Organizational Development

Prepared for UHS 2062 lectures at UTM Skudai, Johore, October 2009

srsiwok@gmail.com

Introduction

Organizational development is the process of improving organizational performance by making organizational-wide changes.

Organizational structureOrganizational structure refers to the arrangement of positions in an organization and the authority and responsibility relationships among them (as every organization is made up of persons holding particular positions or playing certain roles).

An example of a structure

Director of Operations

Marketing specialist

Shipping clerk

Dimensions of organizational structure

Traditional vs nontraditional organizational structure

Functional vs divisional structureCentralized vs decentralized

structure

Traditional vs Nontraditional Traditional organization

structure(TOS) has formally defined roles for their members, very rule driven and stable & resistance to change.

Jobs and lines of status /authority tend to be clearly defined in traditional structures (kept within organizational guidelines and standards).

Traditional vs Nontraditional Nontraditional organizational

structures (NOS), are characterized by less formalized work roles and procedures.

Flexible and adaptable, without rigid hierarchical characteristics.

NOS generally have fewer employees than the TOS.

NOS and TOS may occur in the same organization, but different departments.

Traditional vs Nontraditional NOS are often organized around

a particular project or product line and are responsible for all aspects of the job.

Examples of NOS:◦NASA◦Film crews◦Financial institutions etc

Characteristics of NOSHigh flexibility and adaptabilityCollaboration among workersLess emphasis on organizational

statusGroup decision making

Change of command The chain of command is the

number of authority levels in a particular organization.

The chain of command follows the line of authority and status vertically through the organization.

Span of controlThe span of control is the number

of worker who must report to a single supervisor.

An organization with a wide span of control has many workers reporting to each supervisor.

An organization with a narrow span of control has workers reporting to each supervisor.

Span of controlBased on the dimension of span

of control, an organization can be described as either “tall” or “flat”.

A “tall” organizational structure has a long chain of command and a narrow span of control

A “flat ” organizational structure has a short chain of command and a wide span of control.

Organizational Change First step towards organizational change is called the sacred cow hunt (Kriegel & Bradnt, 1996) :◦The paper cow◦The meeting cow◦The speed cow

Employees acceptance of changeCarnall (1990, in Aamodt, 2007) suggests that employees typically go through five stages of organizational change: denial, defense, discarding, adaptation and internalization.

Stage 1: DenialDenies that any changes will take place

Try to convince that old ways is working

Find reasons why the proposed change will never work

Stage 2 : Defense When employees begin to believe that change will actually occur, they become defensive and try to justify their positions and ways of doing things.

Stage 3 : Discarding At some point employees began

to realize that not only that the organization is going to change , but the employees are going to have to change as well .

Change is inevitable; thus old ways have to be discarded and start accepting the change as the new reality.

Stage 4 : Adaptation Employees test the new system, learn how it functions, began to make adjustments in the way they perform.

Tremendous energy is spent and employees can often become frustrated and angry.

Stage 5 : InternalizationEmployees become immersed in the new culture, become comfortable with the new system and accepted their new coworkers and the new work environment.

Important factorsThe extent to which the employees readily accept and handle the change is dependent on :◦The reason behind the change ◦The person making the change◦The personality being changed

Organizational cultureAlso often referred to as

corporate culture, or corporate climate.

Organizational culture comprises of the shared values, beliefs and the traditions that exist among the individuals in the organization.

It is the culture that establish the workplace norms of appropriate behaviors etc

Organizational Change TechniquesManagement by ObjectivesSurvey FeedbackTeam buildingT-groups

Organizational TheoriesDistinguish the characteristics of

org.The structure of org.The interrelationships of people

in org.The interactions between various

elements in an org. such as people and technology

See Spector

What is culture?Culture is the comprehensive

term that includes the various understandings, traditions and guidance which we all belong (Gestwicki, 2007)

“Culture forms the prism which members of a group see the world and create shared meaning” ( Bowman and Burgess, 1993, in Gestwicki, 2007)

Changing cultureAssessing the new culture:

◦Needs assessment◦Determining executive direction◦Implementing consideration ◦Training ◦Evaluation of the new culture

Other steps…Creating dissatisfaction with the

existing cultureMaintaining the new cultureSelection of employees

Empowerment

What does empowerment mean?

More accurate to describe empowerment as a process as an end state ( Gargiulo and Kilgo, 2005)

Making decisions to empowerFactors in making decision to

empower:◦Importance of decision quality◦Leader knowledge of the problem

area◦Structure of the problem◦Importance of decision acceptance◦Probability of decision acceptance◦Subordinate trust and motivation◦Probability of subordinate conflict

The Different Meanings of Empowerment

When employer empowers employees, what they mean is giving more say in the day-to-day activities.

Empowerment may mean differently to employer and to employees.

Levels of employee input Following Ownership of own productAdvisoryShared /participative /teamabsolute

Consequences of empowermentPersonalFinancialCareer

References

Aamodt, M.G (2007). Industrial /organizational psychology. An applied approach. Belmont, CA: Thomson

Riggio, R. E. (1996). Introduction to Industrial/ Organizational Psychology (2nd. Ed). New York: Harper Collins

Gargiulo, R & Kilgo, J ( 2005). Young children with special needs ( 2nd ed.). New York: Thomson