Chapter 1 organization development- an introduction

Course Code: HRM601
Course Title: Organization
Development
Program: MBA / EMBA, Semester: Spring, 2021
Department of Business Administration
Leading University
BAB, Faculty of Business Administration, LU

Course Teacher:
Professor Dr. Bashir Ahmed Bhuiyan
Dean
School of Business

Organisational
Development
An Introduction

Learning Objectives
 After reading this article you will learn about:-
1. Challenges for Organizations
2. Meaning of Organization Development (O.D)
3. Objectives of Organization Development
4. Characteristics
5. Steps in Organization Development

Challenges for Organization
1. Organization needs to adapt to the changing market needs .
2. Challenges from turbulent environments and increased competition.
3. The constant challenges to maintain congruence among organizational
dimensions, such as, technology, structure, strategy, culture and processes,
4. In quest for global competitiveness, organization needs to involve with –
reengineering, restructuring, transformation, flattening, downsizing, rightsizing
strategies.
5. Due to economic downturn organizations are exposed to a blatant weakness in
managing organization.
6. Modern managers should be flexible and adaptive to deal with chaotic world of
new competitors and constant innovation.
7. Threats to effectiveness, efficiency and profitability

Challenges for Organization
8. Multiple Challenges for Individuals in Organizations:
 Finding satisfaction in and through work.
 Fighting obsolescence of one’s knowledge and skills.
 Maintaining dignity and purpose in pursuit of organizational goals.
 Achieving human connectedness and community in the workplace.
 Continuing to have an adequate job in light of constant layoffs and cutbacks.
Although new jobs are being created, old jobs are being destroyed at an
accelerating pace.
 Knowledge work is replacing muscle work.
In essence, organizations and individuals work there are facing tremendously
demanding present and future.

How to survive and prosper by
overcoming the challenges?
 A variety of organization development(OD) and other solutions exist. OD is a
process of teaching people how to solve problems, take advantage of
opportunities, and learn how to do that better and better overtime.
 OD focuses on human side of organizations by finding the ways to increase
effectiveness of individuals, teams, and the organization’s human and social
processes.
 The dual focus of developing organizations and individuals is unique strength
of OD.
 The people in an organization collaboratively can manage the culture to
attain goals and purposes furthering human values of individuals in an
organization.

Meaning of Organization Development
(O.D)
 Organization Development (OD) concerns system wide planned change, uses
behavioral science knowledge, targets human and social process of
organizations, and intends to build the capacity to adapt and renew
organizations
 The “O” is about organizations (systems) of all kinds; the units throughout society
that are human organizations existing to accomplish some purpose
 The “D” is about change & improvement; growing towards something, getting
better at one’s mission, improving how work gets done & people live their lives

Meaning of Organizational Development
(O.D)
 OD is…
 A mindset (way of seeing the organization world)
 A set of value-based perspectives
 A philosophy of organizing, managing and changing organizations that include
the human element.
 An integration, across disciplines, of theories, concepts and methods, for
understanding & changing human systems (anthropology, psychology,
sociology, behavioral science)
 A field of study & practice

Meaning of Organizational Development
(O.D)
 Organizational (or organization) Development or simply O.D. is a technique of
planned change. It seeks to change beliefs, attitudes, values and structures-in
fact the entire culture of the organization—so that the organization may better
adapt to technology and live with the pace of change.
 O.D. is a comprehensive strategy for organization improvement. O.D. is a long
range effort to improve an organization’s problem solving and renewal
processes, particularly through a more effective and collaborative management
culture.

R. Beckhard defines O.D. as a change
strategy which is:
 Planned.
Organization-wide.
Managed from the top to increase
organization effectiveness and health
through planned interventions in the
organization’s processes, using
behavioral science knowledge.

Organization Development and Management
Development are complementary

Objectives of Organisational
Development:
Improvement in the performance of the
organization.
Improvement in the ability of the
organization to adapt to its
environment, and
Improvement in inter-personal and
inter-group behavior to secure team
work. BAB, Faculty of Business Administration, LU

The Main Conceptual Framework of OD
 Action Research
 Data based
 Action derived from data
 “No Action without Research, No research without Action”
-Kurt Lewin

Other Important Conceptual Frameworks
in OD
• Individual Perspective
• Motivation / need theories
• Job satisfaction
• Positive Reinforcement
• Group Perspective
• Group norms and values
• Interpersonal competence
• Changing Values
• Organizational Learning
• Group Process
• Total System perspective
• Participative, consensus
management
• Contingency Theory
• Strategy
• Inter-unit relations
• Employee-organization
“contracts”

Characteristics of Organisation Development
1. Organization development is an educational strategy for bringing a planned change.
2. It is related to real problems of the organization.
3. Laboratory training methods based on experienced behaviour are primarily used to bring
change.
4. O.D. uses change agent (or consultant) to guide and affect the change.
5. There is a close working relationship between change agents and the people who are being
changed.
6. O.D. seeks to build problem-solving capacity by improving group dynamics and problem
confrontation.

Characteristics of Organisation
Development
 O.D. reaches into all aspects of the organization culture in order to make it more
humanly responsive.
 O.D. is a long term approach to elevate the organization to a higher level of
functioning and performance by satisfying all organizational members.
 O.D. is broad-based and describes a variety of change programs. It is concerned with
changes in organizational design, philosophies, skills of individuals and groups etc.
 O.D. is a dynamic process. Dynamism works through changing goals and methods.
 O.D. utilizes systems thinking. It is based on open, adaptive systems concept which
is constituted by interrelated whole.
 O.D. is research based. Change agents conduct surveys, collect data, evaluate and
then decisions are taken.
 O.D. is situational and contingency oriented.

Levels of Human Systems
Organization Network
Whole Organization
Group
Interpersonal
Individual

The Work of OD
 OD practitioners work in a manner to improve the effectiveness of people and
OD practitioners work in a manner to improve the effectiveness of people and
organizations by:
1) Establishing relationships with key personnel in the organization
2) Researching and evaluating systems in the organization to understand dysfunctions
and/or goals of the systems in the organization
3) Identifying approaches (or "interventions") to improve effectiveness of the
organization and its people;
4) Applying approaches to improve effectiveness (methods of "planned change" in
the organization),
5) Evaluating the ongoing effectiveness of the approaches and their results. 1

What are OD Perspectives?
 An open, socio-technical, human systems perspective
on organizing & organizations
 A participative, action research orientation to
inquiry, diagnosis & change
 An inclusive perspective on planning, problem-solving
& change
 A humanistic perspective on relationships, managing
& ethics
 A developmental perspective on individual &

A Short History of OD:
 Intellectual Roots based on the early works of:
 Human Relations work that highlighted the primacy of
social factors, attitudes, and feelings in organization
behavior, influencing productivity and morale (Roethlisberger
and Dickson, 1939; Mayo, 1945; Homans, 1950)
 Leadership that brought legitimacy to participative and
democratic methods (Lewin and Lippitt, 1938; Follett, 1941; Likert, 1961;
Tannenbaum and Schmidt, 1973)
 Group Dynamics and focus on group behavior,
interpersonal relations, and self-awareness (Cartwright and
Zander, 1954; Bennis and Shepard, 1956; Bradford, Gibb, and Benne, 1964; Schein and
Bennis; 1965)

Intellectual Roots of OD based on the
early works of:
 The Person, Motivation, and Interpersonal
Communication (Maslow, 1954; Rogers, 1961; Argyris, 1965; McGregor,
1960)
 Use of Data and Diagnosis to guide change
including survey research methods and action
research(Mann, Lippitt, Lewin, Nadler)
 Environments, structures, systems and socio-
technical principles helping to bring design
and work process into the picture (Trist and Bamforth,
1951; Burns and Stalker, 1961; Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967; Katz and Kahn, 1966).

Elements of Organization
Development (60s – 90s)
 Strategy and Strategic Management (Raia, Lawler, Porter, Greiner,
Beer, Worley, Hitchin &Ross)
 Organization Design (Hanna, Galbraith, Lawler, Cummings, Mohrman, Nadler,
Lawrence & Lorsch, Pasmore, Trist, Emery, Cherns)
 Power, Politics and Economics (Greiner & Schein, Marguiles, Pfeffer,
Walton, Block)
 “Whole” Systems and Large Group Methods (Beckhard, Dannemiller,
Weisbord, Axelrod, Owen, Bunker & Alban)
 Appreciative & positive science perspectives & methods
(Cooperider, Bushe, Watkins, Yeager, Sorenson)
(Jamieson, NJOD, May, 2009

Mainstream OD Practices/Interventions:
 Participation / Involvement
 Team effectiveness / team
building
 Process Consultation
 Goal setting and planning
 Job enrichment
 Change Management
 Training for personal and
professional development
 Coaching leaders / Leadership
Development
 Feedback processes / Performance Improvement
 Developing potential / Career development /
Succession planning
 Collaborative planning, problem-solving &
development
 Organizational structure / reporting systems
 Large-scale interventions

Application for OD approach
Workforce
Development
 Leadership
 Career Development
 Training and Development
 Coaching
 Human Resources Planning
 Talent Management
 Performance Consulting
 Job/Task Analysis
 Job Design / Enrichment
Change
Management
 Large Systems Change
 Small System Change
 Individual Change
 Process Improvement
Social Construction
 Diversity
 Appreciative Inquiry /
 Action Research
 New Science

Who is the OD Professional?
 The OD professional’s effectiveness is
dependent on how he/she thinks & acts …
the conceptual ability and skill sets
 Ultimately, in service/helping roles, the use
of self influences outcomes
 OD has long stressed the importance of use
of self, leading to an emphasis on personal
growth & development in the service of
helping others

Use of Self is…
 Conscious, intentional use of our self-knowledge,
capabilities and presence (who we are) to
successfully execute our professional role in
service to others or a situation
 Being an instrument for sensing (taking in data),
meaning-making (understanding) and action-
taking (doing something) in human system settings
in service of helping

The Path to Masterful Practice
 Use of Self (self-awareness, authentic
presence)
 Consultative Relationship (e.g., influence-
based, equal partners, collaboration, inquiry)
 Knowledge in Behavioral & Organizational
Sciences (content, process & sense-making)
 Execution Skills (e.g., communication,
diagnosis, design, facilitation, learning)

Chapter 1 organization development- an introduction

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