Fundamental Interventions

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Fundamental Interventions

• In Organization Development and Transformation by
  French, Bell and Zawacki
• pp. 153-161
• EDLS 9889
• Constance M. Savage, Ph.D.
• May 25, 2005

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Intervention Defined

• To enter into an ongoing system of relationship
• To come between or among persons, groups, or
  objects for the purpose of helping them
• The range of planned, programmatic activities
  clients and consultants participate in during the
  course of an OD program
• Diagnostic and problem-solving activities
• Begin as consultant driven
• If successful (effective) absorbed into
  organizational processes, culture

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Feedback Defined

• Information that
• raises individual or group awareness
• describes to people the intended and unintended
  consequences of their behavior
• assists people in choosing to modify their
  behavior to create the desired effect

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Classifications andAnticipated Results of OD
Interventions

• Feedbacklearning new data
• Self, others, group processes, organizational
  dynamics
• Objective picture of the real world
• Raises awareness if not too threatening
• Used in
• Process consultation
• Organization mirroring
• Sensitivity training
• Coaching and counseling
• Survey feedback

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• Awareness of Changing NormsFunctional/dysfunction
  al
• Increase awareness of the unwritten rules
  influencing behavior
• Changing norms This is a new ball game or
  Were playing with a new set of rules
• Incentive to changediscrepancy between outcomes
  of current norms and outcomes they are trying to
  achieve
• Used in
• Team building
• Intergroup team-building
• Culture analysis
• Grid OD
• STS

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• Increased interaction and communication
• Increases positive sentiments towards others
• Reduces tunnel vision at individual, group level
• Valid, shared perception checks
• Increase dialogue and interaction in new,
  constructive ways
• Used in
• Almost all OD interventions

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• Confrontation
• Surfacing and examining differences in beliefs,
  feelings, attitudes, or norms to remove obstacles
  to effective interaction
• Discern differences that get in the way
• Uncover issues
• Elephant in the room
• Used in conflict resolution interventions such as
• Intergroup team building
• Third-party peace making
• Role negotiation

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• Education
• Upgrading a) knowledge and concepts b) beliefs
  and attitudes c) skills
• Focus on several content areas task
  achievement, social relationships, organizational
  dynamics/processes and processes for managing
  change
• Used in
• Behavioral modeling
• Force-field analysis
• Life- and career-planning
• Self-directed teams
• T-groups

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• Depth of Intervention
• Accessibility of data
• Degree of individuality/self-exposure
• Examples
• T-group vs. work team
• General questions vs. collage building/picture
  drawing (Gareth Morgan Images of Organizations)

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• Participation
• Increasing the number of people involved in
  problem-solving, goal setting, brainstorming
• Increases quality, acceptance of ideas, job
  satisfaction and promotes employee well-being
• Used in most OD interventions, specifically
• Quality circles
• Collateral organizations
• QWL programs
• Teambuilding
• Search conferences, survey feedback,
  confrontation meetings

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• Increased Accountability
• Clarify peoples responsibilities and monitor
  performance relative to responsibilities (insure
  different outcomes for on- and off-target
  performance)
• Used in
• Role analysis technique
• Responsibility charting
• Gestalt OD
• Life- and career-planning, quality circles, MBO,
  self-managed teams, partnering

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• Increased Energy and Optimism
• Motivating and energizing people by identifying
  new possibilities or desirable, worthwhile and
  attainable future state.
• Increases inventiveness and innovation
• Used in
• Appreciative inquiry
• Visioning
• Getting the whole system in the room
• QWL
• TQM/CQI
• Self-managed teams

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Underlying causal mechanisms of interventions

• Discrepancycontradiction in action/attitudes
• Theorybehavioral science theory to explain
  behavior
• Proceduralcritiquing how things are done to ID
  best practices
• Relationshipinterpersonal relations, conflict
  resolution
• Experimentationtesting different plans
  selecting best
• Dilemmaimposed/emergent dilemma used to examine
• Perspectivehistory, past practices, context,
  future to assess assumptions, actions, plans
• Organization structureexamine how structure
  impacts organizational ineffectiveness
• Culturallooks at organizational traditions,
  precedents, practices
• Blake and Mouton

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Other Intervention Considerations

• Time and Comprehensiveness
• Quick and dirty vs. chapter and verse
• USA Today vs. Wall Street Journal
• Task vs. process
• Goal setting vs. team-building
• Size, complexity of client group (unit of
  analysis)
• Individual, Group (dyads, triads, team, intact
  work group, intergroup) or Organization/system

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Diagnosis and 3 types of theories

• Descriptive-analytic theory
• Consultant's world view that shapes perceptions
  in of client organization
• Diagnostic theory
• Set of notions relating to dysfunctional or
  anomalous organizational aspects
• Change theory
• Understanding consequences of the interaction of
  various forces over time

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Dimensions to Consider in Diagnosis

• Timing
• Extent of participation
• Confidentiality
• Individual-anonymous vs. group
• Pre-selection of variable vs. emergent selection
  of variables
• Developed, validated questionnaire vs. interviews
• Data gathering analysis
• Isolated event vs. long term strategy
• Nature of target population
• Type of technique used

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Questions

• Define the term intervention as used in OD and
  describe the six classifications of OD
  interventions.
• pp. 153-154

• Describe why diagnosis is critical to OD
  interventions, incorporating how the dimensions
  to consider in diagnosis impact successful
  interventions.
• pp. 157-159

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Methods for Finding out Whats Going On

• by Jack Fordyce and Raymond Weil
• In Organization Development and Transformation by
  French, Bell and Zawacki
• pp. 162-171

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Seven Basic Information Collecting Methods

• Questionnaires and Instruments
• Interviewing
• Sensing
• Polling
• Collages
• Drawings
• Physical Representation of the organization

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Seven Basic Information Collecting Methods

• In ascending order of confrontation
• Questionnaires and Instruments
• Questionnaires dont engage people as
  effectively
• Require training regarding proper construction
  (i.e.., avoiding double barreled items)
• Instruments constructed around a theory (Grid OD)
• Reduce need for 3rd party (?)
• Interviewing
• Protocol development criticalopen-ended, limited
  number of questions
• Time intensive
• Feedback
• Skill of interviewer(s) regarding analysis
• Sensing
• Unstructured group interview to ID issues,
  concerns, info when there is limited contact
  taped for follow-up and educational purposes
• Facilitation skills important
• Polling
• Elephant in the room issuesunspoken agenda
  item
• Ask group a questions calling attention to
  present situation
• Group determines procedure for conducting poll,
  i.e., scale, self-rating, etc.
• Fast, simple best in group ranging from 5-30

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Seven Basic Information Collecting Methods

• Collagestrace emotional and cultural topography
  of group
• Set playful atmosphere to reduce tension
• Individual, sub-groups, groups construct collage
  based on theme question
• Arts and crafts materials, magazines required
• Debrief by discussing, reacting
• Drawingsaspect of individuals life or
  organizational experience to ID unearthed issues
  used to develop wok agendas
• Individual, sub-groups, groups
• Drawing materials
• Free form or structured (structured addresses
  artistic inhibitions)
• Physical Representation of the organizationgroup
  members arrange themselves to depict some focused
  group or organizational characteristics
• De-brief through discussion
• Can re-form following discussion to represent
  fix or ideal
• Debriefing can set stage for change process

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Questions

• Describe the information collecting methods that
  you consider least confrontational and provide a
  rationale on the types of situations in which you
  would use these methods at your place of work
  along with your prediction regarding the
  effectiveness of each method used.
• pp.162-169

• Describe the information collecting methods that
  you consider most confrontational and provide a
  rationale on the types of situations in which you
  would use these methods at your place of work
  along with your prediction regarding the
  effectiveness of each method used.
• pp. 167-171

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Organizational Mirror Interventions

• by Wendell French and Cecil Bell
• In Organization Development and Transformation
• by French, Bell and Zawacki
• pp. 187-188

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• Set of activities in which host group receives
  feedback about how it is perceived and regarded
  from reps across organization
• Intended to improve intergroup relationships
• Process
• Host group asks key reps from interface group
  (customer-supplier groups) to meet and provide
  feedback

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• Process
• Host group asks key reps from interface group
  (customer-supplier groups) to meet and provide
  feedback
• Pre- and post interviews by consultant to ID
  magnitude of issue(s), prep participants and
  answer their questions
• At the actual session
• Opening remarks by manger of host group to set
  tone
• Guests use fishbowl discussion to maintain
  natural flow hosts listen
• Hosts fishbowl discuss, ask for clarification
  from guests
• Subgroups of guests and hosts form to ID most
  important changes host group needs to make
• Reconvene in large group to hear summaries of
  each sub group and form master task list
• Action planning, tasks, responsible parties,
  completion dates established and agreed,
  concluding mirroring session
• Follow-up meeting to assess and review progress

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Questions

• Describe the organizational mirroring
  intervention and its intended use in creating
  positive change in the workplace.
• pp. 187

• Describe the steps and goals of the
  organizational mirroring process.
• pp. 187-188

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The Confrontation Meeting

• by Richard Beckhard
• In Organization Development and Transformation
• by French, Bell and Zawacki
• pp. 189-196

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What is a confrontation meeting?

• One day meeting of entire management of an
  organization in which they take a reading of
  their own organizational health

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Process

• Climate setting 45-60 min.
• Information Collecting 60 min.
• Information Sharing 60 min
• Priority setting and group action planning 75
  min.
• Action Planning 60-120 minutes
• Immediate follow-up by top team 60-180 min.
• (Four-six weeks later) Progress review 120 minutes

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When is it appropriate to conduct a confrontation
meeting?

• Need for the total management group to examine
  its own workings
• Very limited time available for the activity
• Top management wishes to improve conditions
  quickly
• Enough cohesion in the top team to ensure
  follow-up
• Real commitment by top management to resolve the
  issue
• Organization is experiencing , or has recently
  experienced, some major change

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Questions

• Describe the confrontation meeting intervention,
  when it is appropriate, and its positive results.
• pp. 189-190, 194, 192-193

• Describe the potential problems with the
  confrontation meeting intervention.
• pp. 193-194

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Parallel Learning Structures

• by Gervase Bushe and Rami Shani
• In Organization Development and Transformation by
  French, Bell and Zawacki
• pp. 197-202

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Definition

• A structure (specific division and coordination
  of labor) is created that operates side-by-side
  with the formal hierarchy and structure with the
  goal of increasing a bureaucratic organizations
  learning
• Not a task force or team
• Not matrix and project-management structure
• Not semi-autonomous work teams
• Not industrial democracy

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Translation

• The old system supports the old way.
• How to overcome this?
• Change the structure.
• But the old system supports the old structure.
• So create a new structure outside of the old
  structure but linked to it.
• Right.

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Reality Check

• Good as a conceptreally
• Solid theory behind it innovative idea
• Fails to address the nature of power in
  bureaucratic organizations
• Fails to address the operating paradigm in
  bureaucratic organizations
• Saturn/GM
• Weatherhead

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Questions

• Define parallel learning structures and their
  link to techno-structural interventions.
• pp. 199, 197-200

• Describe how parallel structures are intended to
  promote organizational learning.
• pp. 199-200

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Survey-Guided Development

• by David Bowers and Jerome Franklin
• In Organization Development and Transformation
• by French, Bell and Zawacki
• pp. 203-212

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Survey-Guided Development

• The process of systematically collecting data
  about the system and feeding back the data for
  individuals and groups at all levels of the
  organization to analyze, interpret meaning and
  design corrective action steps
• Not so much a tool as a way to get research
  findings from researchers to managers
• Constructive change is measurement centered
  (quantitative)
• A measurement-guided approach to change
• Points to differences between what is actually
  going on and that the model indicates one wants
  and needs, providing motivation to change (in a
  rational world)

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• Survey Feedback
• Survey feedback techniques can form the basis for
  a change process.
• In the process, data are gathered, analyzed,
  summarized, and returned to those who generated
  them to identify, discuss, and solve problems.
• Survey feedback is usually initiated by top
  management or by a consultant to management.

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The Survey Feedback Process
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What are the two major components of survey
feedback?

• The proper use of climate or attitude surveys
• The proper facilitation and use of data feedback
  workshops

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What steps must be followed in survey feedback?

• Top management involved in pre-planning
• Data are collected from all organizational
  members
• Data are fed back to top management and then down
  through organization hierarchy in functional
  teams
• Each superior presides at feedback meeting with
  direct reports where they are asked
• To help interpret data, plan for constructive
  changes, how to introduce data to next lower
  level
• Meetings include consultant to prep primary
  client (group) for meeting and serve as resource

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Questions

• Describe survey-guided development and its basic
  assumption about differential diagnosis and the
  change process.
• pp. 203-205, 210

• Describe the change agents role in the
  survey-guided development process.
• pp. 208-210

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In Case You Want to KnowOther Factors to
Consider Regarding Interventions

• Intervention Strategy
• Structuring activities to promote learning and
  change
• Sequencing interventions
• Understand underlying causal mechanisms to insure
  best fit, intended outcomes (previously discussed)

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Intervention Strategy

• Plan that
• Integrates problem or opportunity being addressed
• Desired outcomes
• Sequencing
• Timing of events

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2. Structure of activities

• Structure activities so they
• Are relevant
• Are problem or opportunity oriented identified by
  client or mutually identified w/ consultant
• Have clear goals way to reach goal is clear
• Ensure high probability of success (realistic
  expectations)

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2. Structure of activities (contd)

• Structure activities so they
• Are a combination of experienced-based and
  conceptual learning
• Free people up vs. create anxiety, defensiveness
• Building in specific problem solving and double
  loop learning.
• Help participants learn task and process
• Engage participants as whole persons

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3. Sequencing Intervention Activities

• Decision rules
• Maximize diagnostic data
• Maximize effectiveness
• Maximize efficiency
• Maximize speed
• Maximize relevance
• Minimize psychological and organizational strain