Case study

Organization Development

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Organization Development
The Process of Leading Organizational Change

Fourth Edition

Donald L. Anderson
University of Denver

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Brief Contents

1. Preface
2. Acknowledgments
3. 1. What Is Organization Development?
4. 2. History of Organization Development
5. 3. Core Values and Ethics of Organization Development
6. 4. Foundations of Organizational Change
7. 5. The Organization Development Practitioner and the OD Process
8. 6. Entry and Contracting
9. 7. Data Gathering

10. 8. Diagnosis and Feedback
11. 9. An Introduction to Interventions
12. 10. Individual Interventions
13. 11. Team Interventions
14. 12. Whole Organization and Multiple Organization Interventions (Part 1)
15. 13. Whole Organization and Multiple Organization Interventions (Part 2)
16. 14. Sustaining Change, Evaluating, and Ending an Engagement
17. 15. Global Issues in Organization Development
18. 16. The Future of Organization Development
19. References
20. Author Index
21. Subject Index
22. About the Author

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Detailed Contents

Preface
Exercises and Activities
Ancillaries

Acknowledgments
1. What Is Organization Development?

Organization Development Defined
Making the Case for Organization Development
What Organization Development Looks Like
What Organization Development Is Not
Who This Book Is For
Overview of the Book
Analyzing Case Studies
Summary

2. History of Organization Development
Laboratory Training and T-Groups
Action Research, Survey Feedback, and Sociotechnical Systems
Management Practices
Quality and Employee Involvement
Organizational Culture
Change Management, Strategic Change, and Reengineering
Organizational Learning
Organizational Effectiveness and Employee Engagement
Summary

3. Core Values and Ethics of Organization Development
Defining Values
Why Are Values Important to the OD Practitioner?
Core Values of Organization Development
Changes to OD Values Over Time and the Values Debate
Challenges to Holding Organization Development Values
Statement of Organization Development Ethics
Summary
Appendix
Case Study 1: Analyzing Opportunities for Organization Development Work at Northern County
Legal Services

4. Foundations of Organizational Change
Levels and Characteristics of Organizational Change
Models of Organizational Change: Systems Theory and Social Construction Approaches

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Organizations as Systems
Organizations as Socially Constructed
Summary

5. The Organization Development Practitioner and the OD Process
The Consulting Relationship and Types of Consulting
The Organization Development Consulting Model
OD Practitioners: Who Are They and Where Do They Work?
The Organization Development Consulting Profession
The OD Consulting Process and Action Research
A Dialogic Approach to OD
Summary

6. Entry and Contracting
Entry
Contracting
Summary

7. Data Gathering
The Importance of Data Gathering
Presenting Problems and Underlying Problems
Data Gathering Process
Data Gathering Methods
Creating a Data Gathering Strategy and Proposing an Approach
Ethical Issues With Data Gathering
Summary
Case Study 2: Proposing a Data Gathering Strategy at TLG Solutions

8. Diagnosis and Feedback
Diagnosis: Discovery, Assessment, Analysis, and Interpretation
Finding Patterns by Analyzing Data
Interpreting Data
Selecting and Prioritizing Themes
Feedback
Resistance
Ethical Issues With Diagnosis and Giving Feedback
Summary
Case Study 3: Sorting Through the Data From Logan Elementary School

9. An Introduction to Interventions
Interventions Defined
Why Interventions Fail
Considerations in Selecting the Right Intervention Strategy
Structuring and Planning Interventions for Success
The Change Agent’s Role in the Intervention

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Ethical Issues With Interventions
Overview of Intervention Techniques
Summary

10. Individual Interventions
Individual Change and Reactions to Change
Individual Instruments and Assessments
Coaching
Mentoring
360 Feedback
Career Planning and Development
Summary
Case Study 4: Individual Type Styles at the Parks Department

11. Team Interventions
Defining Teams
What Makes a Successful Team?
Special Types of Teams
Team Development
Team-Building Interventions
Intergroup Interventions
Summary
Case Study 5: Solving Team Challenges at DocSystems Billing, Inc.

12. Whole Organization and Multiple Organization Interventions (Part 1)
Characteristics of Contemporary Large-Scale Interventions
Organizational Culture Assessment and Change
Organization Design and Structure
Directional Interventions
Summary
Case Study 6: Reorganizing Human Resources at ASP Software

13. Whole Organization and Multiple Organization Interventions (Part 2)
Quality and Productivity Interventions
Interventions in Mergers and Acquisitions
Transorganization or Interorganization Development
Dialogic OD Consultation and Interventions
Summary
Case Study 7: The Future of the Crossroads Center

14. Sustaining Change, Evaluating, and Ending an Engagement
Sustaining Change After the Intervention
Evaluation
Ending an Engagement: Separation and Exit
Summary

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15. Global Issues in Organization Development
OD’s Challenges in a Global Environment
Dimensions of Global Cultural Difference
OD Values, Interventions, and Culture
Case Examples and Research Findings
Advice for the Global OD Practitioner
Summary
Case Study 8: A Global Partnership at GFAC Consulting

16. The Future of Organization Development
Increasing Complexity of Change
Changing Workforce Demographics
Changing Nature of Work
The Current State of OD: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities
Conclusion: The Future of OD
Summary

References
Author Index
Subject Index
About the Author

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Preface

It seems that every few years, the field of organization development (OD) finds itself at a crossroads. Some
feel that the field has strayed too far from its founding humanistic values of democracy, diversity, autonomy,
collaboration, and choice. They argue that OD is in danger of being diluted or collapsed into human resources
roles, leadership development, and talent management. Others feel that the “touchy feely” old values deserve a
fresh update and that OD practitioners have a great deal to contribute to organizational efficiency,
effectiveness, and enhanced performance. They see the role of the practitioner as a business adviser who can
incorporate humanistic values without being hypocritical.

I wrote (and continue to update) this book because I firmly believe that OD as a field of research and practice
has much to offer to people in contemporary organizations who are struggling with an incredible amount of
change. Old management styles no longer fit the needs of today’s workplace and workers. New organizational
forms are emerging to cope with the increasing pace of change, globalization, digitization and the latest
technologies, economic pressures, and the expectations of the contemporary workforce. Managers struggle to
engage employees despite ever-present threats of downsizing and outsourcing. In such an environment, many
employees find work to be less personally satisfying than they did before.

Skilled OD practitioners understand the dynamics of human systems and can intervene to encourage a
healthy, engaging, and productive environment. Unfortunately, it has been challenging for many students to
develop these skills. It generally requires “breaking in” to an OD department, finding a (hopefully skilled)
mentor, and learning as much as possible through academic courses or self-discovery. While they are regularly
tested on the job, managers and executives have few opportunities to develop their skills as change agents as
well. Project managers, IT professionals, educators, and health care administrators all report that the skills of
OD are applicable to their jobs.

My hope is that this book will provide theoretical and practical background in OD to give you an introduction
to the basic processes of organization development and change. It will also give you a chance to practice in a
safe environment where you can develop your skills. I hope you find the book to be readable but rigorous—
practical and relevant but with a solid academic foundation—and comprehensive enough without being
exhausting.

For this fourth edition, I have updated many sections of the book to reflect recent research and advances in
practice while retaining classic approaches and foundational theories with which most practitioners ought to
be familiar. Highlights of this new edition include the following:

A new case study after Chapter 7 that can be used as a multipart case (additional parts are located on the
companion website)
Additional examples of global issues in organization development
Enhanced coverage of recent theory and practice in dialogic approaches to OD
Discussion questions at the end of each chapter

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Activities, exercises, and role plays following most chapters
New readings at the end of each chapter, where appropriate

My continued thanks to the students at the University of Denver as well as the clients who share with me
their struggles in achieving change at work. As always, I am grateful to my family and friends, especially my
wife, Jennifer, whose encouragement means everything.

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Exercises and Activities

Many chapters contain exercises, activities, and role plays that can be used to practice skills and apply concepts
developed in several chapters of the book. This chart details which exercises and activities accompany which
chapter and topic.

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Ancillaries

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Instructor Teaching Site

A password-protected instructor’s manual is available at study.sagepub.com/andersonod4e to help instructors
plan and teach their courses. These resources have been designed to help instructors make the classes as
practical and interesting as possible for students.

An Overview for the Instructor offers the author’s insights on how to most effectively use this book in a
course on organization development and change.
PowerPoint Slides capture key concepts and terms for each chapter for use in lectures and review.
Case Epilogues provide additional information about the organizations or scenarios featured in the text.
Discussion Questions suggest additional topics to engage students during classroom discussions and
activities.
Sample Course Syllabi provide models for structuring your course.
A Test Bank includes multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay exam questions for each chapter.
Video Resources for each chapter help launch class discussion.

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Student Study Site

An open-access student study site can be found at study.sagepub.com/andersonod4e. The site offers videos of
the author discussing the major stages of organization development, Web links to additional tools, and
Learning From SAGE Journal Articles, with access to recent, relevant, full-text articles from SAGE’s leading
research journals. Each article supports and expands on the concepts presented in the book. This feature also
provides discussion questions to focus and guide student interpretation.

This text is accompanied by Cases and Exercises in Organization Development & Change, Second Edition (ISBN
978-1-5063-4447-8), which follows the same chapter organization as this text. A bundle of this text with the
cases and exercises book is also available.

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http://study.sagepub.com/andersonod4e

Acknowledgments

SAGE Publishing would like to thank the following reviewers for their contributions to the manuscript:

Gerald D. Bouey, Lewis University
Carol A. Gravel, Binnacle Organizational and Learning Development, LLC
Michael A. Guerra, Lincoln University
Georgia L. Hampton, Jefferson County Public Schools
Melinda M. Howard, University of Oklahoma
Allen I. Kraut, Baruch College, CUNY
Helen Muyia, Texas A&M University, College Station
Tom J. Sanders, University of Montevallo
Jeffrey M. Zimmerman, Northern Kentucky University

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Chapter 1 What Is Organization Development?

Think for a moment about the organizations to which you belong. You probably have many to name, such as
the company where you work, a school, perhaps a volunteer organization, or a reading group. You are
undoubtedly influenced by many other organizations in your life, such as a health care organization like a
doctor’s office or hospital, a church group, a child’s school, a bank, or the local city council or state
government. Using an expansive definition of organization, you could name your own family or a group of
friends as an organization that you belong to as well. With just a few moments’ reflection, you are likely to be
able to name dozens of organizations that you belong to or that influence you.

Now consider an organization that you currently do not belong to, but one that you were dissatisfied with at
some point in the past. What was it about that organization that made the experience dissatisfying? Perhaps
you left a job because you did not have the opportunity to contribute that you would have liked. Maybe it was
a dissatisfying team atmosphere, or you were not appreciated or recognized for the time and energy that you
dedicated to the job. It could have been a change to your responsibilities, the team, or the organization’s
processes. Some people report that they did not feel a larger sense of purpose at work, they did not have
control or autonomy over their work, or they did not find an acceptable path to growth and career
development. Perhaps you’ve witnessed or been part of an organization that has failed for some reason.
Perhaps it went out of business or it disbanded because it could no longer reach its goals.

You’ve likely had some excellent experiences in organizations, too. You may have had a job that was especially
fulfilling or where you learned a great deal and coworkers became good friends. Maybe your local volunteer
organization helped a number of people through organized fundraisers or other social services activities.
Perhaps you joined or started a local community group to successfully campaign against the decision of your
local city council or school board.

All of this is to demonstrate what you already know intuitively, that we spend a great deal of our lives working
in, connected to, and affected by organizations. Some of these organizations function quite well, whereas
others struggle. Some are quite rewarding environments in which to work or participate, but in others,
organizational members are frustrated, neglected, and disengaged.

The purpose of this book is to introduce you to the field of organization development, an area of academic
study and professional practice focused on making organizations better—that is, more effective and productive
and at the same time more rewarding, satisfying, and engaging places in which to work and participate. By
learning about the field of organization development and the process by which it is conducted, you will be a
more effective change agent inside the organizations to which you belong.

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Organization Development Defined

Organization development (OD) is an interdisciplinary field with contributions from business,
industrial/organizational psychology, human resources management, communication, sociology, and many
other disciplines. Not surprisingly, for a field with such diverse intellectual roots, there are many definitions of
organization development. Definitions can be illuminating, as they point us in a direction and provide a
shared context for mutual discussion, but they can also be constraining, as certain concepts are inevitably left
out, with boundaries drawn to exclude some activities. What counts as OD thus depends on the practitioner
and the definition, and these definitions have changed over time. In a study of 27 definitions of organization
development published since 1969, Egan (2002) found that there were as many as 60 different variables listed
in those definitions. Nonetheless, there are some points on which definitions converge.

One of the most frequently cited definitions of OD comes from Richard Beckhard (1969), an early leader in
the field of OD:

Organization development is an effort (1) planned, (2) organizationwide, and (3) managed from the
top, to (4) increase organization effectiveness and health through (5) planned interventions in the
organization’s “processes,” using behavioral-science knowledge. (p. 9)

Beckhard’s definition has many points that have survived the test of time, including his emphasis on
organizational effectiveness, the use of behavioral science knowledge, and the inclusion of planned
interventions in the organization’s functions. Some critique this definition, however, for its emphasis on
planned change (many organizational changes, and thus OD efforts, are in response to environmental threats
that are not so neatly planned) and its emphasis on the need to drive organizational change through top
management. Many contemporary OD activities do not necessarily happen at the top management level, as
increasingly organizations are developing less hierarchical structures.

A more recent definition comes from Burke and Bradford (2005):

Based on (1) a set of values, largely humanistic; (2) application of the behavioral sciences; and (3)
open systems theory, organization development is a systemwide process of planned change aimed
toward improving overall organization effectiveness by way of enhanced congruence of such key
organizational dimensions as external environment, mission, strategy, leadership, culture, structure,
information and reward systems, and work policies and procedures. (p. 12)

Finally, I offer a third:

Organization development is the process of increasing organizational effectiveness and facilitating
personal and organizational change through the use of interventions driven by social and behavioral

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science knowledge.

These definitions include a number of consistent themes about what constitutes organization development.
They propose that an outcome of OD activities is organizational effectiveness. They also each stress the
applicability of knowledge gained through the social and behavioral sciences (such as sociology, business and
management, psychology, and more) to organizational settings.

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Making the Case for Organization Development

Perhaps the point on which most definitions agree is that the backdrop and purpose of organization
development is change. As you have no doubt personally experienced, large-scale organizational change is
rarely simple and met without skepticism. As Peter Senge and colleagues (1999) write, “Most of us know
firsthand that change programs fail. We’ve seen enough ‘flavor of the month’ programs ‘rolled out’ from top
management to last a lifetime” (p. 6). Because of its impact on the organizational culture and potential
importance to the organization’s success, organizational change has been a frequent topic of interest to both
academic and popular management thinkers. With change as the overriding context for OD work, OD
practitioners develop interventions so that change can be developed and integrated into the organization’s
functioning. Significant changes today are facing organizations and their teams and individual employees.

To become effective, productive, and satisfying to members, organizations need to change. It will come as no
surprise to any observer of today’s organizations that change is a significant part of organizational life. Change
is required at the organizational level as customers demand more, technologies are developed with a rapidly
changing life cycle (especially high-tech products; Wilhelm, Damodaran, & Li, 2003), and investors demand
results. As Rita McGrath (2013) writes, “Music, high technology, travel, communication, consumer
electronics, the automobile business, and even education are facing situations in which advantages are copied
quickly, technology changes, or customers seek other alternatives and things move on” (p. 7). This requires
that organizations develop new strategies, economic structures, technologies, organizational structures, and
processes.

Change is required of team members, who now are likely to work virtually in collaboration with members
from around the globe. Cultural differences, changes in communication technologies, and a changing diverse
workforce all combine to complicate how team members work together. Role conflict and confusion in
decision processes and decision authority are common when members who have never worked together are
thrown into an ad hoc team that is responsible for rapid change and innovation.

Change is also required of individuals. Employees learn new skills as jobs change or are eliminated.
Organizational members are expected to quickly and flexibly adapt to the newest direction. Best-selling
business books such as Who Moved My Cheese? teach lessons in ensuring that one’s skills are current and that
being comfortable and reluctant to adapt is a fatal flaw. Leaders today need to adapt to matrix organizational
structures and new participative styles of leadership rather than old hierarchical patterns and command and
control leadership (Holbeche, 2015). For organizational members, change can be enlightening and exciting,
and it can be hurtful, stressful, and frustrating.

Whether or not we agree with the values behind “change as a constant,” it is likely to continue for the
foreseeable future. Whereas some decry an overabundance of change in organizations (Zorn, Christensen, &
Cheney, 1999), others note that it is the defining characteristic of the current era in organizations and that
becoming competent at organizational change is a necessary and distinguishing characteristic of successful
organizations (ler & Worley, 2006).

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There are, however, more and less effective ways to manage change. Creating and managing change in order
to create higher-performing organizations in which individuals can grow and develop is a central theme of the
field of OD. When we speak of organization development, we are referring to the management of certain
kinds of these changes, especially how people implement and are affected by them.

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What Organization Development Looks Like

It may be easiest to understand what organization development is by understanding what forms it takes and
how it is practiced. The following are five examples of published case studies of OD in action.

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Example 1: Increasing Employee Participation in a Public Sector
Organization

Public sector organizations, it has been noted (Coram & Burns, 2001), often face additional special challenges
in the management of change. Bureaucratic structures, interfaces with regional governments and legislatures,
political pressures, and legislative policies all complicate the implementation of new processes and changes to
organizational practices. In the Republic of Ireland, a special initiative aimed to reduce bureaucracy in the
public sector to gain efficiency, improve customer service, and improve interdepartmental coordination
(O’Brien, 2002). Many programs of this type have been launched in other organizations as top-down
mandates from senior management, causing frustration and decreased commitment among staff members who
resisted the mandated changes.

One department wanted to do things differently. The offices were in the division of Social Welfare Services, a
community welfare organization of 4,000 employees. Two Dublin offices (50 employees each) became the
focus of this case. These offices chose to involve employees in the development of an initiative that would
improve working conditions in the department as well as increase the employees’ capacity for managing
changes. A project steering team was formed, and it began by administering an employee survey to inquire
about working relationships, career development, training, technology, and management. Follow-up data
gathering occurred in focus groups and individual interviews. The tremendous response rate of more than 90
percent gave the steering team a positive feeling about the engagement of the population, but the results of the
survey indicated that a great deal of improvement was necessary. Many employees felt underappreciated,
distrusted, and not included in key decisions or changes. Relationships with management were also a concern
as employees indicated few opportunities for communication with management and that jobs had become
routine and dull.

The steering team invited volunteers (employees and their management) to work on several of the central
problems. One team worked on the problem of communication and proposed many changes that were later
implemented, including a redesign of the office layout to improve circulation and contact among employees.
As the teams continued discussions, they began to question standard practices and inefficiencies and to
suggest improvements, eventually devising a list of almost 30 actions that they could take. Managers listened
to employee suggestions, impressed by their insights. As one manager put it, “I have learned that a little
encouragement goes a long way and people are capable of much more than given credit for in their normal
everyday routine” (O’Brien, 2002, p. 450).

The joint management–employee working teams had begun to increase collaboration and interaction among
the two groups, with each reaching new insights about the other. As a result of the increased participation,
“There appeared to be an enhanced acceptance of the change process, coupled with demands for better
communications, increased involvement in decision making, changed relationships with supervisors and
improved access to training and development opportunities” (O’Brien, 2002, p. 451).

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Example 2: Senior Management Coaching at Vodaphone

Vodaphone is a multibillion-dollar global communications technology company headquartered in the United
Kingdom and was an early leader in the mobile telephone market (Eaton & Brown, 2002). Faced with
increasing competition, the company realized that in order to remain innovative and a leader in a challenging
market, the culture of the organization would need to adapt accordingly. Specifically, senior management
realized that its current “command and control” culture of blame and political games would hinder the
collaboration and mutual accountability needed to succeed in a competitive environment. Instead, the
company wanted to encourage a culture of empowered teams that made their own decisions and shared
learning and development, speed, and accountability.

Several culture initiatives were implemented, including the development of shared values, the introduction of
IT systems that shared and exchanged information across major divisions that had hindered cross-functional
learning, and the establishment of teams and a team-building program.

To support the initiatives and encourage a new, collaborative management style, Vodaphone implemented a
leadership coaching program. Top managers attended the program to learn skills in conducting performance
reviews, helping employees set goals, and coaching teams. Following the program, managers had one-on-one
coaching sessions with a professional coach who worked with participants to help them set coaching goals and
reflect on how successfully they were able to implement the skills learned in the program.

As a result of the program, managers began to delegate more as teams started to solve problems themselves.
Teams began to feel more confident in their decisions as managers trusted them. Eaton and Brown (2002)
attribute several subsequent company successes to the program, noting that it was critical that the coaching
program was integrated with the other culture change initiatives that it supported. “Cultural change takes
time,” they note, and “traditional attitudes to management do not die away overnight” (p. 287). However,
they point out that a gradual evolution took place and the new cultural values are now the standard.

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Example 3: Team Development in a Cancer Center

Health care workers who have the challenge of caring for critically ill patients experience stress, emotional
exhaustion, and burnout at very high rates compared with workers in other fields. Without social support
from friends or other coworkers, many workers seek to leave the field or to reduce hours to cope with …