PA 217 Organization Development and Design

Joseph Carl Maglinte

Chapter II - Organization Development and Change

Definition of Terms:
1. Organization Development
- Is a system-wide process of applying behavioural-science knowledge to the planned change and
development of strategies, design components, and processes that enable organizations to be effective
(Thomas Cummings, 2004)
- It is the application of behavioural science in a long-range effort to improve an organization’s ability to
cope with changes in its external environment and increase its internal problem solving (Huse, 1980)
- It is an organization-wide and managed from top to increase organization effectiveness and health
through planned interventions in the organization’s processes using behavioural science knowledge
(Richard Berchard, 1969)
- OD is a planned approach to improve employee and organizational effectiveness by conscious
interventions in those processes and structures that have an immediate bearing on the human aspect of
the organization.
- Addresses an entire system, such as a team, department, or total organization
- It also deals with relationship between a system and its environment as well as among the different
features that comprise a system’s design.

2. Organizational Change
- Refers to modification or transformation of the organization’s structure, processes or goods.
- Change that has an impact on the way work is performed and has significant effects on staff
- The process by which organization move from their present state to some desired future state to
increase effectiveness.
- When an organization system is disturbed by some internal or external forces change frequently occur
or any alteration which occur in the overall work environment of an organization.

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn,
and relearn.”
-Alvin Toffler

 Organizational Change Can Be:

a. In the structure of an organization
b. In the structure of an organizational operation and size of a workforce
c. In working hours or practices
d. In the way roles are carried out
e. In the scope of a role that results in a change in the working situation, structure, terms and conditions
or environment.

 Characteristics of Organizational Change

a. Change happen for the pressure of both internal and external forces in the organization.
b. Change in any part of the organization affect the whole organization.
c. Change may affect people , structure, technology, and other element of the organization.
d. Change also affect the rate of speed and degree of significance of the organization.
e. Change may be reactive or proactive.

 Types of Changes
1. Planned Change
2. Unplanned Change

1. Planned Change - a change resulting from a deliberate decision to alter the organization. It is an intentional,
goal-oriented activity.
2. Unplanned Change – is imposed on the organization and is often unforeseen

 Features of Organizational Development in relation to Organizational Change

1. OD is an educational strategy that attempts to bring about a planned change.

2. OD related to real organizational problems instead of hypothetical cases.

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PA 217 Organization Development and Design
Joseph Carl Maglinte

3. OD related uses sensitivity training methods and lay emphasis on the experiment of based training.
4. Its change agents are almost external consultants outside of the organization.
5. The external change agents and internal organizations executives establish a collaborative relationship that
involves mutual trust, influence and jointly determined goals.

 2 Forces for Change in Organization

1. External Force – ex. Technological change, Globalization, Social & Political Changes, Workforce
diversity, Marketing Conditions
2. Internal Force – ex. Changes in managerial personnel, Declining effectiveness, Changes in work climate,
deficiencies in existing system, employee expectation,

 Change Agent - is anyone who has the skill and power to stimulate, facilitate, and coordinate the change
effort.
- Can be managers or non-managers, current employees, newly hired employees or outside consultants.

 Levels of Change

1. Individual Level Change - Job assignment, physical Move, Change in maturity of a person
- Not significant on organisation, but significant on group
2. Group Level Change - Major effect because organizational activities are done in groups like departments
or informal groups
- Affect workflows, job design, social organisation, influence and status systems, and communication
patterns.
- Managers must consider group factors
3. Organization Level Change - involves major programs that affect both individuals and groups
- Decisions regarding these changes are generally made by senior management and are seldom
implemented by only a single manager

 Resistance to Change – effort to block new ways of doing things

1. Individual Resistance - Individual sources of resistance to change reside in basic human characteristics
such as perceptions, personalities & needs.

 Reasons for Individual Resistance

a. Economic Factors
b. Habits
c. Fear of Loss
d. Security
e. Status Quo
f. Peer Pressure
g. Disruption of Interpersonal Relation
h. Social Displacement

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PA 217 Organization Development and Design
Joseph Carl Maglinte

2. Group Resistance - Most organizational changes have impact on formal groups in the organization the main
reason why the groups resists change is that they fear that their cohesiveness or existence is threatened by
it.

3. Organizational Resistance - Organizational resistance means the change is resisted at the level of the
organization itself.

- Some organization are so designed that they resist new ideas, this is specifically true in case of
organization which are conservative in nature. Majority of the business firm are also resistance to
changes.

 Reasons for Organizational Resistance

a. Resource Constraint
b. Structural Inertia
c. Sunk Cost
d. Threat to Expertise
e. Politics

 Managing Resistance to Change (Kotter and Schlisinger)

1. Education & Communication
2. Participation
3. Empathy and Support
4. Negotiation
5. Manipulation and Cooperation
6. Coercion

 Resistance is not all bad.

Resistance:
- forces management to check and recheck the proposals.
- helps identify specific problem areas where change is likely to cause difficulty.
- gives management information about the intensity of employee emotions on the issues.
- provides a means of release of emotions. This causes employees to think and talk more about the
changes.

 3 General approaches to Change

1. Lewin’s Three Steps

2. Action Research
3. Action Learning

1. Lewin’s Three Steps – this approach to organization change derives on how to overcome resistance to change
and how to sustain change once it is made.

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PA 217 Organization Development and Design
Joseph Carl Maglinte

2. Action Research – this approach to organization change shows that research can be practical. It can serve as an
instrument for action and change. It applies scientific methods to help organizations identify problems, discover
their underlying causes, and implement appropriate changes.
-Generally involves the following cyclical activities
a. Preliminary data gathering and diagnosis
b. Action Planning
c. Implementation
d. Assessment

3. Action Learning – variously referred to as ‘participatory action research’ (Greenwood et al., 1993), ‘action
inquiry’ (Fisher & Tolbert, 1995), and ‘self-designing organizations’ (Mohrman & Cummings, 1989).
-It is relatively new and still evolving form of planned change.
-It moves beyond the problem-solving focus inherent in traditional application of OD, and treats change as a
continuous learning and transformation process.
-Generally includes the following steps
a. Valuing
b. Diagnosing
c. Designing
d. Implementing and Assessing

“The trouble with the future is that it usually arrives before we’re ready for it.”
Arnold H. Glasow

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