LECTURE 1 – INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT
What is organization development? The LONG-RANGE EFFORT to improve:
• An organization’s/system’s problem-solving capabilities
• It abilities to cope with changes in the external environment with the help of external or internal
behavioral-scientist consultants or change agents, as they are sometimes called (Wendell French,
1969)
Characteristics of OD
• Planned - Includes planned intervention activities
• Effectiveness - Increase the effectiveness of the system and to develop the potential of all the
individual members
• Scientific approach (e.g. team dynamics, work design) – Not only rely on intuition, need more
evidence
• Systematic approach – Constantly interact with the environment (=system)
Five-stage OD-model
• This model emphasizes that OD is an ongoing process rather than a one-time effort.
1. Anticipate the need for change – Recognizing problems or opportunities.
o Organizations must recognize when change is necessary.
o Change is often driven by internal (e.g., declining performance, low employee morale) or
external (e.g., competition, technology, regulations) forces.
o Managers must be proactive in identifying signals that indicate a need for transformation.
o A “felt need” for change is crucial—employees and leaders must see the benefits of change
before committing to it.
2. Develop the practitioner-client relationship – Establishing trust and collaboration.
o Once the need for change is recognized, an OD practitioner (internal or external)
collaborates with the organization to guide the process.
o Trust, open communication, and shared responsibility must be established between the
practitioner and the client (organization).
o The psychological contract between the practitioner and the organization must clarify roles,
expectations, and goals.
1
,3. The diagnostic phase – Collecting and analyzing data.
o A systematic assessment of the organization is conducted to identify the root causes of
issues.
o Data collection methods include surveys, interviews, observations, and performance metrics.
o The OD practitioner and organization members analyze the data to determine problem areas
and prioritize interventions.
o A weak or incorrect diagnosis can lead to ineffective change efforts, so this step requires
thorough research.
4. Action plans, strategies, and techniques – Implementing interventions.
o Based on the diagnosis, a change strategy is developed.
o Common OD techniques include: team-building activities, total Quality Management (TQM),
leadership development, job redesign, process improvement
o The change plan should be practical, measurable, and aligned with the organization’s goals.
o Employees should be involved in implementing change to increase commitment and reduce
resistance.
5. Self-renewal, monitoring, and stabilization – Ensuring long-term change and adaptability.
o Change must be evaluated to ensure long-term success.
o Organizations should monitor progress using performance metrics and employee feedback.
o If needed, adjustments should be made to improve effectiveness.
o The goal is to create a self-renewing organization—one that continuously adapts without
external support.
o If monitoring is neglected, the organization may revert to old, ineffective practices.
Cooperrider’s 4D Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Model
• Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a method that encourages organizations to explore what works well
and build upon it.
• Drive positive change by focusing on strengths rather than problems.
• The positive approach aligns with expectation research, which suggests that people and
organizations behave according to their expectations. By focusing on strengths and aspirations,
the AI model helps drive motivation and engagement
2
,Four phases, forming a cycle around a Positive Core (the strengths and best aspects of an
organization):
1. Discovery ("What gives life?") – Appreciating
o This phase identifies the best of what currently exists.
o It involves collecting success stories, positive experiences, and organizational strengths.
o From example: The need for a reliable, affordable car for the masses.
2. Dream ("What could be?") – Imagining
o In this phase, people imagine a desired future based on the strengths identified in the
Discovery phase.
o It focuses on opportunities and aspirations.
o From example: A vision for a "People’s Car" that could function in extreme conditions and be
easy to fix.
3. Design ("What should be?") – Innovating
o Here, the organization plans and structures how to make the dream a reality.
o It involves creating new processes, policies, and systems.
o From example: A car with an air-cooled engine (avoiding overheating and freezing), a simple
structure, and an efficient production model
4. Destiny ("What will we do?") – Delivering
o The final phase focuses on implementation and continuous improvement.
o It ensures empowerment, learning, and adaptation.
o From example: The long-lasting success of the Beetle from 1938 to 2003, demonstrating
continuous adaptation and innovation.
Interactions with the environment
• Organizations are not static and do not exist in isolation of other entities.
• Continuous interaction with external forces including competitors, customers, governments,
stockholders, suppliers, society, and unions
• Conditions facing today’s organizations are different from those of past decades:
o Company’s face global as well as domestic competitors,
o Changing consumer lifestyles, technological breakthroughs all act on the organization to
cause it to change.
o Government regulation and deregulation are continually changing and international trade
agreements present both new opportunities and obstacles.
o Stockholders are demanding more accountability.
3
, o Suppliers providing both products and services to organizations, come more and more from
the world economy.
o The society within which an organization operates influences the modes, values, and norms
that are developed within the organization.
o The employees and unions have a direct and substantial influence on how well an
organization function.
Systems approach
• Organizations are interconnected and interdependent systems. Do not
analyze problems in isolation, but this approach considers how various
parts of an organization—departments, teams, processes—interact with
each other and the external environment.
• In solving a given problem, managers must analyze the organization, its
departmental subsystem interrelationships, and the possible effects on
the internal environment
The Organization as an Open System
From an organizational perspective, the systems approach recognizes and focuses on the effect of
managerial functions and the interrelationship between sub elements of the organization.
Views the organization as a set of flows of information, personnel, and material (not static). The flow
of inputs and outputs is a basic starting point in the description of a system.
• Inputs: are the resources that are applied to the processing function.
• Processes: are the activities and functions that are performed to produce goods and services.
• Outputs: are the products and services produced by the organization.
The organization receives inputs from its environment, acts on the inputs by transforming them, and
returns the transformed elements to the environment as products.
• The open system is in continual interaction with its environment and, therefore, achieves a
steady state of dynamic equilibrium.
• The system could not survive without the continuous influence of transformational outflow. As
the open system interacts with its environment, it continually receives information termed
feedback from its environment, which helps the system adjust.
• The departments also interact with one another, because they have interacting tasks to perform.
Therefore, the overall efficiency of the system depends upon the level and degree of interaction
with other elements.
4
What is organization development? The LONG-RANGE EFFORT to improve:
• An organization’s/system’s problem-solving capabilities
• It abilities to cope with changes in the external environment with the help of external or internal
behavioral-scientist consultants or change agents, as they are sometimes called (Wendell French,
1969)
Characteristics of OD
• Planned - Includes planned intervention activities
• Effectiveness - Increase the effectiveness of the system and to develop the potential of all the
individual members
• Scientific approach (e.g. team dynamics, work design) – Not only rely on intuition, need more
evidence
• Systematic approach – Constantly interact with the environment (=system)
Five-stage OD-model
• This model emphasizes that OD is an ongoing process rather than a one-time effort.
1. Anticipate the need for change – Recognizing problems or opportunities.
o Organizations must recognize when change is necessary.
o Change is often driven by internal (e.g., declining performance, low employee morale) or
external (e.g., competition, technology, regulations) forces.
o Managers must be proactive in identifying signals that indicate a need for transformation.
o A “felt need” for change is crucial—employees and leaders must see the benefits of change
before committing to it.
2. Develop the practitioner-client relationship – Establishing trust and collaboration.
o Once the need for change is recognized, an OD practitioner (internal or external)
collaborates with the organization to guide the process.
o Trust, open communication, and shared responsibility must be established between the
practitioner and the client (organization).
o The psychological contract between the practitioner and the organization must clarify roles,
expectations, and goals.
1
,3. The diagnostic phase – Collecting and analyzing data.
o A systematic assessment of the organization is conducted to identify the root causes of
issues.
o Data collection methods include surveys, interviews, observations, and performance metrics.
o The OD practitioner and organization members analyze the data to determine problem areas
and prioritize interventions.
o A weak or incorrect diagnosis can lead to ineffective change efforts, so this step requires
thorough research.
4. Action plans, strategies, and techniques – Implementing interventions.
o Based on the diagnosis, a change strategy is developed.
o Common OD techniques include: team-building activities, total Quality Management (TQM),
leadership development, job redesign, process improvement
o The change plan should be practical, measurable, and aligned with the organization’s goals.
o Employees should be involved in implementing change to increase commitment and reduce
resistance.
5. Self-renewal, monitoring, and stabilization – Ensuring long-term change and adaptability.
o Change must be evaluated to ensure long-term success.
o Organizations should monitor progress using performance metrics and employee feedback.
o If needed, adjustments should be made to improve effectiveness.
o The goal is to create a self-renewing organization—one that continuously adapts without
external support.
o If monitoring is neglected, the organization may revert to old, ineffective practices.
Cooperrider’s 4D Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Model
• Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a method that encourages organizations to explore what works well
and build upon it.
• Drive positive change by focusing on strengths rather than problems.
• The positive approach aligns with expectation research, which suggests that people and
organizations behave according to their expectations. By focusing on strengths and aspirations,
the AI model helps drive motivation and engagement
2
,Four phases, forming a cycle around a Positive Core (the strengths and best aspects of an
organization):
1. Discovery ("What gives life?") – Appreciating
o This phase identifies the best of what currently exists.
o It involves collecting success stories, positive experiences, and organizational strengths.
o From example: The need for a reliable, affordable car for the masses.
2. Dream ("What could be?") – Imagining
o In this phase, people imagine a desired future based on the strengths identified in the
Discovery phase.
o It focuses on opportunities and aspirations.
o From example: A vision for a "People’s Car" that could function in extreme conditions and be
easy to fix.
3. Design ("What should be?") – Innovating
o Here, the organization plans and structures how to make the dream a reality.
o It involves creating new processes, policies, and systems.
o From example: A car with an air-cooled engine (avoiding overheating and freezing), a simple
structure, and an efficient production model
4. Destiny ("What will we do?") – Delivering
o The final phase focuses on implementation and continuous improvement.
o It ensures empowerment, learning, and adaptation.
o From example: The long-lasting success of the Beetle from 1938 to 2003, demonstrating
continuous adaptation and innovation.
Interactions with the environment
• Organizations are not static and do not exist in isolation of other entities.
• Continuous interaction with external forces including competitors, customers, governments,
stockholders, suppliers, society, and unions
• Conditions facing today’s organizations are different from those of past decades:
o Company’s face global as well as domestic competitors,
o Changing consumer lifestyles, technological breakthroughs all act on the organization to
cause it to change.
o Government regulation and deregulation are continually changing and international trade
agreements present both new opportunities and obstacles.
o Stockholders are demanding more accountability.
3
, o Suppliers providing both products and services to organizations, come more and more from
the world economy.
o The society within which an organization operates influences the modes, values, and norms
that are developed within the organization.
o The employees and unions have a direct and substantial influence on how well an
organization function.
Systems approach
• Organizations are interconnected and interdependent systems. Do not
analyze problems in isolation, but this approach considers how various
parts of an organization—departments, teams, processes—interact with
each other and the external environment.
• In solving a given problem, managers must analyze the organization, its
departmental subsystem interrelationships, and the possible effects on
the internal environment
The Organization as an Open System
From an organizational perspective, the systems approach recognizes and focuses on the effect of
managerial functions and the interrelationship between sub elements of the organization.
Views the organization as a set of flows of information, personnel, and material (not static). The flow
of inputs and outputs is a basic starting point in the description of a system.
• Inputs: are the resources that are applied to the processing function.
• Processes: are the activities and functions that are performed to produce goods and services.
• Outputs: are the products and services produced by the organization.
The organization receives inputs from its environment, acts on the inputs by transforming them, and
returns the transformed elements to the environment as products.
• The open system is in continual interaction with its environment and, therefore, achieves a
steady state of dynamic equilibrium.
• The system could not survive without the continuous influence of transformational outflow. As
the open system interacts with its environment, it continually receives information termed
feedback from its environment, which helps the system adjust.
• The departments also interact with one another, because they have interacting tasks to perform.
Therefore, the overall efficiency of the system depends upon the level and degree of interaction
with other elements.
4
