Welcome back!

Agenda
 Class Announcements
 Overview of Reading
 Practice Groups/Teams
Analysis
 Case Presentations and Discussion
 Getting ready for the field!
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-1
Organization Development and Change
Diagnosing Organizations
General Model of Planned Change
Entering
and
Contracting
Diagnosing
Planning
and
Implementing
Change
Cummings & Worley,9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
Evaluating
and
Institutionalizing
Change
2-3
Diagnosis Defined
Diagnosis is a collaborative process
between organizational members and the
OD consultant to collect pertinent
information, analyze it, and draw
conclusions for action planning and
intervention.
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-4
Data Collection & Feedback
Cycle
Collecting
Data
Analyzing
Data
Feeding
Back
Data
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
Follow-up
5-5
Successful diagnosis depends
on…
Your ability to collect appropriate information
to understand what is really happening in the
organization
 Your ability to facilitate organizational action
 Your ability to direct energy toward
organization problem solving

Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-6
Effective Diagnosis

How to choose the right data/info to pay
attention to:
 Relevant: Is the info meaningful?
 Understandable:
Can you interpret the data?
 Consistent: Are there patterns?
 Descriptive: Can you make a link to examples?
 Verifiable: Is the data valid and accurate
 Timely: Is the data out of date or current?
 Comparative: What is similar/different from other
successful firms?
5-7
Open Systems Model
Environment
Inputs
• Information
• Energy
• People
Transformations
• Social Component
• Technological
Component
Outputs
• Goods
• Services
• Ideas
Feedback
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-8
Properties of Systems
 Inputs, Transformations, and
Outputs
 Boundaries
 Feedback
 Equifinality
 Alignment
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-9
Diagnosing
Organizational Systems
 The
key to effective diagnosis is…
Know what to look for at each
organizational level
Recognize how the levels affect each other
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-10
Organization-Level
Diagnostic Model
Inputs
Design Components
Outputs
Technology
Strategy
Structure
Industry
Structure
HR
Systems
Measurement
Systems
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
Organization
Effectiveness
General
Environment
5-11
Key Alignment Questions
Do the Design Components fit with the
Inputs?
 Are the Design Components internally
consistent? Do they fit and mutually support
each other?

Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-12
Organization Environments
and Inputs

Environmental Types
 General Environment
 Task Environment and Industry Structure
 Rate of Change and Complexity
 Enacted Environment

Environmental Dimensions
 Information Uncertainty
 Resource Dependency
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-13
Organization Design Components

Strategy
 the way an organization uses its resources
(human, economic, or technical) to gain and
sustain a competitive advantage

Technology
 the way an organization converts inputs
into
products and services

Structure
 how attention and resources are focused on
task accomplishment
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-14
Organization Design Components

Human Resource Systems
 the mechanisms for selecting, developing,
appraising, and rewarding organization members

Measurement Systems
 methods of gathering, assessing, and
disseminating information on the activities of
groups and individuals in organizations
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-15
Organization Design
Components

Organization Culture
 The set of shared beliefs, expectations, values,
and norms that shape attitudes and behavior in
organizations

The “right” way to behave, think, or feel
 Emerges from the shared history of a stable social
group
 Vary in strength & intensity
16
Functions that Culture Serves

Sense making


Social glue


creates a place where people want to stay & contribute
Control mechanism

17
highlights organizational characteristics that distinguish it from others
Facilitates commitment


provides a basis for promoting similarities among people and creating
common bonds
Organizational identity


enables people to understand decisions & goals
provides guidelines about appropriate and inappropriate behaviors
Levels of Organizational Culture
Artifacts
uObjects with cultural meaning
uCeremonies and rites
uStories
uLanguage & Symbols
uDifficult to interpret without other levels
Values
What is considered important by the
organization’s members
Can be misleading
Basic Assumptions
u About reality, time, and space
u About human nature and relationships
u Most visible when challenged
What you observe
What you are told
What you take
for granted
“Preconscious”
SOURCE:
18 Schein, Edgar H. Organizational Culture and Leadership: A Dynamic View, Fig. 1, p. 14. Copyright 1985 by Jossey-Bass,
Inc, Publishers, ISBN 0-87589-639-1.
Outputs

Organization Performance
 e.g., profits, profitability, stock price

Productivity
 e.g., cost/employee, cost/unit,
error rates,
quality

Stakeholder Satisfaction
 e.g., market share, employee satisfaction,
regulation compliance
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-19
Organization-Level
Diagnostic Model
Inputs
Design Components
Outputs
Technology
Strategy
Structure
Industry
Structure
HR
Systems
Measurement
Systems
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
Organization
Effectiveness
General
Environment
5-20
Alignment

Diagnosis involves understanding each of
the parts in the model and then assessing
how the elements of the strategic
orientation align with each other and with
the inputs.

Organization effectiveness is likely to be
high when there is good alignment.
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-21
Group-Level Diagnostic Model
Inputs
Design Components
Outputs
Goal Clarity
Organization
Design
Task
Structure
Group
Composition
Group
Functioning
Group
Effectiveness
Performance
Norms
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
6-22
Group-Level Design Components





Goal Clarity
 extent to which group understands its objectives
Task Structure
 the way the group’s work is designed
Team Functioning
 the quality of group dynamics among members
Group Composition
 the characteristics of group members
Performance Norms
 the unwritten rules that govern behavior
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
6-23
Group-Level Outputs
Product or Service Quality
 Productivity

 e.g., cost/member, number

of decisions
Team Cohesiveness
 e.g., commitment to group and organization

Work Satisfaction
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
6-24
Group-Level Diagnostic Model
Inputs
Design Components
Outputs
Goal Clarity
Organization
Design
Task
Structure
Group
Composition
Group
Functioning
Group
Effectiveness
Performance
Norms
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
6-25
Individual-Level Diagnostic Model
Inputs
Design Components
Skill Variety
Organization
Design
Group
Design
Personal
Traits
Outputs
Task
Identity
Task
Significance
Autonomy
Individual
Effectiveness
Feedback
about Results
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
6-26
Individual-Level Design Components





Skill Variety
 The range of activities and abilities required for
task completion
Task Identity
 The ability to see a “whole” piece of work
Task Significance
 The impact of work on others
Autonomy
 The amount of freedom and discretion
Feedback about Results
 Knowledge of task performance outcomes
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
6-27
Individual-Level Outputs

Performance
 e.g., cost/unit, service/product
quality
Absenteeism
 Job Satisfaction

 e.g., internal motivation

Personal Development
 e.g., growth in skills, knowledge, and self
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
6-28
Assembly line video

Use the diagnostic model at the following
levels of analysis:
 Organizational
 Group/Team
 Individual

Is there alignment between components?
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-29
Organizational Diagnosis
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-30
Quick Review:
Who is the OD Practitioner?
 Why is the practitioner here?
 Who does the practitioner work for?
 What does the practitioner want and why?
 How will my confidentiality be protected?
 Who will have access to the data?
 Can the practitioner be trusted?

Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
7-31
Data Collection - Feedback Cycle
Core Activities
Planning to
Collect Data
Collecting
Data
Analyzing
Data
Feeding
Back Data
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
Following
Up
7-32
Sampling
Population vs. Sample
 Importance of Sample Size
 Process of Sampling
 Types of Samples

 Random
 Convenience
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
7-33
Questionnaires

Major Advantages
 Responses can be quantified and summarized
 Large samples and large quantities of data
 Relatively inexpensive

Major Potential Problems
 Little opportunity for empathy with subjects
 Predetermined questions -- no change to change
 Over interpretation of data possible
 Response biases possible
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
7-34
Interviews

Major Advantages
 Adaptive -- allows customization
 Source of “rich” data
 Empathic
 Process builds rapport with subjects

Major Potential Problems
 Relatively expensive
 Bias in interviewer responses
 Coding and interpretation can be difficult
 Self-report bias possible
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
7-35
Types of questions
Experience and behavior questions
 Opinion and value questions
 Feeling questions
 Knowledge questions
 Background/demographic questions

Critical Assessment of
Questions






How are members organized?
How much do you rely on members of the your
organization to perform your daily tasks?
So I don't suppose you'd say that your job is rewarding?
Can you provide an example of a time that you felt
supported by a member of your organization? A time
when you felt let down?
I can imagine that your job is quite boring - is that right?
So you would describe your work as causing occasional
stress. Is it even worse that that?
Acceptable kinds of questions






Descriptive/linear questions - e.g. Please could tell me what you do in
your job?
Narrative questions - e.g. Can you tell me about how you came to get the
job?
Structural questions - e.g. So what are all the stages involved in the
process of making different kinds of coffee?
Contrast questions - e.g. What are the main the differences that
distinguish good day at work from a bad day at work?
Evaluative questions - e.g. How do you feel after a bad day at work?
Systemic questions Circular e.g. What do you think your supervisor thinks about how you do your
job?
 Comparative e.g. How do you think your life would be different if you worked
somewhere else, like at coffee bean or barnies?


Prompts and probes - e.g. Can you tell me a bit more about that? What do
you mean by ‘fast-paced?'
Observations

Major Advantages
 Collects data on actual behavior, rather than
reports of behavior
 Real time, not retrospective
 Adaptive

Major Potential Problems
 Coding and interpretation difficulties
 Sampling inconsistencies
 Observer bias and questionable reliability
 Can be expensive
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
7-39
Unobtrusive Measures

Major Advantages
 Non-reactive, no response bias
 High face validity
 Easily quantified

Major Potential Problems
 Access and retrieval difficulties
 Validity concerns
 Coding and interpretation difficulties
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
7-40
Analysis Techniques

Qualitative Tools
 Content Analysis
 Force-field Analysis

Quantitative Tools
 Descriptive Statistics
 Measures of Association (e.g., correlation)
 Difference Tests
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
7-41
Using Visual Tools
How can data be visualized?
 What sorts of ways could OD consultants
extract data through visual tools?
 Why might it be beneficial to provide visual
feedback to the firm?

Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-42
Slade Plating
What information would you use to make an
accurate diagnosis?
 What additional information would you like?

Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-43
Informal & Formal Groups
What are the pros of informal groups?
 What are the cons?

Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-44
Force-Field Analysis of Work Group Performance
Forces for Change
Better raw materials
Competition from other groups
Supervisor pressures
Group performance norms
Fear of change
Member complacency
Desired Performance
New technology
Forces for Status Quo
Well-learned skills
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
7-45
Slade Plating
What is your diagnosis given the information
that you have? Draw upon the diagnostic
models!
 What recommendations would you make to
help this organization?

 Bonus: Should top management make their
knowledge of the skimming known to the
employees?
Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-46
Field Project
Assignment Overview Docs
 Field Assignments

Cummings & Worley, 9e (c) 2008 South-Western/Cengage Learning
5-47