History of Organizational Development

Organizational development is applied behavioral science. It is an effort (1) planned, (2) organization – wide, and (3) managed from the top, to (4) increase organization effectiveness and health through (5) planned interventions in the organization’s “processes”, using behavioral – science knowledge”. – Beckard

OD has a recent history which comprises of four trunks:

1. The laboratory training

2. Survey research methodology and feedback

3. Action research

4. Tavistock sociotechnical system

1. The laboratory training system (the T-group) :

It involves situations in which participants learn from their own action by using here and now experience, and feedback among themselves thereby gaining insights among themselves and others. It began in 1946, influenced by an intergroup relations workshop held at the State Teachers College in New Britain, Connecticut, where Kurt Lewin and his staff at the Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD) were asked for help in training community leaders. In the workshop the leaders learnt about leadership and discussed problems. At the end of each day, the researchers discussed privately what behaviors and group dynamics they had observed. This experience led to The National Training Laboratory in-group development organized by Benne, Bradford, and Lippitt at Bethel. Thus, the T-group provided opportunity for “a) self-in-sight b) understanding the conditions which inhibit or facilitate group functioning c) understanding inter-personal operations in groups and d) develop the skills for diagnosing the individual, group and organizational behavior.

Douglas McGregor's work with Union Carbide in an effort to apply some of the concepts from laboratory training to a complex system and Chris Argyris conducting team building sessions with top executive teams contributed to the theory and research in OD.

2. The Survey Research and Feedback Stem:

The history of this stem revolves around the techniques and approaches developed over a period of years by staff members at the Survey Research Center, Michigan. Renis Likert was associated with survey research center (SRC), Michigan. His dissertation “a technique for the measurement of attitude” was the classic study that developed the widely used five-point Likert scale.

In an early study, Likert and Floyd Mann found that when the survey data were reported to a manager and he/she failed to discuss the results with subordinates and failed to plan with them what the mangers and others should do to bring the improvement, little change occurred. However, a substantial favorable change occurred when the result was discussed with subordinates and planned with them what to do to bring about improvement. Baumgartel observed “it deals with the system of human relationships as a whole (superior and subordinate can change together) and it deals with each manager supervisor and employee in the context of his own job, his own problems, and his own work relationships.”

3. The Action Research Stem:

Today, it is the backbone of most OD applications. A key component of most action research studies was the systematic collection of survey data that was fed back to the client organization. A collaborative effort was initiated between organization members and social scientists to collect research data about an organization’s functioning, to analyze it for causes of problems, and to devise and implement solutions. Many OD programs use action research model. The manager also needs to be aware of the processes that should be considered when attempting to create change.

4. The sociotechnical and socioclinical stem:

It developed primarily from work done at the Tavistock Institute in London by researchers such as Eric Trist and W.R Bion. W.R.Bion and Rickman were involved with a six week “Northfield Experiment” at a military hospital near Birmingham during World War II. In this experiment each soldier was required to join a group that performed some task such as handicraft and discussed feelings, interpersonal relations and managerial problems. Insights from this experiment led to the development of Bion’s theory of group behavior. Eric Trist’s (Tavistock) work design in coal mining was important to other work redesign experiment.

The second generation OD effort encompasses: Interest in Organizational Transformation, interest in learning organization, intensified interest in teams, Interest in total quality management, Interest in Visioning and Future search and Rediscovering Large Meetings and Getting the “Whole System” in the Room.

REFERENCE:

· Cummings, Thomas & Huse, Edgar (1989). Organization Development and Change. St Paul, MN: West Publishing Company. (Pp. 5-13).

· French Wendell L / Bell, Cecil H Jr. Organization Development: Behavioral Science Interventions for Organization Improvement, 6 Th ePearson Education. Prentice Hall 1998.

What is Performance Consulting?

In an attempt to accomplish Organizational goals and to meet new challenges in new ways, human resource departments are shifting from traditional training methods to performance consulting. Performance consulting is: "a process in which a client and consultant partner to accomplish the strategic outcome of optimizing workplace performance in support of business goals." The performance consultants by employing a combination of skills and interventions help clients realize desired goals.

The performance consultant (PCs) working in collaboration with management try to achieve performance excellence. The PCs attempt to develop strategies which are unique for each client and matches with the goals and vision of the organization. It is thus; customized to the needs of individuals, departments, project teams which allows the development of plans that addresses competency gaps.

Performance consulting makes use of performance Improvement Model to analyze and solve performance problem in a systematic way. The performance Improvement approach determines the gap between desired performance and current performance, identifying the root causes of the gap and applying the most appropriate solution to improve performance.

Performance Consultants differ from HR managers in the sense that they focus primarily on helping organizations find performance solutions in a systematic manner, making use of OD tools, techniques and strategies. Being outsiders to the organization, they bring into a different perspective that is useful to the client. The PCs try to differentiate between performance problems caused by the job, the workplace environment, the organization and the actual worker.

Robinson and Robinson in their book “Performance Consulting” outline the following characteristics of performance consulting:
• identifying strategies and recommendations directly linked to organizational and business goals
• contracting with leadership to take the actions needed to support improved and/or different performance, including organization development and human resource development
• working in a consultative manner to become a valued business partner
• transitioning a focus on training to a focus on performance improvement

Thus, Robinson’s four-part book discusses about One, getting someone to take responsibility for performance training; Two, having a performance relationship map to help you design and complete performance assessments and illustrates the interrelationship between training, performance, work environment, and business needs; Three, discusses implementation; and Four, shows how performance improvement departments differ from training departments and answers questions about how you can get from where you are to where you need to be.

Performance consulting is changing the face of traditional training departments by providing a wide range of potential solutions that include in-depth needs assessment, planned change consultation and interventions. To conclude, the essence of Performance Consulting can be summarized in the slogan “work smarter not harder”.

Diversity Management

Diversity Management is about acknowledging, accepting and celebrating the fact that people differ in many ways. There are differences among people with respect to ethnicity, class, age, gender, race, physical and mental ability , education , background etc. Diversity management focuses on managing the differences within a company’s workforce and tapping the benefits that flow from it.

In an ever increasing era of globalization and competition, companies need to become more creative and open to change. This can be achieved through maximizing and capitalizing on workforce diversity. Diversity Management has become one of the most significant organizational challenges. In a multicultural work environment, there is a need for managers and supervisors to value individual differences among employees and convert it into an invaluable competitive asset. This will eventually lead to improved workplace diversity, fostering creativity and innovation and facilitating operations in culturally complex environments.

Diversity Management also involves combating discrimination, prejudice and promoting inclusiveness. Since employees from diverse background bring individual talents, skills and experiences, they help the organization in becoming more competitive, flexible and adaptive. An Organization with a large pool of ideas and experiences can inspire its employees to perform to their highest ability and can execute company-wide strategies more effectively. It also allows companies to develop new products and services for diverse customer base.

However, there are challenges to managing a diverse workforce. Lack of proper communication channel, resistance to change, negative attitude and behavior, prejudice and discrimination in the workplace are barriers to Organizational diversity.

Thus, managing diversity is about more than equal employment opportunity and affirmative action. It is a reflection of changing times. Diversity must be managed in order for companies to reap a diversity dividend. Organizations must incorporate diversity policies, create a safe and fair environment where everyone has access for opportunities and challenges, educate and inspire commitment from employees across all levels.

Employee Empowerment and Interpersonal Interventions

“Employee Empowerment” has become one of the most important buzzwords in today’s organizations. It is the process of giving employees the power to make decisions, take initiative and responsibility at all levels and functions of the organization. Power is shifting out of the office of managers and into the hands of lower level employees. The new culture is built on the belief that empowered employees help in the realization of organizational goals in a more efficient and effective way together with employee’s health and happiness.

One essential factor in employee empowerment is greater openness of communication .Several interpersonal techniques such as Johari Window Model, Career life planning, Stress Management, Transactional Analysis are being used to help employees become more empowered and involved. The focus of these interventions is to improve the communication ability, interpersonal skill and managerial performance of employees.

The Johari window model conceived by Joe Luft and Harry Ingram identifies and measures interpersonal style. It is a four celled figure where each cell represents a particular area of knowledge about the self. The four areas are: the public area, the blind area, the closed area and the unknown area. The knowledge of the four areas help employees become aware of their communication style, behavior, thoughts and feelings and how others perceive the same. This insight eventually leads to greater openness of communication and overcoming the blind spots in ones interpersonal style. It also leads to better cooperation and bonding among the employees as this process involves feedback from co -workers.

Behavior modeling is another technique designed to improve interpersonal skills. It aims at making first line supervisors more effective by focusing on problem solving approach. It is a form of training whereby a problem situation is briefly discussed, the participants are then required to observe a videotape, where a model successfully solves the problem. The trainees are then asked to role play the situation. This process continues until all the participants have successfully learnt the specific skills necessary for the performance of particular tasks.

In the Life and Career planning technique, the career development aspirations of individuals are taken into account. At times people feel trapped because there is a lack of congruence between their personal goals and organizational goals. Therefore there arises a need for individuals to plan their career and decide how best to achieve his or her career goals. The process involves participants preparing a list of career life goals both professional and personal, setting priorities with the help of an expert, reality testing and looking for conflicting goals and ways to resolve them.

Thus individuals who are committed to both their organizations and career goals experience higher job satisfaction and career satisfaction. This ultimately leads to a better congruence between individual and organizational goals. Excellence is achieved when employees feel motivated and empowered and the responsibilities are shared across the organization.

Personality Tests in Recruitment and Appraisal Processes

Most Management functions like Recruitment, Training, appraisal, and personal development plans for the employees are of high costs to an organization. The process of selecting the right candidate for the right position is equally demanding. During the initial phases of selection, a candidate can be assessed for the degrees earned, skills gained, knowledge, mental abilities through aptitude tests and formal reference checks. However a person’s true personality and temperament is far harder to judge during interviewing.

Therefore, in the current scenario most organizations are becoming extremely cautious in screening out job applicants and in deciding about whether a candidate will fit into a particular organizational role. Organizations are trying to find out ways to understand beforehand, what a candidate’s natural behavior is like and deciding upon his/her contribution to the overall execution of the tasks assigned .This has led to the use of personality tests like MBTI, FIRO-B, and 16 PF etc.

Personality tests are believed to measure a wide range of attributes, including interpersonal skills, sales and leadership ability, thinking style and emotions. These tests also have relevance during Appraisal process and in establishing career direction for employees.

The personality of an individual is a combination of various personality traits such as Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability etc. For example, people who have higher degree of emotional stability tend to be happier than others. This characteristic relates to job satisfaction, life satisfaction and lower levels of stress. Thus, people who score high on this dimension are extroverts, optimistic, experience lesser negative emotions and are happier at their job as compared to introverts. It is also observed that extroverts tend to emerge as leaders and are assertive and dominant. Similarly, people who score high on openness are more creative in science and art. It is also observed that agreeable people are poor negotiators and are able to achieve lower levels of success as compared to disagreeable people.

The personality tests help recruiters understand the preferences, interests, personality types and behavior patterns of candidates applying for jobs. Certain characteristics and personality traits are considered important for particular job types, so the tests help to establish whether those traits exist or not.

However, there has been mixed opinions about the usage of personality tests in recruitment and appraisal processes. The extent to which the test results are an indicator of future performance has been the subject of debate for many years. There are also concerns that candidates can skew test results by choosing responses that put them in a favorable light.

It is therefore important to understand that personality tests must be conducted under the supervision of experts and it should never be relied upon as the sole tool in recruitment and appraisal decisions. A combination of interviewing, psychometric testing and reference checking must be implemented to pick out the right candidates for the right organizational positions.