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ASSIGNMENT DRIVE: SPRING 2014

SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY-DDE
Master of Business Administration-MBA Semester III
MU0011-Management and Organisational Development-4 Credits
(Book ID: B1726)
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Q. No. 1. Define Organizational Development (OD).Elaborate the history of OD.
Explain the importance of OD from a managers perspective 10
Definition of OD 2
History of OD in brief 4
Importance of OD to managers 4

Ans; - Definition of OD;-

One classic definition of organization development comes from Richard
Beckhards 1969 Organization Development: Strategies and Models- Organization
Development is an effort (1) planned, (2) organization-wide, and (3) managed from the
top, to (4) increase organization effectiveness and health through (5) planned
interventions in the organizations "processes, using behavioral-science knowledge

Other definitions from leaders in Organization Development Network:
"OD is a field directed at interventions in the processes of human systems (formal and
informal groups, organizations, communities, and societies) in order to increase their
effectiveness and health using a variety of disciplines, principally applied behavioral
sciences. OD requires practitioners to be conscious about the values guiding their
practice and focuses on achieving its results through people."
Arnold Minors, Arnold Minors & Associates, Toronto, Canada
"Organization Development is a body of knowledge and practice that enhances
organizational performance and individual development, by increasing alignment
among the various systems within the overall system. OD interventions are inclusive
methodologies and approaches to strategic planning, organization design, leadership
development, change management, performance management, coaching, diversity,
team building, and work/life balance."
Matt Minahan, MM & Associates, Silver Spring, Maryland
History of OD in brief

OD has evolved over the past 60 years from the applications of behavioural
science knowledge and techniques to solving organisational problems. What OD has
become today started in 1940s at MIT and is deeply rooted in the pioneering work of
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applied social scientist such as Kurt Lewin. It is also strongly influenced by the work of
psychologists like Carl Rogers & Abraham Maslow.

During the period around World War II, Lewin experimented with a collaborative
change process based on three dimension process of planning, performing and result
measurement. This experiment was a forerunner of the action research theory which
will be discussed in
succeeding units.

This action theory stands as an important element of OD. Lewin further participated in
beginning of laboratory training or T-Groups. Later, after his death, his associates
developed survey-research method at the University of Michigan.

The term organisational development is widely attributed to Robert Blake, Jane Mouton
& Herbert Shephard. However, Richard Beckhard claims this distinction as well.
Regardless of who coined the term first, it emerged in about 1957 and is generally
agreed to have evolved from two basic sources: the application of laboratory method by
National Training Laboratories
(NTL), and the Survey Research methods originated by the Survey Research Centre.
Kurt Lewin at MIT pioneered both the methods in about 1945.

Importance of OD to managers

The importance of OD to managers can be summed up as:
Organisational change: The area of companys operation where change is needed
is identified, analysed and their effects are projected to draw out change
management plans aimed at increasing the effectiveness of employees.

Growth: It serves as an important tool of planning and managing corporate
growth. OD analysis helps to know the rate of companys growth by identifying
sales projections and consumer demand. This helps the company to alter its
expansion and business plans, allocation of resources and distribution network to
have room for future growth.

Work processes: OD analyses work processes to check efficiency and accuracy.
Quality control measures are put in place to attain company standards. Managers
analyse various alternate processes for greater efficiency and implement plans to
improve company methods.

Product innovation: Competitive analysis, technology development, consumer
preferences, target market research, patents and trademarks are some of the
processes of OD that assist product innovation.
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Q. No. 2 As an HR, you find that the OD professional in your organization is
not competent enough. What are the competencies you will consider in
a good OD professional? 10
Explain any ten competencies required for OD professional

Ans: - To be effective, all OD practitioners must possess the following basic knowledge,
skills and attitudes which are listed below:

1. Intrapersonal skills: As OD is a highly, uncertain process which requires constant
adjustment and innovation, OD practitioner must possess good learning skills and must
have values, feelings, purposes and integrity that helps in building the relationships in a
smooth and cordial way.

2. Interpersonal skills: An OD practitioner helps to gain the competence which is
required to solve problems. So, in order to build and maintain the relationships the OD
practitioner must consider the concepts of group dynamics, cultural perspectives, and
business function. These constitute the core foundation of their knowledge and help in
developing managing, facilitation and consulting as their core skills.

3. General consultation skills: To diagnose and understand the current functioning
of the organisation, an OD practitioner needs to know how to engage people in the
diagnosis, how to help them in asking the appropriate queries and how to collect,
analyse and evaluate the information and finally make modifications, if necessary. It
also helps in designing the interventions. Now with the help of following example, you
can understand how managers develop their consultation skills: For example, a
manager should be able to work with subordinates to determine jointly the strengths
and problems of the organisation or its departments. The manager should know basic
diagnostic questions, some methods for gathering information, such as interviews or
surveys, and some techniques such as force-field analysis or statistical means and
distributions for analysing it,.

4. Participation skills: An effective and efficient OD practitioner helps the
organisation in redesigning and implementing the plan which must be clear, concrete,
simple, rooted with data, result oriented, measurable and rewarded.

5. Contracting skills: An effective and efficient OD practitioner helps the
organisation to confirm the resource commitment and clarify the role of client and
consultant. This helps them to identify the change needed in the system and critical
success factors for intervention. This way, realistic expectations are built.

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6. Organisational development theory skills: One of the most important tools for
OD practitioner is knowledge of organizational development and for this the
practitioner must know the planned change model. They need to know what, where
and how the interventions are applicable. They must also be clear about their position,
role and responsibilities they are about to perform.

7. Impact: Creating a good first impression, commanding attention and respect,
showing an air of confidence.

8. Emotional Intelligence: When we talk about applying behavioral science
knowledge Emotional Intelligence is the core competency OD professional must
possess. EI will help an OD professional to sense the challenges in an organization
perceiving rightly the concerns and challenge of its employees. So EI gives an effortless
insight into psyche of people and hence the teams and groups within an organization.
As said Humans are not the creatures of logic but emotions.

9. Building Positive Working Relationships and Trust: Developing and using
collaborative relationships to facilitate the accomplishment of work goals. Interacting
with others in a way that gives them confidence in ones intentions and those of the
organization.

10. Mentoring & Coaching: Providing timely guidance and feedback to help others
strengthen specific knowledge/skill areas needed to accomplish a task or solve a
problem.

11. Influencing and Gaining Commitment: Using appropriate interpersonal styles
and techniques to gain acceptance of ideas or plans; modifying ones own behavior to
accommodate tasks, situations, and individuals involved.

12. Managing Conflict: Dealing effectively with others in an antagonistic situation;
using appropriate inter-personal styles and methods to reduce tension or conflict
between two or more people.

13. Strategic Decision Making: Obtaining information and identifying key issues
and relationships relevant to achieving a long-range goal or vision; committing to a
course of action to accomplish a long-range goal or vision after developing alternatives
based on logical assumptions, facts, available resources, constraints, and organizational
values.



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Q. No. 3 Discuss the Ethical Dilemmas in practicing OD
Explain the ethical dilemmas in practicing OD 10



Ans: - Ethical dilemmas are the results of behaviours and inappropriate actions or
roles on the part of both change agents and client systems. Ethical problems and
dilemmas are, therefore, a mutual responsibility of change agents and client systems,
dependent largely on the nature of their specific relationship.

Ethical problems and dilemmas faced by OD practitioners may leave ODs scientific
and professional progression in a disadvantageous position. This happens unless an
agreement can be reached as to the types of ethical dilemmas and the points, at which
they are likely to be encountered.

Now, you will understand with the help of the model given below which explains how
ethical dilemmas can occur in OD.







Values




The figure states that in the condition of antecedent, the OD practitioners and the client
system have their own set of goals, values, needs, skills and abilities. These differences
may or may not be pointed out in the entry and the contracting phase. So when OD
professionals and client are not aware of their responsibilities then this may result in the
role conflict and role ambiguity. Thus, the outcome of role conflict and role ambiguity
may give rise to the ethical dilemmas which are explained below:
ANTECEDENTS PROCESS CONSEQUENCES

Role of
the
Change
Agent
Role of
the
Client
System
Role Episode

Role Conflict
Role Ambiguity

Ethical dilemmas

Misrepresentation
Misuse of data:
Coercion
Values and goal
conflict:
Technical Ineptness
Values
Goals
Needs
Skill/Abilities
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1. Misrepresentation: This dilemma is endured by the party who is working on the
false pretenses of inaccurate goals and needs. Thus, the outcome of this will be that the
intervention will produce the results which according to a change program or
circumstances are irrational and unreasonable. Misrepresentation mostly occurs in the
entry and contracting stage of planned change. So, in order to prevent it, the main role
of OD Practitioners is the clarity of goals of change effort and exploring its expected
efforts and relevance to the clients.

2. Misuse of data: The next dilemma which the OD practitioner face is when the data
or information gathered through OD process is misused. These data are gathered at the
entry and the diagnostic stage so it is the duty of the OD practitioner to see that the
information is properly utilised. Thus, spreading inappropriate information can be
harmful to both the individual and the organisation. Therefore, in order to minimise
and eliminate this dilemma, OD practitioner should make an agreement with the
organisation about the proper use of this data which is collected during the change
process.

3. Coercion: Forcing the members of the organisation to participate in the OD
intervention may give rise to coercion. All this depends on the choice of the member
whether he wants to participate in the change process or not.

4. Values and goal conflict: When the main purpose of goals are unclear and the OD
practitioners and the client disagree over how to achieve the goals, then this dilemma
occurs. The OD practitioners face the practical dilemma to with old the services or not
when organisations do not agree with their values and methods.
Example: In the case of The Uncovered Change Agent where the attempt was made in
the organisation for the use of Laboratory training which the top management did not
understand it and was not ready for it. As intervention, T-Groups are sold out by the
OD Practitioners which help the organisation in solving their problems. A consultant
was fired by the President of the firm who made a surprise visit to the site where the
training was going on. The reason for his suspension was that style, concepts and the
nature was directly contradictory to his (Presidents) Leadership concept.

5. Technical Ineptness: When the client try to bring out change for which it is not
ready or when the unskilled OD Practitioners try to implement the interventions then
this dilemma take place. So careful diagnosis and proper selection of appropriate
intervention bring out success to the organisation. Thus, the qualities required by the
OD practitioners for the selection of intervention are values, skills, abilities and
knowledge. exploring its expected efforts and relevance to the clients.

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Q. No. 4 What is a Learning Organization? Discuss the attributes of a learning
organization. Explain the various learning disciplines in learning
organization 10
Definition of a Learning organization 2
Describing the attributes 3
Explaining the five basic learning disciplines 5

Ans: -
Definition of a Learning organization :- An organisation that learns and
encourages learning among its people. It promotes exchange of information between
employees hence creating a more knowledgable workforce. This produces a very
flexible organisation where people will accept and adapt to new ideas and changes
through a shared vision
Organization that acquires knowledge and innovates fast enough to survive and thrive
in a rapidly changing environment. Learning organizations (1) create a culture that
encourages and supports continuous employee learning, critical thinking, and risk
taking with new ideas, (2) allow mistakes, and value employee contributions, (3) learn
from experience and experiment, and (4) disseminate the new knowledge throughout
the organization for incorporation into day-to-day activities.
Describing the attributes of Learning Organisation

The characteristics of the learning organisation are as follows:
Strategic orientation: Before taking any decisions, learning organisations has
to take care of both its customers and employees.

Openness: There should be openness in the learning organisation for both the
tolerant of debate and criticism as well as enquiry also

Innovation: There must be organic culture and structure in the learning
organisation which allows it to evolve rapidly. Also, it must have the deep skill
and the capacity to deal with internal uncertainty and complexity.
The 5 Learning Disciplines

Shared Vision, Mental Models, Personal Mastery, Team Learning and Systems
Thinking are each made up of a set of tools and practices for building and sustaining
learning leadership capability in organisations.

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Each Discipline consists of:

Principles, propositions or concepts (Senge calls
these guiding ideas)

Tools or techniques that, once learned and
practised, assist in making the Disciplines come
to life

Practices or precepts to follow in your own
leadership behaviour and approaches


(a) Personal mastery: It creates the organisational climate that encourages and
motivates the organisational members to develop themselves towards purposes and
objectives which they choose.

(b) Mental models: It is an enquiry and reflection skills which is focused in
developing awareness of perceptions and attitudes. It, thus, helps in defining the
current reality more clearly and honestly and shapes the managers views of market
strategies and conditions.

(c) Shared vision: It emphasises on the focus of mutual purpose. Thus, by guiding
practices and principles and developing shared images build a sense of commitment
within a group.

(d) Team learning: It is related with the interactions among the group. Thus, it is a
collective thinking which put focus on achieving the common goals and involves
exposing new ideas through constructive disagreement and being comfortable not
knowing answer to every
question as well as listening to others without confirmation bias.

(e) Systems thinking: It is about the behaviour of the feedback and is able to deal
more efficiently with the force that shapes the consequence of their actions. Thus, it is a
language for understanding and describing interrelationships which helps in shaping
the behaviour of the systems.


Q. No. 5 Describe the various tools used in OD intervention 10
Explaining the various tools used in OD intervention

Ans; - Technologies aim at online collaboration, building of communities, collaborative
training and global sharing of best practices which are beyond the simple data
collection and normal correspondence.
The tools used in OD interventions are given below
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Portal technology
A portal can be defined as a framework which enables integration of people,
processes and information across the boundaries of an organisation. The sample of
portal used in OD is given below.
It aims at providing the users a well secured and unified point of access which is often
seen in form of a web-based user interface.
The self-designing strategy can be clearly explained below:
Portal technology provide OD practitioners a wide variety of tools to promote an
increased organisational effectiveness, enables sharing of knowledge as well as effective
communication and aims at efficient deployment of multi-dimensional change
efforts.
Portals thus can be called for supporting the primary goal of OD which aims at
increased organisation performance and effectiveness by presenting business content,
data and tools to the user through easy to use personalised interfaces.
Portals have also become valuable communication and sharing of knowledge vehicles
being used in combination with systems of content management through presentation
of online content filtered by users role, geography and language.

Online discussion groups
Online discussion group can be either email-based or web-based subject specific
forums, where individuals discuss specific issues related to either professional or
personal life.
Online discussion groups provide users a central online location for posting the
questions, commenting and gaining general information. The sample of one such online
discussion group figure is given in next slide.

Online discussion groups (Contd.)
Organisations usually create these forums for facilitating discussion on topics related
to training programmes, best operational practices or practice areas.
Online discussion group can act as a motivating factor in case when a team is
assigned a group project and group discussion forums are identified by them as a tool
for project facilitation.

Instant messaging and online chats
Instant messaging and online chats, as shown in below figure, are a form of internet
based communication which aim to offer an instant text based message transmission
from a sender to a receiver.
Instant messaging and online chats offers a direct real-time written language based
online chat option between two or more people who are using their personal computers
or other devices together with shared clients.
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An advanced instant messaging helps an organisation to use advanced modes of
communication like video calling, live voice, video chats or even inclusion of hyperlink
to media.
This is made possible through use of an easy to utilise programs called IM Clients
which are available as freely downloadable software applications.
Instant messaging and online chats provide organisation an instant form of real-time
collaboration rather than unsynchronised online group discussions.
OD practitioners are increasingly using such chat sessions to initiate organization
change at large level and the one which requires frequent mass communication.

Webcasts and podcasts
A webcast can be defined as a media presentation which is distributed using
streamline media technology either live or on demand over the internet to distribute a
single piece of content or information to many simultaneous viewers or listeners.
It can be called as internet broadcasting and it can be in the form of an audio or video
presentation which in real time is streamed over internet and allows viewers or listeners
to participate or offer feedback.
The below figure shows that there is a coordinator in Webcast who is responsible for
management of contents of the participants.
A Podcast on the other hand is a kind of digital media which consists of a series of
episodes of audio files which is subscribed and downloaded through web syndication,
mobile devices or streamed to a computer online.
Podcasts are special client software applications to use files which are associated with
a given series which are centrally maintained by web feed or distributors server.
Podcasts are different from webcasts in the terms that files in podcasts are stored on
users computer locally or any other device which is ready for offline use which gives
convenient and simple access to episodic content.
The below figure shows the banner of a podcast which looks like iTunes Music store
interface. OD professional use these online audio and video technologies as a
mainstream tools for disseminating information instantly and efficiently.
Webcasts are used to share live information events or live training sessions
organisation wide and are than recorded for future reference or use by the organisation.


Q. No. 6 Write short notes :
a) Role Analysis Technique(RAT)
b) Reward Systems
Meaning and steps in RAT 5
Meaning, objectives and types of rewards 5




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Ans: -
Meaning and steps in RAT
It is designed to clarify role expectation. Role Analysis Techniques (RAT) has been
developed by Dayal (1969) for redefining the managerial roles in an organisation.

Role analysis is used to clarify the role discrepancies, which boss and
subordinates may have about each other, leading to improved group
cohesiveness and functioning.
Role expectation are those behaviors of one member expected or prescribed by
other group members, while role conception refers to the focal persons own ideas
about appropriate role behaviors.
Role ambiguity refers to the role incumbent being unaware of or lacking sufficient
knowledge of the expectations of others.

Steps in RAT are as follow:

Role analysis: It involves listing perceived duties, behaviours, and
responsibilities the role conception.

Expectation of role incumbent about others: This list describes those
expectations of others that affect the incumbents role and impinge upon his or
her performance.

Role expectations: The other members now list their expectations of what they
expect him or her to do and accomplish as it affects them role performance.

Role profile: The role incumbent becomes accountable for making a written
summary called a role profile, a copy of which is distributed to each member.

Example: There are reports of increased effectiveness from RAT. According to Dayal &
Thomas, (1968) the famous role analysts, role analysis has been a useful technique for
reducing role ambiguity and increasing group effectiveness.









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Meaning, objectives and types of rewards

Meaning: -
A reward is something that, when presented after a behaviour, causes that behaviour to
increase in intensity and/or frequency.
Nowadays, OD Practitioners are focusing on developing, designing and implementing
an effective reward system. They have a view that reward should match the other
systems and practices of the organisation such as top managements HR philosophy,
work design and organisation structure.
Objectives
The objectives of the reward system are as follows:
(a) It helps to maintain and improve the overall performance.

(b) It helps in strengthening the commitment of employees.

(c) It helps to attract and retain the competent employees.
Overall, employee reward system helps to motivate the employee at individual or
group level.

Types of rewards
There are two categories of rewards. They are explained as follows:
(a) Extrinsic reward: It is also known as financial rewards which covers the basic needs
like income for survival (example to pay bills, etc), recognition (example skills,
workplace values etc.) and a feeling of consistency and stability (example Job
security).

(b) Intrinsic reward: It is also known as psychological rewards as it covers the needs in
which there is a feeling of completing the challenges competently.