Organization

Development

Values, Assumptions, and Beliefs in OD

Values,

Assumptions, and

Beliefs in OD

Value foundation

Early significant statements

Implications

…constitute an integral part of and distinguishes OD from other improvement strategies

…provide structure and stability for people as they attempt to

understand the world around them

…humanistic, optimistic, democratic

Events in Management and Organization Thought

Edgar Schein

-group process consultation

David Cooperrider

-appreciative inquiry

Marvin Weisbord

-future search

Harrison Owen

-open space

Second Wave

Douglas McGregor

-Theory X and Y

Burns and Stalker

-two forms of organization

structure

Rensis Likert

-democratic leadership style

Katz and Kahn

-open systems

Addison-Wesley Six-Pack/OD Six-Pack

-theory, practice, values of OD

Late 1960s

Kurt Lewin

-group dynamics

-laboratory training

Wilfrid Bion

-the Tavistockmethod

Rensis Likert

-survey research and feedback

methods

Eric Trist

-sociotechnical approach

Robert Tannenbaum

-team building

1940s – 1960sFrederick Taylor

-the scientific management

Max Weber

-bureaucracy

Mary Parker Follett

-participative leadership

Hawthorne Studies

-primacy of social factors on productivity

and morale

Chester Barnard

-acceptance theory of authority

Lewin, Lippitt, White

- Democratic leadership

< 1939

Prevailing paradigms for organizations -

zeitgeist

Scientific management as the way to organize work

Bureaucracy as the way to organize people

Hawthorne studies gave way to human relations

movement advocating participative management

and a general “humanizing” of the workplace

Emergence of laboratory training movement where

humanistic and democratic values filled the

movement

Survey feedback systematically assessed employee

morale and attitudes in organizations

Sociotechnical approach viewed social and

technical systems as interdependent where a change

in one system will directly affect the other

1900s to

1920s

1940s to

1960s

Prevailing paradigms for organizations -

zeitgeist

Recognition of four major stems of OD: (1)application

of laboratory training insights to complex

organizations, (2) survey feedback technology, (3)

emergence of action research, (4)sociotechnical and

socioclinical approaches

Changing Context and Second-wave OD

1980s to 1990s has dramatically changed the

context of the business environment (globalization,

tech innovations etc.)

Considerable attention is being given to new

concepts, interventions, and areas of application

Second generation OD includes interest in

organizational transformation, culture, learning

organization, TQM, and visioning

1960s

and

beyond

Early Statements of OD Values

and Assumptions

Warren Bennis

OD practitioners share a set of normative goals

Richard Beckhard

Several assumptions about the nature and

functioning of organizations

Robert Tannenbaum and Sheldon Davies

Values in transition

Normative goals by Warren Bennis

1. Improvement in interpersonal competence

2. A shift in values so that human factors and

feelings come to be considered legitimate

3. Development of increased understanding

between and within working groups in order to

reduce tension

4. Development of more effective “team

management”

5. Development of better methods of conflict

resolution

6. Development of organic rather than mechanical

systems

Mechanical System

Authority-obedience

relationships

Strict division of labor

and hierarchical

supervision

Centralized decision

making

Organic System

Mutual confidence

and trust

Multi-group

membership and

responsibility

Wide sharing of

responsibility and

control

Organic versus mechanical systemsfrom Normative goals by Warren Bennis

Assumptions about the nature and

functioning of organizations by Richard Beckhard

1. The basic building blocks of an organization are

groups (teams)

2. An always relevant change goal is the reduction

of inappropriate competition

3. Decision making is located where the

information sources are

4. Controls are interim measurements, not the basis

of managerial strategy

5. Develop open communication, mutual trust, and

confidence between and across levels

6. People support what they help create

Values in transitionfrom 1969 Industrial Management Review

by Robert Tannenbaum and Sheldon Davies

Away from… Towards…

People are bad People are good

Negative evaluation of

individualsConfirming as human beings

Individuals as fixed Seeing as being in process

Resisting and fearing individual

differencesAccepting and utilizing

A job description A whole person

Walling off expression of feelingsMaking appropriate expression

and effective use

Maskmanship and game playing Authentic behavior

Values in transitionfrom 1969 Industrial Management Review

by Robert Tannenbaum and Sheldon Davies

Away from… Towards…

Status and prestige to maintain

power

Status for organizationally relevant

purposes

Distrusting people Trusting people

Avoiding facing others Making appropriate confrontation

Avoidance of risk taking Willingness to risk

Process work as unproductive Process work as essential

Competition Collaboration

The democratic values prompted a critique of

authoritarian, autocratic, and arbitrary

management practices

dysfunctions of bureaucracies

The humanistic values prompted a search for

Better ways to run organizations

Develop the people in them

Implications of OD values and

assumptions

For dealing with individuals

For dealing with groups

For designing and running organizations

Implications for dealing with individuals

Two basic assumptions

Most individuals have drives toward personal growth

and development

Most people desire a higher level contribution to the

attainment of organization goals than most

environments permit

Implications for dealing with individuals

Implications:

• Ask

• Listen

• Support

• Challenge

• Encourage risk taking

• Permit failure

• Remove obstacles and barriers

• Give autonomy

• Give responsibility

• Set high standards

• Reward success

Implications for dealing with groups

Assumptions

What occurs in the work group greatly influences

feelings of satisfaction and competence

Most people wish to be accepted and to interact

cooperatively with at least one reference group

Most people are capable of making greater

contribution to a group’s effectiveness and

development

Group members should assist the leader for group

effectiveness

Attitudinal and motivational problems require

interactive and transactional solutions

Implications for dealing with groups

Implications:

• Let teams flourish

• Leaders should invest in groups

• In time required for group development

• Training time and money to increase group members’ skills

• Energy and intelligence in creating a positive climate

• Leaders adopt a team leadership style

• Give important work to teams, not individuals

Implications for dealing with groups

Implications:

• Group members receive training in group effectiveness skills

• Problem solving and decision making

• Conflict management

• Facilitation

• Interpersonal communication

• Encourage to deal with positive and negative feelings

• A shift in perspective

• From viewing problems as “within the problem person” to

viewing problems and solutions as transactional and as

embedded in a system

Implications for designing and running

organizations

Assumptions

The needs and aspirations of human beings are the

reasons for organized effort in society

It is possible to create organizations that on one hand

are humane and on the other hand are high

performing and profitable

Implications for designing and running

organizations

Implications:

• An optimistic, developmental set of assumptions about people

is likely to reap rewards to both organization and its members

• The belief that people are important tends to result in their

being important

• The belief that people can grow and develop competently

tends to produce that result

• People are an organization’s most important resource

OD rests in the foundation of values and

assumptions about people and organizations

These beliefs help to define what OD is and

guide its implementation

Creating the Best Workplace on Earthby Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones

“In a nutshell, it’s a company where individual

differences are nurtured; information is not

suppressed or spun; the company adds value to

employees, rather than merely extracting it from

them; the organization stands for something

meaningful; the work itself is intrinsically rewarding;

and there are no stupid rules.”

http://hbr.org/2013/05/creating-the-best-workplace-on-earth/ar/1

References

French, W., & Bell, C. (1995). Organization

Development: Behavioral Science Interventions for

Organization Improvement. 5th Ed. New Jersey, USA:

Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Sikes, W., Drexler, A., & Gant, J. (1989). The Emerging

Practice of Organization Development. Alexandria,

Virginia; San Diego, California, USA: NTL Institute of

Applied Behavioral Science; University Associates, Inc.

French, W., Bell, C., & Zawacki, R. (2005). Organization

Development and Transformation: Managing Effective

Change. 6th Ed. NY, USA: McGraw-Hill.

The Foundations and Future of Organization

Development presented by Sandhya Johnson

(http://www.slideshare.net/)

Organization

Development

Values, Assumptions, and Beliefs in OD