ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Organizational development (OD) is a planned, ongoing effort by organizations to change in order to become more effective. The need for organizational change becomes apparent when a gap exists between what an organization is trying to do and what is actually being accomplished. OD processes include using a knowledge of behavioral science to encourage an organizational culture of continual examination and readiness for change. In that culture, emphasis is placed on interpersonal and group processes. The fact that OD links human processes such as leadership, decision making, and communication with organizational outcomes such as productivity and efficiency distinguishes it from other change strategies that may rely solely on the principles of accounting or finance. The fact that OD is planned distinguishes it from the routine changes that occur in the organization, particularly through a more effective and collaborative management or organization culture with special emphasis on forming work teams. The focus on interpersonal and group processes to improve performance recognizes that organizational change affects all members and that their cooperation is necessary to implement change. The forces compelling an organization to change can be found both inside and outside the organization. Internal forces toward change can affect changes in job technology, composition of the work force, organization structure, organizational culture, and goals of the organization. There are a variety of external forces that may require managerial action: changes in market conditions, changes in manufacturing technology, changes in laws governing current products or practices, and changes in resource availability. An organization can focus OD change efforts in several areas: changes to structure, technology, and people using a variety of strategies for development. Some of the more common techniques for changing an organization's structure include changes in work design to permit more specialization or enrichment, clarification of job descriptions and job expectations, increase or decrease of the span of control, modification of policies or procedures, and changes in the power or authority structure. Another general approach to planned change involves modifications in the technology used as tools to accomplish work. The assumption behind enhancing technology is that improved technology or work methods will lead to more efficient operations, increased productivity, or improved working conditions. Examples of technological approaches to change include changing processes for doing work, introducing or updating computers or software, and modifying production methods. The third general approach to change focuses on the people in the organization. This approach is intended to improve employee skills, attitudes, or motivation and can take many forms, such as introducing training programs to enhance work skills, increasing communication effectiveness, developing decision-making skills, or modifying attitudes to increase work motivation.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

Choosing the appropriate approach to organizational change depends on the nature of the problem, the objectives of the change, the people implementing the change, the people affected by the change, and the resources available. Several strategies are often thought of as effective

techniques for organization development: reengineering, team building, total quality management, job enrichment, and survey feedback. Reengineering is the sweeping redesign of organizational processes to achieve major improvements in efficiency, productivity, and quality. What makes reengineering so far-reaching is that it goes beyond just modifying and altering existing jobs, structures, technology, or policies. This approach asks fundamental questions, such as: What is the purpose of our business? If this organization were being created today, what would it look like? Jobs, structure, technology, and policies are then redesigned according to the answers to these questions. As part of the OD process, teams are used as a way of responding quickly to changing work processes and environments; they are encouraged and motivated to take the initiative in making suggestions for improving work processes and products. The term team can refer to intact work groups, new work units, or people from different parts of an organization who must work together to achieve a common goal. Often team building begins with a diagnostic session, held away from the workplace, where the team's members examine their strengths and weaknesses. The goal of team building is to improve the effectiveness of work teams by refining interpersonal interactions, improving communication, and clarifying goals and tasks in order to improve overall effectiveness in accomplishing goals. In ideal circumstances, team building is a continual process that includes periodic self-examination and development exercises. Managers must continually develop and maintain strategies for effective team performance by building trust and keeping lines of communication open. Effective teams are generally attractive to others and cohesive. The extent to which people want to belong to the team makes the team more attractive to others. If others see the team as cooperative and successful, they are more willing to belong. Teams are seen as less appealing if the group's members feel that unreasonable demands are made on them, if the group is dominated by a few members, or if competition exits within the group. A cohesive team exhibits strong interpersonal interaction among its members as well as, increased performance and goal accomplishments. Reengineering efforts place a strong emphasis on teamwork with the intent of fostering collaboration to accomplish a goal, to resolve problems, and to explore alternatives. These teams can be traditionally managed by an appointed leader or manager or self-managed. Self-managed teams work without an official leader and therefore share responsibility for managing the work team. Managers continue to coach the team, develop strategies for improving performance, and provide resources even though they may not direct the daily activities of the team. Total quality management (TQM) is the term used to describe comprehensive efforts to monitor and improve all aspects of quality within a firm. Teamwork plays a major role in quality improvement. Total quality management efforts could include employee training, identification and measurement of indicators of quality, increased attention to work processes, and an emphasis on preventing errors in production and service. What is the connection between TQM and OD? Both require a high degree of employee commitment, involvement, and teamwork. Many decisions must be made at the level where the work is accomplished, and managers must be

willing to give employees this power. Managers empower employees to make decisions and take responsibility for their outcomes. Job enrichment is often thought of as a technique of OD. It involves changing a job by adding additional tasks and by adding more responsibility. The widespread use of self-managed teams results in significant job enrichment. By the mere definition of self-managed teams, employees are now being asked to perform new tasks and exercise responsibilities within the team that they haven't had to perform before. Survey feedback involves collecting data from organizational members; these data are then shared with the members during meetings. In these meetings suggestions for formulating change are made based on the trends that emerge from the data. Survey feedback is similar to team building; however, the survey strategy places more emphasis on collecting valid data than on the interpersonal processes of work teams.

OD EFFORTS AND CHANGE

The success or failure of planned change depends not only on the correct identification of the problem but also on recognition of possible resistance to change. It is critical to the successful achievement of organizational development efforts for the manager to recognize the need for change, diagnose the extent of the problems that create this need, and implement the most effective change strategy. Successful OD efforts require an accurate analysis of the needed changes and an identification of the potential resistance to the proposed changes. Two critical points should be addressed concerning the areas in which organizations can introduce change. First, changes made in one area often trigger changes in other areas as well. Managers and those proposing the change must be aware of this systemic nature of change. Second, changes in goals, strategies, technology, structure, process, and job design require that people change. Serious attention must be given to the reactions of employees and possible resistance to changes in these areas. People may be resistant to change for a number of reasons. They may feel that they will lose status, power, or even their jobs. People react differently to change; even if no obvious threat to their jobs exist, some people's personalities make them more uncomfortable than others with changes in established routines. The reasons for the change or the exact change that will take place may not be understood. However, even if the reasons for the change are understood, employees may not have a high level of trust in the motives of those proposing the change. Also, those who are the targets of the change may genuinely feel that the proposed change is not necessary. Organizational culture could also influence people's reactions to OD efforts. Organizational culture can be thought of as the organization's personality. The culture is defined by the shared beliefs, values, and patterns behaviors that exist in the organizationin other words, "the way we do things around here." Some organizational cultures may even reward stability and tradition while treating those who advocate change as outsiders. Sometimes the definition and strength of an organization's culture aren't evident until it undergoes change.

How can managers deal with resistance to change? An individual's low tolerance for change is largely a personal matter and can often be overcome with support and patience. Open communication can go a long way toward overcoming resistance to change based on misunderstanding, lack of trust, or different viewpoints. Those who will be affected by the change must be identified, and the reasons for and details about the change must be conveyed accurately to them. Keeping this information "secret" is bound to cause resistance. Also, the people who are the targets of the change should be involved in the change process. This is particularly important when true commitment to, or "ownership" of, the change is critical and those affected have unique knowledge about the processes or jobs that may be altered.

DOES ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT WORK?

Genuine efforts at organizational development require an investment of time, human effort, and money. Do the benefits of OD outweigh these costs? Reviews of a wide variety of OD techniques indicate that they tend to have a positive impact on productivity, job satisfaction, and other work attitudes. These reviews have also pointed out that OD efforts seem to work better for supervisors and managers than for blue-collar workers and that changes that use more than one technique seem to have more impact. There are several factors exist that increase the likelihood of successful OD efforts: Recognition of organization problems and influences. Before changes can be proposed, correct identification of the gaps between what an organization is trying to do and what is actually being accomplished must be made. Strong support from top-level managers. If managers at the higher levels in the organization do not provide obvious and open support for the OD efforts, the program is likely to fail. Action research that provides facts, not opinions, for decision-making. Action research includes an identification of the attitudes and behaviors of employees and is part of an ongoing assessment of organizational behavior. Communication of what OD is and is not and awareness of why it is being used. The culture of the organization should be such that employees are aware of what organizational development is and is not so that it is not seen as a threat. To thrive in tomorrow's business environmentcharacterized by a dynamic work force, rapid changes in technology, and the increasing volatility of the global environment organizational development must be an ongoing effort; encouraging continual examination and readiness for change must be part of the organization's culture.