QAM5034:

Organisational Development & Change

Meeting 1
Introduction to Organisational Development & Change

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nor Zairah Ab. Rahim

nzairah@utm.my

1
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

1. Describe the basic organization development and change concepts in the competitive business
environment;
2. Explain the concept of ODC as a professional field of social action and area of scientific
inquiry;
3. Understand the the process of ODC – entering and contracting, diagnosing organisations,
groups and jobs, collecting and analysing diagnostic information, feeding back diagnostic
information;
4. Design ODC interventions, evaluating and institutionalising ODC interventions.

2
INTRODUCTION
Organizational development is a process that leverages knowledge and practice
of behavioral sciences to assist organizations in developing their capacity to
change in order to be more effective, including improving financial performance,
customer satisfaction, and engagement of members.
Organizational development is different from other planned initiatives, such as
project management or innovation, due to its focus on organization's
development ability to evaluate its current function and achieve its goals.
In addition, OD is more focus towards the betterment of the whole organization
system and its part in the larger environmental.

3
DEFINITION OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

4
Key Theories of Organizational Change

5
Lewin’s Change Model - by Kurt Lewin
(1951)
 change as a modification of forces that keep the system's behavior stable
 result of two forces: those who seek to maintain the status quo and those who encourage
change.
 When both forces is about the same strength, the current behavior is maintained in what is
called Lewin state of "Quasi-stationary equilibrium."

6
Action Research Model

7
The Positive Model

8
 Comparisons of
Change Models
 the models overlap in that their emphasis on action to
implement organizational change is preceded by a preliminary
stage (unfreezing, diagnosis, or initiate the inquiry)
 followed by a closing stage (refreezing or evaluation).
 all three approaches emphasize the application of behavioral
science knowledge, involve organization members in the
change process to varying degrees,

9
The differences
 Lewin’s change model differs from the other two in that it focuses on the general process of
planned change, rather than on specific OD activities.
 Lewin’s model and the action research model differ from the positive approach in terms of the
level of involvement of the participants and the focus of change.
 Lewin’s model and traditional action research emphasize the role of the consultant with
relatively limited member involvement in the change process.
 action research and the positive model, treat both consultants and participants as co-learners
who are heavily involved in planned change.
 Lewin’s model and action research are more concerned with fixing problems than with focusing
on what the organization does well and leveraging those strengths.

10
PROCESS OF ORGANISATION
DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE
Entering and Contracting
Diagnosing Organizations
Diagnosing Groups and Jobs
Collecting and Analyzing Diagnostic Information
Feeding Back Diagnostic Information

11
Entering and Contracting
diagnosing the organization
planning and implementing changes
evaluating and institutionalizing them.

12
The Entering Process
Clarifying the Organizational Issue
◦Presenting Problem
◦Symptoms
Determining the Relevant Client
◦Working power and authority
◦Multiple clients -- multiple contracts
Selecting a Consultant

CUMMINGS & WORLEY, 7E (C) 2001 SOUTH-WESTERN COLLEGE PUBLISHING 4-13

Activities Involved in Entering an OD Relationship
Activities Description
Clarifying the  Identify the presenting problem
organizational  Collecting preliminary data.
issue
 Examine company records and interview a few key members to gain an introductory
understanding of the organization, its context, and the nature of the presenting
problem.
o gathered in a relatively short period of time—typically over a few hours to one
or two days.
o enough rudimentary knowledge of the organizational issue
 Diagnostic phase might discover other issues that need to be addressed, or it might
lead to redefining the initial issue that was identified during the entering and
contracting stage. This is a prime example of the emergent nature of the OD
process: Things may change as new information is gathered and new events occur.

14
 Activities Involved in Entering an OD Relationship
Determining the  the relevant client includes those organization members who can directly impact the change issue,
relevant client whether it is solving a particular problem or improving an already successful organization or
department.
 may need to include union officials as well as managers and staff personnel. May also expand the
definition of the client to include members from multiple units, from different hierarchical levels, and
even from outside of the organization.
 OD project may fail because the relevant client was inappropriately defined. Determining the relevant
client can vary in complexity depending on the situation.
 Unless they are actively involved in choosing an OD practitioner and defining the subsequent change
process, there is little likelihood that OD will improve team decision making. Determining the relevant
client is more complex when the organizational issue cannot readily be addressed in a single unit.
 In complex situation, OD practitioners need to gather additional information about the organization to
determine the relevant client, generally as part of the preliminary data collection that typically occurs
when clarifying the issue to be addressed.
 Who can directly impact the organizational issue? Who has a vested interest in it? Who has the power
to approve or reject the OD effort? Answers to those questions can help determine who is the relevant
client for the entering and contracting stage, although the client may change during the later stages of
the OD process as new data are gathered and changes occur. If so, participants may have to return to
and modify this initial stage of the OD effort. 15
 Activities Involved in Entering an OD Relationship
Selecting the  OD practitioner who has the expertise and experience to work with members on the organizational issue.
appropriate OD  Requirements need to be defined in a proposal which include: project goals, outlines of action plans, a list of roles
practitioner. and responsibilities, recommended interventions, and proposed fees and expenses.
 Less formal and structured selection processes by Gordon Lippitt (1972):
o including their ability to form sound interpersonal relationships
o the degree of focus on the problem
o the skills of the practitioner relative to the problem
o the extent that the consultant clearly informs the client as to his or her role and contribution
o whether the practitioner belongs to a professional association.
 References from other clients are highly important. A client may not like the consultant’s work, but it is critical to
know the reasons for both pleasure and displeasure.
 Flexibility of the consultant on diagnosis or the practitioner appears to have a fixed program that is applicable to
almost any organization.
 Person specialization vs task specialization. The OD professional needs not only a repertoire of technical skills but
also the personality and interpersonal competence to use himself or herself as an instrument of change.
 “How effective has the person been in the past, with what kinds of organizations, using what kinds of techniques?”
In other words, references must be checked. Interpersonal relationships are tremendously important, but even con
artists have excellent interpersonal relationships and skills.
 Finding whether there is a match between their skills and knowledge and what the organization or department
needs.
 Practitioners should help educate potential clients, being explicit about their strengths and weaknesses and their
range of competence. If OD professionals realize that a good match does not exist, they should inform the client
and help them find more suitable help.
16
Elements of an Effective Contract
Mutual expectations are clear
◦ Outcomes and deliverables
◦ Publishing cases and results
◦ Involvement of stakeholders
Time and Resources
◦ Access to client, managers, members
◦ Access to information
Ground Rules
◦ Confidentiality
CUMMINGS & WORLEY, 7E (C) 2001 SOUTH-WESTERN COLLEGE PUBLISHING 4-17
 Emotional Demands of Entry
Client Issues
◦ Exposed and Vulnerable
◦ Inadequate
◦ Fear of losing control
OD Practitioner Issues
◦ Empathy
◦ Worthiness and Competency
◦ Dependency
◦ Overidentification
CUMMINGS & WORLEY, 7E (C) 2001 SOUTH-WESTERN COLLEGE PUBLISHING 4-18
Diagnosing Organization
What is Diagnosis?
 A collaborative process, involving both managers and consultants in collecting
pertinent data, analyzing them, and drawing conclusions for action planning
and intervention.
 May be aimed at discovering the causes of specific problems, or it may be
directed at assessing the organization or department to find areas for future
development.
 Provides the necessary practical understanding to devise interventions for
solving problems and improving organization effectiveness.
 Based on conceptual frameworks about how organizations function.

19
Diagnostic models

The Organisation as an Open System (Cummings & Worley 2009)

20
Diagnostic models

21
DESIGNING ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT AND
CHANGE INTERVENTION
An intervention is a set of planned activities intended to help an
organization improve its performance and effectiveness.
Effective interventions are designed to fit the needs of the
organization, are based on causal knowledge of intended outcomes,
and transfer competence to manage change to organization
members.
Intervention design involves understanding situational contingencies
such as individual differences among organization members and
dimensions of the change process itself.

22
 Contingencies Related to the Change Situation
Organizational Factors Description
readiness for change Indicators of readiness for change include:
 sensitivity to pressures for change
 dissatisfaction with the status quo
 availability of resources to support change
 commitment of significant management time.
capability to change  function of the change related knowledge and skills present in the organization
o the ability to motivate change
o to lead change
o to develop political support
o to sustain momentum.
 the resources and systems devoted to change
o infrastructure to support the transition
o program and project management offices
o consulting resources
o shared models of the change process
 the organization’s experience with change.
o if none, a preliminary training intervention may be needed before members can engage meaningfully in intervention
23
design.
Contingencies Related to the Change Situation
cultural context Interventions may have to be modified to fit the local culture, particularly when OD
practices developed in one culture are applied to organizations in another culture.
capabilities of the  Suitable with the competency.
change agent  OD practitioners should assess their experience and expertise against the
requirements needed to implement the intervention effectively.
 If there is a mismatch:
o practitioners can explore whether the intervention can be modified to fit their
talents better
o whether another intervention more suited to their skills can satisfy the
organization’s needs
o whether they should enlist the assistance of another change agent who can guide
the process more effectively.
 The ethical guidelines under which OD practitioners operate require full disclosure of
the applicability of their knowledge and expertise to the client situation. Practitioners
are expected to intervene within their capabilities or to recommend someone more
suited to the client’s needs. 24
 Types of OD
interventions
(1) human process programs aimed at people
within organizations and their interaction
processes
(2) technostructural methods directed at
organization technology and structures for linking
people and technology
(3) human resources management interventions
focused at integrating people into the organization
successfully
(4) strategic programs targeted at how the
organization uses its resources to gain a
competitive advantage in the larger environment.

25