Chapter 7

Process Intervention Skills

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 1
 Learning Objectives
• Understand key OD process skills.
• Determine how they can be applied.
• Practice using OD process skills.
• Identify and gain insights into your OD
style.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 2
 New Paradigm in
Organizations
• Change occurring in leadership styles.
– Because of importance of teams.
• Organizations relying more on team
approach.
• Managers need new skills.
• Understanding group and team
behavior needed.
Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7
Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 3
 Process Interventions (part 1 of 2)

• Process intervention is OD practitioner

skill.
• Used for helping work groups become
more effective.
• Helps work group to understand way it
operates.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 4
 Process Interventions (part 2 of 2)

• The manager helps team learn to

diagnose and solve their problems.
• Team becomes more independent.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 5
 Group Process
• Process interventions concentrates on:
– How groups and individuals within groups
behave.
• Process is the how of the group.
– How it functions.
• Content is the what of the group.
– The work it does.
Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7
Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 6
Five Areas Crucial to Effective
Organization Performance
• Communication.
• Member roles and functions in groups.
• Group problem-solving and decision-
making.
• Group norms and growth.
• Leadership and authority.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 7
 Figure 8.1
Group Process Interventions

An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 8
 Communications
• Analyzing communication process
within group.
• Observing:
– Length of time member talks.
– Who talks to whom.
– Who interrupts whom.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 9
Member Roles and Functions
• Observing roles and functions of
members.
• Roles divided into 3 categories:
– Group task.
– Group building and maintenance.
– Individual.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 10
 Table 8.1
Group Behavior Interventions

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 11
 Group Problem Solving and
Decision Making
• Helping group understand how it makes
decisions.
• Group consensus is:
– One all members share in making and will
support.

An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 12
 Group Norms and Growth
• Assisting group in understanding:
– Its norms and
– How they affect decision making.
• Group will improve decision making as
members grow.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 13
 Leadership and Authority
• Group understands impact of leadership
and authority.
• Roles of formal and informal leaders
clarified.
• Leadership functions shared among
group members.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 14
 Types of Process
Interventions
• Process interventions differ but never
involve the group’s task.
• Concern is how group goes about
accomplishing its task.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 15
 Types of Process
Interventions
• Clarifying. • Providing Support.
• Summarizing. • Coaching.
• Synthesizing. • Counseling.
• Generalizing. • Modeling.
• Probing. • Setting the Agenda.
• Questioning. • Feedback.
• Listening. • Structural
• Reflecting Feelings. Suggestions.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 16
 Clarifying and Summarizing
• Purpose is to resolve
misunderstandings.
• Provides a summary of major points.
• Helps group to understand where it is.
• Example:
– “Mary, I seem to be hearing you say…. Is
this correct?”

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 17
Synthesizing and Generalizing
• Puts several points together in common
theme.
• Takes ideas of one person and attaches
them to group.
• Example:
– “Am I correct in assuming the rest of you
share Irwin’s position?”

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 18
 Probing and Questioning
• Seeks more information and asks
questions.
• Useful at beginning of discussion if
members reaching hasty conclusions.
• Example:
– “Larisa, I’m not sure everyone understands
your point. Could you explain it in more
detail?”
Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7
Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 19
 Listening
• Communicates nonverbally that one is
listening.
• Uses eye contact and body posture.
• Hears entire message including
feelings.
• Examples:
– Eye contact, nod of head, body posture.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 20
 Reflecting Feelings
• Communicates back to speaker feeling
part of message.
• Listener practices empathy.
• Example:
– “Shannon, am I correct in assuming you
have a problem with what Murphy has just
reported?”

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 21
Providing Support, Coaching,
and Counseling
• Gives assistance to group or individual
on behaviors to improve.
• Encourages members to talk and
express ideas.
• Compliments group for productive
meeting.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 22
 Modeling
• Learning to give process observations.
– By observing someone else making
process observations.
• Members encouraged to take role of
providing process interventions.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 23
 Setting the Agenda
• Sets aside time to discuss process
issues apart from content issues.
• May include how well members
communicate with each other.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 24
 Feeding Back Observations
• Provides feedback on group process.
• Limited to extent that group is able to
accept feedback.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 25
 Structural Suggestions
• Provides suggestions on:
– Group membership. – Allocation of work.
– Communication – Lines of authority.
patterns.

• Manager avoids stepping in and taking

over.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 26
 Results of Process
Interventions
• Little empirical evidence on success of
process interventions.
• Some findings suggest positive effects
on participants.
• Relied upon by OD practitioners.
• Increasingly used by line managers in
daily operations.
Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7
Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 27
 OD Applications
Leaders Shape Disney Culture
• Disney has deeply rooted culture.
• Philosophy of theme parks is:
– Actions of leaders inspires and motivates
everyone,
– With whom they come in contact.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 28
• Leadership and management methods
– Used since first theme park in 1950s.
• Leaders are inclusive and share
information with employees.
• Leaders spend majority of time “walking
the front.”
– This means working frontline shifts in
operating areas .

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 29
• Results of leadership improvement
programs:
– Guest rate increase greater than 10%.
– Cast member turnover rates dropped.
• Disney Institute is where methods
shared with other organizations.
• Leadership methods have helped shape
Disney’s culture.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 30
 Key Words and Concepts
• Agenda setting interventions.
– Sets aside time when process issues
discussed.
• Empathy.
– Listener tries to see world from speaker’s
point of view.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 31
• Group building and maintenance
functions.
– Helps group grow and improve members’
relationships.
• Group consensus.
– Decision made by group that all members
can support.
• Group content.
– Task or what a group does.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 32
• Group process.
– How group goes about accomplishing task.
• Group task functions.
– Behaviors that directly help group solve its
task.
• Individual functions.
– Behaviors that satisfy individual needs and
inconsequential to group’s task.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 33
• Member roles.
– Functions that individual members play in a
group.
• Norms.
– Shared ideas regarding what group
members should do and feel.
• Process interventions.
– How group is accomplishing its task.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 34
 OD Skills Simulation 8.1
Apex Oil Spill
• Purpose.
– To examine behaviors that facilitate and
inhibit group functioning.
– To identify the functions and roles of group
members.
– To explore group processes.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 35
 OD Skills Simulation 8.2
Trust Building
• Purpose.
– To provide comparison between your
perceptions of trust behavior and
– How others perceive it.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 36
 OD Skills Simulation 8.3
Process Interventions
• Purpose.
– To provide you with additional practice
making OD interventions.
– As an observer, to observe the intervention
process.

Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 37
 An Experiential Approach to Organization Development 8th edition Chapter 7
Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Slide 38