Block-5 MS-10 Unit-2 PDF

UNIT 13 ALTERNATIVE INTERVENTIONS
Objectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
understand the meaning of an OD intervention,
learn the range of OD interventions,
learn deeply a few selected HR based interventions.
Structure
13.1 Introduction
13.2 OD interventions: Nature and Rationale
13.3 Survey Feedback
13.4 Process Consultation
13.5 Confrontation Meetings
13.6 Organizational Mirroring
13.7 Team Building
13.8 T-Group Training
13.9 Role Analysis
13.10 Summary
13.11 Self Assessment Questions
13.12 Further Readings
Appendix 1 : An example of Process Consultancy
Appendix 2 : Team Building Programme - A Case Study
Appendix 3 : Formats for Role Analysis
13.1 INTRODUCTION
During the course of an OD programme there are several occasions in the
organisation to collect data, initiate action, observe processes and provide
feedback. All these activities are planned and carried out jointly between the
change agent and client organisation; and in OD language are called
interventions. Interventions are the action thrust of OD and collectively
comprise the OD strategy in a programme of organisational renewal. A
strategy is basically aimed at developing organisational climate, ways of work
and relationships that will be congruent with the future needs. Needless to say,
specific interventions are designed only after the overall strategy, has been
decided based upon a systematic diagnosis.
13.2 OD INTERVENTIONS :
NATURE AND RATIONALE
OD interventions are sets of structured activities in which selected
organizational units individuals / groups engage with a task or sequence of
tasks where the task goals are related directly or indirectly to organizational
improvement. Interventions make things happen and are whats happening
(Wendell L. French and Cecil H Bell Jr, 1983).
Intervention is defined as a behaviour which affects the ongoing social

processes of a system (Beckhard, 1969). 1
Organisational
Different experts have tried to classify OD interventions in their own ways and Alternative Interventions
Development and Change
it is not possible here to present all classifications. A few approaches which
have helped in understanding the nature and rationale of interventions are
described as below.
Organizational Cultural
Structure intervention Theory
intervention intervention
Perspective Discrepancy
OD INTERVENTIONS
Dilemma Procedural
Experimentation Relationship
Figure 1 : OD Interventions
1) Robert Blake & Mouton the pioneers of Grid OD, classify

OD interventions in the following categories.
Theory Interventions
Theory and concepts especially in the area of Applied Behavioural Science are
used to explain the behaviour and the underlying assumptions. This provides a
suitable background for understanding some of the behavioural processes
emerging during the interventions.
Discrepency Interventions
Many a times a contradiction, discrepancy or gap is observed in the behaviour
and / or attitude of the people in the organization. In such situations,
discrepancy interventions are used to focus attention and exhibit the matter.
Procedural Interventions
Such interventions focus on the critical appraisal of systems and procedures
indicating how something is being done. This is aimed at examining whether
the best methods / systems have been used.
Relationship Interventions
Inter-personal relationships are crucial in the organizational processes. Such
interventions focus on analyzing the relationships and evolving ways and means
to create conducive relationships.
Experimentation
Before taking a final decision, the proposed changes are tested for knowing
their consequences in a small area. The decisions may be modified or retained
after reviewing the results/ outcomes.
Dilemma Interventions
In dilemma interventions, an imposed or emergent dilemma is used to enable
close examination of the possible alternatives involved and the assumptions
underlying them.
Perspective Interventions
These are aimed at drawing attention away from immediate actions and
demands, and allow a look at the historical background, context and future
objectives in order to assess whether or not the actions are still functional.
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Organizational Structure Interventions
By examination and evaluation, structural causes for organizational
ineffectiveness are identified and suitable interventions made under such
interventions.
Cultural Interventions
Such interventions help in examining the traditions, precedents and practices
existing in the organizations culture and appropriate efforts are made to bring
desired changes.
2) Blake & Mouton further developed a typology called Consulcube, a 100-

cell cube depicting all consultation situations. The three dimensions of the
cube are
What the consultant does: the type of interventions consultants use:
Interventions used to give client a sense of worth, value,
acceptance and support - acceptant.
Interventions for helping the client generate data and information in
order to restructure the clients perceptions - catalytic.
Interventions for pointing out the value / attitudinal discrepancies in
the clients beliefs and actions - confrontation.
The interventions telling the client what to do to solve the problem -
prescription.
Interventions used for teaching the client relevant behavioural
science theory so that the client can learn to diagnose and solve his
or her own problems.
The focal issues causing the clients problems.
Power - authority
Morale / cohesion
Norms / Standards of conduct
Goals and objectives etc.
The targets of change
Individual
Group
Inter group
Organization and larger social systems.
3) Another simple approach to classification is based on the focus on
i) Individual - group; and
ii) Task process.
Individual - group: the interventions are aimed at individual learning,
insight and skill building.
Task - Process: The interventions focus on task, what is being done or
Process How it is accomplished? How people relate to each other and
what processes and dynamics are occurring ?
4) Another way of classification is HR based interventions, Techno- structural
Interventions and Socio-technical interventions. In the table given below all
the interventions except those in italics are HR based interventions.
5) If all the approaches are combined together, OD interventions can be
classified into the following typology may be with some overlaping.
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Organisational Table 1 : HR Based Interventions Alternative Interventions
Individual. Dyads/ Teams Inter Total
Triads Groups Group Organization
Role Analysis * *
T-Group (Sensitivity Trg) * *
Education & Training &
Development * * * *
Job Enrichment * *
Grid OD * Ph I * PhI,II * Ph III * Ph IV,V,VI
Transactional Analysis * *
Process Consultation * * * * *
Third party peace making *
Team Building / (Task or
Process focused) * *
Survey Feedback * * *
Socio technical system *
Techno-structural activities *
Confrontation meetings * * *
Organizational Mirroring * *
Strategic Planning Activities *
Life planning, career planning *
OD has tremendous potential it may encompass all change efforts and

enhance the competence of the organization in facing challenges. Being a
Behavioural science based approach, developing internal resource person
assumes top priority. It is a medium to long term intervention, hence no magic
in the short term should be expected. This enhances the self-renewing ability
of the organizations. OD efforts ideally take care of all aspects of growth and
development. However, a proper balance and interrelationship between
OD(HRD) efforts and strategic management efforts should be ensured to have
a growing, developing ,healthy and dynamic organization.
OD is essentially a Behavioural Science based approach, therefore human

process interventions are the core OD interventions. Some of these
interventions are quite unique but many have some overlap with others. It is
very difficult to describe the interventions, because variations are common. In
this unit, an attempt has been made to present the salient of some of the
commonly used Human Process interventions. A few of these interventions
have been described with the help of actual examples also. The interventions
discussed here are:
Survey feedback;
Process Consultation;
Confrontation meetings;
Organizational mirroring;
Team building;
T-Group training; and
Role analysis.
Each of the interventions have been briefly described below.
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13.3 SURVEY FEEDBACK
This is the most widely used OD intervention involving data collection (through
questionnaire), analysis and feedback of findings to the organizational members.
Through Survey feedback, the managers and employees are provided with
analysis of data collected from them for better diagnosis, prioritization of issues
and planning of further activities. The steps are described below with an
example.
i) Feeling the Need of the Survey
A feedback survey is conducted after some significant person feels the need
of identifying and understanding the problem. In the present example, the
Personnel Chief at the Head Office of a large multi unit company was keen on
improving the organizational climate. He called an internal OD facilitator who
advised to go for a preliminary diagnostic intervention to know the perceptions
of executives on certain important dimensions. It was decided to cover all
executives working in different departments at the Head Office.
ii) Deciding Objectives (purpose of the survey) and Scope of the Survey
Before conducting the survey, it is essential to decide and clarify the objective
of the survey. The Consultant, client and his representatives meet together and
discuss different aspects. In this study the main objective of the Survey was
defined as To find out the perceptions of the executives on various dimensions
of organizational norms with the aim of identifying areas for improvement of
organizational environment.
The study was confined to Executives working in various departments of the

Head office.
iii) Selection of Instrument (Questionnaire)
Normally data is collected through questionnares (instruments which are
designed specifically) since design and testing of a questionnare is a complex
task needing high expertise, redesigned questionnaires are commonly used.
Considering the likelihood of debate on the validity of questionnaire, it was

decided to go for a standard questionnaire (Organizational Norms Opinionnaire
developed by Marks Alexander). Organizational norms develop gradually and
informally as the employees learn what behaviours are necessary for the group
to function more effectively. In this instrument, Alexander has tried to enable
the understanding of environment on the basis of the organizational norms.
Norms (oughts of behaviour) are the behaviours which are considered to be
acceptable behaviours as prescribed by groups and organizations.
Positive norms support organizations goals and objectives and negative norms
have the opposite effect. There were 42 one line statements in the
questionnaire covering the 10 dimensions of norms; the responses were scored
on the basis of the key.
The following scale was used for interpretation.
- 40 and below - Extremely negative

- 40 to - 20 - Very negative
- 20 to - 10 - Moderately negative
- 10 to 0 - Low negative
- 0 to 20 - Poor
20 to 40 - Good
40 to 60 - Very good
60 and above - Exceptional
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The theoretical range of scores was from - 100 to + 100. Alternative Interventions
iv) Methodology of Data Collection
A variety of methods are used for data collection interviews, Emails, semi
structured questionnaires, workshops, secondary sources etc.
In this survey, it was decided to serve the questionnaire personally to all

executives in the Head Office except the Top Management (Directors, EDs).
Wherever the population is large, statistical sampling methods are used to
determine the sample size.
The questionnaires were collected back from who had responded. The
response was over 40%.
v) Scoring and Summary of Findings
Some questionnaires are direct and some concealed type. In the later type, it is
difficult to understand the dimensions of data collection, hence scoring key with
instruction is used. It also gives some framework for interpretation.
After scoring, the data was analysed by the internal consultant to find out the
status and patterns. The highlights of findings (at the H.O.) level are given
below.
a) Ranking and Relative Status
Frequency Distribution for the whole division is shown in Table 2. In actual
report the same for different departments were also shown in different tables.
Table 2 : Frequency Distributions
Norm Average Score

1. Colleague & Associate Relationships VG AA + 43.69
2. Customer & Client Relationships G AA + 37.86
3. Innovativeness & Creativity G AA + 34.06
4. Leadership & Supervision G BA + 27.4
5. Profitability & Cost Effectiveness G BA + 27.39
6. Candor & Openness G BA + 27.15
7. Training & Development G BA + 26.69
8. Team Work & Communication G BA + 26.42
9. Performance & Excellence G BA + 21.46
10. Organizational & Personal Pride P BA + 17.04
Note : VG - Very Good

G - Good
P - Poor
AA- Above Average
BA - Below Average
The above table shows that all the norms perceived by the employees are
positive in nature. This means all the norms support the organizations goals
and objectives and are able to foster behaviour directed towards achievement
of the desired goals, but the range of the overall scores vary from 17.04 to
43.69. The average of the two (mean) scores comes out to be 30.365, on the
basis of which the average score for individual norms have been evaluated as
AA and BA. The score above 40% has been achieved only in case of
Colleagues and Associate Relationship norms.
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b) Strong Norms
The Colleague & Associate Relationship, Customer & Client
Relationship and Innovativeness & Creativity have been perceived as
strongest positive norms in descending order.
i) The overall rating of the colleagues & associates relationships has come as
Very Good and the scores are Above Average. This shows that strong
interpersonal relations exist in the organization, but the relatively low ranking
of Team work raises some questions. One hypothesis may be drawn that
on a personal level relationships are very good and cordial but when the
question of working together comes, it is not very good. Leadership &
Supervision style and Reward system may have important bearing on this.
ii) The second very positive norm has been identified as customer & client
relationships. The high concern for customer & client satisfaction is a very
healthy sign for the company and if sustained and increased, it will go a
long way in achieving corporate objectives.
iii) The third higher ranking is of Innovativeness & Creativity. It shows that
to a large extent, original activities and creative behaviour are considered
important in the organization. Efforts for planned change have a good
potential of success. If somebody has the will and desire, he can do new
experiments and implement things, but since the overall score is only
Good such efforts may not succeed without sufficient preparation in
raising awareness & breaking the inertia.
c) Weak Norms
One of the most striking findings is the lowest position (10th) of Organisational
& Personal pride. Overall rating of this norm is Poor and Below average.
This indicates a poor identification with or sense of belongingness in the
organization. This also shows the presence of we-they attitude. This also
indicates that the employees feel a lack of compatibility between their own and
organizational needs. For a reputed organization, it should be a matter of
concern.
The next weak dimension is of Performance and Excellence (9th). This

shows that the behaviour of striving towards productivity and quality is not
strong but in other words, the quest for excellence or improvement is weak.
This may have very wide ramifications. The reward system is specifically
under question mark. In a climate, where rewards are based on objectively
assessed performance, people value this dimension.
d) Not so Strong Norms
The remaining four dimensions i.e. Leadership and Supervision, Profitability
& Cost Effectiveness, Candor and Openness and Training and
Development fall in between.
i) Leadership and Supervision has been perceived as Good but the score is
below average. This shows that supervisors are seen as helpers, trainers
and developers but to a lesser (varying) degree. Therefore, there is a
great scope or need to improve the quality of Leadership & Supervision.
ii) The Profitability and Cost Effectiveness has been evaluated as Good but
the score is below average. The positive score shows that there is a good
climate to encourage people to save money and reduce costs, but it needs
to be further improved.
iii) The organizational norm on Candor and Openness has also been similarly
placed i.e. Good and Below average. This shows that the environment
of trust does not prevail to a greater degree. People see threats in sharing
the feelings & information freely and openly.
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iv) The 7th rank has been received by Training and Development. The Alternative Interventions
overall scoring of 26.69 shows the presence of positive norms in the
division, and indicates that there is encouragement of training and
development activities to some extent.
Department wise and level wise analysis was also carried out and findings
were also given.
v) Presentation of Feedback
A meeting of the representatives from various departments along with the
senior / top level executives was convened in the Conference Hall. The
Consultant gave a brief presentation on OD and Organizational Environment.
He also talked about some of the challenges the company was facing and the
need of improvement. He gave a brief talk on how to give and receive
effective feedback to prepare a climate of positive listening and exploration .
This helped in creating a non-defensive (Supportive) climate before presentation

of the findings.
He encouraged the participants for free and frank interaction and presented the
highlights of the findings. Many expressed their shock on Organizational and
Personal Pride and Performance Excellence taking the lowest rank. They
had a sigh of relief by observing that Colleague and Associate Relationship
was at the top although the score was not very high.
Department level findings created much interaction and concern many

defensive responses started pouring in but were nicely facilitated leading to
acceptance and exploration.
After the presentations, there was a consensus to work for improvement on

certain dimensions especially those, which have been placed in the lower ranks.
They selected:
Organizational and personal pride
Performance and Excellence
Team work and Communication
Training and Development
vi) Action Planning

Four Cross functional teams were constituted for preparing the
recommendations and action plan to be presented in another workshop 4 weeks
later: One of the suggestions was to prepare a hand book giving helpful and
restraining practices for each of the norms.
The Survey feedback workshop served as an effective intervention because the

awareness of the status and implication raised a lot of interest and desire for
improvement. Some improvement would have been initiated in some corners
only by the effect of listening the findings of the survey.
vii) Follow up
A core group of 3 Senior level managers from 3 different departments was
constituted for follow up action.
Concluding Remarks
Designing instrument for Survey feedback is the most important task and should
be carried out only by trained persons. The methodology of data collection and
sampling plans also need be decided professionally. The samples should be
8 statistically valid.
Standard questionnaires should be used if adequate expertise for questionnaire
design is not there. The findings should be developed only after in depth
analysis of the collected data. The presentations should be designed and
organized in an effective manner. A Survey feedback session motivates the
listeners to come together and work for problem solving and improvement.
13.4 PROCESS CONSULTATION

According to Schein, Process Consultation is a set of activities on the part of
the Consultant, which helps the client to perceive, understand, and act upon the
process events occurring in the clients environment. Expert help (solutions to
problems) is not directly provided to the clients, rather on the basis of
observations of functioning of the group, they are helped to diagnose the nature,
dimensions and extent of the problems and evolve their own solutions. Process
Consultants do not give solutions (contents, subject matter, techniques etc.)
themselves but emphasise on and facilitate behavioural processes to enable the
clients come out with their own solutions.
Process consultancy is different from other models of consultancy and have

following distinguishing characteristics:
Facilitation of communication a free and frank exchange of information
and expression of feelings, apprehensions, fears by the clients and his
personnel. etc.
Enhancing problem solving abilities of the client so that they are able to
solve their problems.
Developing a process based relationship with the personnel involved.
Develop open and authentic relationships with clients and their people.
Generally, the organizational processes such as communication, leadership, group

norms, problem solving and role and functions are of primary concern in
Process Consulting.
Process Consultancy is useful when (i) the client experiences the effect
(symptoms) but is not aware of the problems (ii) he does not know what
specific help is required (iii) he understands that problems are attitudinal and
behavioural but is not able to intervene and (iv) the client is motivated to learn
and develop problem solving abilities in himself/his people.
According to Schein, a variety of interventions may be used in Process

Consulting:
Interventions aimed at making the group sensitive to its processes and
enhance their interest in analysing the problems.
Interventions aimed at problem identification and analysis (diagnosis).
Interventions aimed at giving feedback.
Interventions aimed at helping individuals / groups to observe and process
their own data, learn giving and receiving feedback and solve the problems.
Coaching and counseling also are frequently used.
Interventions aimed a structural measures like job allocation, role changes
etc.
An example of process consultation is given in Appendix 1.
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Organisational Alternative Interventions
13.5 CONFRONTATION MEETINGS
Originally developed by Beckhard, this OD intervention is used for identifying

and prioritising problems in organizations and beginning the working on the
solution of the problems by involving many people. The typically used steps
have been indicated as given below.
1) Convening a meeting of representatives of all departments in the
organization.
2) Assuring and motivating the participants to be open, free and frank in
communication, and giving a brief presentation on the need and importance
of problem identification and working for solution in groups.
3) Dividing participants in small groups (5-7) and asking them to identify
problems which are inhibiting their own and organizational performance.
4) Convening all groups together and make presentations of the identified
problems.
5) Distributing copies of problems to be given to each participant and using an
appropriate method. Problems are classified into different groups such as
Human, Economical, Structural, Technological etc.
6) Prioritising the problems involving the entire participants arranging and
synthesizing the problems for more meaningful understanding.
7) Facilitating the participants to collectively select a few problems for solution.
8) Dividing participants into groups according to the classification and nature of
the problems and assigning them time to bring an approach for solution (or
solution) with an action plan.
9) Convening the groups and making presentations by each group.
Incorporating modification wherever required.
10) Getting the approaches and solutions examined by the top management
and getting their decision on future course of action . Making a follow up
and implementation plan and formal communication in this regard.
11) Preparing follow up plan.
This intervention is very simple and needs a good internal or external facilitator.
The climate building is crucial for success because a conducive environment
will encourage the participants to give their ideas without any fear.
Confrontation meeting can be held for Department / Function level and/or

organization problems identification and solution. Different techniques may be
used for problem identification, generation of alternative solutions, prioritization
of alternative solutions and choice of appropriate solution etc. Generally such
meetings are of 6-8 hours duration but depending upon the nature of problems,
may be of longer durations having a few days gap between two meetings if
one is not adequate.
13.6 ORGANIZATIONAL MIRRORING

This is an intervention, which is used by a section (department / function etc.)
of an organization to collect the perception of other relevant sections of the
organization with the aim of improving its performance, image and relationships
with other sections.
In a large multi unit company the Corporate Personnel Department wanted to

know the perception of the unit Personnel Department and a few other
10 significant departments. For this a Consultant (in this case internal) was invited
and briefed. With the help of the Consultant and senior executives of
Corporate Personnel, a few significant clients (customers) of Corporate
Personnel Department were identified
Corporate Finance
Personnel Department of Major Units
Personnel Department of a few sites
Shop Floor (Production) Deptt.
Training Department
Trade Union representatives
Representatives (2-3 from each of these departments) were invited for a

Workshop on a specified date. From Corporate Personnel, the head along with
group leaders and a few others were the hosts. The Consultant had separately
interviewed some representatives of each of the client group including the host
group and collected relevant information regarding expectations from host group
and their perceptions about the host group.
In the beginning of the Workshop, the Head of the Corporate Personnel

welcomed all representatives and explained that the Corporate Personnel
wanted to bring in improvement in their performance and satisfaction of the
internal customers. He assured that all the perceptions and impressions will be
taken in a real positive way and requested to give free and frank opinion.
The Consultant divided the representatives in 7 groups and asked them to

discuss and bring out their perceptions about functioning of the Corporate
Personnel covering both the positive and negative aspects. He also emphasised
that the perceptions should be data based, objective and should be prepared
keeping in view the requisites of effective feedback.
The host groups were also asked to bring out their perception of their own
performance.
After 40 minutes, all groups were called in the hall and the representatives of
Corporate Personnel (group leaders) sat in the Centre and around them, the
members of other groups were made to sit. The host group requested outside
groups to tell them their perceptions. A person was assigned the task of
noting down the points on white board. By turns each group shared their
perception. In case of confusion, the host group was seeking clarification.
Members also interacted with each other in a controlled manner.
After completion of sharing by every group, the hosts summarised and divided
the main themes of perceptions in three parts:
a) positive perceptions (appreciation)
b) negative perceptions and
c) main expectations (from Corporate Personnel)
Once again, the total participants were divided into 4 groups by the Consultant
and every group was asked to identify and prioritize issues / areas of
improvement of the performance of Corporate Personnel.
After 30 minutes, the groups were once again convened and presentations
were made by the representatives of each group.
Thereafter, a core group was constituted which identified key issues and
presented to the whole group. Once the issues were discussed, consensus was 11
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arrived at and an action plan was prepared for implementation. The method Alternative Interventions
used in this exercise is a simple example of Organizational Mirroring.
Organizational mirroring intervention is very effective in improving

performance and optimising the inter-departmental / inter-functional relationships.
The facilitator (Consultant) intervenes for creating a conducive, non-threatening
climate, eliciting desired information, making process observations to make group
process more effective and crystallizing the issues.
13.7 TEAM BUILDING

Team building is the most commonly used OD intervention. It takes different
forms and emphasises different aspects depending on the need and expertise of
the Consultant and Trainer.
A team is widely understood as a group of people working together to

accomplish common goals. Thus there are two important aspects in the
working of any team:
Task aspect: What is to be achieved or carrying out and the related
aspects; and
People or Relationship aspects: How do the members feel while
interacting and working with each other? How do they communicate with
each other? How do they respond? Who is trying to dominate any
leadership issues? Are there conflicts? How conflicts are resolved?
The Task aspects are covered by Content aspects and People or

Relationship aspects by Process aspects.
Any team exists in environment and has interaction with several other teams
within and outside the organization. Thus the teams may have different issues/
processes within the organization and focus may also be different like:
Intra-team task (content) focus;
Intra team people (process) focus;
Inter team task focus within the organization; and
Inter team people focus within the organization
A team may have interactions with team(s) external to the organization like:
Inter-team task focus with team(s) outside the organization;
Inter-team people focus with team(s) outside the organization.
Team building programmes under OD efforts are carried out using interventions
for release of pent up emotions, clarifications and strengthening perceptions,
confrontations involving examination of ones own and others assumptions,
resolution of conflicts, problem solving and concept based approaches and
strengths for bringing synergy.
Thus, team building issues have a wider implications and all aspects should be
explored while deciding interventions.
There are a variety of approaches but generally content based approaches,

process based approaches and mixed approaches are used.
Depending upon the diagnosis, the theme and competence of the facilitator,
12 methodologies are chosen. Sometimes, Problem Solving approach is used in
team building intervention where the team / teams are facing some difficult
problem.
Here the design of a Team building programme conducted for a leading

2-wheeler manufacturer is being outlined briefly. The proceedings of this
programme presents an in-depth explanation, it is available in the book
Planning, auditing and developing Human Resources, Parth Sarathi.
As a result of phenomenon increase in the awareness of the benefits of Team

Work many organizations are organising training programmes on Team
Building. Some programmes are organised as a sequel to diagnostic exercises
or as a part of on-going OD activities and others as independent events.
Various approaches are also being used to design such programmes. The use
of process-based interventions in Team Building programmes is increasing. One
major parameter for the choice of interventions is the orientation of the HRD
Head / Consultant or the faculty engaged for such programmes. Another
important constraint is the duration of the programme.
It is believed that Team Building programmes based on T-group methodology

are most effective, however, the batch-size (of maximum 10 participants) and
the programme duration (minimum 5 days ) impose a serious limitation on using
this methodology. Another constraint is the availability of professional T-Group
Trainers; as such only accredited facilitators should facilitate programmes.
The use of process based Structured experiences along with appropriate

instruments in Team Building programmes helps in overcoming these constraints
to a great extent. Such experiences may be designed or adapted from
Structured experiences available in some books. Prior diagnostic exercises,
indicating the strong or weak dimensions of team working are of great help in
designing short-duration team building workshops. The structured experiences
are able to simulate the real life situation, raise the feelings and provide suitable
opportunities for making appropriate interventions at the de freezing, learning
and refreezing stages. Such experiences create less hostility, give desired pace
of movement to the group, create a situation where all participants are involved
and facilitate giving and receiving feedback effectively.
An experience is narrated in Appendix 2, which shows how structured

experiences supported by instruments and facilitated through process skills can
make the need based Team Building programme for Engineers truly effective.
13.8 T-GROUP TRAINING

Introduction
T-Group (Training Group) is a small unstructured group in which the
participants learn from their own inter-actions and evolving dynamics about
issues pertaining to inter-personal relations, group dynamics and leadership.
This is also primarily known as Sensitivity training and is a training approach
based on experiential learning.
In a group, around 10-12 participants assemble together and work with a

facilitator to discover something about themselves their strengths, styles,
inter-personal relationships, participation in the group, how they are perceived
by others etc. The group does not have any pre-determined agenda and
evolves its own agenda over the time. The participants act as a resource to
each other and help in creating a climate, which is conducive to discovery
through the data generated in the group. The group evolves like a laboratory
where learning takes place mainly through experiencing, reflecting, 13
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hypothesizing, experimenting and conceptualising rather than through lectures. Alternative Interventions
The individual is encouraged to express oneself and increase ones personal and
inter-personal effectiveness in the group setting.
T-Group Training normally adopts two paths (directions):

i) To gain deeper understanding about self and personal growth
(inter-personal focus); and
ii) to explore group dynamics and relationship between members. This leads
to team building interventions (Interpersonal and organizational focus).
Objectives
Every T-Group is organised with some objectives. The following are some of
the objectives frequently set for T-Groups:
Enhance understanding about self, gain insights into ones own behaviour
and its impact on others including the ways in which these are interpreted
by others.
Enhance the understanding and awareness about others behaviour
(thoughts, feelings and actions).
Enhance the understanding and awareness of group and inter-group
processes; processes that facilitate and inhibit group effectiveness.
Identify and develop greater awareness of behavioural processes associated
with ones life.
Increasing diagnostic skills in inter-personal and inter-group situations.
Experimentation of new behaviours initiated during the lab.
Improve ones effectiveness in inter-personal situations so as to derive
greater satisfaction from them.
Discover ones dormant potential to live more effectively and meaningfully.
Increase ability to transform the learning into action etc.
Benefits of T-Group Training
The benefits of T-Group training may be enumerated at individual, group and
organizational levels.
Individual Level
Many benefits of undergoing T-Group training have been reported and observed
at the individual level.
With the venting out of feelings bottled since long, the person becomes more
spontaneous, tension free and is able to perceive things in more unbiased
manner. The stress level decreases and thus the physical and mental health
increases. He becomes more sensitive to himself, and is able to own up his
feelings. This causes decrease in defensive behaviour and clarity in perception.
The hopefulness increases; the latent strengths and limitations become known
which result in realistic and achievement oriented goal setting. One is able to
look into and examine his self-concept realistically and takes appropriate steps
for strengthening it. This enhances self-esteem.
The capability to explore options increases and therefore the decision-making

becomes more effective. The internal locus of control gets strengthened and the
motivation to make efforts for achieving individual and organizational goals
increases. The willingness to change and coping abilities increase.
14
Inter-personal Level
Due to increase in the insights to understand others, and enhanced self-esteem,
communication with other persons becomes supportive resulting in productive
relationships. Since the self-disclosure increases, one is able to get more feed
back which keeps on increasing the arena (open) resulting in creation of a
trusting and open relationship with others. Aggression and defensiveness
decrease which help in developing better relationships and increased influence.
People want to work together and thus the teamwork improves. The
assertiveness (concern for self) and cooperativeness (concern for others)
undergo enhancement resulting in collaborative behaviour. Over dependence
and counter dependence reduce and inter-dependence increases. It becomes
easy to praise and give positive feedback to others, reduce the hostility towards
others and receive feedback from others in a positive manner. All these
aspects facilitate personal growth and effective inter-personal relations.
Organizational Level
T-Group training increases openness, trust realisation and inter-dependence
which helps in creation of a conducive climate where everybody strives for
realizing his potential. Hostility reduces and new and better ideas become
available. The change interventions are better appreciated and if a large
number of persons have undergone this training, the capability to cope with
future challenges increases. Due to increase in the influencing ability, empathy
and assertiveness, the leadership styles become more effective.
The T-Group Training is not beneficial to Corporate Sector alone, it has been
observed to be equally effective for persons engaged in the areas of Education,
Health Services, Social Work and Industry. There are some Management
Institute where the Postgraduate students compulsorily undergo T-Group training
or Human Processes Labs or Personal Growth Lab.
It should not be misunderstood that this training is useful for Trainers/HRD

Professionals only. This is one of the most effective interventions for Self
Development / Personal Growth and is useful to all persons irrespective of their
education or level in the organizational hierarchy. The leaders in various
sectors who are instrumental in influencing and developing others will be
especially benefited. Persons who are finding it painful and difficult to cope
with the inter-personal, team, family, social or organizational set-up will
experience this training as a unique opportunity.
It is essential for those who are in the role of facilitators in various

organizational efforts such as - HRDI, Organization development, Total Quality
Management, Business Process Re-engineering, Quality Circle, Productivity
Circles etc.
A Brief Outline of Working of T-Group
There are 8-12 members (participants) in a T-Group. To start with the Trainer
(called facilitator) informs the group that he is a member and a resource to the
group and after brief introduction vanishes into silence. There may be spells of
silence, the participant start inter-acting with each other, a leadership agenda
may be created and the group keeps on struggling to work and its own
methods for proceeding further. Whatever goes on, the group generates here
and now data for learning experiences. Individual members try out different
roles successfully or unsuccessfully as the group struggles with procedures.
Sometimes, members become very active, involved, and aggressive and
sometimes there a long patches of silence, withdrawal and sulking. The
facilitator remains a member of the group and makes different types of
interventions depending upon the purpose of the laboratory, his own style and
15
Organisational
the stages / processes within the group. The members are desired from Alternative Interventions
bringing outside data and emphasizes on here and now data. The facilitator,
through his interventions, encourages members to understand what is going on
in the group, their feelings, behaviours and impact of the behaviour on
themselves and others.
An open, supportive and caring atmosphere where all members and facilitator
are at the same level - is created which ultimately enhances experimentation,
observation, sharing of data (thoughts and feelings and actions), processing of
data with others for driving inferences, generalising the inferences (learning)
and then applying it again and again. This facilitates greater insights into their
own and others behaviour and understanding of group dynamics.
Many a times, individuals undergo tremendous emotional pressure and

turbulence and the bottled feelings find a venting out in the form of intensive
emotional outbreaks. The individual gets a unique experience, which brings in
clarity in their thoughts and feelings. They are able to perceive and respond
more clearly and objectively. The facilitator does not teach them and never
imposes his decisions.
Some Basic Assumptions
T-Group function under few assumptions :
a) Learning is the responsibility of participants;
b) The role of trainer is to facilitate the examination and understanding of the
experiences in the group;
c) Learning is largely a combination of experiences and conceptualisation and
uses the experiential learning cycle:
experiencing - publishing - processing - generalising - applying -
experiencing ..;
d) Peoples learning is optimised when they establish authentic relationships
with others; and
e) The development of new skills (in working with people) is maximised as
they examine the basic values, acquire concepts and theories, practice new
behaviours and obtain feedback.
T-Group Trainer
A T-Group Trainer is called a facilitator. A facilitator is a process guide and
makes a process easier or more convenient and guides the group towards a
destination. It is difficult to enumerate the roles of a facilitator. One of the
initial challenges in the role of the facilitator is his own leveling with the
participants they should consider him a member of the group and not on a
higher pedestal. He manages group by providing opportunities, alternatives,
direction, setting standards and directing the communication. He ensures that
the members understand the contents and processes actively and encourages
them to reflect, interpret and explain what they are thinking and feeling. He
helps them in processing and also occasionally in inferring and in this own way,
gives meaning to their experiencing.
Members get emotionally charged, become aggressive, sad, angry, excited and
in the state of emotional turbulence quite often, the facilitator may also have
similar experiences. In such situations, the role of facilitator in handling his
own and others feelings become critical. He may have to stimulate / manage
the emotions by challenging and confronting; facilitate release of strong pent -
16
up emotions and playing a catalyst for interactions. He has to design and use
a variety of interventions, which would encourage venting out of bottled
feelings, dispelling apprehensions, and facilitate a free and frank sharing.
In order to ensure that all these happen, a conducive group atmosphere will
have to be created. Thus, relationship building is another important role of
facilitator.
Developing Facilitators
Becoming a facilitator needs a lot of vigour and time. There is no academic
qualification, which makes a facilitator; becoming facilitator is a tedious and
time-consuming project. Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Science is the
only Organization in India which develops accredited T-Group Trainers through
different stages of a systematic programme.
The stages for being an accredited T-group trainer (facilitator) are:

1) Basic Human Process Laboratory (One Week)
2) Advances Human Process Laboratory (One Week)
3) Professional Development Programme - Phase A (2 Weeks)
4) Professional Development Programme - Phase B (2 Weeks)
5) Internship (2 Weeks)
A lot of inter-phase work is to be completed before progressing to the next

stage right after stage No. 2. The progression to next stages is based on
evaluation and recommendation.
Concluding Remarks
T-Group training, in spite of its limitations is spreading fast. It is an
indispensable intervention for Team Building and OD, HRD professionals with
process competencies have been found to have a definite edge over others
who have not acquired such competencies; and therefore T-Group training has
become one of the most important training outputs for them. Most of the Line
Managers, who have undergone even one Laboratory (Basic Human Process
Laboratory) have acquired some basic process competency and developed
reasonable insights for understanding self and others, have become more
proactive, their relationship with others has increased and they have become
better team leaders/members.
Many of the ex-participants have reported that they are facilitating HRD / OD /
TQM / BPR initiatives more successfully after undergoing these laboratories.
Increase in the coping skills, assertiveness, leadership effectiveness,

persuasiveness, stress relieving etc., are some of the other benefits which have
been reported. There are many individuals who have come out of their agonies,
frustration and stagnation and are facing the challenges of life happily and
successfully after undergoing process training. T-Group is the basic process
training. At the organizational level - this has contributed tremendously in
managing change. There are many organizations who have achieved their turn
around, growth development and self renewal through process based
interventions.
One of the severe limitation of T-Group training is availability of competent and

Accredited Facilitators. ISABS has so far not produced more than 100
facilitators. Conducting T-Group Labs by non-accredited facilitators may
not only jeopardize the effectiveness but also cause immense harm to the
others.
17
Organisational Alternative Interventions
13.9 ROLE ANALYSIS
Role analysis is a technique used for clarifying and prioritising the expectations
of significant role senders from a role occupier/holder. A role is the
pattern of behaviour expected by others from a person occupying a certain
position in an organizational hierarchy. A role holder is a person occupying a
role, and role senders are those persons who have some significant
expectations from the role occupier. Dr. Udai Pareek and Dr. TV Rao have
clarified a few related terms. According to them, a position or office
becomes a role when it is defined by various expectations from that position.
Some terms commonly used in this context are:
Task - basic element of a job;
Job - a module of work;
Work - productive activities; and
Position - a point in an organization structure, role tasks expected
(in a position) by self and others.
Thus, the role definition is different from job description, the latter is static
and impersonal but role definition is dynamic and personal. Personal
qualities, growth, perceptions, motivations, ambitions, values, environmental
instability are some of the factors determining a role. Success of an
individual in a role largely depends upon the clarity of objectives. Role
analysis helps in establishing this clarity. An approach for conducting role
analysis has been given in this unit. The block diagram shown in Figure 1
can be referred for knowing various stages.
Decision to carry
out Role Analysis Constitution of the
Core Task Force
Selection of Persons/
Positions for Role Analysis Constitution of
Specific Task Forces
Identification of
Role Sender Collection of Role
expectations and
preparation of Summary
Identifying
Key Performance Identification of
Areas (Role Definition) Competencies
required for the role
Identification of
Gaps in capabilities Plans and activities
for development
Figure 1: Role Analysis : Block Diagram
Decision to Carry Role Analysis

Role Analysis is a complex exercise affecting many persons and activities, and
therefore, should be initiated after ensuring the support of Top Management.
Some important aspects to be divided are:
18 Coverage in terms of function and level;
Time frame for conducting the studies;
Engagement of consultant;
Identification and training of internal resource persons;
Commitment for
a) Budgets and resources;
b) Development/updating of systems/procedures, work instructions;
c) Changes in delegation of powers, if required; and
The Core Task Force Coordinator.
Constitution of the Core Task Force
The role analysis exercise should always be carried out by a group of
managers, as such, it is essential to constitute a Core task force. This Core
task force should bear the approval of the top management and consist of
members from different functions. For multi unit organizations, the Core task
force will be overall responsible for role analysis exercise through out the
organization but at each unit and division, a separate core task force will be
constituted. The members of the core task force should be given adequate
training in role analysis by some internal or external consultants if required.
Selection of Positions / Persons for Role Analysis
Role analysis exercise preferably should be conducted for top / senior level
positions in the beginning and gradually it can come down to lower levels of
management. A list of positions/managers selected for role analysis exercise
should be made indicating their names, staff numbers and place of posting.
The job descriptions of the executives / managers (positions selected as above)
will be carefully prepared. This will indicate the main work areas and
responsibilities for each of the position.
Constitution of Specific Task Forces
Depending upon the coverage, specific task forces should be constituted for
carrying out the Role analysis activities in specific levels / positions. Task
forces should be constituted with some members from the Corporate Task
Force and some from the concerned area and important interfacing area.
Identification of Role Senders
For each of the positions selected for role analysis, role senders should be
identified. Role senders are those persons who have some work related
expectations from the position or role. A list of role senders for each of the
positions selected should be prepared.
Collection of Role Expectations
A format* (No. 01) will be prepared for each of the positions/roles to be
studied. A copy of this format should be sent to all the role senders identified
for that position. The role senders may be superiors, colleagues, subordinates,
customers in his own department or other departments. The role senders will
be requested to send the filled up format by the specified date.
For each of the positions/roles, the formats duly filled up by the role senders
will be collected and the task force members will discuss the same. A
summary for each of the positions/roles will be prepared in format No.02 after
resolving the discrepancies and discussions with the role senders and their
superior. Thus, the main functions/activities required to be carried out by the
concerned role occupier will be outlined and prioritized in the format No 02.
* All the formats are appended at the end of the unit in Appendix 3. 19
Organisational
Defining Key Performance Areas (Role Definition) Alternative Interventions
Activities which are bearing highest priority will be identified from the above
mentioned format and entered into format no. 03 in decreasing order of
importance. These are the key performance areas for that specific role. This
will be done by the task force members but the concerned manager will also
be involved. These key performance areas provide the role definition for that
particular role.
Identification of Competencies Required for Carrying out the Roles
Effectively
Effectiveness of a person in the role depends on so many factors and one of
the major factor is the competencies possessed by the person occupying that
role. Competency is a word which has been used by different people with
different meaning. Here the term competency has been used to include all the
characteristics which are related to effective and or superior performance of a
person in a role and includes the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities.
Abilities include qualities, attributes, sets of values and beliefs and attitudes
which would lead to effective performance in that role.
For managerial positions, the competencies can be identified in each of the

following aspects.
Technical/Functional requirements:
Methods, Systems, Procedures, Techniques
Managerial/Administrative requirements:
Planning, Organizing, Coordinating, Monitoring, Controlling, Supervising.
Strategic / Conceptual requirements.
Envisioning, environmental understanding, analysing and prioritising,
resource allocation and mobilisation, decision making, developing
strategies.
Behavioural:
Personal/inter-personal effectiveness, Leadership, Team Building, Goal
setting, Motivating, Counseling, Developing, Delegating.
Identifying the Gaps between the Capabilities Possessed and Required
After identification of the important competencies for a particular role, gap in
competencies will be identified by comparing with the competencies possessed
by the role occupier. This can be done by the self analysis by the role
occupier, use of some bench marks or instruments, assessment centres or
evaluation by the superior. If there is an appropriate HRD climate, this
exercise will be quite easy, otherwise, people will experience various types of
difficulties and differences. The HRD Department normally have experts in
Personnel assessment and their contribution would be valuable in carrying out
this activity. Gaps will be thus identified and prioritized for each roles. An
inventory of gaps for each of the roles will be prepared as shown in format no.
04.
Plans and Activities for Development
After prioritising the gaps in competencies for various roles, strategies for
enhancing those competencies would be prepared jointly by the role occupier,
his superior and the HRD professional. Various alternatives for enhancing the
competencies may be education, training, deputation to another activity,
nominations in cross functional teams, coaching etc.
20
Conclusion
As mentioned earlier, the concept of role is dynamic. As such, periodically, the
role definition should be updated. If implemented sincerely, role analysis will
become a valuable tool for identifying suitable incumbents for placement on
important jobs, career planning and succession planning. This will also prove to
be one of the most effective methods of identifying the training and
development needs and infusing achievement orientation in the role holders.
Role analysis can also trigger efforts for organizational restructuring, Job
redesign, Process re-engineering and design, outsourcing of managerial activities,
review of Personnel policies, Delegation of Powers etc. This will be most
useful for other HRD activities.
13.10 SUMMARY
At the outset of the unit, we discussed the meaning and scope of OD
intervention. Subsequently a selected set of such techniques like survey
feedback, process consultation, confrontation meetings, organisational mirroring,
team building, T-Group training and role analysis have been discussed with the
help of relevant case studies and illustrations.
13.11 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
1) Explain the meaning of OD Intervention.

2) Write short notes on:
a) Process consultation
b) Organisational mirroring
c) Role analysis
d) Team building
13.12 FURTHER READINGS
Blake R, Mouton J. The Managerial Grid, Gulf (1964).

Becknard R The Confrontation Meeting in Harward Business Review 45
(1967).
Blake R, Mouton J. Consultation, Reading Mass, Addison Wesley (1976)
Schein E. Process Consultation: Its role in Organization Development,
Addision Wesley (1969).
French, Wendell L. Jr, Cecil H Bell, Organization Development, Prentice
Hall of Indian Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi (1983)
Beckhard, R. Organization Development: Strategies and Models,
Addison Wesley (1969).
Alexander Mark. Organizational Norms Opionnaire, The 1978 Annual
Handbook for Group Facilitator (Ed. Pfeiffer, J.W John, E. Jones),
University Associates California (1978).
Schmuck, R.A, Miles M.B. OD in Schools, Pfeiffer & Co. San Diego
(1971).
Frohman, Mark. A. et al. Action-research as applied to Organization
Development in Organization Development and research (Ed. Wendel, L.
French etal, Business Publications Inc Dallas (1978).
Pareek, Udai Rao, T. Venkateshwara. Designing and Managing Human
Resource Systems, Oxford IBH Publishing Co. New Delhi (1981).
21
Organisational Appendix 1 Alternative Interventions
AN EXAMPLE OF PROCESS CONSULTANCY

After joining the Corporate Office, one of the Directors was not feeling
comfortable. The Director had been a dynamic Unit head in one of the large
manufacturing units of the company and in the Corporate Office, he was
responsible for another function (Personnel). There were a good number of
personnel executives at different levels who had been in the office since long
and had developed their own way of working and inter-acting which was
largely bureaucratic in nature. In a few formal meetings and inter-actions, the
new Director asked the executives about their problems but no response.
After spending a few months, in one of the Departmental meetings, he
expressed his uneasiness and also told that he wanted the department to work
differently. During this period, different executives had different types of
experience with him but largely he was seen as a strong and autocratic type
management personnel. Some persons have been treated very harshly on
occasions and there was a fear in everybodys mind and therefore, they were
not interacting with him openly. During the meeting, one of the executives told
that there were problems but nobody was sharing because of fear. On this,
the Director proposed to invite an external Process Consultant for identifying
the problems and doing the needful for their solutions.
The Consultant was briefed of the situation and he preferred to interview

executives at all levels over a time period. After the interview, he arranged a
Workshop in which he gave some inputs like FIRO-B, Johari Window and also
introduced the Win as much as you can exercise for looking into the
collaborative behaviour. With the help of these inputs over the two days, the
executives started looking into themselves, trying to understand other persons in
a better way and also the value of interactions. After some gap, another
Workshop was organised in which the executives except the Head of Personnel
and Director (Personnel), everybody participated. Some behavioural science
based inputs were given here also followed by task of writing perceptions of
different levels of executives. For example, executives were divided into
different groups and each group were given the task of writing :
a) How do they perceive themselves?
b) How do they perceive their superiors ?
c) How their superiors perceive themselves ? and
d) How do the superiors perceive other officers ?
The Consultant collected the perceptions of the Director and the Head about
their executives and also about themselves. In the next part of the Workshop,
all were invited and with the permission of all present, the Consultant shared
the responses of the previous exercise. This perception sharing identified the
commonality in perceptions and also the sharp differences. The differences
were discussed and gradually all including the superiors started expressing their
thoughts and feelings openly. Much of the venom, which had been collected
over time was out and after some time calmness prevailed. A number of
interventions for the future were designed jointly and one of the most effective
interventions was to have a morning meeting from 9.15 to 9.30 everyday where
all executives will be present and would share anything, which they consider
significant. This meeting ultimately proved to be the means of major break
through in the sense that there was tremendous increase in openness, trust and
concern for each other amongst the executives.
The role of the Consultant was that of a Process Consultant as he made his
22 process observations right since the stage of interview and based on his
observations, he chalked out future interventions and initially the interventions
were focused on enhancing the competence of the executives to understand
their own and others behaviours, experiencing the need of an open and trusting
relationship, sharing mutual concern, empathy and moving towards collaboration.
Based on the understanding of the human process, the facilitator created an
environment which was desired by everybody and the clients evolved the
necessary interventions leading to improvement / solution of problems.
Concluding Remarks
A survey is useful only if it is prepared in an unbiased manner, the concerned
persons receive the findings in a non-defensive manner and action follows
the diagnosis. In order to keep it perfectly unbiased a standard fully validated
questionnaire has been used and identity of the respondents has not been
disclosed.
It is a natural tendency in human beings to first deny the medical diagnosis

report and then get into a state of shock. The same is true in case of the
organizational diagnosis reports also. Hence a conducive climate will have to be
made before presentation. This should be seen in totality and any attempt to
present a segmental view may be disastrous. The Process Consultation
interventions are highly helpful in achieving this. Since everything comes from
the clients, their confidence increases gradually and they start owning up the
diagnosis. Since they are actively involved in designing the interventions,
implementation becomes easier and their problem solving abilities also increase.
It is expected that it will be received by the top management in the right
perspective with the ultimate aim of bringing in improvement in all facets of
organizational working.
23
TEAM BUILDING PROGRAMME A CASE STUDY

Background
During the course of the ongoing organizational development efforts in the two
wheeler company under reference, it was diagnosed that poor team work was
one of the major problems in two main areas of the Factory. Although the
problem appeared to be more intense in the other area but considering the
willingness of the Head of the department (HOD), to participate, it was decided
to hold the programme for this area first. It was expected that by the success
of this programme, the HOD of the other area will be motivated to hold the
programme for this area.
A preliminary diagnosis based on the Building blocks questionnaire (Team

Development Manual by Mike Wood Cock) was conducted and the following
were identified as the comparatively weaker dimensions
Regular reviews
Cooperation and conflict
Appropriate Leaderships
Openness and Confrontation
Support and Trust
Sound intergroup relations also was perceived as a weak dimensions but
less in comparison to the above mentioned five dimensions.
Another diagnostic exercise had revealed the following aspects needing

improvement.
Inadequate team organization
Unconstructive climate
Inappropriate leadership
A few other dimensions needing attention for improvement were identified as :

Soft critiquing
Lack of creative capacity
Low achievement orientation
Insufficient group commitment
Negative intergroup relations
Discussions had also been held with the heads of departments and the Chief
Production Executive (CPE) of the factory who had some conflicting
perceptions and unanimity on the opinions appeared to be difficult.
Keeping in view the dwindling sales position, the company had drastically cut
down the production; the cash position was not satisfactory, still the CPE
decided to hold the Team Building workshop for one of the main areas.
However, keeping in view the financial and operational constraints the duration
was limited to three days and one evening. The most encouraging aspect was
that all executives in that area were requested to attend this workshop. The
CPE himself was very much keen to attend but opted out because of the fear
that his presence would inhibit others from an open participation.
Designing the Programme
Based on the diagnosis and discussions, the following broad objectives were
24 identified :
Broad Objectives
Identification / appreciation of the factors inhibiting the performance of

executives.
Providing an opportunity to experience the joys, frustrations, inhibitions of
working in group.
Sharing their concerns and feeling about each other and top management openly.
Realising the impact of their behaviour on others.
Bringing out an action plan for improving their performance as individuals
and group.
Bringing in synergy in the group.
The executives had earlier been exposed to interventions in the area of

Interpersonal Relationships (FIRO - B) and a few had undergone Personal
growth Lab based on T-group methodology etc. hence these inputs were not
included in this programme.
Duration of the programme
The duration of the programme was 3 days full time on residential basis. The
participants had been asked to report on the previous day evening (7.00 PM)
so that approximately 2 to 3 hrs might be utilised on the opening day also.
Broad structure of the programme
The broad structure of the programme as planned before the commencement
of the programme was as given below. Some changes occurred subsequently.
Micro Lab (One Hour)
The objectives were :
To have an informal introduction, defreezing and giving a glimpse of what is
likely to happen during the programme and
To get an indication of the energy level and inertia of the participants.
The methodology was planned to be interactive consisting of short

instructions for sharing various personal and organisational perceptions, feelings,
closeness to each other sandwitched between interesting spells of activities.
Group Status Awareness (One and a half hour)
The objective was to set the norm for group working that the whole
programme would be centered on data generation, collection, analysis, open
sharing and inference making and future planning will be done on that basis.
It was also aimed at facilitating the awareness of the participants about the
purpose of the programme and looking into the willingness and optimism about
such interventions.
The methodology included, data collection through a simple questionnaire, joint

analysis and discussion. This session was planned to be initiated with a brief
introduction to the background of organising this programme.
A questionnaire (instrument), TORI developed by Gibbs was also planned

to be filled up by each participant for capturing current and unbiased data to be
analysed and discussed in one of the forthcoming sessions.
Agenda Building (3 Hours)

This module was proposed with the aim of involving the participants in
identification of major issues to be dealt in the programme and also to become 25
Organisational
aware of their perception of the factors inhibiting and facilitating their Alternative Interventions
performance.
It was planned to prepare a force field diagram by groups of participants

showing the inhibiting and facilitating factors. It was also planned to process
interpret and exhibit the outcome of the TORI instrument to give them the
individual and group status of TRUST and its associated attributes like Trust,
Openness, Realisation and inter-dependence.
Group Working Experience (3 Hours)
This session was designed to provide an opportunity to the participants to have
an awareness of the content and process aspects, task and maintenance
factors, the individuals impact on others and vice-versa, leadership roles and
resource utilization, problem solving etc.
A structured experience called STRAW & PINS modified to make it

appropriate for the theme was proposed as means to have these experiences
and emerging observations.
Decision Making Process in Group (2 Hours)
For giving further experience in group working, especially in the context of
decision-making where achieving synergy is very important, an exercise called
LOST AT SEA similar to the famous NASA or Desert Survival exercise
was planned. This exercise was expected to enable them to get a quantified
type of feedback regarding their performance in such situations.
Conflict Management (4 Hours)
This session was planned considering the need of increasing awareness about
different types of conflicts, strategies for conflict resolution, to get a feedback
on their predominant style of conflict handling etc. The focus was kept on
interpersonal conflict, intergroup conflict and conflict management style. This
session was also expected to enhance their collaboration and cooperation
besides helping them to adopt the appropriate styles in conflict resolution and
problem solving.
The methodology to be used was experience through fantasy, instrumentation

and lecture.
Trust Building (1.5 Hour)
In order to give them an experience of how trust builds up, a structured
experience was planned.
Interpersonal Relationships (3-4 Hours)
Keeping in view the fact that participants had been earlier exposed to
interventions like FIRO-B earlier, the session was kept as an optional one, to be
taken up only if found to be necessary. The following interventions were kept
in mind.
FIRO - B
Johari Window / Giving and Receiving Feedback
Interpersonal effectiveness profile
Survey Feedback (1.5 Hour)
Since all the participants had responded to the diagnostic questionnaire as
mentioned in the paragraph No. 2.0, it was planned that a brief presentation
would be made on the findings of the study.
26
Image / Perception Sharing (2 Hours)
The perception of one class of employees about the others play the crucial role
in interpersonal relationship and team work. This session was included for
providing an opportunity to different groups of participants to crystalize and
share their perceptions about each other. It was also envisaged to practice
giving and receiving feedback, and also to get an idea of the learning through
the previous sessions.
Action Planning (Three Hours)
In order to develop an individual and collective action plan for bringing in real
improvement not only in terms of Team Work but related matters, this
session was planned. It was also thought that it would provide a very good
opportunity to motivate them to apply the learning to their work.
The preparation and implementation of Action Plan would be accompanied by a

guide document especially prepared for this programme.
Feedback / Closure
This session was planned for taking the feedback of participants on various
aspects of the programme and closing in appropriate manner.
Alternative inputs were also planned to be given depending upon the emerging
needs and direction of movement.
The Programme Deleiberations
The programme deliberations were documented thouroughly and available in
the book Planning and Auditing Human Resources. Here deliberations on the
Action planning interaction with top management and Closing sessions
are being briefly outlined to give a better appreciation.
Action Planning
The participants were divided into the same two groups as in the Image
sharing exercise. Each participant was asked to prepare an action plan for (i)
becoming more effective individually and (ii) making the work group more
effective.
a) Individual Action Plan for Being More Effective
The participants prepared their individual action plans in the background of the
experiences in the previous sessions, especially the session on open house and
image sharing.
The format was as below:
Sl. Activity What specific support Name of the

No. (to be initiated/ is needed from others person / post
to be continued/ to expedite the from which
to be stopped) activity support is needed
27
Organisational
b) Action Plan for Making the Group More Effective Alternative Interventions
The participants initially worked in the same group. They were asked to first
respond individually in the format similar to the individual Action Plan and then
try to arrive at a consensus action plan. Then 2-3 representatives of both
groups sat together and brought out a common Action Plan. Although
discussions were held at length but the Action Plan gave only an outline. It
was clarified that the group will further refine their action plan to make it in
more detail, explicit and workable. The senior most manager (Mr. Prabhakar)
volunteered to coordinate this activity.
c) Individual Growth Goals and Support
Keeping in view the time constraint, this action plan could not be made and
discussed. However, the exercise to identify the most important Training and
Development needs by the individual participants was carried out and they were
advised to discuss with their superiors. The superiors were requested to objectively
assess the subordinates needs and do the needful to satisfy these needs. They
were advised to do it thoroughly at the time of detailing out the Action Plan.
d) Other Actions
The participants were given another document called for reference in course
of preparation of action plans. Salient features of the outline are enclosed.
On the whole, the Action Planning session was quite useful, as it provided them
an opportunity to quickly scan through the 3 days experiences, introspect within
themselves and also take each others help. The process was quite satisfying
which gave a clear indication of the movement of the group on the dimensions
of cohesiveness, giving and receiving feedback, tolerance to ambiguity,
recognising others resources, arriving at consensus, resolving conflicts and
sensitivity to each other. All these reflected a significant improvement in their
problem solving approach.
Interaction with Top Management
It had been planned that the CPE will be invited at the end of the programme
at about 3.30 P.M. to meet the participants and get the feedback.
The interaction was started with a brief welcome. The CPE wanted to have a
brief account of the deliberations. One of the participants nicely explained in a
chronological order, the content as well as the process aspect, which was
supplemented by the facilitator and a few other participants. The CPE was
some times asking brief questions, otherwise he was making the notes. This
presentation brought to the notice of the CPE many sensitive and controversial
issues like
i) Not inviting Ashok, a one senior executive (who had submitted his resignation).
ii) By passing the seniors and talking to juniors directly.
iii) Tolerating one of the heads (Mr. Prabhakar) carrying out manual
production work instead of supervising the managers.
iv) At times being harsh on managers
v) Too much monitoring
vi) Meetings - a ritual.
The CPE first commended the participants for the hard and sincere work put in
by them and also the facilitators. Then he started responding to each of the
issues. Initially, he was quite humble and polite. Gradually, he became
assertive and for quite some time, when he was deeply in touch with his
feelings, especially while describing his own and the superiors expectations and
28 the tough situation the company was facing. He had become aggressive also
for some time which made the facilitator quite worried for some time, as it
was likely to result in an inappropriate reinforcing at the end of the
programme. But gradually the pent up feelings were vented out and his
communication became normal, friendly but assertive.
The open and frank acceptance, owning up of a few lapses on his part and the
authentic explanations of the CPE brought a number of significant issues to light
and induced a spirit of authenticity in the participants. The common perception
of managers about the Head (Mr. Prabhakar) about the issue of his spending
time on manual work; proved to be wrong. The CPE told that he was recruited
by him, but has consistently failed to satisfy his expectations, has remained
ineffective inspite of periodic feedback, therefore, there were only two options:
i) to sack him or
ii) to put him on a job where he could contribute and hence asked to
function in that area where production is a bottleneck. Thus, Mr.
Prabhakar was working in the shopfloor like a skilled worker in order to
preserve his job and utilize his specific skills.
This statement, probably in such clear words was not desired, because it would
have been definitely embarrassing and having a demoralising effect on the
concerned person. (The CPE after a few days was given a feedback on this
by the consultant). The consultant and facilitator met Mr. Prabhakar alone after
the programme and made an effort to make him comfortable.
Many of the deeply seated beliefs or value issues surfaced when he (the
CPE) was speaking of the discipline and commitment issues. These were also
received by the participants in the right perspective. This could happen
because of the fact that the CPE was open, frank, data based, had a high
degree of commitment and was showing an exemplary patience in listening.
This resulted in a truthful acceptance, owning up and realisation on the part of
the participants, and many openly come out to confess their lapses and casual
approach. The CPE assured his full cooperation in further developing and
implementing the Action Plan.
End of the Programme
The programme ended with a closing intervention symbolising experiencing of
synergy. All participants, facilitators and administrative support personnel
alongwith the CPE assembled in the centre of the Hall, formed a circular chain
joining hands with each other, moved in the circle for a few rounds and
stopped holding the hands of each other. Facilitator made a few statements
regarding feeling of closeness, flow of energy from one person to another, and
told the group members to experience this feeling. After a few minutes, he
coined a resolution let our energy, feelings, competencies, learnings to be
channelised to develop an ideal work team in organization and contribute
towards progress and prosperity of the organization and the country. Then all
dispersed. The joy of achievement and pain of separation could be
experienced by all while telling good bye to each other.
Conclusion
This programme, satisfied the objectives to a very great extent. The approach
of experiential learning proved to be quite effective, and it was a thrilling
experience to use a number of structured experiences and instruments. The
theoretical input by way of lecturing was minimal. The participation and
involvement gradually rose to the optimum level. Although no specific
interventions were planned on interpersonal relationship and self awareness,
these aspects were indirectly touched upon. The group had earlier been
exposed to FIRO-B Johari Window concepts, perhaps, this helped in using
the resources on other factors contributing to Team Work. 29
FORMATS FOR ROLE ANALYSIS
Format No. 01
ROLE EXPECTATION FORM
1. Name of the Executive :

(Role Occupant or the person
being studied)
2. Designation :
3. Deptt./Function :
4. Present responsibility/ :
brief job description
5. Name of the Role Sender :
6. Expectations of Role Sender :

(to be filled-up in the table given
below)
S.No. Functions/Activities Relative % time Remarks

suggested for the role importance (to be spent)
(i.e. expectations of the ranking
role sender) (start from
1 the highest
rank)
Item No. 1 to 3 to be filled up by the HRD Heads representative
Item No. 4 to be filled up by the concerned executive (role occupant)
Item No. 5 should be filled up by the concerned executive after consulting

his superior/tasks force members or coordinator.
30 Item No. 6 to be filled up by the role sender.

Format No. 02
ROLE EXPECTATIONS FORM SUMMARY

(Role Occupant)
2. Designation :
3. Deptt./function :
4. Present responsibility/ :
5. Summary of Expectations :
(to be filled-up in the table
given below)
S.No. Functions/Activities Ranking (start Degree of Modified

for the role... from 1 the agreement/ rating
Highest rank) Disagreement
Item No. 1 to 4 will be filled up by the concerned executive.

31
Organisational Format No. 03 Alternative Interventions
KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS

(ROLE DEFINITION)

(or role occupant)
2. Designation :
3. Deptt./Function :
4. Present responsibility :
5. Main activities in order of :

importance :
(to be filled up in the table
given below)
S.No. Functions/Activities for the Role (KPAs) in decreasing Remarks,

order of importance if any
32
Format No. 04
LIST OF COMPETENCIES REQUIRED

(or role occupant)
2. Designation :
3. Present responsibility / :
4. Main activities :
(to be filled up in the following table)
Sl.No. Key Performance Areas Competencies for the KPAs

in order (in order of importance)
Knowledge / Skill / Abilities
1.
2.
3.
4.
Overall priority for next 2-3 years:
Priority No. 1 __________________

2 __________________
3 __________________
4 __________________
5 __________________ 33
Organisational Format No. 05 Alternative Interventions
COMPETENCY INVENTORY FOR

VARIOUS ROLES (SUMMARY)
Unit ____________________________________
Deptt. ____________________________________
Section/Group ____________________________________
S.No. Title of the role & Competencies required for various roles
Name of role occupant
Knowledge Skill Abilities
34
Format No. 06
LIST OF COMPETENCIES TO BE
DEVELOPED FOR EACH EXECUTIVE
Unit ____________________________________
Deptt./Function ____________________________________
Section/Group ____________________________________
Role No/ Name of Executive Competencies identified for Development

Description (Role Occupant)
(Title of During Within Within
Role) 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02
35

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UNIT 13 ALTERNATIVE INTERVENTIONS

Intervention is defined as a behaviour which affects the ongoing social

1) Robert Blake & Mouton the pioneers of Grid OD, classify

2) Blake & Mouton further developed a typology called Consulcube, a 100-

OD has tremendous potential it may encompass all change efforts and

OD is essentially a Behavioural Science based approach, therefore human

Each of the interventions have been briefly described below.

The study was confined to Executives working in various departments of the

Considering the likelihood of debate on the validity of questionnaire, it was

The following scale was used for interpretation.

- 40 and below - Extremely negative

In this survey, it was decided to serve the questionnaire personally to all

Table 2 : Frequency Distributions

Norm Average Score

Note : VG - Very Good

The next weak dimension is of Performance and Excellence (9th). This

This helped in creating a non-defensive (Supportive) climate before presentation

Department level findings created much interaction and concern many

After the presentations, there was a consensus to work for improvement on

vi) Action Planning

The Survey feedback workshop served as an effective intervention because the

13.4 PROCESS CONSULTATION

Process consultancy is different from other models of consultancy and have

Generally, the organizational processes such as communication, leadership, group

According to Schein, a variety of interventions may be used in Process

An example of process consultation is given in Appendix 1.

Originally developed by Beckhard, this OD intervention is used for identifying

Confrontation meeting can be held for Department / Function level and/or

13.6 ORGANIZATIONAL MIRRORING

In a large multi unit company the Corporate Personnel Department wanted to

Representatives (2-3 from each of these departments) were invited for a

In the beginning of the Workshop, the Head of the Corporate Personnel

The Consultant divided the representatives in 7 groups and asked them to

Organizational mirroring intervention is very effective in improving

13.7 TEAM BUILDING

A team is widely understood as a group of people working together to

The Task aspects are covered by Content aspects and People or

Inter-team task focus with team(s) outside the organization;

Inter-team people focus with team(s) outside the organization.

There are a variety of approaches but generally content based approaches,

Here the design of a Team building programme conducted for a leading

As a result of phenomenon increase in the awareness of the benefits of Team

It is believed that Team Building programmes based on T-group methodology

The use of process based Structured experiences along with appropriate

An experience is narrated in Appendix 2, which shows how structured

13.8 T-GROUP TRAINING

In a group, around 10-12 participants assemble together and work with a

T-Group Training normally adopts two paths (directions):

The capability to explore options increases and therefore the decision-making

It should not be misunderstood that this training is useful for Trainers/HRD

It is essential for those who are in the role of facilitators in various

Many a times, individuals undergo tremendous emotional pressure and

The stages for being an accredited T-group trainer (facilitator) are:

A lot of inter-phase work is to be completed before progressing to the next

Increase in the coping skills, assertiveness, leadership effectiveness,

One of the severe limitation of T-Group training is availability of competent and

Figure 1: Role Analysis : Block Diagram

Decision to Carry Role Analysis

For managerial positions, the competencies can be identified in each of the

13.11 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1) Explain the meaning of OD Intervention.

13.12 FURTHER READINGS

Blake R, Mouton J. The Managerial Grid, Gulf (1964).