Principles of Organizational Development - BUS 370

In a world where change is the only constant, organizations will need to adapt to changing market conditions and be participative rather than reactive. Brown (2011) states, “Organization development (OD) comprises the long-range efforts and programs aimed at improving an organization’s ability to survive by changing its problem-solving and renewal processes,” (p. 4). With the global recession that began in 2007 American organizations have realized overwhelming challenges and problems in how they conduct business; they have become static, inefficient, and top heavy.

In order for organizations to be efficient and effective the OD practitioner must apply the following principles of organization development: identify organizational situations that require professional assistance; develop the ability to apply OD knowledge to organizational situations; and effectively manage organizational change in a variety of contexts and settings in order to survive in an ever changing environment.

The five stages of organization development (OD) views the organization as, “…a total system of interacting and interrelated elements,” according to Brown (2011). Further, OD is the application of an organization-wide approach to the functional, structural, technical, and personal relationships in organizations. Gottlieb (2001) says, “Organization development (OD) is an approach to organization consulting that emphasizes the applied behavioral sciences in its approaches to consulting practice,” (p. 1). Brown (2011) lists the five stages of organization development as follows: Stage 1: Anticipate a need for change; Stage 2: Develop the Practitioner-Client Relationship; Stage 3: The Diagnostic Process; Stage 4: Action Plans, Strategies, and Techniques; and Stage 5: Self-Renewal, Monitor, and Stabilize. It should be noted that Church and Waclawski (2008) authors of “Establishing successful client relationships,” says, “Regardless of the stage of a consulting engagement, at its core, success is defined by the nature and tenor of the client-practitioner relationship,” (p. 1). First we will look at identifying organizational situations that require professional assistance.

Due to global and domestic competitors, organizations are faced with identifying the ever changing needs and lifestyles of the consumer and technological advances that influence organizations to change.  The OD practitioner must be able to identify organizational situations that require professional assistance. For example, yesterday afternoon after attending a women’s expo in the local area several of my friends and I decided to dine at a chain restaurant called P.F. Chang’s. We were greeted by a gracious hostess who seated us in a spacious booth where we were able to put our shopping bags beside us and still sit comfortably. We all commented on how nice the environment was and thought we were going to have a wonderful experience.

Unfortunately, the initial greeting was misleading. The server did not arrive at our table until approximately twenty minutes after we were seated to ask for our drink and appetizer selections. The appetizer and drinks arrived roughly thirty minutes later. In addition, I noticed that even though the server was speaking to us; it seemed as though her mind was someplace else. She was not rude by any means, but she was not very friendly or talkative. At that very moment, I noted in my mind that I would not eat at P.F. Chang’s again.

Further, the food was mediocre and the presentation was awful. The rice that came with the meal looked as though it had been slung into the bowl as there were some pieces of rice and carrots sticking to the sides of the bowl.

To that end, as my friends and I prepared to split the bill, to our surprise, the server announced that she was very sorry for her poor service and that she typically is more prompt and attentive. In hopes that we would accept her apology she would pay for our appetizers. She went on to say that she explained this to the manager. In addition, the manager stopped by our table greeted us and told us that Alexia (the server) had explained to him about her lack of service and hoped that we would come back again. The situation at P.F. Chang’s is a prime example of how businesses must meet the needs of their consumers and in certain circumstances make one-minute decisions if the organization wants to stay competitive.

In our text, we read about how Kmart failed to identify the need for organizational change and went bankrupt, while its competitor Wal-mart is one of the largest retailers in the world (p. 398). Businesses can no longer sit back and live off the fat of the land; so to speak, they must constantly be aware of their environment. Brown (2011) posits, “Organizations are never completely static and they do not exist in isolation of other entities. They are in continuous interaction with external forces including competitors, customers, government, stockholder, suppliers, society, and unions,” (p. 3).

In other words, organizations of today will have to constantly reinvent themselves if they want to survive. Organizational renewal is defined as, “…an ongoing process of building innovation and adaptation into the organization,” (Brown 2011, p. 34). Next, let us look at how the OD practitioner can utilize their skills to develop the ability to apply OD knowledge to organizational situations.

 

As stated earlier in the five stages of organization development, with step one and two being the most important to the process. The first step in the five stages is to acknowledge the need for change and step two is developing the practitioner-client relationship. With those two steps in place it will then be the OD practitioner’s job to change human behavior and organizational processes to create a more adaptive and flexible organization. The situation that occurred at P.F. Chang’s is a prime example. The server was allowed flexibility to make changes instead of being in fear of repercussions from her manger about her service or shrugging it off. 

The server was empowered to do something immediate and was free to speak with her boss about it. Organizations must empower their members to make changes as it could mean their very survival. Being adaptive and flexible within an organization is all about planned change. Planned change focuses on individuals, teams, and the organization. In other words, how people work together to achieve the goals of an organization. The methodology used to achieve this is called the systems approach.

The systems approach is used to, “find new ways to work together,” (Brown 2011, p. 38). The most effective way to build group consensus or employee buy-in is to create a horizontal corporation, which according to Brown (2011), “…breaks the company into its key processes and creates teams from different departments to run them,” (p. 38). By finding new ways to work together organizations can create new programs to help the organization improve its adaptation, which will help the organization maintain a stable identity throughout the change.

Next, we will look how OD practitioners develop the ability to apply OD knowledge to organizational situations. The evolution of OD has evolved over the past 55 years according to Brown (2011). Further, Brown (2011) says, “OD professionals specialize and train in organization development and related areas, such as organization behavior, applied social sciences, interpersonal communications, and decision making,” (p. 17). Allee (1997) says, “Understanding knowledge is the first step to managing it effectively,” (p. 1). Further, there are several dozen characteristics of knowledge; however there is “no silver bullet,” …how you define knowledge determines how you manage it,” (p. 1). Let us look at the sociotechnical system as an approach to applying knowledge to organization development.

One of the pioneering applications is called the sociotechnical system within the five stages of the organization development process. The sociotechnical system in an organization comprises of the social network or interpersonal relationships and the technological system consisting of the task, activities, and tools used to accomplish the organization’s purpose,” (Brown 129).

What this means is, the two systems are interdependent because they function together to accomplish work. The primary components of the sociotechnical system are: “goals and values, technical, structural, psychosocial, and managerial. These components give the organization direction and purpose. The sociotechnical system aid the OD professional in optimizing the best outcome for an organization: Organize around process – not tasks; flatten the hierarchy; use teams to manage everything; let customers drive performance; and reward team performance. OD professionals utilize their knowledge for “planned” and “deliberate,” not random or haphazard change.

Last, we will look at how OD practitioners can effectively manage organizational change in a variety of contexts and settings. As aforementioned, the best course of action in organization development is planned change. Brown (2011) states, “Organization diagnosis provides information that allows an organization to react faster…,” (116). Organization diagnosis affords an organization to be more participative rather than reactive. Further, Brown says, “It is critical that an organization assess their current processes, quality and performance to define the level of performance they wish to achieve,” (116). In other words, organizations should look at where they are in order to plan a change for where they want to be in the future.

During our class discussions we looked at the company Lafarge. Lafarge is the world’s biggest cement producer and on Fortune’s “Global 500” list, with over $15 billion in revenues…,” (Brown 376). Lafarge has effectively managed organizational change in a variety of contexts and settings for over 170 years. We learned through our text that Lafarge is a learning organization, which means, “Learning organizations require a flexible and responsible workforce able to adapt rapidly to constantly changing competition—in short, a learning organization,” (Brown, 2011, p. 375). Lafarge values different kinds of knowledge and learning styles; encourages communication between people who have different perspectives and ideas; develops creative thinking; remains nonjudgmental of others and their ideas; breaks down traditional barriers within the organization, develops leadership throughout the organization; everyone is a leader; reduces distinctions between organization members, and believes that every member of the organization has untapped human potential. (Brown 377).

However, there are times when organizations will have a need to address a setting that requires radical change. In this particular context, organizational transformation within the five stages of organization development should be utilized. Organizational transformation occurs when there is a crisis. It is typically an unplanned response and is considered radical change. For example, organization transformations include such changes as takeovers, mergers, and plant closures...,” (Brown 399). Lafarge exemplifies constant readiness, best knowledge available, collaboration, continuous planning, improvised implementation, and action learning!

The aforementioned aspects are essential in order to be successful in today’s business world. Organizations must have flexibility and the ability for rapid transformation (116). To effectively manage organization change Brown (2011) says, “…every member of an organization participates in developing a vision and improving the corporate culture,” (116).

Brown (2011) states, “The term “organization culture” refers to a system of shared meanings, including the language, dress, patterns of behavior, value system, feelings, attitudes, interactions, and group norms of the members,” (10). Understanding and building the appropriate culture of an organization is one of the two most important aspects of organization development with the other aspect being leadership. Our text states, “OD involves changing the culture of organizations and work groups so that a more effective means of interacting, relating, and problem solving will result,” (13).

In order to achieve effective change within an organization you must have competent leadership. Skarzauskiene (2010) states, “Effective decision making and learning in a world of growing dynamic complexity requires leaders to become systems thinkers,” (p. 1). In other words, leaders must analyze how the entire system works together in all its complexity. In my work experience and from what we have learned throughout the course, both culture and leadership play a significant role and are important to an organization’s success. The leadership must cultivate the culture of its members by empowering individuals with the necessary tools and training to achieve their goals. Our text tells us, “Management style and corporate culture are central factors in the success of a company,” (64).

Likewise, the leadership style of top management and the norms, values, and beliefs of the organization’s members combine to form the organization’s culture. With that being said, “An organization’s effectiveness can be increased by creating a culture that achieves organizational goals and at the same time satisfies members’ needs,” (p. 45). Leadership and culture are integral pieces of the process of organization development.

While, there is no set methodology on how to move organizations in the direction needed there are several approaches that will assist the OD practitioner in helping the client system to realize their goals. Brown (2011) posits, “In the future, the only winning companies will be the ones that respond quickly to change,” (1). Organization development has been described as a process designed to increase organization effectiveness by integrating the needs of the individual members for growth and development with the organization’s goals. (429).

Our text states, “Future trends include organization transformation, empowerment, learning organizations, and organization architecture,” (Brown 2011, p. 427). The new term is reconfigurable, which is, “An organization that is flexible and able to change on an annual, monthly, weekly, daily, or even hourly time frame,” (420). With that being said, in my opinion, organization development is the emerging discipline of the future.

First, it will be crucial that all levels of management share the same vision once identified. Second, organizations must have the ability to innovate – create new products, goods, and services—and focus on new ways of organizing and relating among organization members. If an organization does not have “buy in” from its members it will surely fail. Our text says, trust is a critical factor in changing organizations, “Without trust, there can be no sustainable excellence with an organization,” (427).

Further, an organization must empower the organization members so that they take ownership in their everyday tasks and interpersonal relationships with members of the organization. As noted earlier, the learning organization is the brains of the organization, “…the learning organization is the notion that learning is central to success,” (427). Reengineering is fundamental rethinking and radical redesigning of business systems and urges an overhaul of job designs, organizational structures, and management systems. In other words, members should have what they need to do their jobs efficiently and effectively. The old saying, “imitation is the best form of flattery” is not the wave of the future in organizations. An organization should base their corporate strategy on what they do best and give the company access to several markets that are not easy for their competitors to imitate. Organizational architecture is essential to, “… how work, people, and formal and informal structures fit together,” (Brown 2011). On a final note, Brown (2011) states, “…as organizations seek to achieve organizational excellence, there will be a parallel growth in the future of new OD models, new OD strategies, new OD interventions, and new OD practitioner roles,” (431).

In conclusion, in order for organizations to be efficient and effective the OD practitioner must apply the following principles of organization development: identify organizational situations that require professional assistance; develop the ability to apply OD knowledge to organizational situations; and effectively manage organizational change in a variety of contexts and settings in order to survive in an ever changing environment. The main goal for the OD practitioner is to create the awareness for change and to provide the techniques and skills needed for dealing with the change by utilizing the model for five stages of organizational development process. At its core, the most important part of OD change is the client-practitioner relationship. There is no “one-size-fits-all” methodology. Leadership and cultural cohesiveness are two of the main factors in organization development. Organization development (OD) comprises the long-range efforts and programs aimed at improving an organization’s ability to survive by changing its problem-solving and renewal processes. In any organization development process one must utilize the five stages of organization development: anticipate the need for change, develop the practitioner-client relationship, the diagnostic process, action plans, strategies, and techniques, and self-renewal, stabilize, evaluate, and disengage. The overall challenge to an ever changing environment is for the OD practitioner and the organization members to be flexible and adaptive.

References:

Allee, V. (1997). 12 principles of knowledge management. Training & Development, 51(11), 71-74. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/226994764?accountid=32521

Brown, D.R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organization Development (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN: 9780136106890.

Church, A. H., & Waclawski, J. (2008). Establishing successful client relationships. In J. W. Hedge, W. C. Borman (Eds.), The I/O consultant: Advice and insights for building a successful career (pp. 205-213). American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/11755-025

Gottlieb, J. Z. (2001). An exploration of organization development practitioners' role concept. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice And Research, 53(1), 35-51. doi:10.1037/1061-4087.53.1.35

Lafarge. (2007-2013). Our values. Retrieved from http://www.lafarge.com/wps/portal/7_1_3_1-Nos_valeurs?xtmc=values&xtcr=1

Skarzauskiene, A. (2010). Managing complexity: Systems thinking as a catalyst of the organization performance. Measuring Business Excellence, 14(4), 49-64. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13683041011093758