Category: Organization Development

Problem Justifying

As a target case to analyze, the city center hospital case will be reviewed. The key problem that worries its CEO is tension among employees, which, in turn, affects work productivity and patient outcomes negatively. In particular, ethical communication problems are raised, which consist of the arrogant behavior of doctors in relation to the junior medical personnel. This type of interpersonal conflict is an unhealthy form of teamwork, and disunity is a deterrent to effective collaboration. Nurses are stressed by their senior colleagues behavior, and the morale in this hospital is weak and does not allow for a strong and well-coordinated team with common development goals and objectives. As a result, the organizational development (OD) intervention is seen as a change algorithm designed to address the weak aspects of the hospitals organizational culture and create a background for honing healthy leadership skills among managers. The challenges to address imply identifying steps to strengthen the hospitals internal culture, developing a proper communication strategy, applying an effective theoretical methodology to evaluate growth tactics, and determining an optimal leadership structure.

The OD intervention is the main planned mechanism to address the existing problems and gaps in the team of the hospital in question. Analyzing the morale of the nursing staff and the behavior of clinic managers can help create an environment for the effective resolution of the current disagreements and stimulate productive communication among colleagues. As a tool to apply to substantiate the existing problem in the team, a special 4A framework is utilized. According to Hurst (2017), this is an algorithm designed to mitigate nurses distress and is used in situations similar to that of the clinic under consideration. This framework includes the following stages: ask, affirm, assess, and act, which allows moving from reasoning about a specific issue to concrete actions based on the identified challenges and gaps (Hurst, 2017). As a result, the OD intervention has an appropriate rationale and includes the key steps that reflect the implementation of the assigned tasks in stages.

The intervention process itself includes several basic steps to implement. To begin with, organizational identity is defined, which is done to create a favorable background for promoting change in the work environment. This step can help convey to all the interested parties the importance of taking the necessary actions. An aforementioned 4A framework is a tool that can enable this step of the intervention process to be implemented.

After determining the relevance of the appropriate intervention, specific operating procedures are planned and compiled into a single and continuous mechanism for working with personnel. Through ad hoc interaction practices, data is collected from the interested parties through relevant tools, such as interviews, surveys, and questionnaires. Additional practical steps are also suggested as part of this phase, including staff meetings, training sessions, and team-building activities.

Establishing an appropriate framework for promoting an optimal communication strategy allows for building the entire intervention process within a sustainable program in which each party involved understands the value of the work performed. As Moseley (2017) notes, this practice contributes to overcoming various barriers, transforming organizational behavior, and other valuable perspectives. In this regard, current communication practices are offered, which are implemented through different tools, for instance, team-building or training sessions.

Creating an enabling environment for the intervention can be accompanied by some external challenges, for instance, the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes it difficult for full-fledged social interaction. To avoid potential planning problems, a special methodology is proposed  the SWOT analysis as a tool to identify the existing strengths and weaknesses, as well as assess the prospects for the future. Such an analysis is a convenient algorithm to correlate the current results with anticipated ones and draw objective conclusions.

Finally, as part of the intervention plan, an appropriate leadership strategy is chosen to follow. While taking into account the problem in question and the existing constraints and limitations, the interests of each party are assessed to ensure that the issue is comprehensively addressed. As a result, team relationships may be built through effective leadership practices, which is the ultimate goal of the considered intervention.

The Role of the Consultant During the Intervention

During the intervention, the role of the consultant is revealed as an essential aspect influencing the results of work and the general atmosphere aimed to facilitate all operational steps. Bierema (2020) notes that the collaboration regime that is built between the consultant and the client is favorable for addressing the planned OD and ensuring sustainable productive communication. In particular, the responsible employee proposes an appropriate intervention regime that satisfies the interest of the other party and provides an effective framework for addressing the current difficulties. As a result, the consultant helps shape a clear strategy of work, which includes assessing the organizational mission and vision, and this, in turn, is in the clients interests.

To carry out the intervention successfully, individual competencies need to be taken into account. In particular, leadership competencies are important determinants that need to be addressed and transformed to achieve the desired outcomes. Communication competencies also play an essential role and are the features that should be honed to create a supportive interaction environment between doctors and nurses in the clinic. From the perspective of ethical behaviors and their functions in the case at hand, professional respect is the main behavior to promote to eliminate interpersonal conflict in the workplace. Equality is also a form of behavior that needs to be addressed, with an emphasis not on professional responsibilities but on personal characteristics.

Since the information required for the intervention is collected directly from the clinic staff, a qualitative research method is an optimal approach. The data obtained in the course of communication with the personnel is recorded, and based on its analysis, appropriate recommendations and conclusions are proposed. Numerical correlations in the form of statistical ratios are not relevant, which eliminates the need for a quantitative research method.

While taking into account a qualitative research method, appropriate data collection tools should be applied. The information is collected directly from the clinic staff, and for this purpose, questionnaires, surveys, and interviews are the instruments of choice. Regarding the assessment methods, the aforementioned SWOT analysis is a convenient strategy to evaluate the existing nuances of the operation of the medical facility under consideration. This tool provides an opportunity to compare the results of the assessment with the proposed principles of intervention. In addition, to determine the effectiveness of the performed work from the perspective of patient outcomes, patient care plans will be reviewed based on the data before and after the intervention. Since the goal of the work is to not only increase the level of communication within the team but also strengthen employees professionalism, positive changes are planned in the indicators of work with patients. Finally, the level of professionalism will be measured in terms of the skills acquired during the intervention. Training sessions and team-building activities are offered to the clinic staff. Therefore, by comparing their qualifications before and after the target work, appropriate conclusions can be drawn.

The entire operating mode is expected to take the next twelve months. During this time, all stages of the intervention will be completed, and the data will be collected comprehensively to obtain objective results and compare the planned outcomes with those obtained. The aforementioned data collection steps and evaluative stages are included in this period, and in one year, the indicators of team communication will be compared to the current ones.

Despite the value of the intervention under consideration from an organizational perspective, individual constraints can make it difficult to effectively implement the plan, in particular, certain factors associated with resistance to the change. Clinic staff may be disloyal to the proposed measures and show dissatisfaction with the program which implies increased responsibility for communication in the team. In their study, Schulz-Knappe et al. (2019) highlight such personal constraints as skepticism, inflexibility, and disengagement, and all of them can manifest themselves in the environment in question. However, through effective influences and persuasion steps, the reconciliation process may come quickly, and all involved can adapt to change. As relevant practices to apply, encouraging openness of work, the approval of employees efforts, and the joint discussions of the work performed may be utilized. These methods of persuasion are valuable drivers in influencing the willingness of the staff to participate in the intervention and do their best to achieve the set goals timely and successfully.

The Projected Outcomes for the OD Change Project

Due to a relatively long OD change period (twelve months) and the comprehensive methods of collecting and evaluating data, the proposed intervention will allow achieving crucial results that can be successfully implemented within the framework of the clinic in question. Firstly, productive communication between doctors and nurses in the healthcare facility may contribute to creating a highly professional environment in which each employee can fulfill ones individual potential. All the participants in the workflow will be able to make a personal contribution to the achievement of organizational goals and objectives that the leaders of the clinic setting.

Secondly, an equally valuable prospect of the intervention is an increase in patient outcomes due to improved interaction among the clinic staff. According to Ghahramanian et al. (2017), disrupted communication between nurses and physicians endangers the safety and quality of care (p. 169). Consequently, fostering this interaction is a valuable practice that can enhance patient outcomes, which, as Hurst (2017) states, is the ultimate goal of healthcare professionals activities. Doctors and nurses will be able to interact successfully and establish a sustainable communication mechanism, which, in turn, can improve the quality of care by eliminating gaps in treatment.

Thirdly, organizational culture can be strengthened due to the intervention. The well-coordinated work of employees who value their colleagues activities and respect one anothers professionalism is the key to effective collaboration. The CEO of the clinic can count on the superior performance of subordinates if each employee understands the importance of personal input and does not discriminate against others work. As a result, as Ghahramanian et al. (2017) note, this mode of operation creates a supportive and inclusive environment in which staff are loyal to management requirements and perform assigned tasks responsibly. Therefore, the intervention will help increase the reputation of the clinic among the citys medical institutions.

Finally, the unit managers of the clinic will be able to acquire valuable leadership skills and hone their ability to adapt effectively to specific work conditions. Transformational leadership is seen as an approach that allows for flexibility in control, which is relevant to the healthcare environment (Jambawo, 2018). Based on this, after the intervention, unit managers will gain valuable knowledge about how a product team works, what incentives and motivation are essential for colleagues, and what methods of influence and reward are effective. Thus, the considered OD change is a crucial and valuable intervention that addresses the existing gaps in the work of the clinic staff and provides a framework for transforming individual work regimes.

Conclusion

The project concerning the implementation of organizational development change and aimed to address poor communication in the clinic under consideration is multi-stage and implies enhancing operational aspects. Due to the complex work to create a favorable interaction environment and a long period of activities (one year), the clinic staff will be able to adapt to the proposed conditions. The planned research methodology is a convenient framework to collect data from employees and analyze it successfully. Valuable implications can be achieved, including strengthening unit managers leadership skills, increasing patient outcomes, enhancing the clinics reputation, and creating a sustainable algorithm for sharing knowledge among the team members. Respect for one another and equality are valuable properties to promote within the project to enable a smooth transition to a refreshed mode of operation and overcome potential resistance to the change.

References

Bierema, L. (2020). Organization development: An action research approach (2^nd ed.). Zovio.

Ghahramanian, A., Rezaei, T., Abdullahzadeh, F., Sheikhalipour, Z., & Dianat, I. (2017). Quality of healthcare services and its relationship with patient safety culture and nurse-physician professional communication. Health Promotion Perspectives, 7(3), 168-174. Web.

Hurst, D. J. (2017). Mitigating moral distress in nursing. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, 15(6), 11-12. Web.

Jambawo, S. (2018). Transformational leadership and ethical leadership: Their significance in the mental healthcare system. British Journal of Nursing, 27(17), 998-1001. Web.

Moseley, G. B. (2017). Managing health care business strategy (2^nd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Schulz-Knappe, C., Koch, T., & Beckert, J. (2019). The importance of communicating change: Identifying predictors for support and resistance toward organizational change processes.Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 24(4), 670-685. Web.

Problem Identification

Organizational development depends on the ability of the company to identify and solve most of its problems. As training based organization, Al Shaheen L.L.C Company faces many problems, especially those related to a change in curriculum and instruction in the work setting (Al  Shaheen, 2011).

The major problem facing the company is the increase in technological complexity of the organization. Notably, the technical problems arise from goal setting, leadership and communication in the company (Hoy & Hoy, 2009).

Since training is a very important aspect of the organizational development, it is important for the company to develop an internal mechanism of dealing with technical complexity and other operation uncertainties (Al  Shaheen, 2011).

Research Theories Related to the Problem

Technical complexity is a very difficult problem to solve as most consultants and researchers would agree that the normal technical support in the company is critical to the organizational success (Hoy & Hoy, 2009).

Product customization, consulting and training are the main recommended ways of offering solution to the problems affecting the organization. Perhaps, this is the reason explaining Al Shaheens interest in offering experienced training and encouraging development business (Al  Shaheen, 2011).

As a service sector, the research theories related to the problem of technical complexity include the industry lifecycle and its evolution theory because they play a very significant role in explaining technical complexity in the organization (Hoy & Hoy, 2009). It is through understanding the relevant theories that one would be able to identify and intervene in solving the organizational problems.

The company was categorical in explaining the distinction between operations involving the organizations product and other training services, which it offered. Apparently, this could propel the organization to exploit the services for financial gain (Hoy & Hoy, 2009).

Particularly, the company had the knowledge that innovation was the key aspect of product development, thus it had to incline its training towards a more innovative approach than mere theoretical aspects.

Considering the industry lifecycle theory, it is apparent that the organizations become complex as they develop into different life stages (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011). Each complete cycle in the organizations system presents a stage in its development and gives rise to certain degree of complexity in the manner in which the companys affairs are run.

For instance, as the company assets, products and services loom large, running the affairs becomes complex. Therefore, it needs a pragmatic design that allows industry dynamics to interplay and create a competitive environment based on cost and technological advancement (Hoy & Hoy, 2009).

On industrial evolution theory, the research indicated that the firms dynamics are based on consumer demands. This means that the company would only invest in areas where the demand is high (Hoy & Hoy, 2009).

As the industrial services evolve, the company is also compelled to shift its services to tailor with the changing customer requirements and evolution of technological invention. Mostly, evolution of technology makes the operations to be very complicated, thereby necessitating the actions, which would harmonize the organizational activities.

Measurable Objectives Related to the Problem

Some of the measurable objectives related to the problem of technical complexity include some of the following. Basically, the main objective is to identify the existence of the problem (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011).

In essence, identifying the real problem is very crucial in formulating the policies that aim at providing the best solutions to the problem (Anderson, 2009). Ideally, the extent to which the company is able to identify the problem is measurable and could be determined by observing the signs depicting the dilemma.

Another measurable objective is to develop connection with other stable companies so that the firm might increase its capacity to the needs of consumers, employees and other stakeholders of the organization (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011).

Through increasing capacity, the organization will equally experience a rise in complexity and the way of doing its activities. In this manner, the company might be capable of enhancing its modes of operation.

In addition, the company has to verify the pre-determined annual operation cost so that unnecessary expenses are minimized (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011).

This is relatively important in underscoring the optimal management changes in the company so that it could deal with the effects of the organizational complexity. In fact, such verification makes the operation easy and reduce the cost, thus the company may realize marginal profit from its activities.

Participants and Change Agents

Notably, the people who could be involved as participants and change agents include the company management and other stakeholders. Again, all the management personnel such as the general managers, the directors and business development executives are to be included to participate in the operations, the selected employees would also get chances to make their contributions (Anderson, 2009).

Finally, the company would appreciate the participation of some shareholders such as the Ultra Electronics among others.

Problem Diagnosis

There are many causes of technical complexity within the organization. For example, as the organization expands in the country, region and around the globe, it opens several branches in the new areas, employs workers in such places and has to coordinate the operations of all the branches (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011).

For this reason, the organizations database has to be developed to cope with the rising need and complex operation and management structures. Clearly, the industry cycles have profound change on the service levels in the organization, which might contribute to the companys complexity.

Technological progress in the company could also give rise to technical complexity (Anderson, 2009). This is because, as the company adopts sophisticated modes of operation, such as computerization, the management is forced to undergo basic training on how to use the new and complex operation systems (Anderson, 2009).

Therefore, it means that introducing a new technology in the company operations would increase technical complexity.

Procedures of Solving the Problem

For the company to solve the problem of technical complexity in an adequate manner, the process of doing this has to be procedural. This would be the sure way of becoming successful in solving the complex issues in the company. In this regard, the company should follow the procedure as explained here.

Step I. Problem Determination: here, the company has to accept that technical complexity is a problem and affects the companys operation (Singapore Math, 2012).

Unless the company is able to come into terms of the reality surrounding the problem and its existence, it might not be able to provide meaningful solution. Problem determination also involves establishing the constraint failures of this particular problem, thereby planning for possible intervention (Singapore Math, 2012).

Step II. Initial Analysis of the Problem: this involves the analysis of specific constraint. In fact, it helps in gathering high-level and particular information that might have led to the failure (Singapore Math, 2012). This helps in determining whether the problem is severe or mild and could enable the company to get the most probable grounds, which led to the mistake.

Step III. Determine Source of Failure: this is an investigation of all issues, which might be behind the problem. From this analysis, the company would be able to come up with a single or probably two particular loopholes responsible for the error (Singapore Math, 2012). In this step, the company establishes the design failure that is used in solving the problem.

Step IV. Isolate the Problem Area: here, isolation of the particular problem results from examining the other possible errors, giving a summary and detailed analysis showing that the isolated problem is indeed, specific (Singapore Math, 2012). Therefore, it gives the specific and general information that is responsible for the failure.

Step V. Isolate the Specific Problem Cause: in this analysis, the major cause of the problem is identified and singled out. Notably, this is the appropriate way to correct the error since the company will not operate on assumption and mere guess work (Singapore Math, 2012). The cause is dealt with specifically in order to offer a permanent solution.

Step VI. Offer and Verify the Solution: after isolating the problem and its specific cause, the company outlines the strategy for resolution based on the level of its severity (Singapore Math, 2012).

In this manner, the resolution model would be directed to the problem, thus finding solution becomes easy (Singapore Math, 2012). The strategies and outcome are then verified to ascertain if they actually offer solution to the problem of technical complexity.

References

Al  Shaheen. (2011). Al Shaheen LLC. Web.

Anderson, D. L. (2009). Organization Development: The Process of Leading Organizational Change. New York, NY: Sage Publications.

Cheung-Judge, M. & Holbeche, L. (2011). Organization Development: A Practitioners Guide for OD and HR. New York, NY; Kogan Page.

Hoy, A. & Hoy, W. (2009). Instructional Leadership: A Research-Based Guide to Learning in Schools, (3rd Ed). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Singapore Math. (3 Jan 2012). Step-By-Step Problem Solving, Grade 7. Singapore: Frank Schaffer Publications.

Management

Mary Parker Follet has been one of the famous and prominent experts in the management sector. According to him, people are the most effective tools for the implementation of planned things, which has been referred as Management by him. The kind of functional management is one when the initial plan is put to action to reach the pre-set target. In a business, different people work in different perspectives under shade, but for the fulfillment of one objective. Thus, a group of people are directed and controlled by the involvement of management, which has been considered as another important definition of this term. Management comprises the proper deployment of:

1. Human Resources
2. Financial Resources
3. Technological Resources, and
4. Natural Resources

The most important attribute of a manager is his or her ability to control, direct and mange people so that the project works smoothly and successfully.

Managements Basic Elements

Some of important functions through which a good Management operates are:

• Planning: foreseeing the future needs and deciding upon the action plan.
• Organizing: making maximum utilization of all resources for executing the plan.
• Motivating: first exhibiting the skills yourself for others to follow suit.
• Coordinating: matching things to fit in and making people work together for a common goal.
• Controlling: intermittant checking and monitoring progress against original plan (Barrett, p. 50)

Personal Management

Personnel management, in quite sometime past, was simply considered as an activity concerning the hiring of employees. But with the passage of time as business grew more complex, personnel management gained more importance and became more intricate than it was before in the 1800s. It was in early 1900s when employers and business entrepreneurs began to realize that it is the workers morale that affects productivity and that workers need reasonably sufficient amount of wages so as to be happy and content in their job. It was also a part of awakening and realization when a natural human instinct was considered in employees affairs. It was also realized that it is employees right to get acknowledgement and recognition of their work and hence a feeling of achievement, and that the employees too require an opportunity to participate in decisions that affect their work. The personnel managers then started caring for such needs of the employees by various programs such as company newsletters, recreation programs, and suggestion systems. In mid 1900s the labor unions were formed which soon became very powerful, resulting into the expansion of industrial relations. More responsibilities for personnel managers were created from the coming of Social Security Act of 1935. By virtue of this Act, the personal managers had to supervise employees retirement and unemployment benefits, in addition to their normal responsibilities. (Quinn, n.p.)

Planning

A Plan, in the broader sense, is a typical, well-thought-out procedure to achieve a goal. But when it comes to execution of the plan, it is the planning that assumes a more important dimension. According to Winston Churchill: Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential - Winston Churchill.

Planning is a term that implies the figuring out the details of a plan down to the level of its sub-components. Literally, planning simply means the formulation of a plan; it can be both simple as well as complex. In the modern times it has acquired a more technical meaning, covering the below areas that have relationship to resource utilization:

1. Government
2. Legislation, and
3. Regulations

Planning is referred to the best and maximum use of resources, as in the case of a series of five-year-plans. However, the term is often used in connection to the planning for the best use of resources like land, capital and labour especially in the Transportation and Urban planning etc. Planning, therefore, encompasses both the thinking and psychological process and the organizational process of creating and maintaining a plan about the future activities to be carried out on a specific scale. Thus, it is a result of intelligently deploying the resources which is of utmost importance for the creation and refinement of a plan. or its integration with other plans,

The term planning also refers to the formal procedures used in efforts as the creation of documents and diagrams; the holding of meetings to discuss the important issues that require to be addressed on the basis of time priority, the goals to be met, and the tactics and strategy that is to be followed. It has been observed that different perspectives, such as social, political, as well as, economic conditions influence the real meaning of the planning, which is quite unclear due to its different utilization around the globe.

Planning Process

The planning process constitutes of a number of different procedures, which are influenced and done on different grounds. In this regard, during the abovementioned process, usual plans are developed under a framework. In specific, some of the bases have been mentioned below:

1. Ecology
2. Economy
3. Society, and
4. National policy

After the plan framework is chalked out, comes the implementation stage. In addition, mechanical, instructive, and monetary aid programs can be utilized for the facilitation that may support the execution, as well as, implementation of these plans. In addition, different activities are required to complete each step of the planning process. Usually, the conservation plan is prepared by an individual, which plays the role of a decision maker in the planning process. One of the major features of a conservation plan is that the future state of an area is reflected by the conservation plan, which is often referred as an assessment. Moreover, an important role is also played by the customer, as well as, the stakeholder in the preparation of the management plan.

[Note: It is not necessary that stakeholders essentially be the decision-makers for the implementation of the planned activities.]

Development Administration & Planning (DAP)

What, in your view, are the major challenges posed to development planning and administration by the interaction between civil society, state and markets?

In recent decades, the globe has grown economically, as well as, socially at a faster speed, and international trade has played an important role in the expansion, as well as, progression of the humankind. During recent times, the history has witnessed an abrupt change in its growth, which needs proper planning and management for its maintenance, as well as, steady and stable growth. In addition, a major and crucial role has been played by the governments and private sectors in the continuation of the worldly growth. Moreover, urban, as well as, rural population has contributed significantly in the same aspect. Yet, poor and rich societies confront a major gap between each other. In many cases, increment has been observed in the inequalities between the abovementioned social classes. Thus, world is becoming smaller and smaller, and turning into a global village. On the other hand, poverty is increasing, and some nations and societies are lagging behind in darkness.

It has been observed that governments, as well as, private organizations confront a crucial challenge regarding the global development in the new century. In this regard, different countries are implementing different strategies according to their available resources. For instance, natural, cultural, and especially, human resources are being utilized effectively by the developing countries. On the other hand, an equitable and continuous development by the formulation of a framework has been the major concern of the developed countries, as well as, some of the international organizations. In this regard, achievement of these goals has become the responsibility of trained professionals around the world. Specifically, one of major and important concern of the expertise is the proper understanding of the factors that are responsible for the development, and vice versa. Thus, appropriate policies should be formulated by the experts, in order to provide better development goals to the global world.

In this regard, a number of organizations have been established for the ensuring of continuous global development. In this aspect, the Development Planning Unit is one of the international centres that are working for the abovementioned purpose. Some of the major objectives of the DPU are the provision of academic teaching, as well as, opportunities of practical training. Moreover, different fields have been chosen by the DPU of which, the development planning and management on the regional, as well as, urban level is one of the major fields of action of the DPU. In this regard, twelve staff members have been recruited by this department, and a research degree programme has been offered for the provision of postgraduate education. Furthermore, six MSc courses, as well as, a number of certificate programs have been offered by the department. Thus, approximately hundred students are provided with the abovementioned programs every year, which is a huge contribution by this department.

Strong interdisciplinary postgraduate course has been offered as Diploma Development Administration and Planning, which has been focused significantly in terms of teaching. Specifically, the growth and expansion of developing countries has been positively contributed by the provision of systematic, mechanical, as well as, practical knowledge and expertise by this course to the participants from around the world. In particular, diverse variety of confrontations can be responded appropriately by the formulation of required policies by these students after these courses. In the result, economic and social opportunities are provided to the populace in the developing countries. Moreover, export, as well as, production performance is improved by the implementation of implications that are practiced during the training. In other words, the basic objective of reduction of the poverty and inequality is fulfilled at some extent.

In addition, carrying out of exploration, education, and management in the DPU has been one of the main purposes of the course. In particular, the development, administration, and planning field have been preferred by the department.

Interaction between Civil Society, State and Markets

Very little was heard of a civil society in the past, but now the subject of global citizen action resounds so often from the corridors of power. The development and expansion of civil society has been influenced by a number of reasons. In this regard, the actions and efforts of global citizens have significantly contributed in this regard. However, recognition that has been given to the individual states, as well as, trade markets has played an important and crucial role in the development of civil society. Moreover, economy has also been influenced and benefited by the alteration in the health, success, as well as, polity that has become possible due to the abovementioned efforts. These include:

1. The society matters,
2. The social institutions count, and
3. The citizens

In spite of the mushroom growth of non-government organisations (NGOs) and other civic associations in most of the countries, the civil society debate is yet confused, fragmented and hangs on the altar of contradictory interpretations. In this regard, an important question has been emerged in recent decades, which roams around the existence and identification of civil society as a traditional label, in terms of development of the developing world. Also, according to Michael Edwards,Civil society has emerged as a major influence on development thinking

The definition of civil society contains all associations and organisations that exist between the family and the state, but without the mention of business. Hence there is ardent need to discuss civil society from the business point of view. The economic role of civil society focusses on securing jobs and providing services in areas where states and markets are weak, and are merely eating up the social capital.. In their social role, civil societies can be a big store of co-operative values, caring, cultural life and intellectual innovation. (Thomas, n.p.)

Civil Society, State and Markets Interaction in Health Sector

The new institutional, technical, political and financial resources to health have been brought forth by the involvement of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the health sector. How these resources can best be utilized towards local, national and international health goals? The plans, policies and programmes that seek to engage and utilize the resources within civil society for health need to be translated by experience and evidence. In this regard, a range of circumstances has been indicated by the World Health Organization. Specifically, the interactions and relations of state with the organizations of civil society that have primarily focused on health related goals have been occurring in the situations that have been noted by the WHO.

Civil Society Interaction Features in Health Sector

The following are some of the common features of civil societys intervention in health that emerged from the facts under consideration. The study under review indicated that the civil society organizations (CSOs) provide innovative insights and approaches to the affected people and to participatory development (Loewenson, n.p.).

The CSOs initiate the provision of services to the poor communities hardly reached by the state or market. In addition, transparency, as well as, accountability is promoted by them, which is quite important in the process of decision-making. Moreover, job opportunities are created by them, which in other words, alleviate and reduce poverty. In broad perspective, advancement of human rights is another objective that is achieved by the CSOs. Subsequently, positive changes are made in the policies in different states, as well as, societies that support the needs of the people, and in the result, social status and economic conditions of the poor is improved. They have helped to generate formal and informal cultures of candidness, trust, communication and co-operation. There are certain services of some CSO, which include religious organisations that provide quality care at low cost. Recently, CSO methods and approaches were assessed in a comparative study. It was evaluated in the study that valid and transparent means were utilized by the CSOs for the identification of poor people. Also these methods were able to build more community and staff support. In the result, utilization of transparent methods encouraged the trust of community, and distrust was reduced. (Loewenson, n.p.)

In the result, a major and important role has been played by the expertise of CSO for the development of the society. On the other hand, demands from the CSO have advanced a lot, and a challenge has been confronted by them to contribute similarly in the future. In this respect, a number of efforts have been made by them for a sustainable healthy environment. Moreover, the delivery of services was encouraged by the CSO, and traditional involvement of CSOs was increased by the alteration in a policy. Thus, CSO has emerged as a powerful organization that can take any challenges and contribute accordingly. (Loewenson, n.p.)

Salient Features

Similar relativity has been observed in the internal characteristics of the CSO, as the welfare of states was considered by them. It has been indicated by most of the studies that health care needs of the populace are met by the imposition and implementation of concerned authorities, as well as, regulations. Thus, similar significance and potential has been observed in the state relations, as well as, community relations of the CSO. In this regard, potential enhancement has been observed in the role of CSO for its contribution in the health sector, as insufficient health resources were backed up by the planned mechanisms of the CSOs in the needed locations. (Loewenson, n.p.)

In cases where improvement and continuity has been observed in the healthcare services, the delivery of healthcare services has been considered more attentively, as compared to the previous activities. In the result, the important role of the private sector and similar organizations has been encouraged and appreciated by the governments. Thus, healthcare services are being mobilized by the interactions with the private organizations for the improvement and advancement of quality healthcare service. (Loewenson, n.p.)

CSO-State Interaction

A number of papers have been studied in this paper, and thus, it has been evaluated that the enhancement of service in the urban and developing areas has been primitive interest and objective of the government. On the other hand, wider interests have been expressed by the CSOs during their interactions within their organization, as well as, during their governmental interactions. Therefore, CSOs seeks to broaden the ambit and scope of the citizen rights. It also seeks to check the state power and hold policy-makers or the decision-makers accountable.

For instance, urban households with low income are provided with services from CSOs in the Philippines. On the other hand, pro-poor policies and approaches of mayors are also upheld by them, and thus, activities of the elected politicians are investigated closely by them. (Loewenson, n.p.)

In fact, less development has been observed in the approaches for the facilitation of the abovementioned role while comparing the tools for the support of services in the urban areas. For instance, Brazil is a good example of this role, where adolescent and child rights are protected by the councils of CSO that only works for the child rights in the country. On the contrast, there are a number of studies that document duality of the state towards CSO roles in community organization, monitoring rights and holding policy-makers and the decision-makers accountable. The state response to such roles ranges from cooperation, to indifference or non-responsiveness to hostility. (Loewenson, n.p.)

This duality, to a greater extent can be ascribed to the absence of clear mechanisms in the studies that might enable this kind of relationship between the state and CSOs. The significance of the formulation of legal and transparent frameworks was highlighted by a study that reviewed the initiatives related to the decentralization in around six countries. Moreover, managerial capabilities for the required needs have been investigated and associated with the frameworks in a relationship. In addition, the approaches for the strengthening of political objectives and delivery of financial services to the outreach have also been highlighted in the study. On the contrast, a study-review of sixty-seven (67) CSOs working with the poor urban people in India found connections with the state to be varied; to have formally weak mechanisms for partnership and co-ordination, and animosities over differences in CSO and state standpoints on the urban poor. (Loewenson, n.p.)

Major Challenges to Development Planning & Administration

Besides the outline plan for the economic and social concerns of residents, there are other issues that need to be addressed and emphasized. Some of the major challenges posed to Development Planning and Administration include:

1. Community Safety
2. Environmental Issues
3. Highway and High Street Security
4. Care for the Elderly
5. Transport Issues
6. Youth Issues

Challenges posed to Chinas 11^th Five Year Plan

Economic Challenges

The growth rates in China over the years have persistently exceeded the targets, for a bunch of reasons. The state mechanism suffers from a growth bias, whereas the investment especially at the low level tends to grow without a check. Until recently

The economic statistics have begun to show growth and the investment rate came to well above the target.

At the time when consumption is most needed, Chinese people tend to save rather than spend simply because of insecure circumstances and high costs related to social provision, an occurrence which may take years to get corrected. Although recently there has been a slight shift of central government resources towards rural areas, yet this increase is not big enough to bring the much needed result. This programme also included ways and means of reducing the burden from the country-dwellers shoulders

Social challenges: (stability maintaining factor)

The measures, which China adopted to meet its economic challenges, have a direct effect on social stability. The government officials have very clearly identified inequalities in the income as a cause of social chaos and turmoil. So they have moved, in the Five-Year-Plan at macroeconomic level, to address the issue of inequalities by improving social provision in the rural areas and by enhancing the scales at rural incomes. The development of the new Socialist countryside is clearly directed at fortifying social synchronization.

At the same time action is being taken to strengthen the physical capacity to control the social unrest and chaos on the streets by creating new units of the Peoples Armed Police that is equipped with latest arms and weapons, the intention being to keep the rural mob under command and control.

Too many observers in China, there are also systemic deficiencies within the system and the plan itself that is a cause of this chaos and unrest. One, among many causes, is the lack of effective independent channel through which complaints of the aggrieved parties can be communicated to the protestors representatives. The other important reason for a feeling of insecurity and unrest is the absence of any effective system of check and preventive measures on the corruption and the pursuit of special interests within Party and government, especially at the local level, which triggers many of the protests and demonstrations. Without this change and preventive measures checking and controlling of the growth in unrest is simply unimaginable.

A research institute under Chinas State Council very recently held a long meeting to discuss the reforms meant to give rise to sincere ideas for the leadership. According to the minutes of the meeting, which were confirmed to have been real, some high-ranking officials at the forum argued that the only solution to growing tensions lies n putting the government and the Communist Party on a firmer legal footing, while permitting the ordinary person, a layman in the street a greater access and louder say in the public affairs. This, in fact, is the biggest challenge, which China faces today, and which is very crucial for her next phase of development planning and administration.

Works Cited

Hodgetts, Richard M. Management Information Systems, 2007. Web.

Bernthal, P.R. (2005). Management Development.

Cannell.M. Management Development (rev 2007).

Desai V (1999) Anatomy of the Bombay NGO sector. Environment & Urbanisation 11:24765.

DPU. MSc Development Administration and Planning Introduction. Web.

Planning. Web.

Rene Loewenson. Civil society  state interactions in national health systems. Web.

Richard Barrett (2003) Business & Economics. Web.

WHO/TARSC Annotated bibliography, n.p. Web.

Scenario planning is one of the most effective system tools of strategic management in general and strategic analysis in particular. As it is implied from designation, scenario planning constructs alternative options of the future development of the external environment of the organization, which allows the managers and the heads of the organization to conduct an analysis and make strategic decisions in the conditions of uncertainty. In that regard, the article Applying Organization Development Tools in Scenario Planning by Gary N. McLean and Toby Marshall Egan is devoted to the methods of facilitating scenario planning as organizational developments interventions. This paper critically reviews the aforementioned article in terms of its arguments and contributions for the theoretical framework of organizational development and strategic management.

The basic idea of the article is concerned with analyzing the basic concepts of scenario planning as an intersection with organizational development (OD) interventions. The intersection is based on the latest definition of OD and scenario planning, specifically the intuitive approach, and the particular conditions in which scenario planning can be the most beneficial. Accordingly, the intersection can be assessed from the perspective that ODs definition mainly concerns a process or an activity to achieve particular goals such as enhanced knowledge, expertise, income, productivity and etc, while scenario planning can be seen as one of the processes, which according to OD definition are abstract terms.

Additionally, the article follows with specific steps which are implied in the process of scenario planning, although, as stated earlier, they are in the context of OD interventions. In that regard, the authors selected OD tools that are the most relevant to the case of scenario planning. The steps are also processes through which the organization must come up with certain outcomes, which in this case are the scenarios and their responses. Thus, the authors follow with guidelines on how to establish the priorities among the received feedbacks.

Assessing the article it should be noted that the authors attempted to put the perspective on how this should be done at the beginning of the article, quoting Schein, who stated that the biggest impact on the evolution of OD as a field& was the result of the actual experiences that individuals had as consultants to managers in real organizations. (McLean and Egan, 2008) Thus, the presented aspects should be view as merely guidelines, which they are, because of their abstractness. That is to say, scenario planning is not only intersecting with OD, but also with other aspects of organizational management. For example, system thinking, which is one of the five disciplines presented by Senge in his theory of the learning organization, which is now also a part of OD. Accordingly, many aspects such as group process and team building can be seen as parts of HR management, which was stated by the authors, as OD has, for some time, been viewed as a subset of human resource development(McLean and Egan, 2008)In that regard, the abstractness of the presentation can be explained by the similarity of many aspects in that field, whereas it does not explain the little attention paid for the scenario planning, which is a major part in the article.

Accordingly, one of the beneficial areas for strategic planning, which specifically should be considered at the time when technological advancements can be seen as a competitive advantage while operating in dynamic and unpredictable environment, is the promotion of innovation. The article might have referred to such area pointing to internal challenges perceiving or creating new opportunities and anticipated or recently occurring organizational change. (McLean and Egan, 2008) Nevertheless, the context in which scenario planning can be used to promote innovations might have a wider implementation, specifically with the possibility of exogenous shocks. Examples of exogenous shocks that might affect the organisation include, but not limited to Unpredictable supply chain interruptions, abnormal weather events, major global economic disruptions, cyber security failures, and the risk of physical attacks on high profile company assets. (Worthington et al.) In that regard, scenario planning can be seen as proactive measure to recognise and exploit new opportunities to find innovative ways to reposition the strategy of the company.

In other sections the authors succeeded in providing the core of any organizational interventions, which is learning. In that regard, the integration of learning in scenario planning is based on that a core goal of any planning system is to re-perceive the organization and its environment&as [t]he ability to re-perceive requires that individuals and groups learn something new about the organization and its environment as well as to raise up the present and past perceptions of the organization. (Chermack, 2005)

Accordingly, the definition of scenario planning implies some controversy regarding its methods, where it does not point to the way scenario planning should be implemented and the methods of its utilization. In that regard, the origins of modern scenario planning, the examples of which is the USA and France centres for scenario techniques development which emerged in 1960s(Bradfield et al., 2005), outlines the form of scenario planning that can be defined more as a simulation. Thus, taking the examples of the first scenario planning implementations, in addition to Chermacks research, an important aspect should be mentioned which goes beyond predicting the possible future outcomes for the organizations external environment., i.e. making a decision regarding which course to follow. Thus, the challenge is providing the decision maker with an adequate amount of the right information at the right time. (Chermack, 2005) In that regard, McLean and Egans article showed that the context of OD is not in the process of decision making, rather than the process of providing the right information so that the decision maker can choose the right course for the companys further development.

Additionally, it should be stated that there are many cases of low predictability, which can be caused by inappropriate framing, cognitive and motivational biases, and inappropriate motivation of causality. In that regard, the process of making decisions in the conditions of low predictability requires that the methods should have characteristics among which avoiding overconfidence in a single scenario and identifying the uncertain characteristics that have the greatest potential impact. (Wright and Goodwin) The latter can be of great importance especially in the context presented in McLean and Egans article, i.e. value voting as a part of priority development. (McLean and Egan, 2008)

Dialogue, as a method of developing scenarios also has vital importance that might be underestimated in the context of OD. Dialogue, in that regard, can be considered as an informal strategic conversation, the perception of which was outlined by Chermack as an important factor in scenario planning efforts. In defining the dialogue, as a tool for explaining and justifying ones position, other aspects should be considered such as the requirement of the effective strategic conversation. Van der Hejden outlined four of the requirements for the strategic conversation, such as: 1) a common language, 2) alignment of ideas, 3) willingness to engage in rational argumentation, and finally 4) the evolutions of ideas inside the organization.(Chermack et al., 2007) Additionally, a research conducted by Chermack also pointed out to that participating in scenario planning might positively change the perception of own communicative skills.

Finally, one of the weaknesses of the article can be seen in limiting the challenges of scenario planning to those mutual with OD. In that regard, considering the nature of the article in presenting general guidelines, an expansive overview would have been beneficial to the flow of authors arguments. Although other challenges that might be additionally stated are also related to the aspect of uncertainty, which were mentioned by the authors, the expansion of their analysis might point out to the common pitfalls that might arise when assessing scenario planning. For example OBrien, the author of Scenario planning  lessons for practice from teaching and learning , identified five pitfalls for teaching /learning scenario planning, which are: (1)predictability of factor choices, (2) predictability of theme selections (3) focus on current/high profile issues, (4) typical implicit assumptions, and (5) unimaginative presentation. (Wright et al., 2009)

In conclusion, it can be state that the article discussed in this paper presented a comprehensive insight on the way scenario planning and organisational development can interact. In that regard, the comprehensiveness of the narration can be seen in presenting the material with an abstract approach, and thus omitting various points. The importance of such points might be argued, especially considering the different approaches presented in the literature regarding scenario planning, but nevertheless other points lies in the essence of scenario planning. In that sense, the presented guidelines might serve as an introduction for understanding OD interventions for scenario planning, whereas further investigation in that subject will require reviewing the literature related to both scenario planning and organisational development. Additionally, one of the finest points quoted in the article is the contribution of the experience in developing a theoretical framework. It could be said, that in the light of the dynamic changes in the business environment, there might be different individual factors which are individual to each organisation. In that regard, each company, assuming the availability of a solid theoretical background can derive their own contribution to the field organisational development and scenario planning, and in such way creating case studies for practical study.

Organisational Development interventions

Addressing the aspect of the organisation development, a particular question might contribute to understanding the essence of that notion. Why different companies with approximately equal conditions achieve completely different results: some companies prosper, some have average success, and other companies fail. In order to understand the answer to such question, the role of the organisation development should be examined. In that regard, this paper analyzes organisation development and its role in terms of its interventions, addressing the contextual issues that should be considered during planning, conducting and evaluating these interventions.

Overview of OD

The essence of organization development, its role, means and tools can be understood through one of its many definitions, where organisation development (OD) is an effort that is planned, organization-wide, and managed from the top, to increase organization effectiveness and health through planned interventions in the organizations processes, using behavioral-science knowledge. (Beckhard, 2006) From the definition it can be implied that OD represents a long-term work to raise the organisations capability to innovate and resolve occurring internal and external changes. In that sense, behavioural-science knowledge can be implemented through established groups during planned arrangements in which these efforts will be managed. Additionally, it should be noted that organisation development can be sometimes used synonymously with the term organisation change. (Cooperrider and Sekerka, 2006)

Organizational Setting

The organizational setting will be given through the example of a company X working in the working in the sphere of logistics with many affiliations in the major cities in the country. The company X is a fast growing company which natural development resulted in an increase in staff resulted in opening new departments. In that regard, the planning process is concerned with problems rather than opportunities. In that case the old management system, where all the business processes were handled by the top management started to malfunction due to the increase in the operational tasks. The results might be reflected in the quality of the products, complaints of the service quality, and employees dissatisfaction. In that regard, in addition to establishing the goals of the changes, the efforts directed toward these changes have to include the whole organisation, rather than the HR department, and they should be related to the organizations mission. (Beckhard, 2006)

Main Steps

The first main step in OD is planning, i.e. a systematic diagnosis of the organization, the development of a strategic plan for improvement, and the mobilization of resources to carry out the effort. (Beckhard, 2006) In that regard, one of the issues to consider is the recognition of a performance problem or opportunity (Joan Ernst van, 2007), according to which a corresponding direction of development will taken.

The process of assessment is also important, as it is the process where information is being collected and feedback is given regarding the possible domains. Assuming that OD is performed by an external consultant, an important issue to consider is building a good relation with the internal change agent.

Following the planning process, another issue to consider is selecting an appropriate model for change. Paralleling models with conducting the change, a model for change can be considered as a simplified representation of the general steps in initiating and carrying out a change process. (Rothwell et al., 2005)

Additionally, it should be noted that the cornerstone of any organisational changes is the initiatives of the top management. As it was stated in the definition of OD, managed from the top, it should be said that based on the congruence, clearness, and the regularity of the top managements guidelines, it depends to what degree the changing process will be purposeful.

Finally, the evaluation of the intervention is one of the most important steps occurring in all process models, as it serves as a justification of the investments in OD interventions. Evaluation provides the evidence on which to base decisions about maintaining, institutionalizing, and expanding successful programs, and modifying or abandoning unsuccessful ones (Thomas and Peter, 2005)

OD in Practice

Organizational Issues

The first issue relevant to OD interventions that might affect the change process is centralization. Whether the company is high or low on centralization can be seen as an influential factor on the process of implementing OD interventions. The centralization might affect the interventions in terms the autonomy of each department in the company, i.e. planning, warehouse, communication and etc. The provided setting imply high centralization where each department is dependable on headquarter. Thus the directions of the interventions should be managed from top to bottom. Accordingly, an organization with high centralization will be dependable on the hierarchy of the management and accordingly on the type of interventions applied, i.e. strategic or operational interventions.

The second issue relevant to OD interventions that might affect the change process is formalization. Whether the company is high or low on formalization accordingly might imply the companys growth level and its stage of development. The formalization can be seen through the process of following specific rules and procedures through it working process. In the provided setting of the company X the formalization is low, where each department is rather flexible with each manager of department being responsible for managing employees. Accordingly, the centralization of the company and its low formalization, is apparent through the influence of powerful figure, i.e. the head of the company, where coordination is informal, dictating the flow and the goals, leaving managers to utilize their own rules in their departments. In that regard, such approaches imply that the company is still relying on the model that was utilized at the companys foundation. Thus, OD interventions can be affected by such factor, where there will be difficulty in implementing formal interventions, in informal environment.

The third issue relevant to OD interventions that might affect the change process is communication. The setting of the company implies that the communication between the companies various departments being performed through electronic means. In that regard, the company utilizes a corporate portal, where all documentation exchange is occurring through a computer interface, forming a network without attachment to geographical location. In that regard, the lack of personal interaction affects the ability for the change agent to control the changing process. Accordingly, such factor will subsequently lead to that the evaluation of the change implementation will also be general relying mostly on financial statements and statistical data. In that regard, changes related to HR satisfaction and control will be difficult to assess.

The fourth issue which is derived from the previous one is the information system. The setting of the company X provides an efficient information system which not only serves as a portal for customers and partners, but also stores all the information regarding the document exchange in the company, forming a knowledge base. The information system can be related to OD interventions in terms of its provision of a necessary data to assess the problem, assess its urgency, and accordingly select proper model for change. In that regard, this factor will facilitate the diagnosis process, where high-level view of the companys problem will be obtained. Additionally, the availability of the knowledge base right from the companys foundation will help monitoring the performance of the company in chronological order for the past period, along with real-time monitoring during the process on implementing the interventions. In that regard, a higher level of flexibility will be added to the transformation process, allowing for the intervention to be corrected and adapted accordingly.

The fifth issue relevant to OD interventions that might affect the change process is the resistance to change. Mostly a factor associated with the employees, including top management, the resistance to change might be caused by several factors such as the following: 1) the attachment of the employees to the existent organizational design and culture, 2) Skepticism regarding the reasonability of the change, 3) the fear of not fitting into the new organizational design (e.g. staff reduction, position replacement, salary and etc) In that regard, during the pre-transformational change the issues of resistance should be addressed. In the setting presented through the example of the company X, despite the fact that the company has been in the market only for two years, the company has already established a certain culture for the employees and thus there is a possibility for facing mostly cognitive resistance at the first stages of implementing OD interventions.

The last issue relevant to OD interventions that might affect the change process is the leadership of the transformation leader. Such factors affecting the leadership of the transformation leader is the fact that that the leader was promoted from outside of the company and replaced an existent executive manager. Additionally, a factor influencing the leadership is the skills of the transformation leader reflected through the experience and the success of previous OD efforts with other companies. In the presented setting of the company X, the transformation leader was promoted from outside of the company, while his credentials include working in such companies as Y and Z, in which in addition to successfully implementing OD interventions, the aforementioned companies, belong to the same sector of the industry, which imply his understanding of the specifics of the business. In that regard, the replacement of a manager from within the company with an outsider, resulted in short-term resistance, but nevertheless, during the pre-transformation period it was possible for him to motivate and mobilize the company behind the transformation effort by gathering a supportive group around him.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that OD interventions are an essential part of any organisation. In that regard, answering the question asked in the introduction of this paper, it might be said that companies with equal starts differ in the achievement level due to various small details that should be considered during the companys development. In that regard, companies might be similar in the finances, industry, and entry to the market. Nevertheless, different factors, as the ones indicated in the paper positively and negatively affect further development of the company, and accordingly affect the OD practice and its intervention. Finally, it should be stated that in current conditions, there are no company that is capable to successfully function without organisationally developing.

References

BECKHARD, R. (2006) What is Organization Development. IN GALLOS, J. V. (Ed.) Organization development. John Wiley and Sons.

BRADFIELD, R., WRIGHT, G., BURT, G., CAIRNS, G. & VAN DER HEIJDEN, K. (2005) The origins and evolution of scenario techniques in long range business planning. Futures, 37, 795-812.

CHERMACK, T. J. (2005) Studying scenario planning: Theory, research suggestions, and hypotheses. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 72, 59-73.

CHERMACK, T. J., VAN DER MERWE, L. & LYNHAM, S. A. (2007) Exploring the relationship between scenario planning and perceptions of strategic conversation quality. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 74, 379-390.

COOPERRIDER, D. L. & SEKERKA, L. E. (2006) Toward a theory of Positive Organizational Change. IN GALLOS, J. V. (Ed.) Organization development. John Wiley and Sons.

JOAN ERNST VAN, A. (2007) Design Science and Organization Development Interventions: Aligning Business and Humanistic Values.

MCLEAN, G. N. & EGAN, T. M. (2008) Applying Organization Development Tools in Scenario Planning. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 10, 240-257.

ROTHWELL, W. J., SULLIVAN, R. & MCLEAN, G. N. (2005) Practicing organization development: a guide for consultants, John Wiley and Sons.

THOMAS, C. H. & PETER, F. S., JR. (2005) The Evaluation of Organization Development Interventions: An Empirical Study.

WORTHINGTON, W. J., COLLINS, J. D. & HITT, M. A. Beyond risk mitigation: Enhancing corporate innovation with scenario planning. Business Horizons, In Press, Corrected Proof.

WRIGHT, G., CAIRNS, G. & GOODWIN, P. (2009) Teaching scenario planning: Lessons from practice in academe and business. European Journal of Operational Research, 194, 323-335.

WRIGHT, G. & GOODWIN, P. Decision making and planning under low levels of predictability: Enhancing the scenario method. International Journal of Forecasting, In Press, Corrected Proof.

I have previously worked for a small chain of stores in a position that involved a lot of intercompany paperwork. I would prefer to keep the name of the organization and position anonymous as it does not pertain to this task. Although my first few weeks at that position were relatively problem-free, I have noticed a large communication gap between the different departments even though they were located on the same floor. Sometimes it resulted in documents getting lost after I sent them to be approved, and in other situations, I would be late to get the message about a report I needed to write because no one knew that I was not informed about it.

When I confronted my manager, she tried to resolve this issue by introducing me to some of the more knowledgeable people of the company who knew the established operations. Unfortunately, some of them already left the company by the time I started working, so those connections were lost. My manager was not aware of the full chain of operation because the person I replaced did all the work for years without telling her the process. After a week of trying to establish all the required communication connections she gave up on it and left me to find them on my own which eventually led to the larger loss of documents and efficiency for the company. I believe she had such difficulty because of two reasons: the company had a poor system of communication, and the manager relied too much on the previous worker.

Although I got a very negative impression of the inner workings of that company I believe that its problems could be fixed through the work of an organizational development consultant. The system of steps presented by Weiher puts the most emphasis on the on the data collection step (2014). This would be appropriate in the case of my past organization as the issues affected documents and communication the most. Through the process of data collection and its diagnosis, the organizational development consultant should be able to find the exact points of communication breakdown. For me, it was clear that people were working there have already adapted to the system despite its inefficiency, so they have not considered changing it.

This is where the problematic step might come in. Lurey and Griffin describe the feedback phase as a cooperative one, where the organizational development consultant would have to work together with the team to direct the process of accepting change (2013). Through my experience with the company, which lasted about six months, I saw a major pushback against change among both the team and the manager of my department. The work process was hectic, and people often considered things only in the short-term. One possible solution in this situation would be strong support from the upper management as the whole department was very careful in following any mandate that came from them. Then the next problematic step might come from the intervention phase. Since the client becomes more accountable at this stage, the chances of proper implementation of plans could be put in jeopardy (Lurey & Griffin, 2013). The team was very slow to implement any changes during my work time, and without constant supervision, I do not believe they would be able to commit to changes.

Large Group Interventions

Large group interventions include such techniques as Open Space Technology and Future Search. Both of the methods involve group communication in order to solve a common problem or establish a plan for the future. One of the issues that could have easily been solved through future search in my past organization is the lack of a scheduled day to provide all the weekly reports needed for the department. My team consisted of 24 store managers responsible for three to seven stores each. Their work involved a lot of travel around the city which did not permit them to visit the office every day. This resulted in a staggered paperwork flow. Some basic papers like travel budgets would sometimes be delayed for weeks due to two or three people who worked in very remote locations.

This issue could be solved through Future Search because it would involve the participation of the whole team. They would be able to discuss this issue as it not only affected the paperwork but their schedules as well. I believe that one or two days could be selected to gather all the required data for the bi-weekly paperwork. In the ideal situation, managers would be able to visit the office on the morning of the selected day, drop off all the required paperwork, and then leave for their other business. I am sure that the issue could have been slightly more complicated, but a compromise could have been found through the use of Future Search (Kaapz, 2010).

Despite the fact that Future Search is intended for use by very large groups with 60 or more members, this issue can definitely benefit from its use (Rogers, 2010). For preparation, I would like to ask the department manager to join me as she was both respected by the team and knew when such an event could be organized so that everyone could come. She would also be able to discuss this intervention with upper-management to secure funding for the event as it would mean a loss of a free day for the team members. The whole department would be invited to the event, which means 27 people. 24 of them would be store managers, one person responsible for paperwork, and one department manager. Everyone needs to be present for the discussion because it needs to be a date that everyone would be comfortable with.

Open Space Technology is a slightly more freeform technique where everyone is free to create a talk on an issue that they want to address. Communication is relaxed, and no one is obligated to do anything specific besides scheduling of the talks (Pashley, 2012). Usually, multiple issues are addressed through it, one of which could be the standardization of spreadsheets. Store managers were not able to provide constantly formatted spreadsheets because of the lack of standard format for the people operating the stores below them. It was common for the managers to stay in office just to fix the mistakes made by the store teams. Open Space could be beneficial because different members of the team could discuss what they need the most out of the format and find a coordinated way to implement it.

Because this type of intervention does not require extensive planning, I would not ask anyone to join me in preparation (Rogers, 2010). All the store managers would be invited, meaning 24 people. Department manager or any other members of the team could come too as they might have their own issues to bring up but to solve the spreadsheet issue I would need the store managers specifically. To facilitate a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere, refreshments, coffee, tea, and snacks would be available to the team.

Job Redesign

My current workplace is a much more stable organization, but there are times when downtime affects my productivity and motivation. On certain days of the week, there can be multiple hours of downtime that can negatively affect my workflow. I believe that job enrichment would be a great way to redesign my job. I find job enrichment to be a more substantial approach due to its focus on the two-factor theory of motivation. I have a varied set of skills that I acquired through job experience and education that I would like to use more often. I believe that the sense of achievement would be more beneficial than boredom. However, Griffin reports that there are possible issues with job enrichment that would have to be considered (2007). Perhaps the Job Characteristics approach would be more appropriate.

Out of the five job characteristics, I would like my manager to enrich the skill variety of my job (Griffin, 2007). As mentioned previously, I have a number of skills that are not engaged during my work hours, and I would like to put them to use. It would help me develop them further, as well as show that I am capable of more varied tasks than I currently perform. In theory, by seeing these skills improve, I should feel a greater sense of achievement from my work. I am usually finished with all the urgent tasks by the middle of the workday which leaves me to wait for any issues that might need to be addressed after. Often, these issues only come at the very end of the work day, and in a quite sudden fashion. The urgency of these end-of-day tasks comes right after a long period of aimless sitting during which I lose any sense of preparedness I have had at the beginning of the day. By increasing the variety of my tasks, I should be able to keep my motivation throughout the day, while also feeling more satisfied with my job because I would be able to use more of my skillset than I can right now.

Out of the intervention options presented by Amy Wrzesniewski, I believe the most appropriate would be task crafting. It is the most straightforward approach, but for my specific case, it would suffice as I only need to have a more selection of tasks to feel more satisfied with my job (2014). I feel like I have satisfying work relationships within my organization, and I have a coherent idea of the meaning of my tasks. Despite those facts, I still require a job redesign to solve the issues I currently have at my position. This is why task crafting is the type of intervention I would choose.

Appreciative Inquiry

After the relatively negative experience with my previous work, my current team has greatly impressed me. One of the main positives lies is the culture of transparent communication within the new organization. Through coherent communication within the team, I was able to avoid many problems and have improved my workflow. My current organization uses a proprietary database that I have to use on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I was slightly slow to adapt to it, but when I asked a colleague to help me understand it, he not only tried his best to show me the proper procedure but also connected me with a person in IT who was willing to answer any of my questions. Within the week I was able to do all the required operations with the database. What is more impressive is that he listened to my suggestions and proposed them for the future improvement of the system. Another example of the positive work experience came when two of the team members were unable to be at the office at a critical moment in the project. The manager and the team quickly discussed the situation, and the tasks of absent members were quickly divided among the team with minimal increase in stress. Appreciative Inquiry could be used to emphasize the communicative and adaptive qualities of the team in these situations to further improve the team.

My current organization measures performance through a number of mistakes made during the month, the pace of the project, and the positive or negative results that the project achieved on completion. I believe that a traditional development approach would be sufficient to find any issues that my team experiences as well as find a solution to them. A consultant that utilizes the traditional organization development approach could address the issues of my organization through the open space technology. The team is highly communicative which would benefit the discussion of any issues that could be brought up during the intervention. Even just normal socializing outside of the talks could prove fruitful as the team would be able to strengthen their bonds and exchange ideas on how the work could be improved. However, I do not think it would be as effective as the use of Appreciative Inquiry.

Appreciative Inquiry would be the most beneficial to my team because they have already shown a great response to positively charged feedback and actions. When Kelm describes the five principles of Appreciative Inquiry, she shows that a lot of them are based on dreaming and contextualizing events in forms of stories (2011). By focusing on the positive stories, people are able to be inspired to further improve themselves and their workplace. My current team suffers only from minor issues, but this is precisely why Appreciative Inquiry could be such a beneficial intervention for it. I believe that a consultant who utilizes Appreciative Inquiry would be the best hire for our company. This is due to the generative approach of Appreciative Inquiry. The focus of consulting would be not on resolving issues within the team to get to the sufficient levels of operation, but on achieving greater success through improving the team operation. Another factor that leads me to believe in Appreciative Inquiry is its grounded nature. The previously discussed methods had multiple issues that were not yet addressed through academic research when Appreciative Inquiry was created from academic principles of positive psychology and have already shown a variety of positive results from teams that would otherwise be dismantled or just trained to the minimal acceptable levels of operation.

References

Griffin, R. (2007). Principles of management. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co.

Kaapz. (2010). Kaapz and future search. Web.

Kelm, J. (2011). What is Appreciative Inquiry.mov. Web.

Lurey, J. & Griffin, M. (2013). Action research: The anchor of OD practice. In Vogelsang, J. (Ed.), Handbook for Strategic HR: Best Practices in Organization Development from the OD Network (pp. 46-52). Saranac Lake, NY: AMACOM Books.

Pashley, S. (2012). Open space. Web.

Rogers, J. (2010). Large group interventions. Facilitating Groups. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education

Weiher, A. (2014). Artifact: Organization development. Web.

Wrzesniewski, A. (2014). Job crafting  Amy Wrzesniewski on creating meaning in your own work. Web.

The aim of this report is to analyze a case study of the Quay International Convention Centre (QICC), which is a successful hospitality organization that has recently been experiencing a substantial downturn in the motivation and performance of its employees. The report will describe an intervention implemented by an experienced OD practitioner, which is aimed at the elimination of structural, personal, and interpersonal inefficiencies that have resulted in the diminished productivity of the center.

It will be argued that an underlying problem within the operations department of the company is the lack of effective leadership, which manifests in a variety of other issues such as a stultifying hierarchy, poor communication skills of the workforce, and insufficient employee development. The paper will outline the organizational development theory, which will be used to understand the change and manage the change process. All activities related to the OD project will be described. The report will also discuss effective strategies for overcoming resistance to change.

Organizational Development Theory

Organizational Development and Change Management

For many years, scholars have tried to come up with a comprehensive definition of OD. However, their attempts have resulted in a variety of explanations for the concept, each of which emphasizes a different aspect of OD. Beckhard has highlighted the importance of applying behavioral science to OD and argued that it is a planned, top-down effort that increases the effectiveness and health of an organization (as cited in Aziz, 2013).

Burke has recognized that the concept is inevitably linked with change and implies knowledge transfer from psychology and sociology (as cited in Burnes & Cooke, 2012). However, probably the aptest definition of OD has been recently suggested by Cummings and Worley (2014), who argue that it is an organization-wide application and transfer of knowledge from behavioral sciences to the planned development, improvement, and reinforcement of the strategies, structures, and processes that lead to organizational effectiveness (p. 2).

It is clear that although these definitions imply change, they are inextricably linked with change management. It has to do with the fact that change is a continuing process that occurs without planning. A case in point is non-adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in QICC. Change management, on the other hand, is a planned and highly organized occurrence that requires a commitment to change and is not possible without transformational leadership (Hechanova & Cementina-Olpoc, 2013; Schachter, 2017).

Lewins Theory of Planned Change

Lewins theory of planned change (TPC) is widely recognized as the scholars main contribution to change management. The theory states that every successful change project presupposes three steps: unfreezing, moving, and refreezing. Therefore, it is often referred to as the Three-Step model (see Figure 1).

The first step in the model entails recognition of a problem and the creation of a sense of urgency, which is necessary for overcoming the forces of inertia that prevent people from changing their behavior. The second step necessitates the creation of an actionable plan and engagement of people involved in the change. The final step in the model involves the stabilization of the change and transformation of culture, policies, and practices of an organization (Shirey, 2013).

It is clear that the moving stage in the Lewins TPC model is similar to the learning approach of Action Research; therefore, its philosophical foundation is not outmoded, despite critics who suggest otherwise. For example, Cummings, Bridgman, and Brown (2015) argue that the scholar has oversimplified the change process. Hendry, on the other hand, maintains that a great number of change models are based on an irreducible three-stage process described by Lewin (as cited in Boje, Burnes, & Hassard, 2012). Given that Lewins TPC model has been successfully applied in a variety of contexts ranging from nursing to informational technology (IT), it is hard to diminish its importance and claim that it is simplistic and outmoded (Sutherland, 2013).

Understanding the Change

After analyzing the state of affairs in the company, the OD practitioner came to the conclusion that the performance of the organizational department is hindered by the rigid hierarchy of the company. QICCs managers had applied a top-down approach in daily operations, which stultified innovation and impacted the morale of employees. The OD practitioner realized that an interpersonal intervention is needed to ameliorate the situation and help the management of the company to recognize and utilize the talent of their workforce (Waddell, Creed, Cummings, & Worley, 2017).

Another problem within the operations department was the lack of communication skills among the companys employees, which was indicative of both poor human resources (HR) practices and quality management practices (Ahmad et al., 2015). The intended interpersonal and HR intervention was to develop a strategy for achieving excellent performance by improving the interpersonal communication skills of the workforce.

The OD practitioner also recognized that employee development and performance management were lacking in QICC. These two areas of organizational functioning are associated with HR practices that do not function in isolation (Jiang et al., 2012). Appendix A shows the relationships between selection, training, and performance management practices within an HR system. As is evident from the appendix, all HR practices are additive and synergistic. Furthermore, their outcome is the enhancement of employee performance. Therefore, there was a need for a comprehensive HR intervention with the aim of improving the training and performance management policies of the company. Also, these three problems indicated that the companys leadership was not effective.

Managing the Change Process

Entering and Contracting

Entering

Entering was the first phase of the OD process. The implementation of this phase was key to the success or failure of flawless consulting. Leading the change from the outside required the establishment of a synergistic relationship between the OD practitioner and the management of the company (Bushe & Marshak, 2015). During the entering stage, the initial scope of the subsequent OD phases was established. The process involved clarifying the organizational issue that had caused the management of QICC to consider help from the OD professional. It was a part of the first step within the Three-Step model.

After gaining a clearer perspective on the underlying problem and the issues that had affected the organizations internal operations, the OD practitioner defined relevant parties that had to be engaged during the OD process.

This step of the entering was relatively straightforward since the issue had to be addressed in a specific unit of the companythe operations department. The OD specialist examined company records and interviewed some employees in order to determine the key members of the QICC unit. The practitioner understood that entering is an intervention in the company; therefore, they used this stage of the OD process for preparing the organization for the state of heightened self-awareness that was necessary for meaningful change (Bushe & Marshak, 2015).

Contracting

Contracting was an essential step in the OD process that addressed the following points: outlining mutual expectations, dedicating resources and setting timetables, and establishing the ground rules for cooperation. The client was encouraged to describe their desired outcomes from the intervention. They expected to improve the performance of the convention center. In addition to obtaining a solution to the immediate problem, the client wanted to learn how to avoid similar situations in the future. The OD practitioner also expressed their expectations for the process, which included appropriate compensation and referrals to other clients.

Initially, QICC was not committed to dedicating a suitable amount of time and resources to the project. However, the OD specialist managed to convince the client that in order to complete the intervention, numerous parties had to be engaged in order to establish real causes of poor productivity in the company as well as to develop and implement appropriate solutions to the problem. This was an extreme activity because it helped to clarify the OD professionals intentions and overcome surface resistance to the change.

The last step in the contracting stage was to establish ground rules which were needed to guide the OD process. The practitioner discussed interpersonal issues with the client and established parameters of confidentiality (Cummings & Worley, 2014). At the end of the stage, a formal contact that intended dates, activities, responsibilities, and outcomes was signed.

Diagnosing and Providing Feedback

Diagnosing

Diagnosing the problem was a vital step towards a departure from the status quo, which prevented the company from unlocking its full potential. This step, along with the provision of feedback to the companys leadership about the nature of the problem, was a part of the first phase in Lewins TPC model. Namely, it helped to create a sense of urgency, which was essential for meaningful transformation.

The main purpose of the organizational diagnosis was to develop a shared understanding of organizational health, which could be used for planning and implementing corrective measures. There are many organizational diagnostic methods such as Leavitts model, Weisbords model, congruence model, McKinsey 7S model, Buke-Litwins model, and Bilal and Wang model, among others. However, empirical evidence suggesting their effectiveness is lacking (Saeed & Wang, 2014). Therefore, the OD practitioner opted for a model developed by McFillen and associates, which stems from formal theories refined through practice. Figure 2 shows the evidence-based diagnostic model.

The OD practitioner followed the first step in the diagnostic approach proposed by the scholars and collected subjective and objective data relevant to the problem. An emphasis was made on management processes and HR systems of QICC. In addition, the basic information about key cultural elements of the company was gathered, since culture orients employees to company goals and suggested the kinds of behaviors necessary for success (Cummings & Worley, 2014, p. 99). The diagnostic process was conducted on the group and individual levels. Data collection was performed with the help of surveys, questionnaires, and interviews.

The second step involved analysis of the data, which was needed to synthesize patterns and establish causal relationships between essential elements of performance based on the framework for assessment provided by the management of QICC. When assessing the data, the companys general and task environments were analyzed. It helped to better understand the underlying causes of the performance issues.

The third step was to develop the initial diagnosis regarding the investigated problem. The process of the preliminary diagnosis formation was informed by contingency theory, which suggests that a company should maintain a fit between its structure and its contextual factors in order to achieve high-performance levels (Taylor & Taylor, 2014, p. 849). Moreover, the company was treated as an open system that was influenced by inputs from the external environment (Cummings & Worley, 2014).

The fourth and the fifth steps in the diagnostic process involved testing of the preliminary diagnosis and the development of the final diagnosis. The final diagnosis contained several factors that were used for the development of appropriate interventions.

They were providing Feedback

After analyzing the data generated by the diagnostic process, the practitioner initiated the feedback process at the top of QICC. Such a top-down approach helped to ensure that all parties involved in the change received appropriate information (Anderson, 2016). Feedback meetings were scheduled during which diagnosis data was discussed. In the discussion of diagnosis feedback, an emphasis on the internal dynamics within the operations department was made.

Planning and Implementing Change

Planning

At the planning stage of the OD intervention, activities, actions, and events derived from the final diagnosis were designed. When developing appropriate intervention strategies, the OD practitioner was guided by the principle of free and informed choice according to which all individuals involved in the change chose to participate rather than had the interventions imposed on them. Also, all change measures were designed in such a way as to help QICC to enhance its capacity to effectively manage change in the future.

The introduction of this focal point into the change planning process was extremely valuable because by improving organizational change management capabilities, it was possible to achieve the processual dynamics of stability, which is a state that through ongoing repair and reconstruction (Langley, Smallman, Tsoukas, & DeVan, 2013, p. 4) allows key managerial concepts to endure. Moreover, the OD practitioner adhered to the 5W1H (who, what, where, when, why, and how) framework that helped them to better understand the specifics of organizational process and environment that had to be changed (Rothwell, Park, & Lee, 2017). At the end of this stage of the intervention, and the actionable plan was drafted and signed.

They were implementing Change

There was a high level of top-management support; therefore, the OD practitioner was able to properly address the human resources, the human processes, and the management issues uncovered during the diagnosis stage. At the level of the human process interventions, interpersonal and group approaches were taken. Individual interventions helped QICCs employees to be more open in their communication. Also, they were used to teach the workforce to be more effective in both giving and receiving feedback, which is essential for enhancing performance in organizations (Kuhnen & Tymula, 2012).

Given the importance of communication and conflict resolution skills in a hospitality environment, members of the operations department were involved in role-playing exercises and team-building activities, which helped them to develop successful communication strategies (Chesser, 2016). This was an extremely valuable intervention since the improvement of interpersonal communication competencies of a workforce is associated with strong team cohesion that inevitably translates into better performance (Barrows, Powers, & Reynolds, 2012; Hynes, 2012).

The OD practitioner also helped to implement system-wide process interventions that substituted a rigid, top-down management approach to management for a more collaborative one. The introduction of some elements of bottom-up management was an extremely important change because it is linked with enhanced employee motivation and engagement (Breevaart, Bakker, & Demerouti, 2014). Since there is a direct connection between employee training and performance, which was conspicuously missing in QICC, the intervention involved the implementation of proper workforce development programs (Elnaga & Imran, 2013).

The final diagnosis showed that the underlying problem that caused the emergence of smaller issues was the lack of effective management. Therefore, the problem was addressed with the help of a management team building model. The model helped managers to collectively commit to taking on new responsibilities and learn new methods for working together (Gong, Kim, Lee, & Zhu, 2013, p. 829). Mentoring and action learning were also used as a means for sustainable leadership development (Day, Fleenor, Atwater, Sturm, & McKee, 2014).

Evaluating and Institutionalizing Change

The evaluation was conducted to assess both implementation feedback, which measured the immediate effects of the OD intervention, and evaluation feedback, which measured the long-term effects of the change program. The OD practitioner utilized a quasi-experimental research design that had three essential features: longitudinal measurement, comparison unit, and statistical analysis (Waddell et al., 2017). Multiple measures were gathered through the analysis of company data. The choice of the data collection method was justified by the fact that other approaches to observing results of an intervention are more obtrusive (Cummings & Worley, 2014; Rothwell, Stavros, & Sullivan, 2016).

Institutionalizing change was the third part of Lewins model. It was based on the institutional theory; therefore, the social context in which QICC operated became a focal point in the process of incorporating the change into the internal fabric of the organization. The framework of institutionalization involved three key areas: social, organizational, and individual (Grandien & Johansson, 2012).

Resistance to Change

Resistance to change was an inevitable part of the OD program dynamics. Both employees and managers of the operations department showed elements of technical resistance to the implemented measures. The OD practitioner was aware of the fact that the differences in meanings that people ascribe to change might impair mutual understanding, thereby precipitating resistance to change (Pieterse, Caniels, & Homan, 2012). Therefore, they took control of sense-making interactions during the implementation of the change.

The OD specialist raised awareness about differences in change discourses between various groups and individual employees involved in the OD process. Rules guiding a civil conversation on the change were written down and disseminated among the workforce.

It was an extremely effective measure that helped to facilitate cooperation and made discussions more productive. This approach to controlling a sense-making perspective of the workforce was based on the findings of the study conducted by Hon, Bloom, and Crant (2014), who proved that employees are less resistant to change-oriented situations when environmental cues signal that change is desired (p. 921). Guided by this valuable information, the OD practitioner instructed managers of the company to show empathy and support to those members of their teams who are struggling to accept the changes.

Another strategy for overcoming resistance involved organizational inducements that came in the form of both intangibly developmental and tangibly materialistic (Shin, Taylor, & Seo, 2012, p. 729) valued outcomes. Numerous scholars have recognized the effectiveness of this strategy and suggested that it positively impacts employees commitment and behavioral responses to change (Shin et al., 2012, p. 729). It should be mentioned that not all members of the workforce were incentivized in such a manner. The differences in structural and relational positions of QICCs employees allowed to target key stakeholders of the operations division of the company, which encouraged their subordinates to participate in the change.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The paper has presented the results of the intervention in QICC conducted by the OD practitioner. The intervention was guided by the Lewins TPC model, the validity of which is recognized by numerous prominent scholars. Upon careful analysis of the state of affairs in the company, the practitioner realized that the problem was caused by the lack of effective leadership. Given that not every manager was capable of taking control of the operations department, a range of other issues emerged: insufficient employee development, rigid hierarchy, and lack of communication skills among the workforce. The practitioner developed and implemented a set of comprehensive solutions for addressing both the underlying problem and smaller issues.

In order to make sure that the change is institutionalized and transformation is successful over the long term, it is necessary to develop readiness for change within the QICCs workforce by changing employees attitudes towards the new course of action. It is also important to ensure that the allocation of incentives is efficient and leads to the persistence of changes. Therefore, the management of the company has to regularly evaluate the relationship between the level of organizational rewards and contribution to the productivity of the operations department.

References

Ahmad, M., Ariff, M., Zakun, N., Rahman, S., Larif, M., & Khalid, M. (2015). The impact of quality management practices on communication behavior amongst Malaysia Hajj Pilgrims: Survey result. In F. L. Gaol & F. Hutagalung (Eds.), The role of service in the tourism & hospitality industry (pp. 51-54). London, England: CRC Press.

Anderson, D. (2016). Organization development: The process of leading organizational change. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

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Barrows, C., Powers, T., & Reynolds, (2012). Introduction to management in the hospitality industry (10th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Boje, D., Burnes, B., & Hassard, J. (Eds.). (2012). The Routledge companion to organizational change. New York, NY: Routledge.

Breevaart, K., Bakker, A., & Demerouti, E. (2014). Daily self-management and employee work engagement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 84(1), 31-38.

Burnes, B., & Cooke, B. (2012). The past, present, and future of organization development: Taking the long view. Human Relations, 65(11), 1395-1429.

Bushe, G., & Marshak, R. (2015). Dialogic organization development: The theory and practice of transformational change. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Chesser, J. (2016). Human resource management in a hospitality environment. Oakville, Canada: Apple Academic Press.

Cummings, S., Bridgman, T., & Brown, K. (2015). Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewins legacy for change management. Human Relations, 12(1), 1-29.

Cummings, T., & Worley, C. (2014). Organization development and change (10th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Cengage Learning.

Day, D., Fleenor, J., Atwater, L., Sturm, R., & McKee, R. (2014). Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 63-82.

Elnaga, A., & Imran, A. (2013). The effect of training on employee performance. European Journal of Business Management, 5(4), 1-23.

Gong, Y., Kim, T., Lee, D., & Zhu, J. (2013). A multilevel model of team goal orientation, information exchange, and creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 56(3), 827-851.

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Introduction

This paper seeks to give an intrinsic evaluation of my experience with regards to the concepts of leadership, change management, and organizational development, with a special connection being established between these issues and a real case change situation experienced personally. In doing so, relevant examples, ideas, opinions, notions, theories, and facts from various scholarly quarters will be used to advance the arguments here. Notably, the central focus will be on the M3C model of cooperative contextual change advanced by Biscaccianti et al. This model of change emphatically posits that change management is a highly intricate and dynamic process that calls for the introduction of a dynamic stability system if full efficacy is to be facilitated in an organization (Biscaccianti et al. 19) In the M3C model, Biscaccianti et al. (22-23) asserts that the following four elements are normally considered vital in the introductions, implementation and sustainability of dynamic stability:

1. Provision of a fitting direction and explicitly revealing the issue at stake to everybody or, rather, all the concerned parties in the organization
2. Promotion of co-opting and co-building of rules and regulations in a way that the introduction, implementation, and sustenance of these ground rules are done in a consistent manner.
3. Adoption of a systematic work-based relationship that will facilitate the initiation and regulation of activities and actions at all levels of the company.
4. We are fostering a solution-oriented mindset throughout the company.

Despite the existence of several scholarly and research-based proofs that the M3C model is efficient, a joint study by Allen and Meyer (10-18) indicate that this model cannot survive on its own unless it is blended with other relevant change management ideologies and theories. It is based on this reason that other necessary scholarly arguments will be applied in this writing. For example, the reading and carrying framework, advanced by James and Arroba (299-316), which emphasizes the value of emotions in leadership, will be duly applied and relevantly considered in this paper.

In addition, this paper will blend Johns model of structured reflection and Gibbs reflective cycle in detailing my experiences and reflecting on how they influence change management. In brief, Johns model of structured reflection recommends that, when we need to appropriately reflect on an issue, we should begin by identifying the incident/experience while putting it into the right context of analysis. Once done, Johns model recommends moving into the second stage, which entails real reflection. This is then followed by the detailing of alternative action (what you would have done differently), basing your arguments on established studies. Finally, there is the learning stage, where we show what has been learned from the change management experience.

On the other hand, Gibbs reflective cycle talks of more-or-less the same facets as Johns model, except for the fact that in Gibbs model, the key stages of the entire reflection process are summarized in a cycle that comprises of the description of the incident, feelings towards the incident, evaluation of the incident, analysis of the incident, conclusion and then an action plan or way forward if the incident was to occur again. It is upon all these models that this paper will be written.

The Personal Real Case Situation/Experience/Incident Put into Context

The incident below essentially occurred when I was a teenager and, as will exhaustively discussed later in the reflection section; the incident greatly affected my dream of being a good leader and business manager routing for change management.

In the incident, our biology organized a class trip to St. Johns Hospital, which specializes in the treatment of skin-related diseases. Unknown to the class, burns made a bulk of the diseases treated at the hospital, and there were many patients with varying degrees of burns that you could have easily confused it for a fire accident scene. Anyway, as a precaution, we were divided into groups of two and distributed to various units to avoid intimidation to the patients. In addition, stern instructions were given before being handed out to doctors and nurses who were doing rounds in the wards. It was in one of these wards that we met a woman who had experienced over 30% degree burns and was undergoing reconstructive surgery on her face. Her story is the kind that is great emotional and one that overwhelmingly shaped my thinking towards emotional issues in life and change management, as a general concept.

Allegedly, ethnic groups in that womans country of origin had turned against one another after a disputed presidential election, forcing some communities to flee their residences. While fleeing from her place of stay, she and some other members of her community sought refuge in a church. While in the church, some arsonists attacked them, blocked all possible escape routes from the church then set it ablaze. That is how the woman found her way in a hospital bed, miles away from her country. As the doctor told the story, I could see how moved he was, judging by the tears in his eyes and the cautious yet heartfelt way he spoke about the incident.

Being from a relatively poor family, the woman was not able to shoulder the entire cost of the treatment. However, as I later came to learn a few weeks later when I visited the hospital voluntarily, the doctor (who told us the story) had been able to ask for funds from well-wishersin spite of his kind action being against the professional rules of the hospital which stated that doctors should not fraternize or get too personally involved with their patients. As a result of his actions, which were deemed unprofessional by the manager of the hospital, the doctor was sacked.

When I learned about the doctor being laid off his duties at the hospital, I could not help feeling confused. On the one hand, I knew that being a manager entails correcting problems and ensuring that rules are followed. Basing my arguments on this viewpoint, I told myself that the manager was probably right for sacking the doctor in accordance with the rules and regulations in the hospital.

On the other hand, the principles of morality and empathy call for us to be responsiblesometimes even at our own expense. And to this regard, I felt that the doctor was probably right for helping the patient who was in great pain yet had no way of getting help.

For a long time after that day, I kept on thinking about the incident and wondering how I would have reacted if I was the doctor or the manager. This led me to my quest of digging deep into the annals of history to find out about similar cases and how the people involved in these cases reacted while, unknowingly, orienting me towards the direction of routing for change in management systems of organizations during such instances of a professional and personal dilemma. As of today, I candidly know what I would have done differently; as the doctor, I would have done the same thing that was done by the doctor in my incident.

However, as a manager, I would have probably given a lesser punishment like a suspension or even warn the doctor in question. Justifications about why I would have acted this way will be specifically detailed in the section that comes after the reflection stage.

Reflection

In reflecting on this issue, my arguments will be detailed two-way. In the first part, I will give a general reflection based on my own experiences and general studies by other scholars. Then in the second part, the focus will mainly be on theoretical arguments put forward by authoritative academicians on the incident I had and my prospected job.

General Reflection

To begin with, Bing asserts that a good leader should be aggressive, talented, and skillful to be able to handle both internal and external demands of his/her workplace. However, Bing goes ahead to say that the aforementioned traits should be balanced such that the workplace is not crowded out by the leaders need to be effective. In other words, too much strength and aggressiveness can sometimes weaken and atrophy the workers ability to act interdependently, as is required of them.

As an ardent business student who is mainly concerned with managerial and leadership issues related to change, I purpose to illuminate ideas on change management and ways of identifying as well as dealing with the risks that come with this change. As opposed to the manager at St. Johns hospital who decided to quickly sack the doctor without considering other factors such as the value of what was done by that doctor to the patient, I hope to be considerate such that the doctor is punished in a less cruel way.

The above viewpoint is supported by Gosling and Mintzberg (19-22), who say that leadership is a complex endeavor that calls for astute leaders who are ready to deal with the complexities of change while managing the risks that come their way. Moreover, Gosling and Mintzberg assert that different forms of change require different change-related leadership skills (20-22). Whereas leaders in business-oriented organizations should concentrate more on profitability, the satisfaction of clients, as well as the workers and stakeholders, leaders in institutions like hospitals prioritize people being healed, and the prevention of diseases. In a case like the one earlier mentioned, the manager should be able to balance between the healing needs of the client and the hospitals rules and not just concentrating on one end.

According to Vince, organization learning in regards to managerial change has been repeatedly proven to be a valuable element of leadership (1325-1329). This is not only because learning how to deal with change helps us to advance but is also pegged on the argument that learning helps us to avoid mistakes while intermittently dealing with risks in a fitting way (Watzlawick et al. 75-90).

It is, therefore, not just enough to look at my incident and think about what might have been done differently; it is better for me to find a way of forging ahead and advancing ways in which changes can be inculcated now, and even in the future. It is with this in mind that I seek to use the experience, together with the learning I have had, to help better todays world, and that is one of the sole reasons I seek to positively revolutionize a myriad of organizations through relevant ideas on change management.

Importantly, Biscaccianti et al. (17-30) report that the aspect of emotional intelligence by leaders in dealing with change management has been strongly supported by many scholars such as Thomas C. Neil, and Ouchi and Johnson, among others. To these scholars, leaders should be emotionally intelligent and be ready to deal with emotional issues. However, De Bono precautions in his six thinking hats technique (white, yellow, green, red, black, and blue hat) that emotions and rationalities should not be mixed since they tend to complicate the process of thinking Biscaccianti et al. 23-25). This way, dilemmas, like that in my incident, will be easily dealt with.

Theory-Based Reflection: The M3C Model and Other Theories

The M3C Model

In regard to change management, Biscaccianti et al. state that the M3C model was primarily established based on the viewpoint that effective change requires a shift in the existing paradigm (81). Furthermore, Biscaccianti and his fellow authors assert that this shift in paradigm has to occur relevantly in accordance to the context of change as well as the perceptions of the people during that given time (81-84). In other words, change in management requires a shift in paradigm, while the context and the peoples or organizations perceptions are duly considered. Applying this argument in our case, the doctors actions, as well as the change management action by the managers of the hospital, should have considered all these elements instead of emphasizing some aspects while neglecting others. To do a more circumspect analysis of this M3C model, the aforementioned four elements of dynamic stability will be discussed below.

Element 1 of Dynamic Stability: Explicitly stating what is at Stake

According to Biscaccianti et al. (84), stake simply refers to the most valuable product or service that a community or an individual usually wants to protect in any given case of change management. The invaluable nature of this asset (product or service) necessitates the need for the involved parties to have a good understanding (Biscaccianti et al. 84-85). It is for this reason that explicitness of the stake is usually considered to be very crucial since the organization or individuals are able to make a well-thought choice after considering the advantages and ramifications of a particular change initiative (Watzlawick et al. 65-71).

In our case, the treatment of the patient, the hospital regulations, and the managerial action on sacking or retaining of the doctor can all be considered as issues at stake. It would have been advisable for all these issues to be explicitly considered instead of rushing into certain decisions without careful consideration of the stake, context, and consequences of these decisions.

Element 2 of Dynamic Stability: Co-Built and Co-Opted Ground Rules

In essence, ground rules simply refer to regulations regarding the way initiatives or actions should be carried within an organization, environment, or community (Schutz 33-40). Biscaccianti et al. (85-86) state that these ground rules help in defining the responsibilities and roles of various people, delineating the overall philosophy of interaction by these people, and spelling out the interfaces of different elements in a given system. In turn, everyone clearly knows what is expected of him/her by the organization, thus facilitating the smooth running of the organization, which often leads to progress (Ouchi & Johnson 295-305). It is important to note that the efficacy of ground rules heavily relies on sustainable cooperation in the making as well as the implementation and sustenance of the rules (Biscaccianti et al. 86).

Today, there are many ground rules in different organizations or communities. However, in regard to change management, Biscaccianti et al. (86) say that there are only two major ground rules. These are:

1. Ground rules must be developed through a cooperative process among the involved parties.
2. All ground rules have to be measured against the stake and environment.

In our real case situation, the ground rules were clearly defined. The problem, however, was in measuring the rules against the issues at stake. The dynamics of the world of business have often led to such situations whereby there are no clear-cut rules and regulations in measuring the stake and environment. It is during such instances that other factors, such as the overall well-being of the organization or clients, are considered. This, probably, is the reason the decisions made by the doctor were greatly debated. As a general rule, Koestler (21-30) says that when there is contention between ground rules, the environment, and the stake, priority has to be given to the stake. Commendably, great change management improvements have been made in regard to dealing with such issues. However, more provisions on such ground rules need to be made to avoid more of such professional tussles in the future.

Element 3 of Dynamic Stability: Systematic Work-Based Relationships (to Initiate and Regulate Organizational/Individual Actions)

The way people relate in a given environment plays a very important role in facilitating that environments efficacy. In regard to this third element of dynamic stability, the emphasis is normally laid on the alignment and cooperation of workers. As explained in the previous sections, cooperation among workers ensures that people work towards the same goals, thus helping in the initiation and regulation of actions in a similar way, which orients success. Suppose an organization notices that some problem with regards to the relationships at work, urgent change management measures should be taken accordingly. For example, in our real case, the management usually had strict rules about the relationship between doctors and their clients. However, ever since the doctors personal involvement with the patient helped in saving the patients life, the management could decide to make certain provisions in which some form of personalized involvements are permitted. In fact, in most organizations today, such personalized involvements are permitted as long as such actions are initiated or regulated by the organizations professional code of conduct.

Element 3 of Dynamic Stability: Solution-Oriented Mindset

A solution-oriented mindset is basically pegged on the renowned ideology of looking at a glass as being half-full instead of being half-empty. In other words, individuals and organizations should always strive to better themselves and develop instead of complaining or fault-finding one another. Through a solution-oriented mindset, an organization is not only able to foster success, but it will also be able to deal with failures by accepting them and groping for ways of improvements such as training (Biscaccianti et al. 86-87). Four conditions believed to help in inculcating a solution-oriented mindset are given below:

1. Individuals capable of presenting solutions to issues instead of trying to explain or complain about these issues (Watzlawick et al. 30-40).
2. Offered solutions should have undergone a cooperative process entailing co-opting and co-building (Schutz 29-35).
3. The solution must primarily ensure that the stake is duly considered and protected (Fisher et al. 15-25).
4. The solution must be environmentally viable. In other words, it should be able to protect the needs of the individuals, community, or organization that it serves without limiting other salient parts such as the stake (Fisher et al. 30-50).

As per the case, it can be generally said that even though there were some discrepancies with considering what was at stake and protecting the needs of the community/organization, both the management of the hospital and the doctor did their best in adopting a solution-oriented mindset.

As a rejoinder of the M3C model, it should be noted that all these elements function interdependentlythe efficacy of one element greatly determines the success of the other. For this reason, all these elements should be handled with equal attention.

In addition to these elements, individuals, organizations, or environments should also ensure that the four main modules of the M3C model (contextual assessment, contextual drivers, community norms, and cooperative innovation commonly abbreviated as CA, CD, CN, and CI respectively) are also adequately considered. In essence, these modules more-or-less emphasize the already discussed elements. Having in-depth on the four elements will help us to handle other aspects of the modules such as the importance of risk assessment, risk management, and more importantly, the learning process of introducing, implementing, and sustaining the M3C model in a particular environment or organization.

Other Theories

Psychoanalytic Theory

The psychoanalytic theory is believed to have originated from the early articulations of Sigmund Freud and other psychology thinkers who supported the ideologies of psychoanalysis. This theory centers on the ideology that our early childhood (usually stored in the unconscious mind) has a lot to do with how we behave or act presently. So if we want to get solutions to certain problems, all we have to do is tap into these memories stored in the unconscious mindwhile considering the hierarchy needs put forward by Maslow in that process. Below is a diagram of the hierarchy of needs:

Once someone masters his/her mind, he/she is able to find ways of propagating positive ideas while shutting off the negative ones. One of the leading instruments developed to help leaders know themselves well is the Myers-Briggs type indicator, which is essentially based on Jungs four personality types: extrovert versus introvert, sensor versus. Intuition, feeler versus thinker, and perceiver versus judger (Stech). Below is a diagrammatic summary of the Myers-Briggs type indicator:

According to Armstrong et al., the psychoanalytic approach is important in the recognition of centrality and emotional experiences in human beings as conscious and unconscious levels. This is the likely reason even though the experience at St. Johns hospital happened a while back, the details of the incident are still vivid in my mind to date, and I am still seeking to make amends through change management.

Psychodynamic Perspective Theory

According to Cilliers (1-5), the psychodynamic theory is more-or-less an extension of the psychoanalytical theory. However, in psychodynamics, the emphasis is laid on the influence of environments with organizations being viewed as external realities that significantly affect people in emotional and psychological ways. Since proponents of psychodynamics believe that personal experiences greatly affect our learning and development, it is advisable that our learning environments are tailored with leaders and people who urge positive and insightful experiences (Bing). It is with this in mind that I seek to use my knowledge of management to transform various business-oriented industries through already-proven techniques such as coaching, creating an environment with some modicum anxiety and denial enough to motivate efficacy and productivity at work proper conflict resolution, and reward and punishment systems. Below is a summary of these motivating forces:

Alternative Courses of Action

According to Bing, It does not feel possible or even advisable to have a goal of changing the leaders character, both because it does not work and because their character has provided guidance and strength that has made the organization successful. As an alternative, Bing advises that in the bid to reduce a crowded out organization, we should create a situation whereby the leader gives space on which growth of other people can be facilitated. To create this space that reduces overcrowding of the workplace by the leader, Bing gives the following pointers:

• Creation of deliberate, reflective space using structured rituals during company events such as retreats and team meetings.
• Use variable techniques and methods of large group design to break the monotony in the interaction between leaders and workers.
• I am linking the need for various conducts to a higher-level goal of the person in leadership.
• They are helping individuals and team members to improve their work skills such that they are in tandem with the leaders governing and work style.

Therefore, if I was the manager at St. Johns hospital, I would have given a less-strict punishment like a suspension to the doctor. This would have not only taught the doctor and other people in the hospital to avoid breaking the rules, but it would have also given the doctor an opportunity for continuing with his work while striving to better his professional conduct.

Based on studies conducted in Africa, Bolden and Kirk state that good traits by leaders set a good example that can be emulated by their subjects. Consequently, by developing a system in which good leaders and good leadership traits are developed, organizations are bound to cumulatively develop as well. Put in simpler terms, leadership development can act as a catalyst for community-level social change by engaging participants in a collective process of identity work  the construction and reconstruction of a concept of self within the community (Bolden & Kirk 13).

In another study by Bolden and Kirk in the same year, the two scholars say that based on the contemporary changes in the world of leadership, there should be more focus on leadership and not the leader. To do so, the latter studies by Bolden and Kirk (27-33) propose that the following considerations are made:

• Widening scales of operation: This entails breaking down organizational boundaries and bureaucracies to encourage inter-agency cooperation.
• I am shortening time frames: Facilitating interdependency between stakeholders to facilitate flexibility, accountability, responsibility, and rapid change.
• Remote working: Emphasis is laid on choosing good working environments.
• Better Money management: This is mainly facilitated through proper budgeting.
• We are encouraging accountability and Transparency in all organizational endeavors.

Based on the above recommendations, if I was the manager at St. Johns hospital, I would have endeavored to change or modify the rules such that they accommodate emotional intelligence at workup to a level that is not overused. Again, instead of having to ask for funds in a way that is against the hospitals, I would have encouraged provisions that enable the hospital to seek support from well-wishers. Alternatively, the hospital would just treat the patient, based on the urgency of her case, then ask for the payments later or, as a way of giving back to the community, the management decides to shoulder the entire bill for such needy yet helpless patients.

As a matter of fact, Stech says that, in the psychodynamic model, conflicts and anxieties are viewed as acceptable facets of learning. However, they say that extreme cases of conflict and anxiety (especially those that entail highly emotional endeavors), which, in effect, lead to dire ramifications, should be avoided. This is similarly supported by a myriad of studies detailed in the M3C model where emotional intelligence is considered a key aspect of change management. One of such scholars who support the ideas of emotional intelligence and its relevance in change leadership is Thomas C. Neil (Biscaccianti et al. 17-19).

Based on the above assertions, it can, therefore, be said that the conflict between the manager and the doctor was, to some extent, acceptable. However, sacking the doctor because of a conflict which could have, otherwise, been easily resolved in other amicable ways (going by the highly emotional and urgent nature of the patients case, which required a speedy solution); was not an utterly right action to take.

As a rejoinder, it is worth mentioning that even though I would have done the above-mentioned things differently; it would be unfair to judge the manager of St. Johns hospital for acting the way he did since, back then, there were no pin-pointedly precise laws about how managers should act in such dilemmas or even deal with highly emotional cases.

Learning and Conclusion

Looking back at my experience, I am no longer feeling torn between supporting the manager or doctor at St. Johns hospital since I now know the right cause of action that should have been taken. In addition, as earlier mentioned, so many developments have since been made with regards to emotional endeavors which, back then, were unavailable. It is for this reason that more studies should be conducted on change management using the above-discussed models and theories so that the knowledge can be rightfully used to guide people working in similar conditions while striving to better the misconceptions that surround change management at workplaces.

Remarkably, from my incident and the extensive research, I did then, I was able to learn several lessons. A summary of the major lessons I got is embodied in the points given below.

Firstly, I learned that the nature of organizations and their operations today are hugely different from those of the past (Bolden & Kirk 1-14). For example, in todays organizations, there is more focus on leadership as an entire entity, while in the past, the focus was on the leaders (Bolden 2-4). In spite of these changes, there is still a myriad of challenges faced by leaders or leaderships in organizations (Armstrong et al.). This, essentially, means that there is still a lot that needs to be done in order for these leaders and the leaderships in organizations to achieve full efficacy.

Secondly, Biscaccianti et al. (92-95) call for more innovation and creativity to be encouraged among leaders while we continually strive to learn from those around us. By doing this, Biscaccianti et al. say that we will not only be able to keep up with the rest of well-performing leaderships but we will also be able to establish new and better leadership methods that keep us ahead of the rest (249-250).

Thirdly, Bawany (2-3) articulates that studies have demonstrated that leaders who consistently outperform their peers not only have the technical skills required, but more importantly, have mastered most of the aspects of Emotional Intelligence. Based on these studies, forums and learning endeavors that encourage emotional intelligenceamong other facets of learning, management and developmentshould be highly encouraged. Goleman et al. (42-48) supports the above by reporting that studies from various places show that the moods of leaders greatly determine efficacy at work. For this reason, working environments should be established such that leaders moods stay positive and jovial.

Fourthly, Gosling and Mintzberg (19-22) state that leadership positions should not be used to encourage negative activities like favoritism since this deviates from the objectivity of leadership to offer just and fair guidance to subjects. This point is supported by James and Arroba (305-310) who say that things as such as control and abandonment diminish the essence of leadership. Instead of these negative ventures, leadership should be used to champion the goals and aims of the organization, reward good workers while punish the bad ones, encourage learning and orient development.

Fifthly, the learning process of introducing, implementing and sustaining the M3C model (and other theories and models as well) is highly complex and somewhat involving. However, success in business-oriented industries is a painstaking and continuous process that calls for utter commitment and constancy to purpose. If we are to achieve this success, then it is unavoidably necessary that necessary learning, implementation and sustenance channels are put in place by the relevant individuals and organization.

As earlier mentioned, a good number of such initiatives are currently in place. Nonetheless, more initiativesespecially from learning institutionare required to ensure that change management is duly championed. It is only through such initiatives that the barriers and limitations of change management can be thwarted while development and solution-oriented endeavors are proliferated.

In finality, it is worth restating that the M3C model has been used by various individuals, organizations and environments to champion change-related endeavors. It is based on this reason that I would encourage it usage in many other organizations. However, as has been explicitly documented in this paper, full efficacy at work calls for many other leadership and managerial essentials.

Works Cited

Allen, Natalie and Meyer John. The Measurement and Antecedents of Effective, Continuance and Normative Commitment to the Organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63 (1990): 118. Print.

Armstrong, David, Bazalgette John and Hutton Jean. What Does Management Really Mean? In R Casemore et al. (eds)  What Makes Consultancy Work  Understanding the Dynamics, London, UK: South Bank University, 1994. Print.

Bawany, Satter. Leadership that Gets Results: Impact and Measurement of Emotional Intelligence on Leadership Effectiveness. Human Capital, 10.4 (2000). Web.

Bing, Debbie. Crowding Out the Space: The Weakness of a Strong Leader. 2007. Web.

Biscaccianti, Alessandro, Esposito Mark and Williams Lloyd. The M3C Model of Cooperative Contextual Change, Mustang, Oklahoma: Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC, 2011. Print.

Bolden, Richard and Kirk Philip. Transforming Communities through Leadership Development: A Pan-African Example. 2006. Web.

Bolden, Richard and Kirk Philip. From Leaders to Leadership. Effective Executive, 8.10 (2006): 27-33.

Bolden, Richard. What Is Leadership Development: Purpose And Practice? 2005. Web.

Cilliers, Frans. A Systems Psycho-Dynamic Interpretation of Coaching Experiences. 2004. Web.

Fisher, Roger, Ury William and Patton, Bruce. Getting to Yes, Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991. Print.

Goleman, Daniel, Boyatzis Richard and Mckee Anne. Primal Leadership: the Hidden Driver of Great Performance. Harvard Business review, (2001): 42-51. Print.

Gosling, Jonathan and Mintzberg Henry. The education of practicing managers. Sloan Management Review, 45.4 (2003): 19-22. Print.

James, Kim and Arroba Tanya. Reading and Carrying: A Framework for Learning about Emotion and Emotionality in Organizational Systems as a Core Aspect of Leadership Development. Management Learning, 36.3 (2005): 299-316. Print.

Koestler, Arthur. The Act of Creation, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1964. Print.

Ouchi, William and Johnson Jerry. Types of Organizational Control and Their Relationship to Emotional Well Being. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23.2 (1978): 293318. Print.

Schutz, Will. FIRO: A Three-Dimensional Theory of Interpersonal Behavior, New York: Holt Rinehart and Wilson, 1958. Print.

Stech, Ernest. The Psychodynamic Approach. 2010. Web.

Vince, Russ. Power and Emotion in Organizational Learning. Human Relations, 54.10 (2001): 13251351. Print.

Watzlawick, Paul, Weakland John and Fisch Richard. Change; Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution, New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1974. Print.

Introduction

Organizational development (OD) is a set of activities that seek to streamline production and management processes in a modern enterprise. The main difference between OD and other types and forms of staff development is that OD considers the organization as an integrated system of interacting and interrelated elements. The concept of OD emerged based on various techniques from the field of psychology, sociology, and anthropology, used to solve practical problems of companies and firms (Anderson 2). The OD programs rely on a systematic analysis of organizational issues and the needs of its management in changing the enterprise. These programs aim to increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness, promote mutual understanding between employees and between teams, and encourage constant improvement.

Interventions

OD is a continuous process of advancing and improving the organization. These improvements come from proper changes, and planned interventions are the means of making desired renovations. Organizational interventions are purposed activities related to impacting the organization and are designed to establish and consolidate positive changes in the companys operations (Anderson 204). There are three crucial points about interventions which define their essence (Anderson 205). Interventions penetrate an ongoing system of interactions, which means ordinary operations continue as usual. Interruptions are deliberate and may cause discomfort, and people may start resisting the changes, so assessing the readiness of the organization for change is one of the most significant parts of intervention planning. The last point is that interventions are to enhance the effectiveness of the organizations processes, so proper selection of interventions is vital.

Interventions are roughly divided into three categories: individual, team, and organizational (Anderson 219). This classification is based on the scope of application, but other categorizations exist that divide interventions based on their goals and objectives. From the perspective of intentions, for instance, there are diagnostic activities, which aim at identifying the current state of the system and present problems (Anderson 171). These activities take place at the beginning of an OD program because information received from diagnosis is fed into the next step of the program.

There are many reasons why interventions may not succeed, but incorrectly identified problem and resistance to change are among the most common. The strategy chosen by an OD practitioner may not be suitable for the issue at hand, or the practitioner himself could be unskilled (Anderson 206). In the face of potential failures, the interventionist must ensure the strategies are well-formulated and properly facilitated for desired changes to occur (Anderson 206). This includes correctly identifying the problems, choosing the most appropriate intervention for each challenge, applying the interventions systematically, and devoting an adequate amount of time to them.

Serious consequences may arise from failed interventions that might affect the future growth of the company. The self-doubt that comes from unsuccessful change attempts may increase defensive behavior and psychological tiredness (Anderson 209). As a result, the organization may fall into a stagnation trap, where it is unable to achieve any significant positive shift. Some of the considerations before undertaking any actions are matching interventions and problems congruently, determining whether the organization is ready for change, and deciding how to sequence the activities (Anderson 211). Correctly analyzing the diagnostic data and proper planning can assure the successful execution of intervention activities.

Impacts of Interventions

Interventions may affect the organization at three levels: individual, team, and global. Individual interventions, when applied thoroughly and systematically, may encourage personal growth, change, and development. Individual change, however, does not result in the transformation of the whole organization (Anderson 224). For this reason, the team and whole organization interventions play a significant role (Anderson 224). They promote mutual understanding between working groups and help assess organizational culture to perform proper strategic planning for future developments.

Coaching Activities

Coaching is a type of individual intervention which aims to improve an employees specific skill area. Coaches attempt to create a suitable environment that promotes learning, development, and efficiency (Anderson 232). Since an employee can choose which skills to develop, the company may encourage enhancing those skills that are in line with current corporate objectives (Anderson 232). Through coaching activities, individuals gain not only personal benefit but also additional opportunities in aiding the organization and in contributing to the systems overall performance.

Conclusion

Improvement and development of any organization must come from planned activities and strategies. Many companies today develop their own OD programs or hire an external consultant to perform the required actions to achieve desired advancements. Planned interventions penetrate an active and working system, so every part of the organization must be ready and motivated for the OD program to succeed. Every development program, in general, has goals on improving the internal processes, interactions and relationships between individual employees and teams, between different units and groups, and between managers and their subordinates. Interventions also encourage self-growth and reflection, taking responsibility for actions, and change for purpose. By coordinating all the minor changes and determining the joint direction of growth, an OD program can significantly enhance organizational operations and provide the company with effectiveness and efficiency.

Work Cited

Anderson, Donald L. Organization Development: The Process of Leading Organizational Change. Sage Publications, 2016.

Applied Research Proposal

Introduction

The university is experiencing some challenges which are directly related to its internal processes. This project will discuss various issues that affect the performance of the universitys registrar office using different published literature sources. The project will propose different types of improvements that need to be made to strengthen its long term performance. Therefore, this project will assess the needs of the registrars office concerning the role it is expected to play in the institution. Besides, the project will discuss the extent to which technology can be used to streamline its operations to make it improve its long term performance in the institution. Another crucial area that will be looked at by the project will be the willingness of the registrars office employees to accept various changes that will be proposed to improve performance. Consequently, the project will propose strategies that can be used to address these challenges. Some of the strategies that will be proposed will include: improving employees skills, changing the overall organizational behavior, and setting goals that are easy to measure.

Project scope

The project will focus mainly on processes that are handled by the registrars office to find out how they can be improved to achieve greater efficiency. Also, the project will look at the current usage of information technology in the office to establish if it responds to the long-term needs of the institution. Important functions that are executed by the office will also be analyzed to find out how they contribute to the long term vision of the institution. The project will also look at the overall objectives of the office of the registrar to find out if they address its long term needs in the industry. Consequently, the project will assess various change management models and approaches to find out how they can be applied to improve the performance of the office.

Objectives

• To propose effective change programs to enable the institutions to attain their desired objectives.
• Analysis of needs of the registrars office and improvements that have to be made to streamline its processes.
• Conduct a review of change management theories to find out how they can be applied in the institution.
• Analyze technological solutions used by the registrars office to find out if they are well designed to enable it to attain positive outcomes.
• To evaluate the skills of employees in the office to find out if they are capable of using new work processes to attain good results.
• Propose new technological and human resource strategies that can enable the registrars office to achieve its objectives more effectively.

Literature Review

Change management is an important concept because it enables an organization to review its internal processes to make them more responsive to its long term objectives. One of the important effects of change management in an institution is that it enables managers to adopt more innovative work systems. Therefore, managers can inform their subordinates about various improvements that are being undertaken and how they are going to benefit their organizations in the long run. More importantly, change management allows an organization to create high-performance standards that encourage all employees to acquire new skills and competencies.¹ As a result, workers can use such skills to think creatively to enable them to attain good results in their workstations. In the long run, this enables workers to add value to a firms internal work processes to improve the quality of outcomes it achieves.

Internal systems of an organization have to be restructured to allow change management processes to achieve their desired effects. One of the critical components of organizational development is the ability of a firm to use high-quality processes to improve how its internal operational systems are structured. An organization must be willing to come up with an effective plan on how it can utilize its resources to attain good outcomes from its operations.² This approach allows an institution to identify specific processes that can be made more efficient using various information technology solutions to attain positive performance in the long run. Also, a manager has to put in place effective ways of measuring performance and results to ensure they respond to the standards set. Therefore, this will compel him to choose appropriate technology solutions that are responsive to the internal and external functions of his department.

Change management strategies can only be effective in an environment where a manager is willing to show good leadership to other people working under him. The manager must also understand how to motivate employees working under him. This will encourage them to be more competitive in their workstations to make it easy for them to take new responsibilities. In the long run, this approach allows an organization to develop appropriate training programs that are suitable for its long term mission.³ Also, this enables employees to acquire new technical skills that help them improve their performance. Therefore an organization needs to have effective human resource planning methods to ensure its employees are equipped with the necessary skills required to make them attain positive results. The registrars office needs to take note of these processes to make it more responsive to the needs of its stakeholders.

Methodology

The main methodology that will be used in the study will be a review of different types of published literature that reveal more information on the subject. The paper will focus on secondary sources that discuss how information technologies can be used to streamline important work processes in the organization. Scholarly theories that relate to change management and its importance in organizational development will be analyzed to find out how they can be applied to this case study. The methodology will also use previous bodies of knowledge published on the subject to find out specific change management processes that are suitable for the institution. Some of the published literature that will be relied on by the project will be books and peer-reviewed journal articles. This will enable the project to come up with new knowledge that is responsive to the needs of the institution.

Deliverables

The main issues that will have to be addressed by this project will include technology implementation, attracting students and retaining them, staff performance and development, and improvement of internal human resource management.⁴ All these functions are important for the success of the registrars office and they will influence how both short term and long term goals are set. The office will have to look at appropriate technologies that are to be used and the benefits they will bring to the work process in the long run. Also, it will have to come up with more efficient strategies that can increase the number of students admitted to the institution to boost its long-term performance. The specific capabilities of different employees in the organization will have to be assessed to find out if they can cope with proposed changes in the department. Lastly, internal workforce management systems will be analyzed to find out if they offer the organization the ability to increase its competitiveness in the educational sector.

Timeline

The timeline of the project will be an estimated two to three weeks. This will enable important information that can be used to propose high-quality changes in the registrars office to be discussed. Moreover, during this period, the study will discuss all critical areas that are related to the project and how they can be streamlined to get positive results. Lastly, this period will allow important revisions to be made on the project to make its findings logical, accurate, and clear.

Final Report

Executive Summary

The office of the registrar needs to restructure its internal operational strategies to enable it to perform its functions more effectively. This approach will help it to be more responsive to the needs of its stakeholders to enable it to improve its long term performance. More importantly, the registrars office needs to adopt more efficient IT technologies to help it improve the quality of service it delivers to students and other departments of the institution. Change management processes that have been proposed will focus on improving performance standards in the institution to help it addresses various challenges it is facing. For these strategies to work, the institution will be forced to find out appropriate improvements that need to be made to help it become more responsive to the needs of its stakeholders. It will also be forced to come up with more efficient strategies that attract new students and retain existing ones to improve their image. Another critical area that has to be addressed is the excellence of its staff to ensure that they have adequate skills needed to use high-quality technological solutions proposed by the institution. Lastly, the organization will have to find out how its internal workforce management plans can be improved to sustain positive performance in the long run.

Objectives

• To apply change management models to this project and how they can be used to turn around the operations of the office.
• To propose appropriate technologies to be used to streamline the functions of the registrars office to make them more competitive.
• Propose appropriate ways of developing the skills of all employees working in the registrars office to ensure they have high levels of technical competence.
• Propose improvements in the internal operations of the office by focusing on workplace processes.
• Assessing if the organizational culture is dynamic to ensure it can adopt different types of changes in its operating environment to boost performance.
• Discuss other factors that have to be taken into consideration to ensure the changes adopted to improve the working environment in the office.
• Analyzing the effects of leadership on changes proposed to find out if they will enable the organization to move in a positive direction.
• Propose ways in which employees attitudes can be changed to make them have positive perceptions towards proposed change management processes.
• Communication of various changes to be implemented to students, workers, and other important stakeholders to make them change their attitudes.

Scope of the Project

The project will look at the current state of the registrars office about its core responsibilities in the university. The project will discuss the importance of change processes to the institutions long term objectives and how they will help it satisfy the needs of its stakeholders. Also, the role of the change agent in enabling the department to attain its goals in the institution will be discussed using ideas from various published literature. The existing organizational culture will be analyzed to find out if it is flexible enough to enable the department to adapt to various situations it faces in its operational environment. Finally, another critical area that needs to be looked at is the overall vision of the department and if it guides people to be more responsible in their workstations to enable them to attain positive results.

The project will use all these guidelines to ensure appropriate information is reviewed and analyzed to be more responsive to the situation it currently faces. The project will also rely on information obtained through the review of various published literature. Therefore, it will be able to obtain new insights into the case study to address different issues that are related to it comprehensively. Therefore, arguments that will be obtained from various theoretical processes used will enable the project to reach factual conclusions. Conclusions adopted will be used to highlight different issues that are directly linked with the project. Consequently, this will enable the project to come up with appropriate solutions for the registrars office to enable it to satisfy the expectations of its stakeholders.

Methodology: Literature Review

As stated earlier, the main method to be used for this project will be the literature review. The project will rely on knowledge obtained from different published sources to come up with conclusions that address the situation described in the case more effectively. More importantly, the project will use diverse theories to find out how they relate to the case study and how they can be applied to solve problems that affect the registrars office. Other comparative forms of knowledge will be applied to the case study to find out how they address crucial issues. Moreover, the project will use arguments backed up by verifiable facts to come up with valid findings. Ultimately, this will ensure conclusions reached are appropriate for the situation that is being highlighted in the case study.

Justification

The justification for this project is to discuss the extent to which change management processes can be applied in educational institutions to help them attain high levels of efficiency in their operations. As a result, the project will aim at proposing actions that need to be adopted by the registrars office to ensure it executes its functions more appropriately. Also, the project aims at reviewing different change models and theories to find out how they can be applied to this situation to attain good outcomes. The role of the change agent will be analyzed to find out the impact he or she is likely to have in streamlining the internal and external systems of the department. Consequently, this will help to determine how the firm needs to implement the change management vision to make it attain higher standards of performance in its internal and external operations.

Relevant Literature and Research Models

One of the critical areas that have to be looked at in this project is the role of the change agent. The role of the change agent is important in making all stakeholders understand the importance of the change that is being undertaken. Therefore, a change management agent needs to be competent in various aspects of organizational development to be able to motivate other employees to emulate him. For instance, he needs to be knowledgeable about conflict management, effective communication, talent management, and staff recruitment processes.⁵ The registrars office needs a competent change agent who has adequate knowledge of the internal processes of the department to adopt effective strategies. The change agent to be chosen for the office needs to command high levels of respect from other employees working in the office, for him to attain positive results. Therefore, this will enable the organization to adopt more effective problem-solving strategies that enable it to overcome various challenges quickly.

In many organizations, leaders are the ones who are tasked with the responsibility of acting as change agents. A person who understands how to manage people that work under him needs to find out the value of the change processes proposed to the long term success of his organization.⁶ Therefore, he needs to make all employees aware of the organizations intent to implement result oriented work processes to help it turn around its performance. This requires him to identify new skills which employees need to acquire to enable them to execute their responsibilities more effectively. Consequently, this will make the change management process to attain desired outcomes in the long run. One of the key factors that are directly related to this study is that leaders in the registrars office do not know how to coordinate the departments internal and external processes. Therefore, this has made it difficult for employees to understand the overall vision that guides their operations and what they need to do to achieve it.

One of the reliable approaches that can be used to address issues that relate to change management in the institution is the systemic-multivariate view. This approach focuses on the way managers think about proposed change processes and the barriers they are likely to face during the implementation of these strategies in different organizational contexts.⁷ In effect, this approach addresses how change management processes may be inadequate in influencing managers to understand priorities that exist in an organization. Besides, the approach discusses limitations related to decisions making processes by leaders and how they guide them to allocate resources effectively. Consequently, this model allows managers to address crucial issues that affect change processes that they intend to implement in their organizations. Consequently, this equips them with the knowledge they need to restructure internal operations in their organizations more effectively. Therefore, when applied to the context of the registrars office, this model can be used to address a leaders ability to drive the change management process forward effectively.

The SARA model can also be used to assess the extent to which an organization is willing to adopt different changes to help it improve its long term performance in a particular industry.⁸ The shock experienced by employees makes them disagree with their leaders over benefits to be realized from a proposed change initiative. Anger makes employees to be distressed because they may feel that the proposed change exposes them to unnecessary risks. On the other hand, resistance is used by employees to show that they also have a stake in the organization and they are not willing to compromise to accept the proposed situation. Lastly, acceptance occurs when all employees have been assured that the proposed change will improve how they execute their functions in the organization. Consequently, the SARA model can be used by the registrars office to change its processes by adopting more efficient technologies that improve the quality of results attained.

Another issue that has to be considered is the type of change agent that is suitable for the situation the organization is currently facing.⁹ A change agent who focuses on organization development is more interested in strengthening internal processes such as employee relations, communications, and decision making. More importantly, he is likely to encourage teamwork and greater collaborations to improve overall organizational behavior. On the other hand, a change agent that focuses more on changing peoples behavior comes up with better methods of uplifting their morale to enable them to achieve good results. This enables such a leader to set appropriate goals by allocating employees challenging tasks that allow them to develop their skills.. Consequently, this enables an organization to undertake various types of improvements in its internal functions to achieve good results in the long run. Therefore, the office of the registrar needs to choose an appropriate change agent who understands the situations it is facing and how they can be used to achieve its long term goals.

Key Research and Consulting Findings

The registrars office needs to come up with a new vision that can address its internal as well as external needs to help it attain good results. There are some important principles that an organization needs to be aware of before implementing any change management process. The registrars office needs to ensure that its internal processes are responsive to its short and long-term needs. All functions that are carried out by different workers should contribute to its overall organizational value to ensure all workers understand specific strategies they can use to attain good results.¹⁰ Besides, the proposed change should enable the office to take advantage of different opportunities that exist to help it attain good results in the long run. This approach will allow different stakeholders in the organization to understand specific contributions they are expected to make to help it attain high-quality results. Therefore, the registrars office will be able to offer high-quality services to students and this will make them change their perceptions about its effectiveness and ability to satisfy their needs.

Another key issue that needs to be addressed for the proposed change to succeed is that the organization needs to have highly skilled employees who understand how specific processes are going to be used to help it attain positive outcomes in its operations. The registrars office needs employees who understand how to use various technological solutions to perform their duties more effectively. This approach will enable the department to motivate its employees by encouraging them to acquire new skills through training.¹¹ As a result, employees will be more willing to take on new responsibilities to help them satisfy the expectations of the organization in the long run. Another key issue that needs to be looked at is the overall organizational behavior and how it is likely to affect how the proposed changes are adopted. Therefore, it needs to place more emphasis on issues that relate to diligence, employee discipline, and responsiveness to clients to ensure its service delivery processes satisfy the expectations of all students in the institution.

Any change initiative that is undertaken by the registrars office should focus on reducing various types of risks it has been experiencing in its operations.¹² Therefore, effective plans need to be put in place to ensure the organization is well prepared to deal with different types of challenges that are likely to occur in the future. Besides, the organization needs to identify other barriers that are likely to make it difficult for the changes proposed to succeed. This knowledge helps an organization to look at other alternatives that can be implemented if the proposed changes do not work. The registrars office needs to assess different technological solutions to determine if they are appropriate for its operations. As a result, it will be in a position to manage its records and other information functions more effectively. Besides, it needs to look for efficient communication solutions to enable its employees to stay in touch with staff in other departments in the university.

The change management model implemented should be able to measure the quality of all internal processes to find out if they satisfy high-quality standards that have been put in place by the organization. ¹³ Also, the change agent together with other important stakeholders in the organization needs to be able to measure specific results obtained from various new strategies implemented in the organization. This approach will enable a manager to compare the results achieved and objectives that had been set earlier to find out if any gaps need to be filled. More importantly, this approach will enable the organization to be ready to learn from information gathered from its stakeholders to implement positive changes in the long run. Consequently, the registrars office will be able to review its short term and long term strategic plans to find out if they change its overall performance.

The registrars office needs to adopt continual processes of organizational development to enhance the value of service it provides to students. It needs to have accurate measures that assess the validity of different performance standards that have been implemented. More importantly, the department needs to align the objectives of the change initiatives that it is going to adopt with the overall strategy of the university. A leader who is expected to initiate the change process needs to find out which important functions need to be improved to enable all participants to set priorities.¹⁴ This will enable the registrars office to set priorities that need to be covered by the change process to ensure it does not lose its identity in the industry in the long run. Moreover, this will help it to preserve its identity by controlling the pace at which changes are adopted to avoid confusing its employees, clients, and other important stakeholders.

The pace at which a particular change initiative should be closely monitored to ensure all stakeholders understand the value of transformative processes that are being undertaken. The registrars office needs to focus on implementing new technologies and developing the skills of its employees to make them capable of achieving good results in their duties.¹⁵ Besides, it needs to link these improvements to the overall quality of services it offers all students to encourage them to remain loyal to the institution. This will reduce the number of students that transfer to other universities. Therefore, the registrars office will be in a position to turn around the performance of the university.

Recommendations

• The registrars office needs to conduct a cost-benefit analysis that will guide the implementation of proposed change management strategies.
• The role of technology needs to be analyzed to find out how it will help the office to streamline its internal processes.
• Some of the internal processes the office needs to focus on include: records and data management, payroll functions, communication, and security.
• It also needs to find out the perceptions of all employees and students towards the various change management processes.
• The office needs to assess the competency levels of its employees to find out if they are able of executing functions that are envisioned in the proposed change.
• The registrars office needs to adopt an effective change strategy that will enable it to share information with other departments in the university.
• The office also needs to look at the viability of new processes adopted in helping it achieve a higher level of efficiency in the long term.
• The change agent to be used needs to have good human relations skills to help him deal with various forms of resistance by the departments staff more effectively.
• Changes that will be proposed should also conform to the overall strategies of the organization to ensure they are suitable for the long term vision of the university.
• The department needs to have a clear vision that shows how the desired benefits will be achieved and the resources needed to actualize its wishes.
• The communication tools to be used should be proactive in identifying challenges that are likely to be experienced and how they are going to be addressed.

Action Plan

One of the theories the firm needs to use the benefits led approach to analyze the benefits it is going to obtain from the change it intends to initiate. This approach will enable all important stakeholders to define specific priorities that need to be addressed to streamline the functions of the registrars office. Besides, the change agent needs to understand appropriate tools that he can use to measure and track how different organizational functions are executed. More importantly, critical thinking strategies will determine if proposed changes will be accepted or rejected by various stakeholders in the organization.¹⁶ As a result, the benefits led approach will help the registrars office to forecast benefits or risks it is likely to experience in the future after implementing the new strategies. Therefore, this will enable the office to allocate adequate resources to ensure all expectations that have been set are achieved easily.

The university needs to regain its competitive position to reduce the number of students who are not satisfied with the quality of services offered by the office of the registrar. The change models to be used by the registrars office should be sustainable and well designed to ensure all important participants understand their roles.¹⁷ Therefore, the registrars office needs to put in place effective plans that will guide the organization to accomplish its plans. More importantly, the proposed change models must take note of various trends that are likely to affect the operations of the university in the long run. This will enable the change agent together with other stakeholders to find out effective ways in which the organization can respond to unforeseen risks that impact its operations. As a result, all improvements that are adopted should focus on developing the skills of all employees to make them anticipate the different needs of the organization more effectively.

Conclusion

The change management model adopted for the registrars office needs to take into account other organizational development approaches that can boost performance. Before these strategic changes are adopted, employees need to be informed about benefits that are likely to be obtained in the long run. Effective training programs need to be implemented to equip all employees with the appropriate skills they need to achieve good performance in their respective workstations. Lastly, technological solutions need to be made part of the change process to increase the quantity and quality of output realized from different work processes in the organization.

Bibliography

Bernerth, Jeremy. Expanding our understanding of the change message. Human Resource Development Review 3, no.1 (2004): 36-52.

Bradford, David L., and W. Warner Burke. Reinventing Organization Development: New Approaches to Change in Organizations. Hoboken: Wiley, 2012.

Chew, Mindy Man Min, Joseph S. L. Cheng, and Sonja Petrovic-Lazarevic. Managers Role in Implementing Organizational Change: Case of the Restaurant Industry in Melbourne. Journal of Global Business and Technology 2, no.1 (2006): 58-67.

Figliomeni, Carlo. Change Management Process for Information Technology. New York: Xlibiris Corporation, 2012.

Haddadj, Slimane. Organisation change and the complexity of succession: A longitudinal case study from France. Journal of Organisation Change Management 16, no. 2 (2003): 135-153.

Johnson, Sharon. Meeting the Challenge of Change. Sydney: Eastern House, 2001.

Letavec, Craig J. Strategic Benefits Realization: Optimizing Value through Programs, Portfolios and Organizational Change Management. New York: J Ross Publishing, 2014.

Long, Choi Sang. Transformation of HR Professionals to be a Change Agent: Realistic Goal or Just a Dream.Journal of Advanced Management Science 1, no.1 (2013): 50-53.

Saka, Ayse. Internal Change Agents View of the Management of Change Problem. Journal of Organizational Change Management 16, no. 5 (2003):.480-496.

Seel, Richard. Anxiety and incompetence in the large group: A psychodynamic perspective. Journal of Organizational Change Management 14, no.5 (2001): 493-503.

Footnotes

1. David L. Bradford and W. Warner Burke, Reinventing Organization Development: New Approaches to Change in Organizations (Hoboken: Wiley, 2012), 61.
2. Ibid., 71.
3. Sharon Johnson, Meeting the Challenge of Change (Sydney: Eastern House, 2001), 42.
4. Ibid., 49.
5. Craig J. Letavec, Strategic Benefits Realization: Optimizing Value through Programs, Portfolios, and Organizational Change Management (New York: J Ross Publishing, 2014), 33.
6. Ibid., 39.
7. Richard Seel, Anxiety and incompetence in the large group: A psychodynamic perspective. Journal of Organizational Change Management 14, no. 5 (2001): 496.
8. Ibid., 501.
9. Choi Sang Long, Transformation of HR Professionals to be a Change Agent: Realistic Goal or Just a Dream.Journal of Advanced Management Science 1, no.1 (2013): 51.
10. Ayse Saka, Internal Change Agents View of the Management of Change Problem. Journal of Organizational Change Management 16, no.5 (2003):.485.
11. Ibid., 490.
12. Mindy Man Min Chew, Joseph S. L. Cheng, and Sonja Petrovic-Lazarevic, Managers Role in Implementing Organizational Change: Case of the Restaurant Industry in Melbourne. Journal of Global Business and Technology 2, no.1 (2006): 60.
13. Ibid., 63.
14. Jeremy Bernerth, Expanding our understanding of the change message. Human Resource Development Review 3, no.1 (2004): 41.
15. Ibid., 47.
16. Carlo Figliomeni, Change Management Process for Information Technology (New York: Xlibiris Corporation, 2012), 71.
17. Richard Seel, Anxiety and incompetence in the large group: A psychodynamic perspective. Journal of Organizational Change Management 14, no.5 (2001): 494.

Organizational development is one of the key areas in management. For managers who want to increase performance and efficiency of their companies, organizational development is essential and necessary time after time. In the scholarly literature you would find that different authors refer to organizational development as a response to change, a complex educational strategy intended to change the beliefs, attitudes, values, and structure of organization so that they can better adapt to new technologies, marketing and challenges, and the dizzying rate of change itself (Beckhard, 1969).

One of the keys to success for organizational development is organizational change. Change is necessary in many sectors of society with the passing of time. This is certainly true for the business world but even for other governmental agencies, nonprofit organizations, or other forms which people organize themselves. As Beckhard puts it:

Significant organizational change occurs, for example, when an organization changes its overall strategy for success, adds or removes a major section or practice, and/or wants to change the very nature by which it operates. It also occurs when an organization evolves through various life cycles, just like people must successfully evolve through life cycles. For organizations to develop, they often must undergo significant change at various points in their development. Thats why the topic of organizational change and development has become widespread in communications about business, organizations, leadership and management. (1969)

In reality many leaders and managers, in a timely manner, try to implement successful strategies in order to achieve significant positive change in their organizations.

Well, to be sincere, this is their job. Some of them are very good in turning their efforts into reality and bring significant change to their organizations. Many of us do not notice their daily work and perhaps do not fully appreciate their job. It is also true that there are many others who continuously struggle and fail with their organizations.

Thats often the difference between people who thrive in their roles and those that get shuttled around from job to job, ultimately settling into a role where theyre frustrated and ineffective (Beckhard, 1969).

Our case

I have worked for a business consulting company for many years now. When I arrived it was a successful one. It had a good, reputable, brand name in the market. Consumers responded positively to its brand and customer satisfaction was above average. But, as the financial conditions of the market began to change, negative effects began to show up. At the beginning they seemed to be not worthy of attention and effects that will pass without causing much harm to the company. But, during last year, after the explosion of the subprime crisis, the financial crisis began to hit the business world. Our company began to feel serious negative backlashes. This situation persisted and seemed unstoppable. The Board of Directors had a series of special meetings with all the management staff and we discussed how to surpass this situation. It was clearly the need for a radical organizational change if we wanted to become leaders in this market sector. One of the decisions made was the re-organizing of the structure of the company. It was evaluated that the existing one had become too bureaucratic and slow in reacting to market shocks like the one we were experiencing.

The existing structure had blocked the interactions of managers with clients. Their problems and situations were not given proper attention. Since we were in the consulting business, the financial crisis changed radically the requests of the customers. They tended to become more in need of assistance and needed it faster than before. The problem was that the company continued to treat the customer requests with the same timing and importance as in previous market situations, not being able to understand that emergency situations need radical responses. The needs and problems of the customers, along with their complaints, either never made it to the managers and faded into the bureaucratic machinery of customer support assistants, or arrived too late on our tables. They arrived so late that our helping strategies were of no use anymore. The Board of Directors decided to change this situation. Managers were now obliged to select personally a number of orders and not wait for the assistance staff select them. Also, they were encouraged to personally contact clients and be interested how they were doing in their businesses. The structural reorganization included the formation of a special management team that would make market research in order to foresee future market shocks and problems and make the company prepare for those shocks. The results of the market researches would also be used as an insight in consulting various key clients.

This new situation made the organization much more efficient. First of all it cut down significantly the time of response to customers needs. It also made clients feel that someone was working along with them for their business not to fail. This built up trust which resulted in customer satisfaction.

References

Beckhard, R. (1969). Organization development: strategies and models. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.