Topic

Change
Interventions I

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.

Describe the major criteria that define effective interventions;

2.

Identify the factors affecting the effectiveness of an intervention;

3.

Determine the intervention methods at different levels of change;

4.

Examine the institutionalisation processes of change interventions;

and

5.

Assess the change interventions at an individual level.

X INTRODUCTION
Organisation development (OD) has evolved to a wide-ranging tool-kit of
techniques to bring about changes in organisations. These techniques or
programmes initiated to facilitate organisational change processes are referred to
as OD interventions. OD interventions are a set of structured activities designed
to improve organisational effectiveness and performance. They are derived from
careful diagnosis and are meant to resolve specific organisational problems.
Diagnosis is the process of understanding the current situation of the
organisation. It involves collecting and analysing data and drawing conclusions
for a set of appropriate intervention activities for change and improvement
(Waddell, Cummings, & Worley, 2004).
This topic provides an overview of change interventions and introduces specific
intervention methods to develop individual organisation members. The first part
of the topic talks about designing effective interventions and provides a brief
description of the major change methods used in OD today. Change interventions

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can be focused on problems at one or more of three organisational levels: the

individual level, the group level and the organisational level. The latter part of this
topic describes the interventions at the individual level. Interventions at the other
two levels will be described in the next topic.

8.1

AN OVERVIEW OF INTERVENTIONS

This section provides an overview of change interventions. It includes discussion

on what constitutes effective interventions, what factors affect the success of
interventions, various interventions at different organisational levels and
evaluating and institutionalising change interventions.

8.1.1

Designing Effective Interventions

Intervention refers to a set of sequenced planned actions or events intended

to help an organisation increase its effectiveness (Cummings & Worley, 2005,
p. 143).

OD interventions aim to change the existing state of the organisation. They are
deliberate attempts to change an organisation toward a more effective state.
What is an effective intervention? Cummings and Worley (2005) provided three
major criteria which determine an effective OD intervention:
(a)

The Extent to Which it Fits the Needs of the Organisation

The first criterion concerns whether the intervention is relevant, i.e, whether
it suits the needs of the organisation and its members. It must be able to
resolve organisational problems. It must adequately reflect the primary
concerns and issues of the organisation members.

(b)

The Degree to Which it is Based on Knowledge of Intended Outcomes

The second criterion involves the knowledge of results. Since change
interventions are intended to produce specific outcomes, they must be
based on valid knowledge that those specific outcomes actually can be
produced. This is to ensure that designing and implementing the change
intervention is scientific based.

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(c)

The Extent to Which it Transfers Change-Management Competence to

Organisation Members
The third criterion involves the extent to which organisation members have
learned change management skills and be able to carry out planned change
activities on their own. From active participation in previous change
programmes, organisation members should be able to gain competence in
change management.

In designing an effective change intervention, what are the factors to be taken

into consideration? Various researchers have identified many factors that can
affect intervention success (Cummings & Worley, 2005; Paton & McCalman,
2008; Rollinson, 2005):
(a)

Readiness for Change

The success of any change intervention depends heavily on the degree of
readiness for change among the organisation members. Indicators of
readiness for change include adequate resources for change, management
support for change, dissatisfaction with current operations, members
acceptance to change goals, and their commitment to change interventions.
When their readiness for change is low, interventions need to focus first on
decreasing members resistance to change or increasing their willingness to
change.

(b)

Capability to Change
Organisation members must have the knowledge and skills in carrying out
the change interventions. In addition, the change leaders must have the
ability to lead and motivate change, acquire members support for change,
manage the transition from the existing organisation state to the desired
future state, and sustain the momentum of change.

(c)

The Cultural Context

The cultural context in which the change occurs can exert a powerful
influence on members reactions and acceptance to change. Hence,
intervention design must take the organisational culture into consideration.
It must account for the values, beliefs and assumptions held by the
organisation members.

(d)

Capabilities of the Change Agent

The competency of the change agent plays a major role in the success or
failure of OD interventions. Failures in OD occur when change agents
apply interventions beyond their capabilities. In designing interventions,
the change agent should examine whether their own experience and
expertise match the requirements needed to implement the intervention

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successfully. When there is a mismatch, the change agent can explore the
following options:
(i)

Whether the intervention can be modified to fit his capabilities better;

(ii)

Whether there is another intervention method more suited to his

capabilities which can also satisfy the needs of the client organisation;
and

(iii) Whether the assistance of another agent should be sought.

(e)

Organisational Issues to be Addressed

Various types of organisational issues need to be addressed in order to
design interventions effectively (Cummings & Worley, 2005; Waddell,
Cummings, & Worley, 2004). These issues can be categorised as:
(i)

Human Resource Issues

Human resource issues are concerned with individual employees
growth and development and overall well-being. They include goal
setting, performance management, career planning and development,
stress management, and employee assistance programmes.

(ii)

Interpersonal Process Issues

Interpersonal process issues deal with social processes occurring
among organisation members, These include leadership, decision
making, probelm solving, group dynamics, communication, conflict
resolution, and team building.

(iii) Technology and Structure Issues

Technology and structure issues involve redesign in work processes
and organisational structure to support the strategic directions.
Organisations may take a radical step to downsize and streamline the
operations to enhance their competitiveness. They may adopt a
company-wide quality approach to improve current products and
services. Finally, jobs can be redesigned to increase task efficiency and
effectiveness.
(iv) Strategic Issues
Strategic issues are about organisations capabilities in dealing with
todays highly competitive environment. Organisations need to
increase their capabilities to compete through learning and
knowledge management. They may need to undertake cultural
change to fit the external environment. Firms may even need to
transform themselves to turn around for survival.

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These four types of organisational issues are summarised in Table 8.1:

Table 8.1: Types of Organisational Issues
Type of Issue
Human Resource
Issues

Interpersonal Process
Issues

Technology and
Structure Issues

Strategic Issues

What is it About?
x

How to attract competent people;

How to set goals and reward employees;

How to plan and develop employees careers; and

How to manage employees well-being.

How to communicate;

How to solve problems;

How to make decisions;

How to interact; and

How to lead.

How to divide labour;

How to coordinate departments;

How to produce quality products and services; and

How to design or redesign work.

What new products and services to provide;

What new markets to serve;

How to gain competitive advantage;

How to adapt and be responsive to external environment;

and

What values will guide organisational functioning.

These four issues are the targets of OD interventions. The change agent
must design interventions that are appropriate to solve the organisational
issues identified in the diagnosis. In addition, these issues are interrelated
and need to be integrated with each other. Interventions aimed at one
particular type of organisational issue will have an impact on other types of
issues. For example, decisions about gaining competitive advantage need to
fit with choices about organisational structure, technology, goal setting for
organisation members, and decision-making systems.

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The Organisational Level to be Affected by the Change

There are three major levels of functioning in organisations individual,
group and organisation. In addition to addressing the interrelated
organisational issues mentioned above, change interventions need to be
targeted at certain levels. For example, stress management techniques are
for individual members; team building is for the group; intergroup conflict
resolution is to address conflict between two groups or departments; and
finally, cultural change is for the whole organisation.

SELF-CHECK 8.1
1.

How do you determine whether an OD intervention is effective?

2.

What are the factors affecting the effectiveness of an OD

intervention?

The following table summarises the methods of initiating change in organisations

at different levels:
Table 8.2: Types of OD Interventions and Organisational Levels
Primary Organisational Level Affected
Interventions

Individual

Group

Organisation

Human Resource:
1.

Coaching

2.

Training and development

3.

Management by objectives

4.

Career planning and development

5.

Work-life balance

6.

Employee wellness

Interpersonal Process:
1.

T-groups

2.

Process consultation

3.

Third-party intervention

4.

Team building

5.

Intergroup relations

X
X

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Technostructural:
1.

Work design

2.

Downsizing

3.

Reengineering

X
X
X

Strategic:
1.

Culture change

2.

Stimulating innovation

3.

Total quality management

4.

Organisational learning and

knowledge management

Adapted from: Cummings, T. G., and Worley, C. G. (2005).

Organization development and change (8th ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western

ACTIVITY 8.1
Identify some change programmes in your organisation and determine
their level of change. State whether the change is at the individual, group
or organisational level.
Note that some interventions are targeted primarily at a particular organisational
level and others at more than one level. For example, cultural change is
pertaining to the organisation as a whole; third-party intervention can be applied
to both individual and group levels; and high-involvement organisation involves
all three levels. These change interventions will be discussed in detail in the
following section and in the next topic.

8.1.2

Evaluating and Institutionalising Change

Interventions

All change interventions should be assessed and evaluated for their effectiveness.
Evaluation is about collecting feedback on the progress and impact of a particular
change intervention. Feedback is used to determine whether the intervention is
successful or further modification of the change intervention is needed.

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Typically, OD assessment is done after the intervention. The intervention is

evaluated after it is implemented to determine whether it is producing the
intended outcomes. However, this view can be misleading. Evaluation should
begin during the implementation stage to monitor the progress of the
intervention and to ensure that it is being done accordingly. Hence, there are two
distinct types of OD evaluation as discussed by Cummings and Worley (2005):
(a)

Implementation Feedback
Implementation feedback is intended to guide the implementation of
interventions. It is a form of during-implementation assessment to check
whether interventions are actually being implemented as intended.
Implementation feedback provides data about the features and progress of
the intervention itself. These data are collected on a regular basis and they
provide information about how the intervention is progressing.
Organisation members can use this information to gain a clearer
understanding of the intervention and to plan for the next implementation
step.

(b)

Evaluation Feedback
Evaluation feedback begins once implementation feedback indicates that
the intervention is progressing in order. Evaluation feedback is intended to
assess the overall impact of the intervention. It is a form of afterimplementation evaluation to measure whether interventions are
producing expected results. Evaluation feedback takes longer to gather and
is relatively more difficult to interpret than implementation feedback. It
typically includes a wide array of outcome measures such as task
performance, production quality, maintenance costs, machinery downtime,
job satisfaction, absenteeism, turnover rate and work-related accidents and
injuries.

When a change intervention has been implemented and is proven to be effective,

it needs to be institutionalised. Institutionalisation means making a particular
change permanent, that is, making it a part of the organisations normal
functioning. It contributes to long-term organisational changes. It ensures that
the results of successful change interventions persist over time. Recall that Kurt
Lewin described change as occurring in three stages: unfreezing, moving and
refreezing. Institutionalisation of change interventions is the refreezing stage. As
discussed by Cummings and Worley (2005), change can be refrozen through such
institutionalisation processes as:

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(a)

Socialisation
The transmission of information about the characteristics of the change
intervention to organisation members. The beliefs, preferences, norms and
values with respect to the change intervention are transmitted especially to
the new employees.

(b)

Commitment
It includes both initial commitment to the programme and recommitment of
the change intervention over time. Commitment should be achieved not only
from the organisation members directly involved in the change but also the
upper-level managers who have the authority over the intervention.

(c)

Reward Allocation
Any new behaviour required by a change intervention should be reinforced
by certain rewards. Both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards can be used to
reinforce new behaviour. Intrinsic rewards are internal satisfaction from
within. They are derived from the opportunities for growth, development
and achievement found in the new way of doing things. The new behaviour
can be further reinforced by providing extrinsic rewards, such as money,
praise and recognition.

(d)

Diffusion
This invovles the transfer of change interventions from one system to
another, i.e., from one organisational unit or department to another.
Diffusion facilitates institutionalisation when many organisational units
adopt the new changes as part of their routines. It also reinforces
commitment to the changes.

(e)

Sensing and Calibration

This involves detecting deviations or gaps between the actual behaviour
and the desired behaviour and taking corrective action if necessary. To
detect deviations, the organisation must have some sensing mechanisms in
place. Implementation feedback, as described above, can serve as a sensing
mechanism to detect and provide information about the performance gap.
This information can then be used to initiate corrective actions to close the
performance gap.

In conclusion, evaluating and institutionalising interventions are the final two

stages of a planned change programme. Evaluation is needed to monitor the
progress of the change intervention and to determine whether the intervention is
producing expected results. Finally, any successful intervention should become a
permanent feature of the organisation by incorporating it into the organisations
normal functioning.

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SELF-CHECK 8.2
1.

Differentiate between implementation feedback and evaluation

feedback.

2.

What are the processes that can directly affect the degree to which
change interventions are institutionalised?

8.2

HUMAN RESOURCE INTERVENTIONS

This section describes the seven human resources change interventions as listed
in Table 8.2. They are primarily targeted at the individual level. The aim of these
interventions is to develop the personal growth of organisation members and to
enhance their well-being. These techniques have been widely described by
Thomas Cummings and his colleagues.
(a)

Coaching
This intervention involves a one-to-one consultation session between the
change agent and the organisation member. It is a highly personal session
based on the specific needs or problems faced by the individual members.
Coaching uses the principles of applied behavioural science to increase the
performance capacity of individuals. It involves the use of guided inquiry,
active listening, reframing and other techniques to help organisation
members direct their efforts toward what is most important to them. It also
helps members to see things at different perspectives to enhance their
effectiveness.
Coaching typically involves managers or executives, on a regular basis, to
help them clarify their goals, address potential problems, and improve their
performance. Coaching aims to assist managers in:
(i)

Developing new managerial skills and knowledge;

(ii)

Analysing an organisational problem;

(iii) Gaining perspectives on their problem solving and decision making;

(iv) Executing some transitions more effectively, such as mergers and
acquisitions, restructruring and downsizing;
(v)

Transfering their learning into performance outcomes;

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(vi) Improving their leadership skills; and

(vii) Understanding how their behaviour is contributing to the current
situation.
(b)

Training and Development Interventions

The term training is typically used when the aim is to develop and upgrade
the skills of the general workforce of the organisation, while the term
management development is normally used when the goal is to develop the
management talent of the organisation. Training and development
interventions provide new and existing employees with the skills and
knowledge required to perform their jobs effectively. Training and
development methods include classroom teaching, action learning, jobrelated assignments, project management, problem solving, case studies,
simulations and computer-based training techniques.
Training and development interventions generally follow a process
consisting of the following steps:
(i)

Perform a needs assessment to determine what type of training is

necessary.

(ii)

Establish the outcome objectives of the training. For example, an

outcome objective for a research training programme might be to be
able to conduct research studies to identify possible solutions to
organisational problems.

(iii) Design the delivery of the training. This involves selecting the
appropriate method of training to achieve the intended outcomes.
Training can be done on-the-job or off-the job. On-the-job training
methods include actual job done, specific work assignments, projects,
and solving real organisational problems. Off-the-job training
methods include workshops, seminars, conferences, schooling, case
studies, audiovisual methods, computer-based approach and
experiential exercises.
(iv) Implement the training and development intervention. Participants
attend the training and complete the training activities.
(v)

Evaluate the training to determine whether it meets its objectives. The

four criteria commonly used to evaluate training effectiveness are
reaction, learning, behaviour and results as described in Table 8.3:

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Table 8.3: Evaluation Criteria of Training Effectiveness

Criterion
Reaction

Learning

Behaviour

Results

Description
x

Refers to participants initial judgement about the trainings

usefulness or the overall satisfaction of the training session.

It is often assessed via questionnaires completed immediately after

the training.

Refers to whether or not participants acquire the training materials.

It measures how well the participants have learned the knowledge,

skills, attitudes, facts, ideas, concepts and theories.

This can be assessed via before-and-after tests, questionnaires or

interviews.

Refers to whether skills, knowledge and abilities gained in training

are actually applied to job activities.

These data can be collected through observation or interview with

the participants supervisor and co-workers.

Assesses the effectiveness of the training in terms of the

achievement of organisational goals.

Determines whether or not the training increases participants

performance, or whether there is a positive impact on the
organisations productivity, sales, costs and quality.

Although there is a wide range of training and development interventions,

not all are involved in OD. For training to be considered an OD
intervention, it must focus on changing the capabilities of the organisation
and its members to improve their effectiveness or performance. For
example, an employee training programme that provides information about
the organisations new policies would not qualify as an OD intervention.
(c)

Management by Objectives
Management by objectives An intervention where both managers and
employees jointly set goals, plan, review accomplishments and solve
problems.

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Management by objectives (MBO) is a form of goal setting in which

managers and employees jointly establish and clarify goals, and jointly
develop action plans for achieving the goals. Goal setting helps employees
focus their behaviour in the direction of the goals. Goals motivate people to
put forth their effort to reach the set goals.
All organisations have goals and objectives to be achieved. However, very
often these goals are not clearly stated and communicated to the
organisation members. An MBO programme provides a platform for
increased communication between the managers and subordinates. It is a
process whereby managers and subordinates meet periodically and discuss
systematically how to accomplish organisational goals. The exact procedure
employed in implementing MBO varies from organisation to organisation.
But the basic elements of goal setting, employee participation in goal
setting, periodic review, feedback and evaluation usually are the
fundamentals of any MBO programme. The intended consequences of MBO
intervention include productivity, innovation, improved employee
performance and satisfaction, and greater role clarity.
The following are the basic guidelines for implementing MBO:
(i)

Subordinates and superiors meet and discuss objectives that contribute

to the overall organisational goal.

(ii)

Subordinates and superiors jointly establish attainable objectives for

the subordinates.

(iii) Subordinates and superiors meet at a predetermined later date to

review and evaluate the progress of subordinates toward the
achievement of objectives.
Successful use of MBO depends on the ability of the subordinates and
superiors to clarify and define their objectives in terms of their
contributions to the total organisation and to be able to accomplish them.
(d)

Career Planning and Development Interventions

A career consists of a sequence of work-related positions occupied by a
person during the course of a lifetime (Cummings & Worley, 2005, p.
397).

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As discussed by Cummings and Worley (2005), career planning and

development have received greater attention in organisations today.
Organisations have placed more emphasis on their human capital
intellectual to achieve competitive advantage. Providing career planning
and development opportunities for employees helps to recruit and retain
skilled and knowledgeable workforce. Companies have found out that
organisational growth and performance require career planning and
development programmes to develop needed talents. Many firms, such as
General Electric, Xerox, Intel, Ciba-Geigy, Cisco Systems, Quaker Oats and
Novotel UK, have implemented career planning and development
programmes. These programmes attempt to improve the quality of work
life for organisation members, enhance their performance, achieve their
personal growth and increase employee retention.
Career planning is about setting individual career goals. The planning
process generally include the following:
(i)

Assessing ones qualifications, skills, knowledge, capabilities and

career interests;

(ii)

Examining alternative career paths;

(iii) Making decisions on the most suitable career path; and

(iv) Planning how to pursue and progress in the chosen path.
Career planning results in people choosing occupations, jobs and
organisations. It helps individuals to make career decisions on whether to
accept or decline promotions and transfers, whether to stay or leave the
organisation for another job and whether to opt for early retirement.
Typically, ones career can be classified into four stages: establishment,
advancement, maintenance and withdrawal. These four career stages can be
used to make career planning more effective. Table 8.4 shows the different
stages and the career planning issues relevant at each stage.

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Table 8.4: Career Stages and Career Planning Issues

Career Stage
Establishment

Advancement

Maintenance

Withdrawal

Career Planning Issues

x

What are alternative occupations, organisations and jobs?

What are my interests and capabilities?

How do I get the work accomplished?

Am I performing as expected?

Am I developing the necessary skills for advancement?

Am I advancing as expected?

How can I advance more effectively?

What long-term options are available?

How do I get more exposure and visibility?

How do I develop more effective peer relationships?

How do I better integrate career choices with my personal life?

How do I help others become established and advanced?

Should I reassess myself and my career?

Should I redirect my actions?

What are my interests outside of work?

What post-retirement work options are available to me?

How can I be financially secure?

How can I continue to help others?

Source: Cummings & Worley (2005)

Career planning programmes include the following:

(i)

Workshops to assess employees current skills, knowledge, abilities

and job situations and to develop their career plans;

(ii)

Career counselling by managers, human resources personnel, internal

counsellors or external consultants;

(iii) Assessment centres that provide various tests of vocational interests

and aptitudes relevant to career goal setting;
(iv) Providing members with self-development materials such as books
and videotapes on life and career issues; and
(v)

Formal communication system about career opportunities and

resources available to members within the organisation.

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Career development helps individual employees achieve their career goals.

It includes interventions that help organisation members implement their
career plans. Career development interventions can be incorporated into
the four distinct career stages mentioned above. Table 8.5 presents several
employee career development interventions, lists the career stages to which
they are most relevent, and states the key purposes and intended outcomes
of the interventions.
Table 8.5: Career Development Interventions
Intervention
Job rotation and
challenging
assignments

Performance
feedback

Assessment
centres

Mentoring

Developmental
training

Career Stage

Purpose

Establishment

Advancement

Reduce employee
turnover

Maintenance

To provide members
with interesting and
challenging
assignments leading
to career goals

Build organisational
knowledge

Increase job
satisfaction and
employee motivation

To provide members
with knowledge
about their career
progress and work
effectiveness

Increase productivity

Increase job
satisfaction

Monitor human
resources
development

To select and
develop members for
managerial and
technical jobs

Increase person-job fit

Identify highpotential candidates

To link a member
with a senior, moreexperienced member
for growth and
development.

Increase job
satisfaction and
employee motivation

Increase talent pool in

the management

To provide education
and training that
help members
achieve career goals

Increase
organisational
capabilities

Establishment

Advancement

Maintenance

Withdrawal

Establishment

Advancement

Maintenance

Withdrawal

Establishment

Advancement

Maintenance

Establishment

Advancement

Maintenance

Withdrawal

Intended Outcome

Adapted from: Cummings & Worley (2005)

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Work-life Balance Interventions

Increased global competition, cost efficiency, company restructuring and
downsizing have contributed to heavier workload, longer hours and more
stress. To enhance the quality of life, older and married employees are
rethinking their priorities and seeking to restore some balance between
their work and family lives. Many organisations are responding to this
concern so they can attract, retain and motivate talented employees. More
balanced work and family lives can in fact bring benefits to both employee
and the organisation. Benefits include increased creativity, morale, job
satisfaction and productivity, and reduced employee tardiness, absenteeism
and turnover.
Work-life balance interventions help employees experience a better balance
between their work and personal lives. Early work-life balance programmes
started with a focus on women employees with young children; but now
these programmes serve women and men of all ages and of all family
situations. These programmes cover child and elderly care support, job
scheduling and flexibility, paid and unpaid leaves, relocation, and policies
making it easier for couples to work in the same organisation.
McShane and Von Glinow (2009) identified and described five common
work-life balance initiatives. They are flexible work time, job sharing,
telecommuting, personal leave and child care support.
(i)

Flexible Work Time

Flexible work time is a popular scheduling option for many firms
nowadays. This intervention includes flextime and part-time. Firms
may be flexible on the hours, days and the amount of time employees
work. Flextime is short for flexible work hours; it provides some
flexibility to employees in scheduling their work hours. Employees
have some discretion over when they report to and leave work, as
long as they fulfil the required number of work hours per day.
Flexible work schedules also allow employees to choose any five days
of the week to work, or to reduce the number of work days per week
but with a longer work hour per day. Finally, some firms allow
employees to work part-time temporarily to fulfil their personal
demands.

(ii)

Job Sharing
Job sharing is the practice of having two or more people share a job.
Two people may split a 40-hour-a-week job. For example, one person
takes the morning shift from 8 am to noon, while another person takes
the afternoon shift from 1 pm to 5 pm; or the two could work full, but
alternative, days.

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(iii) Telecommuting
Telecommuting or teleworking involves working at home rather than
commuting to the office. It refers to employees who do their work at
home with a computer system that is linked to their office. Research
suggests that telecommuters experience a better work-life balance and
dramatically reduce time lost stress through commuting to the office.
This reduction in time and stress facilitates the fulfilment of family
obligations.
(iv) Personal Leave
Firms with strong work-life values offer extended maternity, paternity
and personal leave to employees to care for a new family. In Austria,
both new parents are entitled to paid parental leave of two years.
Accounting firms like Deloitte & Touche allow employees to take up
to five years of personal leave for personal obligations.
(v)

(f)

Child Care Support

Many large companies provide on-site or subsidised child care
facilities. Providing child care facilities helps reduce employee stress.
as employees are less rushed to drop off their children at childcare
centers and less worried during the day about how well their children
are doing. They may even drop by at the in-house child care centre
during lunch break to check on their children.

Employee Wellness Programmes

An increasing number of organisations have developed prevention and/or
management programmes to deal with their employees well-being. Some
of these programmes focus on a specific issue or problem, such as alcohol
or drug abuse. Others are more general in nature dealing with employees
overall health. Two specific types of organisational programmes have
become particularly popular during the last two decades employee
assistance programmes and wellness programmes.
(i)

Employee Assistance Programmes

Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) is an intervention for
identifying and treating individual employees whose personal
problems affect their performance. EAPs can be used to deal with
alcoholism, behavioural and emotional difficulties, burnout, job
relocation, drug abuse, family and marital problems, financial
difficulties, problems with child and elderly care, grief, disease, and
other personal problems. Generally, these programmes include the
following elements:

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Diagnosis
EAP staff attempt to diagnose the problem when an employee
asks for help.

Treatment
Counselling or supportive therapy is provided to the employee.
In-house EAP staff will refer the employee to outside professionals
if they are not able to help.

Screening
Periodic examination of employees in highly stressful jobs is
conducted to detect any indications of problems.

Prevention
Education and persuasion are used to convince employees at high
risk that they need assistance to effectively resolve their problems.

Employee Wellness Programmes

Employee wellness programmes focus on the employees overall
physical, emotional and mental health, that is, their overall well-being.
They are organisational supported programmes addressing healthrelated issues and lifestyle modification. Among the most prevalent
examples of such programmes are those emphasising smoking
cessation, physical fitness and exercise, relaxation, nutrition and diet
control, weight loss, workplace violence and stress management.
Wellness programmes are typically in the form of workshops and
seminars attempting to change poor health habits or to promote good
health habits among the employees. The assumption underlying most
wellness programmes is that they contribute to healthier and more
productive employees and consequently to a healthier and more
productive organisation.

SELF-CHECK 8.3
Name two human resources interventions and briefly describe them.

ACTIVITY 8.2
What kind of jobs lend themselves to telecommuting?

TOPIC 8

CHANGE INTERVENTIONS I

W 109

OD interventions are a set of structured activities used to create change in the

organisation to help an organisation improve its effectiveness and
performance.

Effective diagnosis is needed to provide data and information for the

organisation to design appropriate change interventions.

OD interventions can be focused on problems at one or more organisational

levels: the individual level, the group level and the organisational level.

Three major criteria define an effective OD intervention: (1) the extent to

which it fits the needs of the organisation, (2) the degree to which it is based
on knowledge of intended outcomes, and (3) the extent to which it transfers
change-management competence to organisation members.

Factors affecting the success of an OD intervention include: readiness for

change, capability to change, the organisational culture, competencies of the
change agent, specific organisational issues to be addressed, and the
identification of the primary organisational levels affected by the change.

Organisational issues to be addressed can be categorised into: human

resource issues, interpersonal process issues, technology and structure issues
and strategic issues.

There are two distinct types of OD evaluation: (1) implementation feedback,

which is intended to guide the implementation of interventions; and (2)
evaluation feedback, which is intended to assess the overall impact of
interventions.

An effective change intervention needs to be institutionalised, that is,

becoming a permanent part of the organisations normal functioning.

Institutionalised processes include socialisation, commitment, reward

allocation, diffusion, and sensing and calibration.

Coaching, training and development, management by objectives, career

planning and development, work-life balance interventions, and employee
wellness programmes are interventions at the individual level.

110 X

TOPIC 8

CHANGE INTERVENTIONS I

Career development

Institutionalisation

Career planning

Interpersonal process issues

Coaching

Management by objectives

Diagnosis

OD interventions

Employee assistance programmes

Organisational levels

Employee wellness programmes

Strategic issues

Evaluation feedback

Technology and structure issues

Goal setting

Training and development

Human resources issues

Work-life balance

Implementation feedback

Cummings, T. G., and Worley, C. G. (2005). Organization development and

change (8th ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western.
McShane S. L., and Von Glinow, M. A. (2009). Organizational behavior (4th ed.).
New York: Mcgraw-Hill.
Paton, R. A., & McCalman, J. (2008). Change management: A guide to effective
implementation (3rd ed.). London: Sage Publications.
Rollinson. (2005). Organisational behaviour and analysis. Harlow, England:
Prentice Hall Financial Times.
Waddell, D. M., Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2004). Organisation
development and change (2nd ed.). Southbank Victoria: Thomson.