Historical Development of OD

Laboratory Training

Current Practice

Action Research/Survey Feedback

Normative Approaches
Quality of Work Life
Strategic Change
1950

1960

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1970

1980

1990

2000

Today

Laboratory Training Background

T- group is a small, unstructured group in which participants
learn from their own interactions and evolving dynamics about
such issues as interpersonal relations, personal growth,
leadership, and group dynamics.

It began in 1964 at Research Center for Group Dynamics at

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.( Community n
Committee research on training community leaders ).
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T- Group Training
Workshop was developed and all community
leaders were brought together to learn about
leadership and to discuss problems.
At the end of each day, researches discussed
privately what behaviors and group dynamics
they observed.
Conclusions of the program
Feedback about group interaction was a great
learning experience.
The Process of Group Building had
potential for learning that could be
transferred to back-home situations.
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T-Group Training
Naval Research and the National Education
Association provided financial backing to
form the National Training Laboratories.
In 1950s three trends emerged
Emergence of regional laboutories
The expansion of summer program
sessions to year-round sessions
The expansion of T group into industry
and business.
McGregor, Robert Blake( Exxon Mobile ),
Richard Beckhard ( General Mills) termed
the word Organizational Development
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Action Research & Survey

Feedback Background
- It constitutes the second major stem in
the
history
of
organizational
development.
- This approach is developed by
staff
members of survey research center of
the University of Michigan.
- There are two important contributions in
this field they are as under.
- Rensis Likert
- Floyd Mann
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Survey Research
Kurt Lewin formed the Research Center for Group
Dynamics at MIT in 1945. After he died in 1947, his
staff moved to the University of Michigan to join the
Survey Research Center as part of the Institute for
Social Research. It was headed by Rensis Likert, a
pioneer in developing scientific approaches to
attitude
surveys (five-point Likert scale).

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Action Research Stem

In the 1940s John Collier, Kurt Lewin, and William Whyte
discovered that research needed to be closely linked to
action if organizational members were to use it to manage
change. Action research has two results:
1) Organizational members use research on themselves to
guide action and change, while
2) Researchers were able to study the process to gain new
information. Two noted action research studies was the
work of Lewin and his students at the Hardwood
Manufacturing Company (Marrow, Bowers & Seashore,
1967) and the Lester Coch and John Frenchs classic
research on overcoming resistance to change (Coch &
French, 1948).
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Action Research Stem

The major findings of the survey were first reported to the
top management and then transmitted to the organisation.
Feedback sessions were conducted in task groups
Repeat of the survey
Significant positive changes were seen in terms of Job
Satisfaction.
Data Collection, Data Feedback, Action planning,
implementation and follow-up of data collection were done
in action research and survey feedback.
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Normative background
A Human Relations Approach
represented one best way to manage
organizations.
This included
Likerts Participative Management style
and
Blake and Moutons Grid OD Program
with org Effectiveness.
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Normative background
Likerts Participative Mgt Program characterized
org as having one of four types of management
systems
Exploitive authoritative system Top Down
Approach
Benevolent authoritative system Mgt is more
paternalistic and similar to exploitative
Consultative systems Employees are involved,
final decision is with management, employees are
moderately satisfied
Participative systems

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Research by Likert
Participative systems using a survey
feedback process on
Profile of Organisational Characteristics
Six organisational features were considered
Leadership,Motivation, Communication,
Decision, Goals and Control

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Blake and Moutons

Grid

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Research by Blake
He research on overcoming barriers to corporate
excellence.
Phase 1 Personal Style and Learning Methods
of problem solving
Phase 2 Team Development
Phase3 Intergroup Development
Phase 4- Ideal Model for organisational
excellence
Phase 5 Implementation
Pahse 6 Evaluation of the organisation
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Productivity and Quality of

Work Life
Organizations are open sociotechnical
systems
Organize around process not tasks
Flatten the hierarchy
Use teams to manage everything
Let customers drive performance
Reward team performance

Open to interact with its environment

Five Components
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Productivity and Quality of

Work Life
The structural subsystem
Formal design policies and procedures division of
work and patterns of authority

The technical subsystem

Techniques, equipt., used to produce the output

The Psychosocial subsystem (culture)

Social relationships, behavioral patterns, norms, roles

The goals and values system

Basic mission and vision of the organization

The managerial subsystem

Spans entire organization by directing, organizing, and
coordinating all activities directed toward the basic
mission
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Productivity and Quality of

Work Life
Joint participation by unions and
management
Job Enrichment
Self managed teams
Labor management committees
This lead to the evolution of Employee
Involvement, Total Quality Management,
Six Sigma programs rather than QWL
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Strategic Change Background

Strategic Change involves improving the
alignment
among an orgs environment, strategy,
and org
design.
Merger and Acquisition
Alliance formation
Network Development
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Examples in OD

Senior Management
Coaching @
HQ UK
Problem identified Increasing competition,
command and control is no more working.
Improvement needed - Wanted to evolve the Culture
of empowered teams
Interventions Development of shared values,
Introducing IT-systems that shared and exchanged
information across divisions, team building,
collaborative management style, leadership coaching
program.
Results Delegation of work to the teams, Team solved
the problems and became more confident.

Team Development in a
Problem Identified Employees stress,
emotional exhaustion, burnout
Improvements needed Wanted to create a
leadership team
Interventions Workshop to develop trust
and better working environment amongst each
other, Role play They took one anothers
role in order to be able to see how others see
them.
Results Learnt problem solving techniques,
clarified roles, established group goals, Better
sense of belonging, trust and safety, and
better understanding of self and others

Strategic Change
Engagement @
Problem identified Stiff competition
Areas of improvement Strategic change, global
expansion, reorganize into three division structure,
decentralization to be executed.
Interventions Vision and mission reframed,
Involved top mgt, new work process, employee survey
to gauge the feel of employees, upward
communication, Personal development,
communication skills sessions.
Results employees had a positive feeling, more trust
among employees and managers, on-going
improvements of the units, change in strategy,
structure, culture

OD
Infosys
In a recent Infosys research study, we asked clients to

identify the top problems they experienced during

major projects.
Interestingly, over 75 percent of the major issues
encountered were people type issues.
Therefore, to help our clients manage change, we
have a dedicated, global organizational transformation
unit with more than 200 practitioners.

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Steps in OD
Awareness of the need for change
The entry of the Change agent/ consultant at the
request of client system
Development of the consultant-client relationship by
clarifying mutual expectations and goals of the contract
Information collection by the consultant to asses the
state of the organization
Joint Diagnosis of problems by the consultant and client
based on data analyzed
Development of action plans and strategies to bring
about change or improvement
Implementation of the action plans
Monitoring and reviewing the progress of the actions
Stabilization of the changes
Termination of the client-consultant contract
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Three models in OD are

Lewins Change Model having three stages:
Unfreezing, Movement and Refreezing
Planning Model - Scouting, Entry, Diagnosis,
Planning, Action, Stabilization Evaluation and
Termination
Action Research Model Problem Identification,
Inviting a Behavioral Science Expert, Data
gathering / Preliminary diagnosis, Feedback to
groups, Joint Diagnosis of Problem, Action and Data
gathering after Action.
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Lewins Change Model

Unfreezing
Movement
Refreezing
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Lewins Change Model

According to Lewin, any living system is always in
a state of change.
Equilibrium is achieved by two sets of forces
pushing in opposite directions.
One set strives to maintain the status quo while
the other pushes for change.
When the two sets are about equal, equilibrium or
present levels of behaviour are maintained.
In order to change the equilibrium, either the set
of forces maintaining the status quo has to be
weakened, or the set pushing for change has to
be strengthened, or both.
Weakening the forces that maintain status quo
brings about less tension and resistance
compared to increasing forces for change.
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Lewins Change Model

Unfreezing: This involves reducing the forces
that maintain behavior at present levels.
In a group process, this can be initiated by
getting key individuals to brainstorm and
prepare a desired state outline, agree on
where they want to take the company in the
future and what behaviors will be necessary to
get them there.
The next step is to highlight the discrepancy
between present and desired behavior.
This often weakens the maintaining forces and
gets the unfreezing process started.
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Lewins Change Model

Moving: This step shifts the behavior
of the organization, department or
individual to a new level.
It involves intervening in the system
to develop new behavior, values and
attitudes through changes in
organizational structure and
processes
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Lewins Change Model

Refreezing: This step stabilizes the
organization at a new state of
equilibrium. It is frequently
accomplished through the use of
supporting mechanisms that reinforce
the new organizational state, such as
organizational culture ,norms, policies
and structures.
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Unfreeze
Determine what needs to change.
Survey the organization to understand the current state.
Understand why change has to take place.

Ensure there is strong support from upper

management.
UseStakeholder Analysisand
Stakeholder Management to identify and win the support
of key people within the organization.
Frame the issue as one of organization-wide importance.

Create the need for change.

Create a compelling message as to why change has to occur.

Use your vision and strategy as supporting evidence.
Communicate the vision in terms of the change required.
Emphasize the "why".

Manage and understand the doubts and concerns.

Remain open to employee concerns and address in terms of
the need to change.
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Change - Moving
Communicate often.
Do so throughout the planning and implementation of the
changes.
Describe the benefits.
Explain exactly the how the changes will effect everyone.
Prepare everyone for what is coming.
Dispel rumors.
Answer questions openly and honestly.
Deal with problems immediately.
Relate the need for change back to operational necessities.
Empower action.
Provide lots of opportunity for employee involvement.
Have line managers provide day-to-day direction.
Involve people in the process.
Generate short-term wins to reinforce the change.
Negotiate with external stakeholders as necessary (such as
employee organizations).
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Refreeze
Anchor the changes into the culture.
Identity what supports the change.
Identify barriers to sustaining change.
Develop ways to sustain the change.
Ensure leadership support.
Create a reward system.
Establish feedback systems.
Adapt the organizational structure as
necessary.
Provide support and training.
Keep everyone informed and supported.
Celebrate success!
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Action Research Model

Problem Identification

Joint diagnosis

Consultation with a
behavioral scientist

Joint action planning

Data gathering &

preliminary diagnosis

Action

Feedback to Client

Data gathering after

action

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Action Research Model

Problem Identification: This stage usually begins
when a key executive in the organization or
someone with power and influences sense that the
organization has one or more problem that might be
solved with the help of an OD practitioner.
Consultation with a behavioral science expert:
During the initial contact, the OD practitioner and
the client carefully assess each other. The
practitioner has his or her normative development
theory or frame of reference and must be conscious
of those assumptions and values. Sharing them with
the client from the beginning establishes an open
and collaborative atmosphere.
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Action Research Model

Data Gathering and preliminary diagnosis:
This step is usually completed by the OD
practitioner, often in conjunction with organization
members. It involves gathering appropriate
information and analyzing it to determine the
underlying causes of organizational problems.
The four basis methods of data collection are
interviews, process observation, questionnaires
and organizational performance data.
Feedback to a key client or group: Because
action research is a collaborative activity, the
diagnostic data are feedback to the client, usually
in a group or work team meeting.
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Action Research Model

The feedback step, in which members are given the
information gathered by the OD practitioner, helps
them determine the strength and weaknesses of
the organization or the department under study.
Joint diagnosis of the problem: At this point,
members discuss the feedback and explore with the
OD practitioner whether they want to work on
identified problems.
A close interrelationship exists among data
gathering, feedback and diagnosis because the
consultants summarizes the basic data from the
client members and resents the data to them for
validation and further diagnosis.
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Action Research Model

Joint action planning: The OD practitioner and
client members jointly agree on further action to be
taken. This is the beginning of the moving process as
the organization decides how best to reach a
different equilibrium.
At this stage, the specific action to be taken depends
on the culture, technology and environment of the
organization; the diagnosis of the problem and the
time and expense of the intervention.
Action: This stage involves the actual change from
one organizational state to another. It may include
new methods and procedures, reorganizing structures
and work design and reinforcing new behaviors.
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Action Research Model

Data gathering after action :
Because action research is a cyclical
process, data must also be gathered
after the action has been taken to
measure and determine the effects
of the action and feed the results
back to the organization . This in
turn, may lead to rediagnosis and
new action.
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General Model of Planned Change

Entering
and
Contracting

Diagnosing

Planning
and
Implementing
Change

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Evaluating
and
Institutionalizing
Change

40

General Model of Planned

Change
Entering and contracting:

The first set of activities in planned change

concerns entering and contracting.
Those events help managers decide whether they
want to engage further in a planned change
program and to commit resources to such a
process.
Entering an organization involves gathering initial
data to understand the problems facing the
organization or the positive opportunities for
inquiry.
Once this information is collected, the problems or
opportunities are discussed with mangers and
other organization members to develop a contract
or agreement to engage in planned change
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General Model of Planned

Change
Diagnosing:
In this stage of planned change, the client system
is carefully studied.
Diagnosis can focus on understanding
organizational problems, including their causes and
consequences or an identifying the organizations
positive attributes.
The diagnostic process is one of the most
important activities in OD.
It includes choosing an appropriate model for
understanding the organization and gathering,
analyzing and feeding back information to
managers and organization members about the
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problems or opportunities
that exist.

42

General Model of Planned

Change
Planning and implementing change:
In this stage, organization members and practitioners jointly
plan and implement OD interventions.
They design interventions to achieve the organizations
vision or goals and make action plans to implement them.
There are several criteria for designing interventions,
including the organizations readiness for change, its
current change capability, its culture and power
distribution and the change agents skills and
abilities.
- Human resource interventions at the individual, group
and total system levels.
- Interventions that modify an organizations structure and
technology.
- Human resource interventions that seek to improve member
performance.
- Strategic interventions that involve managing the
organizations
relationship to itsProf
external
environment.
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General Model of Planned

Change
Evaluating and institutionalizing change:
The final stage in planned changed involves evaluating
the effects of the intervention and managing the
institutionalization of successful change programs.
Feedback to organization members about the
interventions results provides information about
whether the change should be continued , modified or
suspended.
Institutionalizing successful changes involves
reinforcing them through feedback , rewards and
training.
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