OD

INTERVENTIONS
 Syllabus

Unit 4: OD INTERVENTIONS 10Hrs

Comprehensive interventions, Structural

interventions, Job enrichment and MBO,
Conditions for optimal success of OD
 What is OD intervention?
• A systematic attempt to correct an organizational
deficiency uncovered through diagnosis.
• Management teams, working either alone or in
collaboration with an outside consultant are
responsible for selecting organizational development
interventions.
• OD interventions are the building blocks which are
the planned activities designed to improve the
organization’s functioning through participation of
the organizational members.
• OD interventions should take place in three
levels, namely, individual, group and
organization.
• A set of sequenced, planned actions or events
intended to help an organization to increase its
effectiveness.
• They are deliberate attempts to change an
organization or sub-unit toward a different and
more effective state
• These intervention activities are designed to
improve the organization's functioning and
enable managers and leaders to better
manage their team and organization cultures.
Comprehensive Interventions
 Comprehensive Interventions
• OD comprehensive interventions are used to directly create
change throughout an entire organization, rather than focusing
on organizational change through subgroup interventions.
• One of the most popular comprehensive interventions is
survey feedback. This technique basically entails surveying
employee attitudes at all levels of the company and then
disseminating a report that details those findings. The
employees then use the data in feedback sessions to create
solutions to perceived problems. A number of questionnaires
developed specifically for such interventions have been
developed.
• Comprehensive interventions are those in which the
total organization is involved and depth of the
cultural change Is addressed. Phrases like “getting
the whole system in the room” are appearing in
greater OD practice.
• Whole system can be described as- • Managers of
all of the functional areas in a business. •
Representatives of top management, a cross section
of employees from all levels, and supplier and
customer representatives.
• Whole system can be described as-
• Managers of all of the functional areas in a
business.
• Representatives of top management, a
cross section of employees from all levels, and
supplier and customer representatives.
Types of Comprehensive
Conference
A. Search Conference
Search conferences emphasise face-to-face
interaction among stakeholders to create a new
community. The process of meeting and
discussion engenders new ideas.
A Search Conference is a structured
participatory process where groups of
concerned and active individuals scan through
turbulent environments for:
– A desired outcome for themselves and
– Generate a strategy for achieving it.
• Three phases of search conferences

1. Environmental appreciation
 Changes in the world around us
 Desirable and probable future
2. System analysis
 History of the system
 Analysis of the present system
 Desirable future of the system
3. Integration of system and environment
 Dealing with constraints
 Strategies and action plans
 Search conferences by companies
• Hewlett Packard -One plant used the Search to organize work so the
people would be able to see themselves as owners. In another HP facility
people were at the door of failure, the plant might be shut down. The SC
was used to bring people together, to make hard choices for survival
which entailed dropping four product lines and the jobs associated with
them in order to secure a meaningful future for the business.
• Ford Electronics -A Canadian facility conducted a search in 1982 to
determine how to survive in their marketplace. The result was a mindset
shift. Rather than making parts for Ford they determined to become a
learning lab for new technology and management practices that could be
exported to other Ford facilities. That led to redesign of the facility,
implementation of TQM, winning a prestigious quality award and
expansion of the plant from 900 to 1800 people.
Future search conference
A Future Search conference is a way for a
community or organization to create a shared
vision for its future. It engages a large group of
stakeholders who take part in a highly structured
process.
-
 Future Search Conference
 Future Search conferencing has emerged as a system-
wide strategic planning tool enabling diverse and
potentially conflicting groups to find common ground
for constructive action.
 Future Search conferencing is a carefully designed
methodology linking inputs, activities, and outputs to
result in a vision built on (i) appreciation of an
organization’s history; (ii) acknowledgment of present-
day strengths and weaknesses; and (iii) considered
opinion about major opportunities in the future.
B. Beckard’s Confrontation Meeting
• Developed by Richard Beckard
• One day meeting of the entire management of
an organization in which they take a reading of
their own health
• In a series of activities, the management
group generates information about its major
problems, analyses the underlying causes,
develops action plans to correct problems.
Elements/Steps of Confrontation Meeting

A) Climate setting

It requires one hour.

In the very beginning, the top executive
communicates to the entire management group
his objectives for the meeting and his concern
for and interest in open discussion and problem
facing.
Elements/Steps of Confrontation Meeting

B) Information collection

It requires one hour.

• The entire group of employees is divided into small

heterogeneous units consisting of seven to eight
participants.
• If there is top management group it meets as a separate
unit.
•
No boss and subordinates are placed together.
Each unit consists of participants from each functional area.
• The assignments to these units like:

1) Yourselves as an individual with needs and goals.

2) As a person concerned about total organization.
3) What are the obstacles?
a) Demotivators
b) Poor policies & procedures
c) Unclear goals
d) Poor attitude, which exists today.
•

4) What different conditions if any would make the organization more

effective and make life in the organization better?

Each unit is advised to choose to reporter to present its finding at a

general information sharing to be conducted an hour later.
Elements/Steps of Confrontation Meeting
C) Information Sharing

Each unit's representative writes his unit's entire results on a sheet paper,
which is displayed at a meeting hall.

Meeting leader provides some major categories in which all the data from
all the sheets can be classified.

E.g. If there are 100 items, the possibility is that these can be classified into
8-9 groups involving heading such as communication difficulties, problem
with top management etc.

The data sheet is duplicated for the purpose of circulation.

D) Priority setting and group action planning

It involves one hour or more.

The entire group engages itself in a 15 min general session.

With the meeting leader the participants go through the raw data on the
duplicated sheets and assign a category number to each element of data.

People assemble in their functional natural work units in for one or more
hours.
Thus HR members drawn from all level assemble in one unit, in technical
another and so on.

DH presides over the unit.

Each unit is assigned three specific tasks.

•It is required to discuss the problems and issues, which influence its areas of
work, and to ascertain the priorities and early actions to which the group is
willing to commit itself.
Elements/Steps of Confrontation Meeting
F) Immediate follow-up

Requires 1-3 hours.

Top management team is required to meet immediately after the

completion of the confrontation meeting to plan first a set of follow up
action which is to be reported ultimately back to the total management
group within a few days.

G) Progress Review

After specific intervals progress review of confrontation meeting is to be

taken by top management team.
C. Real Time Strategic Change Intervention
 C. Real Time Strategic Change Intervention

• Robert Jacobs
• Six key steps
– Identify and clarify the basic important issues
facing the organization as a whole
– Agreeing on overall purpose of the change effort
– Deciding on who needs to be involved in the
change effort and how
– Determining how much influence these people
need to have over the development of this strategy
 C. Real Time Strategic Change Intervention

• Robert Jacobs
• Six key steps
– Clarifying the information on quality work and
make wise decisions regarding their collective
future
– Exploring the methods, processes and approaches
that will boost and support people in making real
time strategic changes
D. Stream Analysis
E. MANAGERIAL GRID

By Robert Blake
1. Impoverished (Indifferent) Style (1.1) :  In this
style, managers have low concern for both
people and production. Managers use this style
to preserve job and job seniority, protecting
themselves by avoiding getting into trouble. The
main concern for the manager is not to be held
responsible for any mistakes, which results in
less innovation decisions.
2. Country Club (Accommodating) Style (1.9) :  
This style has a high concern for people and a
low concern for production. Managers using this
style pay much attention to the security and
comfort of the employees, in hopes that this will
increase performance. The resulting atmosphere
is usually friendly, but not necessarily very
productive.
3. Authority – Compliance (Dictatorial/
Produce/ Perish) Style (9.1) :  
Managers using this style also pressure their
employees through rules and punishments to
achieve the company goals. commonly applied
by companies on the edge of real or perceived
failure. This style is often used in cases of crisis
management.
4. Middle-of-the-Road (Status quo) Style (5.5)
Balance and compromise. Managers using this
style try to balance between company goals and
workers' needs. By giving some concern to both
people and production, managers who use this
style hope to achieve suitable performance but
doing so gives away a bit of each concern so that
neither production nor people needs are met.
5. Team Management Style (Sound) (9.9)
contribute and commit. In this style, high
concern is paid both to people and production. 
managers choosing to use this style encourage
teamwork and commitment among employees.
This method relies heavily on making employees
feel themselves to be constructive parts of the
company.
Structural Interventions
• Change efforts aimed at improving
organizational effectiveness through changes
in task, structural, technological and goal
process in the organization.
Some of the structural
interventions are….
 a. Change in physical Setting

 Layout of your premises, machinery

 Tools and equipment availability

 The objective is to improve productivity
 b. Formalization
• Refers to the extent to which policies,
procedures, rules, regulation exists in the
organization.
• Indicative of the culture the organization
wants to follow
• Managers can concentrate on their jobs if
subordinates follow strictly the rules and
instructions
 b. Formalization
• Too much formalization reduces the personal
contact between subordinates and managers
• Less formalization for creativity and
innovation
• Necessary to ensure mix of formalization and
work autonomy to the employees
 c. Work Redesign
• Work redesign is based on theoretical model
of what job characteristics lead to the
psychological state that produce “high internal
motivation”.
• Characteristics : Skill variety, task identity,
autonomy, task significance
• Brings sense of belongingness in employees
• Ensures Right person right job
 c. Work Redesign
• Work redesign is based on theoretical model
of what job characteristics lead to the
psychological state that produce “high internal
motivation”.
• Characteristics : Skill variety, task identity,
autonomy, task significance
• Brings sense of belongingness in employees
• Ensures Right person right job
 d. Job Enrichment
• Job enrichment is a common motivational technique used by
organizations to give an employee greater satisfaction in his
work. It means giving an employee additional responsibilities
previously reserved for his manager or other higher-ranking
positions. In essence, an enriched job gives the employee more
self-management in his duties.
• job enrichment gives the employee more vertical authority. The
objective is to give an employee more personal accountability
for the work that he does. By doing so, the employer hopes
that he feels more of a sense of self-worth from his role in the
business.
 Benefits of Job Enrichment
• Autonomy
A primary trait of job enrichment is autonomy,
meaning that the employee has less responsibility to
report on his work tasks to a supervisor. This frees him
to focus more on his work, making decisions and
working to accomplish company and career goals.
Enrichment reduces that potential of
micromanagement from a supervisor, which can
oppress and demoralize an otherwise competent and
capable employee.
 Benefits of Job Enrichment
• Benefits to the Company
Companies turn to job enrichment as a way of boosting
the organizational morale. The more valuable each
employee feels, the more motivated they are to
produce top results. Also, companies can operate more
efficiently when employees bear significant
responsibility for their work and results. In some cases,
using enrichment can minimize layers of management.
Plus, with job enrichment, employees learn more
vertical skills that equip them for a higher level position.
 Benefits of Job Enrichment
• Benefits to the Employee
Employees are more mentally stimulated when they
take on authoritative, decision-making roles. This
keeps them mentally focused on their tasks and the
objectives of the company. Also, ambitious employees
are more likely to stick with an employer if they are
trusted to perform higher level duties. Better career
opportunities may also come as you train for new skills
and learn how to work through important workplace
problems and solutions.
 e. Management by Objectives(MBO)

• It is a process where the goals of the

organization are defined and conveyed by the
management to the members of
the organization with the intention to achieve
each objective.
• An important step in the MBO approach is the
monitoring and evaluation of the performance
and progress of each employee against the
established objectives. 
Steps in Management by Objectives Process

1. Define organization goals

Setting objectives is not only critical to the
success of any company, but it also serves a
variety of purposes. It needs to include several
different types of managers in setting goals. The
objectives set by the supervisors are provisional,
based on an interpretation and evaluation of
what the company can and should achieve
within a specified time.
Steps in Management by Objectives Process
2. Define employee objectives

Once the employees are briefed about the general objectives, plan, and the

strategies to follow, the managers can start working with their subordinates

on establishing their personal objectives. This will be a one-on-one

discussion where the subordinates will let the managers know about their

targets and which goals they can accomplish within a specific time and with

what resources. They can then share some tentative thoughts about which

goals the organization or department can find feasible.

•  
Steps in Management by Objectives Process

3. Continuous monitoring performance and

progress
Though the management by objectives
approach is necessary for increasing the
effectiveness of managers, it is equally essential
for monitoring the performance and progress of
each employee in the organization.

 
Steps in Management by Objectives Process

4. Performance evaluation
Within the MBO framework, the performance
review is achieved by the participation of the
managers concerned.

 
Steps in Management by Objectives Process

5. Providing feedback

In the management by objectives approach, the most essential step is

the continuous feedback on the results and objectives, as it enables

the employees to track and make corrections to their actions. The

ongoing feedback is complemented by frequent formal evaluation

meetings in which superiors and subordinates may discuss progress

towards objectives, leading to more feedback.

 
Steps in Management by Objectives Process

6. Performance appraisal
Performance reviews are a routine review of the
success of employees within MBO organizations.

 
 Four Principles of MBO
 First step in any MBO program should be
thorough diagnosis of the job, participants
and the needs of the organization
 Requires involvement of superiors and
subordinates
 Relies heavily on feedback

 Benefits of MBO
• Effective short and long term planning
• A procedure for monitoring work progress and results
• Improved commitment to the organization because of
increased motivation, loyalty and participation of
employees
• Improved communication between superiors and
subordinates
• An improved organizational climate in general that
encourages improvements in performance
Socio- Technical Interventions
 Socio- Technical Interventions
• Socio-technical theory has at its core the idea that the
design and performance of any organisational system
can only be understood and improved if both ‘social’
and ‘technical’ aspects are brought together and
treated as interdependent parts of a complex system.
• Organisational change programmes often fail because
they are too focused on one aspect of the system,
commonly technology, and fail to analyse and
understand the complex interdependencies that
exist.   
 Socio- Technical Interventions
Within a socio-technical systems perspective, any
organisation, or part of it, is made up of a set of
interacting sub-systems.
Thus, any organisation employs people with
capabilities, who work towards goals, follow processes,
use technology, operate within a physical
infrastructure, and share certain cultural assumptions
and norms.
 A. Systems Analysis
• Organization should study the environment,
socio-economic factors like prevailing standard
of living, social demands on employees,
aspirations of children etc.
• Should design a reward system according to
the above factors
• System should be evolved to generate
enthusiasm which will help in growth
 A. Systems Analysis
• Systems which need attention
– Recruitment system
– Reward system
– Appraisal system
– Training and Development
– Mission and growth potential
– Technical upgradation
– Social Recognition
 B. Flexible Work Hours
• Work should be assigned based on timings.
• All resources should be available and no
interference of seniors should be there
• Total autonomy should be provided
• Should not have problem managing their
work-family interface
 C. Job Sharing
• Sharing of work within the organization and
tie up with other organizations
• Particularly required for research and
development branch of organization
• Optimum utilization of resources can be
achieved
• This facility will help employees to attain their
targets
 D. Job Evaluation and Role Analysis
Techniques
• An individual has to play different roles in
organization
• Should be trained to handle more than one
job
• Job redesign, Job rotation, Job simplification,
Job automation are some of the methods
Conditions for optimal success
of OD
 Recognition by top level management that Organization
has problems
 Use of an outside OD consultant
 Systematic diagnosis of the problem areas which
induces an analysis of specific problems
 A realistic long –term time perspective by the top level
management
 Support and involvement of managers at all levels in the
organization
 Active involvement of work group leaders

 Invention of some new solutions to problems which

produces commitment to new courses of action
 Achieving early success with the O.D. effort
 Reinforcement in the system from positive results which
leads to acceptance of new practices
 Educating organizational members about OD
 Acknowledgement of managerial strengths and
weaknesses
 Development of Internal OD resources
The End of Unit IV