Future Search Beyond Performance Appraisal

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Future Search - Beyond Performance Appraisal
Toward Actionby Dr. Somnath Ghosh

• Capacity Building Programme for Principals
  Senior Faculty of DIET
• March 15, 2007

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Capacity Building Change

• What is Capacity Building all about?
• Should we link Capacity Building to Strategic or
  Organizational Change?
• If there is a linkage, then what place does
  Performance Appraisal have?
• What should be our focus?

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The Need for Strategic Change

• There are many organizations that have hovered on
  the brink after decades of previous success
• Being able to change effectively is key to
  organizational survival
• But achieving strategic change is not easy in a
  predominantly market-driven short-term culture

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The Need for Strategic Change (Cont.)

• Despite the amount of change activity that many
  organizations have undertaken, most change
  efforts fail
• Ironically, the very process of change can damage
  the outcome of change effort
• A number of factors are known to contribute to
  failure, including
• Inappropriate business strategies
• Poor change implementation,
• Lack of vision

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What is Strategic Change?

• complex human process in which differential
  perception, quests for efficiency and power,
  visionary leadership skills, the vicariousness of
  chance, and the subtle processes of additively
  building up a momentum of support for change, and
  then vigorously implementing change, all play
  their part.

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Some Key Considerations in Managing Change in
Organizations - Perspective 1

• While change is inevitable, the central question
  for organisations is to steer the direction of
  change.
• However, the nature of organisation development
  (OD) would determine whether the changes would be
  fundamental, substantive and therefore
  long-lasting.
• OD focusses on the core elements that carry the
  seeds of change and nurture organisational change
  attempts.
• Organisational experiences indicate that in the
  absence of comprehensive OD intervention, such
  exercises as team building, TQM, and empowerment
  go only to a limited distance and, at best, over
  short periods of time.

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Perspective 1 (Cont.)Focus

• What does lie at the centre of the change and
  development process?
• individuals,
• groups or
• culture building?
• Or should changes be introduced in modes of
  working?
• It is not an either/or situation.

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Linkage of Organizational Change, Capacity
Building Organization Development

• The OD route basically emphasizes the primacy of
  individuals and groups for bringing about
  organizational change
• The operating philosophy is you cant bring
  about change unless you bring about change in the
  individual, So
• liberate the mind heart of individuals
• Help them to see the beauty and power of groups,
  including problems and avenues of integration

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The Central Role of OD in Capacity Building and
Managing Change

• Different Approaches to Intervention
• Stages of intervention
• Types of intervention
• human-processual and
• techno-economic-structural

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Perspective 2Future Search

• Paradigm shift from some key aspects of OD
  approach
• While OD acknowledges conflict tries to resolve
  conflict, Future Search focuses on collaboration
• While OD focuses on developing individual
  capacities by helping individuals overcome their
  personal limitations, Future Search taps on
  individual potential
• While OD works with small groups sizes (15-20
  members), Future Search brings in 50-60 together
• Thus, in Future Search everybody involved in
  improving whole systems

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Future Search (Continued)

• The Learning Curve
• 1900 Experts solve problems
• 1950 Everybody solves Problems
• 1965 Experts improve whole systems
• 2000 Everybody improves whole systems

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Typical Future Search Agenda

• Dwell on the past only that much
• Focus on Present, External Trends
• Focus on Present, Owning Our Actions
• Ideal Future Scenarios
• Identify Common Ground
• Action Planning