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