OBHR 652 Ch 2: The Nature of Planned Change
in OD, any action by the OD practitioner can be viewed as what
an intervention that will have some effect on the organization
action research model places a heavy emphasis on what
data gathering and diagnosis prior to action planning and implementation, as well as careful evaluation of results after action is taken
Which step in Action Research Model is this: this step is usually completed b the OD practitioner, often in conjunction with organization members. It involves gathering appropriate info and analyzing it to determine the underlying causes of organizational problems. The four basic m
data gathering and preliminary diagnosis
in this stage of planned change, the client system is carefully studied
diagnosing
one of the most important activities in OD
diagnosing process
Which step in Action Research Model is this: At this point, members discuss the feedback and explore with the OD practitioner whether they want to work on identified problems.A close interrelationship exists among data gathering, feedback, and diagnosis because the consultant summarizes the basic data from the client members and presents the data to them for validation and further diagnosis. An important point to remember,as Schein suggests, is that the action research process is very different from the doctor-patient model, in which the consultant comes in, makes a diagnosis, and prescribes a solution. Schein notes that the failure to establish a common frame of reference in the client-consultant relationship may lead to a faulty diagnosis or to a communication gap whereby the client is sometimes"unwilling to believe the diagnosis or accept the prescription."He believes that"most companies have drawers full of reports by consultants, each loaded with diagnoses and recommendations which are either not understood or not accepted by the patient
joint diagnosis of the problem
Lewin suggested that decreasing those forces maintaining the status quo produces what
less tension and resistance than increasing forces for change and consequently is a more effective change strategy
3 major theories of organization change
lewin's change model, the action research model, and the positive model
change refers to what
planned change
considerable research on expectation effects also supports ____
positive model (it shows that people tend to act in ways tat make their expectations occur)
Which step in Action Research Model is this: Because action research is a collaborative activity, the diagnostic data are fed back to the client, usually in a group or work-team meeting. The _____ step, in which members are given the information gathered by the OD practitioner, helps them determine the strengths and weaknesses of the organization or unit under study. The consultant provides the client with all relevant and useful data. Obviously, the practitioner will protect confidential sources of information and, attimes, may even withhold data. Defining what is relevant and useful involves consideration of privacy and ethics as well as judgment about whether the group is ready for the information or if the information would make the client overly defensive
Feedback to a key client or group
one of the earliest models of planned change provided by Kurt Lewin
Lewin's change model
effective change depends on what
a careful diagnosis of how the organization is funcitoning
As a "reformist and rebellious" form of social constructionism, AI explicitly infuses
a positive value orientation into analyzing and changing organizations
planned change tends to be described as what
a rationally controlled, orderly process (critics have argued that although this view may be comforting, it is seriously misleading. they point out that planned change has a more chaotic quality, often involving shifting goals, discontinuous activities, surprising events, and unexpected combinations of changes)
Which step in the Action Research Model is this: this stage involves the actual change from one organizational state to another. It ma include installing new methods and procedures, reorganizing structures and work decisions, and reinforcing new behaviors. Such actions typically cannot be implemented immediately but require a transition period as the organization moves from the present to a desired future state
action
________ traditionally views change more linerarly than do Asian cultures, and it treats the change process more collaboratively than do latin american and african nations
action research
Recently, this model has been refined and extended to new settings and applications, and consequently, researchers and practitioners have made some requisite adaptations of its basic framework
action research model
underlies most current approaches to planned change and is often considered synonymous with OD
action research model
action researchers tend to play a ___ role in the change process, which is often chaotic and conflictual
activist
changing any one part or feature of an organization often requires what
adjustments in the other parts to maintain an appropriate alignment (thus, although quick fixes and change programs that focus on only one part or aspect of the organization may resolve some specific problems, they generally do not lead to complex organizational change or increase members' capability to carry out change
the positive model has been applied to planned change primarily through a process called
appreciative inquiry (AI)
what is one approach to diagnosis
begins with observation, proceeds to a semistructured interview, and concludes with a questionnaire to measure precisely the problem identified by the earlier steps. When gathering diagnostic information, OD practitioners may influence members from whom they are collecting data.
although action research was originally developed to have this dual focus on _____ and ______, it has been adapted to OD efforts in which the major emphasis is on planned change
change and knowledge generation
diagnosing process includes
choosing an appropriate model for understanding the organization and gathering, analyzing, and feeding back information to managers and organization members about the problems or opportunities that exist
in situations requiring complex organizational changes, planned cahgne is a longer term process involving what
considerable innovation and learning onsite
Which step in Action Research Model is this: during the initial contact, the OD practitioner and the client carefully assess each other. The practitioner has his or her own normative, developmental theory or frame of reference and must be conscious of those assumptions and values. Sharing them with the client from the beginning establishes an open and collaborative atmosphere
consultation with a behavioral science expert
spells out future change activities, the sources that will be committed to the process, and how OD practitioners and organization members will be involved
contracting
action research is tailored to fit what
cultural assumptions
the classic action research model focuses on planned change as a what
cyclical process in which initial research about the organization provides information to guide subsequent action. Then the results of the action are assessed to provide further information to guide further action, and so on
Which step in the Action Research Model is this: Because action research is a cyclical process, data must also be gathered after the action has been taken to measure and determine the effects of the action and to feed the results back to the organization. This, in turn, may lead to rediagnosis and ew action
data gathering after action
Which phase in the positive model is this: this phase phase involves the design and delivery of ways to create the future. It describes the activities and creates the plans necessary to bring about the vision. It proceeds to action and assessment phases similar to those of action research described previously. Members make changes, assess the results, make necessary adjustments, and so on as they move the organization toward the vision and sustain"what will be."The process is continued by renewing the conversations about the best of what is
design and deliver was to create the future
in many cases, orgs do not get beyond the entering and contracting stage of planned change because one or more situations arise:
disagreements about the need for change surface, resource constraints are encountered, or other methods for change appear more feasible
Which phase in the positive model is this: in this phase, members examine the stories, both large and small, to identify a set of themes representing the common dimensions of people's experiences. No theme is too small to be represented; it is important that all of the underlying mechanisms that helped to generate and support the theme be described. The themes represent the basis for moving from "what is" to "what could be"
discover the themes
all 3 change models
emphasize the application of behavioral science knowledge, involve organization members in the change process to varying degrees, and recognize that any interaction between an OD practitioner and an organization constitutes an intervention that may affect the organization
positive expectations about the organization can create an anticipation that does what
energizes and directs behavior toward making those beliefs happen
those events help managers decide whetehr they want to engage further in a planned cahnge program and to commit resources to such a process
entering and contracting
the general model of planned change: the framework describes the four basic activities that practitioners and organization members jointly carry out in organization development
entering and contracting, to diagnosing, to planning and implementing change, tp evaluating and institutionalizing change
Which phase in the positive model is this: Members then examine the identified themes, challenge the status quo, and describe a compelling future. Based on the organization's successful past, members collectively visualize the organization's future and develop"possibility propositions"—statements that bridge the organization's current best practices with ideal possibilities for future organizing. These propositions should present a truly exciting, provocative, and possible picture of the future. Based on these possibilities, members identify the relevant stakeholders and critical organization processes that must be aligned to support the emergence of the envisioned future. The vision becomes a statement of"what should be.
envision a preferred future
overall porras and robertson concluded that he information necessary to guide change is only partially available and that a good deal more research and thinking are needed to what
fill the gaps
Lewin's model and action research are more concerned with
fixing problems than with focusing on what the organization does well and leveraging those strengths
entering an organization involves what
gathering intitial data to understand the problems facing the organization or to determien the positive areas for inquiry
action research is traditionally imed both at
helping specific organizations implement planned change and at developing more general knowledge that can be applied to other settings
critics have suggested several problems with the way planned change is carried out. Their concerns are not with the planned cahnge model itself but with what
how change takes place and with the qualifications and activities of OD practitioners
depending on the outcomes of diagnosis, there are four major types of interventions in OD
human process interventions and the individual, group, and total system levels interventions that modify an organization's structure and technology human resources interventions that seek to improve member performance and wellness strategic interventions that involve managing the organization's relationship to its external environment and the internal structure and process necessary to support a business strategy
OD is directed at bringing about planned change to do what
increase an organization's effectiveness and capability to change itself
to change the state of quasi-stationary equilibrium, one can do what
increase those forces pushing for change, decrease those forces maintaining the current state, or apply some combination of both
Which phase in the positive model is this: determines the subject of change. It emphasizes member involvement to identify the organizational issue they have the most energy to address. If the focus of the inquiry is real and vital to organization members, the change process itself will take on these positive attributes
initiate the inquiry
what are the 5 phases of the positive model of planned change:
initiate the inquiry, inquire best practices, discover the themes, envision a preferred future, and design and deliver ways to create the future
Which phase in the positive model is this: this phase involves gathering info about the "best of what is" in the org. If the topic is organizational innovation, then members help to develop an interview protocol that collects stories of new ideas that were developed and implemented in the org. The interviews are conducted by organization members; they interview each other and tell stories of innovation in which they have personally been involved. These stories are pulled together to create a pool of information describing the organization as an innovative system.
inquire into best practices
what are the four basic methods of gathering data
interviews, process observation, questionnaires, and organizational performance data
planned change has typically been characterized as
involving a series of activities for carrying out effective organization development
which step in the Action Research Model is this: the OD practitioner and the client members jointly agree on further actions to be taken. This is the beginning of the moving process as the organization decides how best to reacha different quasi-stationary equilibrium. At this stage, the specific action to be taken depends on the culture, technology, and environment of the organization; the diagnosis of the problem; and the time and expense of the intervention
joint action planning
OD is generally initiated and implemented by who
managers, often with the help of an OD practitioner from either inside or outside of the organization
in light of these general trends, contemporary applications of action research have substantially increased the degree what
member involvement in the change process (this contrasts with traditional approaches to planned change, whereby consultants carried out most of the change activities, with the agreement and collaboration of management)
change that happens to an organization can be distinguished from change that is planned by its
members
in these larger contexts, action research is what
more complex and political than in smaller settings (therefore, the action research cycle is coordinated across multiple change processes and includes a diversity of stakeholders who have an interest in the organization)
Trends in the application of action research include
movement from smaller subunits of organizations to total systems and communities.
Lewin's Change Model: This step shifts the behavior of the organization, department, or individual to a new level. It involves intervening in the system to develop new behaviors,values, and attitudes through changes in organizational structures and processes.
moving
diagnostic models for analyzing problems explore 3 levels of activities:
organization issues represent the most complex level of analysis and involve the total system, Group-level issues are associated with department and group effectiveness, and individual-level issues involve the way jobs are designed and performed
although consultant-dominated change still persists in OD, there is a growing tendency to invovle what
organization members in learning about their organization and how to change it
social constructionism assumes that what
organization members' shared experiences and interactions influence how they perceive the organization and behave in it
all approaches to OD rely on some theory about what
planned change
the relationship between what is not well understood
planned change and organizational performance and effectiveness (OD traditionally has had problems assessing whether interventions are producing observed results. The complexity of the change situation, the lack of sophisticated analyses, and the long time periods for producing results have contributed to weak evaluation of OD efforts)
in this stage, organization members and practitioners jointly plan and implement OD interventions. They design interventions to achieve the organization's vision or goals and make action plans to implement them
planning and implementing change
___ model focuses on what the organization is doing right
positive
____ models are primarily deficit based; they focus on the organization's problems and how they can be solved so it functions better
positive
represents an important departure from Lewin's model and the action research process
positive model
the ____ helps members understand their organization when it is working at its best and builds off those capabilities to achieve even better results
positive model
the positive approach to change is consistent with a growing movement in the social sciences called ______, which focuses on positive dynamics in organizations that give rise to extraordinary outcomes
positive organizational scholarship
Which step in Action Research Model is this: this stage usually begins when an executive in the organization or someone with power and influence senses that the organization has one or more problems that might be solved with the help of an OD practitioner
problem identification
8 main steps to action research model
problem identification, consultation with a behavioral science expert, data gathering and preliminary diagnosis, feedback to a key client or group, joint diagnosis of the problem, joint action planning, action, data gathering after action
action research is applied to
promote social change and innovation and increasingly in international settings
when bot sets of forces are about equal, current behaviors are maintained in what Lewin termed as state of "
quasi-stationary equilibrium
the applications for action research are heavily value laden and seek to do what
redress imbalances in power and resource allocations across different groups
This step stabilizes the organization at a new state of equilibrium. It is frequently accomplished through the use of supporting mechanisms that reinforce the new organizational state, such as organizational culture, rewards, and structures
refreezing
when OD is used in a nontraditional and international settings, the entering and contracting process must be what
sensitive to the context in which the change is taking place
considerably more effort needs to be expended identifying what
situational factors that may require modifying the general stages of planned change
action research is applied increasingly to promote what
social change an innovation (as demonstrated most clearly in community development and global social change projects)
Organizations can use planned change to
solve problems, to learn from experience, to reframe shared perceptions, to adapt to external environmental changes, to improve performance, and to influence future changes
Porras and Robertson noted that the key to organizational change is change in what
the behavior of each member and that the information available about the causal mechanisms that produce individual change is lacking
the theories about planned change describe what
the different stages through which planned change may be effected in organizations and explain the temporal process of applying OD methods to help organization members manage change
lewin's change model differs from the other two in that it focuses on what
the general process of planned change, rather than on specific OD activities
Lewin's model and the action research model differ from the positive approach in terms of what
the level of involvement of the participants and the focus of change (Lewin's model and traditional action research emphasize the role of the OD practitioner with relatively limited member involvement in the change process. Contemporary applications of action research and the positive model, on the other hand, treat both OD consultants and participants as colearners who are heavily involved in the planned change.)
referred to as "participatory action research", "action learning", "action science" or "self-design" this approach to planned change (action research model) emphasizes what
the need for organization members to learn firsthand about planned change if they are to gain the knowledge and skills needed to change the organization
critics have argued that planned change models that advocate evaluation and institutionalization processes reinforce the belief taht
the organization will refreeze into some form of equilibrium following change (in the face of increasing globalization and technological change, it is unlikely that change will ever be over.)
there are several criteria for designing intervention, including what
the organization's readiness for change, its current change capability, its culture and power distributions, and the change agent's skills and abilities
Porras and Robertson argued that planned change activities should be guided by information about
the organizational features that can be changed the intended outcomes from making those changes the causal mechanisms by which those outcomes are achieved, and the contingencies upon which successful change depends
al 3 change models describe what
the phases by which planned change occurs in organizations
Called "theories of changing" these frameworks describe the activities that must take place to initiate and carry out successful organizational change
theories of planned change
Lewin's change model: a particular set of behaviors at any moment in time is the result of two group of forces:
those striving to maintain the status quo and those pushing for change
diagnosis requires what
time and money
what are the cultural values that guide OD practice in the US
tolerance for ambiguity, equality among people individuality, and achievement motives
diagnosis can focus on what
understanding organizationl problems, including their causes and consequences. or on collecting stories about the orgs positive attributes
lewin's change model: this step usually involves those forces maintaining the organization's behavior at its present level. It is sometimes accomplished through a process of "psychological disconfirmation". By introducing information that shows discrepancies between behaviors desired by organization members and those behaviors currently exhibited, members can be motivated to engage in change activities
unfreezing
Lewin's change model: Lewin viewed this change process as consisting of the 3 steps
unfreezing, moving, refreezing
