and management jointly determine this.

CASE-1: PETROCHEMICAL PLANT

Q.1) How would you describe the Organization Development (OD)
process to a potential client?
Sol.) In this case of Petrochemical Plant where the problem of clients is
managing the cross-functional task forces as an OD Practitioner, I will try to
focus on these various aspects :

Is the situation a problem or issue? (If it is a remedial situation, then theres

a much greater likelihood that the client will be very energized to participate
in the project.)

Or, are things OK now, but the project would make things even better? (If this
is the case, it might be a challenge to keep the client energized.)

Who first asserted the need for a project, or for change? External
stakeholders, such as investors or customers? (If so, then the client might be
very motivated to move things along in the project.

If external stakeholders were involved, then they might want to be on a

Project Team during the project.) Or, did internal stakeholders suggest the
project? (If so, it will be even more important to cultivate strong buy-in of
organization members.)

Did the need for a project suddenly arise or has it been planned for a while?
(If it suddenly arose, there might be more likelihood of stronger client
participation in the project.)

How long ago did the need for the project arise? (If it was recent, then theres
more likelihood that the client will show stronger participation in the project.)

Did your client try any strategies to address the issue before? (If so, what did
they try? Training? If all they tried was training, then they might have a very
short-term view of how to fix things.)

What did your client want to accomplish in their previous efforts to address
the issue? (Its extremely important to understand what they consider to be
success for now.)

How did your client decide what to try? (The answer to that question will tell
you how your client makes decisions by one person or by consensus. )

What were the results of their efforts? How did your client measure success?
(Did they take a systematic approach or an impulsive approach?

The answer to that question tells you a lot about whether youll need to
persuade them to be more methodical or not.)

Did your client make any effort to manage change, when addressing their
issue? (That question starts to alert them to the need to carefully manage
change, and opens the door for you to start teaching them.)

How did they decide to seek assistance? (The answer to that question will
reveal how they made decisions, but also why they are considering you.)

Did your client establish criteria for selecting a consultant, for example, do a
Request for Proposal? (If they did an RFP, they very likely are quite thorough
in analyzing their issue and in ensuring they get the best consultant. They
probably will be the same way with you.)

Q.2) How would you clarify the OD practitioner role in an initial

client meeting?
Sol.)
Entering and contracting are the initial steps in
the
OD process. They involve defining in
a preliminary
manner the
organization's problems or opportunities for development and establishing a
collaborative
relationship between the
OD practitioner and members of
the client system about how to work on those
issues. Entering and contracting set the initial parameters for carrying out th
e subsequent phases of OD:

diagnosing the organization,

planning and implementing changes,
and evaluating and institutionalizing them.

Entering and contracting can vary in complexity and formality depending on

the situation. In those cases

where the manager of a work group or

department serves as his or her own OD practitioner, entering and
contracting typically involve the manager and group members meeting to discuss w
hat issues to work on
and how they will jointly accomplish that. Here,
entering and contracting are relatively simple and informal.

During entry the client will be looking for clues that the OD practitioner
possesses characteristics and values that support the work to be
accomplished. The client observes and senses behaviors, physical
presence, energy, confidence, and sense of self. How the practitioner
shows up will send visible and invisible messages that either assure
and comfort the client or potentially disturb the client.
To have credibility with the client, the practitioner needs to be
perceived as strong, fair, wise, and ready to take action. Letting go of
defensiveness and the need to be right and in control is critical. An
attitude of wonder, curiosity, and openness to the magical, creative,
and intuitive energies is needed. Some of the characteristics that the
client will expect are strength of character and solid values and ethics.
The practitioners task here is to lead by openly disclosing and
consistently telling the truth -- simply, clearly, directly, with optimism,
energy, and wonder. Speaking the truth requires the practitioner to
track patterns of behavior, feelings, and ideas and to risk sharing with
the client what is being observed.

Case :- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Q.1) What could have been done differently to make this change
successful?
Sol.) Here in this case several mid-level editors and reporters positions were
eliminated or restructured, and both reporters and editors had to reapply for
the jobs as team members or leaders in the new structure. Many staff
members were frustrated that they were not consulted or involved in making

the changes successful. And many staff members began to dislike working in
the teams etc.
Here in this case I will try to implement One of the early approaches to
organizational change which was provided by Kurt Lewin and his associates.
It starts from the premise that targets of change and the social processes
underlying them are relatively stable, when forces driving for change are
roughly equal to forces resisting the change. To change this status quo
requires a three-step process:
1.

unfreezing

2.

movement

3.

refreezing

Unfreezing underscores the need to assess the present situation before

change is contemplated. It examines the driving and restraining forces in the
change situation that maintains the status quo. This information is essential
for unfreezing the current situation and creating a readiness for change
among organization members. Here I will try to find out the forces which are
making the employees resist to changes made in the hospital.
Movement involves intervening in the situation to change it. This addresses
organizational issues such as human processes, strategic choices, work
designs and structures. It shifts the behaviors, attitudes and values of the
organization, department and individuals to new levels. In our case of
hospital where the administrative staff and nurses have to now follow the
different structure.
Refreezing stabilizes the organization at a new equilibrium state. If this step
is ignored the organization reverts to its previous state. Refreezing
rebalances the driving and restraining forces in the changed situation so it
remains stable. Here in this case of hospital we will try to implement the new
changes in the organization.

Q.2) What factors do you think contribute to making a successful

change?

Sol.) 1. Shared Vision

When embarking on any change effort, its the change leaders job to develop and
deliver an inspiring view of the future state, and enlist others to move towards it.
People assimilate a lot easier, and work with greater commitment, when they are
guided by a vision. This is the starting point for transformational change. If this step
is missing, any one of the other five factors for successful change will suffer.

2. You Are Accountable

Accountability is all about action."
Starting at the top and cascading down through the organization, leadership must
be held accountable for the change effort. Accountability is all about action.
Participation, communication, resource commitment, sharing the vision early and
ofteneach one of these actions demonstrates leaderships commitment to the
change.

3. Stakeholder Involvement
Change Leaders must not only understand who the stakeholders are, but also
the level of support each has for the change effort and the degree to which
each can affect it (positively or negatively). This information is often tracked
in a stakeholder management plan. Change leaders often ask, Is such a
comprehensive plan really worth the time and effort? The answer is
absolutely! Understanding, supporting and establishing two-way
communication with stakeholders can make or break the success of the
change effort.

4. Tools and Skills

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, writes that the difference between
good leaders and great leaders is that great leaders practice the
fundamentals, consistently and extraordinarily well. So what are these
fundamentals when it comes to change leadership? Weve already covered
three of them: creating and sharing an inspiring vision, leadership
accountability and comprehensive stakeholder involvement.

5. Enabling Behavior:

Change happens at the behavioral level. Modifying the

organizations infrastructure to support the change effort is key to sustaining the

change. This may take the form of realigning job descriptions, performance
management plans and measurement systems.

6. Measures and Processes

Last but not least, the supporting foundation of successful transformational change
is how performance is measured within the business. Whether your metrics track
process, personnel or financial performance, transformational change requires
leadership to examine and realign the current measurement systems to support the
change effort in each area.