Organizational Development and Culture Flashcards
What is the difference between OD and learning-oriented strategies?
OD strategies target the organization as a whole system
Learning-oriented strategies tend to target individuals or groups within the system
What is the purpose of an OD strategy?
To increase organizational effectiveness
What are the 5 phases of an OD strategy?
- Entry
- Diagnosis (assessment)
- Feedback
- Solution
- Evaluation
What key activities take place during the “Entry” phase of an OD strategy?
- initial contact between consultant and client where they explore problem, opportunities, or situation
- output: engagement contract or project plan that establishes mutual expectations and preliminary agreement on project scope (e.g., time, money, resources)
What key activities take place during the “Diagnosis/Assessment” phase of an OD strategy?
- fact-finding phase
- collaborative data collection process b/w org stakeholders and consultant
- output: relevant info is gathered, analyzed, and reviewed
What key activities take place during the “Feedback” phase of an OD strategy?
- the return of analyzed info to client
- explore info for understanding, clarity, and accuracy
- re-review preliminary agreements about scope and resource requirements
- output: action plan that outlines the change solution, along with defined success indicators based on information and data analysis
What key activities take place during the “Solution” phase of an OD strategy?
- the design, development, and implementation of the solution or set of solutions
- Outputs: communications plan, role-and-responsibility matrix, training plan, training curriculum, implementation plan, risk management plan, evaluation plan, change management plan
What key activities take place during the “Evaluation” phase of an OD strategy?
- the continuous process of collecting formative and summative eval data to determine whether the solution is meeting intended goals and achieving success indicators
- Outputs: evaluation report with recommendations for continuous improvement
During which OD stage does the client begin to own the data?
During the Feedback stage
What are 4 possible objectives the solution is trying to meet in an OD strategy?
- correct a problem
- close a gap
- improve or enhance performance
- seize opportunity
Systems thinking (OD theory)
- the belief that the component parts of a system can best be understood by examining their relationships with one another and with other systems, rather than in isolation
- small changes to any part of a system affect the whole system, based on their level of interconnectedness
Open systems theory
- Open systems are characterized by input-throughput-output mechanisms
- Organizational structure affects the flow of information and interaction, both internally and with the external environment
Open systems planning involves:
- scanning the environment to determine the demands and expectations of external stakeholders
- developing scenarios of possible organizational futures
- developing action plans to ensure that a desirable future occurs
This kind of thinking is a requirement for creating learning organizations
Complexity theory
- defines an organization as a complex, adaptive system that needs to respond to the external and internal environment by remaining on the edge of chaos while also self-organizing and continuously reinventing itself
- the future is unknowable
- the ability to learn is absolutely critical to ongoing organizational effectiveness
- Application requires experimentation and innovation to develop new operations patterns
Chaos theory
- there are underlying patterns, constant feedback loops, repetition, and self-organization, even in the apparent randomness of chaotic, complex systems
- the butterfly effect describes how a small change in one state of a system can result in large differences in a later state, meaning there is sensitive dependence on initial conditions
Social network theory
- how people, organizations, or groups interact with others inside their network
- Networks comprise actors and the relationships between those actors, who are referred to as nodes and can be individuals, organizations, or companies
- Actors are always the smallest single unit inside a network.
Action resarch
- a term first coined by Kurt Lewin
- also known as participatory research
- learning by doing in the sense that a group of workers—or teams as part of a community of practice—identifies a problem, develops a resolution, implements the solution, and then analyzes the final results
- Transformative change occurs through the simultaneous process of taking action and doing research, which is linked by critical reflection
Organizational development
an ongoing, systematic process of implementing positive and effective organizational changes.
Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Analysis
what is occurring at any point in time is the result of forces pushing in opposite directions
change is a three-stage process of:
- unfreezing the old behavior
- moving to a new level of behavior
- refreezing behavior at the new level
William Bridge’s Transition Model
describes planned change as situational, and transition as psychological
This model focuses on transitions and “letting go” versus planned change
Bridges describes three phases of transition: ending, neutral zone, and new beginning
W. Warner Burke–George H. Litwin Model
identifies the variables involved in creating first-order (transactional) and second-order (transformational) change
It distinguishes between organizational climate (transactional change) and organizational culture (transformational change)
Burke-Litwin’s Model: organizational climate
individuals’ collective assessment of an organization in terms of whether it is a good or bad place to work
Burke-Litwin’s Model: organizational culture
a collective assessment of an organization based upon deeper, relatively enduring, often unconscious values, norms, and assumptions
Burke-Litwin’s Model: transformational change
Transformational change and fundamental culture shifts are produced by solutions that are directed toward leadership, mission, strategy, and organization
the most difficult type of change, and is typically driven by external forces. It may alter the direction in an industry or even put the organization on the forefront of a new paradigm.
Burke-Litwin’s Model: transactional change
Transactional change or changes in climate are produced by solutions directed toward management practices, structure, and systems produce
Nadler and Tushman’s Congruence Model
examines how interdependent, organizational subsystems scan and transform input from the external environment to outputs in the organization across individual, group, and total levels
Includes the “Seven S” approach:
- strategy
- structure
- systems
- shared values
- skills
- style and culture
- staff
Senge’s Learning Organization
describes organizations as organisms, challenging the concept of the top-down, hero-leader, and large-scale change
small, incremental change through five disciplines of organizational learning:
- Shared Vision: commonly shared pictures of the future that foster genuine commitment
- Systems Thinking: the ability to see the big picture and distinguish patterns instead of conceptualizing change as isolated events
- Mental Models: begins with self-reflection and unearths beliefs, assumptions, and mindsets; understanding how they dramatically influence our actions and worldview; stimulates “learning” conversations based on reflection and inquiry
- Team Learning: the process of developing a team’s ability to come together, share goals, and create desired results
- Personal Mastery: considered the cornerstone of a learning organization, begins when individuals commit to lifelong learning and continuously achieve results that are important to them
Senge’s incremental change
making a simple change in which the organization essentially allows people to continue what they are doing but asks them to do it in a new way
Prosci ADKAR Model
A goal-based change management model used to guide both individual and organizational change
It focuses on guiding change at the individual level through five distinct phases:
- Awareness
- Desire
- Knowledge
- Ability
- Reinforcement
Weisbord’s Six Box Model
tells practitioners where to look and what to look for when diagnosing organizational problems
categorizes six critical areas as leverage points for influencing organizational success and achieving maximum impact
Differentiates between planned changes and transitions
Helps identify factors that obstruct org behavior and increase org effectiveness.
Helps diagnose org problems, not identify
Which two theories both state that a small change in one part of the system can effect other parts?
Systems theory and chaos theory
Org Chart
illustrates the structure of an organization and the relationships and relative ranks of its parts and positions
gives an overall picture of company hierarchy and personnel reporting relationships and helps TD identify relationship structures
What is the shortcoming of an org chart?
only shows “formal relationships” and says nothing about the pattern of human (social) relationships or managerial styles that influence organizational culture
What are some tools that a TD professional can use to identify how relationships work informally and formally?
- stakeholder analysis
- environmental scan
- network diagram
What are 5 characteristics of healthy working relationships?
- trust
- mutual respect
- mindfulness
- welcoming diversity
- open communication
Benefits of healthy working relationships
increases engagement and commitment when identifying issues and developing solutions
- collaborators have shared stake in the success of the efforts
- can secure resources for the project
- can help ensure projects stay on track
- open door to key projects, career opportunities, and potential coaches or mentors
What are 7 outcomes/purposes for maintaining trusting, healthy working relationships?
- identify business needs, performance gaps, change opportunities
- gain support for org change initiatives
- align solutions to strategic business priorities
- promote participation and collaboration during design, development, implemenetation, and evaluation
- identify risks and barriers
- determine follow-up mechanisms to reinforce and sustain change
- establish credibility as strategic change agent and advisor
Learning
- absorbing knowledge or skills through experience or study
- continuous, accessible, and progressive learning
- built into what employees do daily
- meaningful learning experiences
growth mindset (4)
- essential element of learning culture
- people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication, deliberate practice, and hard work
- creates love of learning and resilience
- failure and challenges are seen as learning opportunities
best way to build growth mindset into learning culture
systemically building continuous learning into daily work with short, frequent “pull” versus “push” bursts of information that is readily accessible and available to all employees at the time and place of need
Training vs. Learning Culture
Learning Culture:
- Create open communication channels to encourage knowledge sharing and exchange of ideas/opinions
- Continuous learning in daily work through short, frequent “pull” vs. “push” bursts of info
- Decentralized learning through collaboration
- The importance of learning is built into company values
- Strategic plans ensure business goals include workforce capability needs
- Flexible and accessible opportunities to share knowledge across boundaries
- Learning is seen as a true business driver
Training Culture:
- Instructor-led events
- Occurs in silos
- Training is seen as a business cost
What is a collaborative culture?
one where employees work across boundaries and share knowledge to build connections and shared purpose
What are 3 characteristics of a collaborative culture?
- encourage both formal and informal communication
- emphasize continuous learning over isolated training events
- a more decentralized structure
Why does collaboration fail?
- it’s viewed as an activity instead of a skill
- collaboration is a mandated performance requirement focusing on compliance instead of commitment
How can collaboration be promoted as a culture value?
By equipping leaders and teams with new processes for:
- working together
- resolving conflict
- providing constructive feedback
- making decisions
- leveraging technology to break down silos and enable information sharing
