Managing the OD Process

DIAGNOSIS

OD programs have 3 basic components: diagnosis, action and program management.

Diagnostic tools: The six-box model. Third Wave Consulting.

The Six-Box Model

Marvin Weisbord in 1976. Tells practitioners where to look for and what to look for in

diagnosing organizational problems. 6 critical areas:

Purposes. Structure. Rewards. Helpful mechanism. Relationships. Leadership.

Third-Wave Consulting

4 useful practices: Assess the potential for action. Get the whole system in the room. Focus on the future, Structure tasks that pe

THE ACTION COMPONENTS:OD INTERVENTION

OD intervention is a set of structured activities in which selected organizational units engage in a sequence of tasks that will lead to organizational improvement.

Interventions are actions taken to produce desired changes.

Conditions the need for OD intervention: The organization has a problem. The organization sees an unrealized opportunities; something it

wants is beyond its reach.

The nature of OD intervention

Dual aspects of OD interventions – learning and action. OD development interventions tend to focus on real

problems rather than hypothetical problems. Developing skills and knowledge to solve real problems.

THE PROGRAMMANAGEMENT COMPONENT

Phases of OD programs: Entry. Contracting. Diagnosis. Feedback. Planning change. Intervention. Evaluation.

Entry: initial contract between consultant and client. Contracting: establishing mutual expectations, reaching agreement

on expenditures of time, money, resources, and energy. Diagnosis: fact-finding phase. Feedback: returning the analyzed information to the client system. Planning change: the clients deciding what action steps to take

based on the information they have just learned. Intervention: implements sets of actions designed to correct the

problems or seize the opportunities. Evaluation: assessing the effects of the program.

Model for Managing Change

Cummings and Worley identify 5 sets of activities required for effective change management: Motivating change Creating a vision Developing political support Managing the transition Sustaining momentum

Pitfalls and avoidance

John Kotter studied 100 companies that involved in planned change programs and identified 8 mistakes that caused the program fail: Not establishing a great enough sense of urgency. Not creating a powerful enough guiding coalition. Lacking a vision. Under communicating the vision. Not removing obstacles to the new vision. Not systematically planning for and creating short-term wins. Declaring victory too soon. Not anchoring changes in the corporation’s culture.

Successful organizational transformation

Establishing a sense of urgency. Forming a powerful guiding coalition. Creating a vision. Communicating the vision. Empowering others to act on the vision. Planning for and creating short-term wins. Consolidating improvements and producing still more change. Institutionalizing new approaches.