INTRODUCTION

The term Organisational Development (OD) came into prominence in the 1960s. It was popularized by theorists like Blake and Mouton, Shepard and Beckard. Organisational Development is a long-term effort, led and supported by top management, to improve an organization's visioning, empowerment, learning, and problem-solving processes, through an ongoing, collaborative management of organizations culture with special emphasis on the culture of intact work teams and other team configurations utilizing the consultant facilitator role and the theory and technology of applied behavioral science, including action research. Intervention: An intervention is a set of sequenced and planned actions or events intended to help the organization increase its effectiveness. Interventions purposely disrupt the status quo. The following a few of most common OD Interventions, that most of the companies practice: 1. Applying criteria to goals 2. Establishing inter-unit task forces 3. Experimentation with alternative arrangements 4. Identifying Key Communicators 5. Identifying Fireable Offenses 6. In-Visioning 7. Team Building 8. Inter-group Problem Solving 9. Management / Leadership Training 10. Setting up measurements Change Agent: Implementation of planned change requires change agents. A change agent is a person who will initiate change in the organization. The change agent has to perform a difficult task to implement the needed change to increase organizational effectiveness. He may have to face resistance from different quarters to prevent change but he has to tread his way to removing those impediments

Intervention Overview: Human Process Interventions Techno structural Interventions Human Resources Management Interventions Strategic Interventions OD Interventions: It refers to a set of planned change activities intended to help an organization to increase its effectiveness. Based on valid information (accurate organizational diagnosis.) Opportunity for free and informed choice (employees active involvement) Gain members internal commitment (employees accept ownership of the intervention and its implementation)

Human Process interventions:

T-groups: Provides members with experiential learning about group dynamics, leadership,

interpersonal relations
Process consultation / third party interventions:

Consultant helps group members to diagnose group functioning and to devise solutions to process problems (conflicts, communications, norms)
Team building: Goes beyond process consultation, examines group's task, member roles,

strategies for performing tasks.

Search conference: Clarifying important important values, looking for new ways to address

problems, articulating a new vision for the organization.

Organization confrontation meeting: Mobilizing employees in problem solving during periods of stress. Normative approaches: Specifies best way to manage an organization, through use of standardized

instruments for measuring organizational practices. Management Science-II Dr. Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Techno-Structural Interventions:
Formal structures:

Concerns organizations division of labour how to specialize task performances. Four kinds of structures: Functional, self-contained units, matrix, and networked
Differentiation and Integration: Specialization and coordination mechanisms redesigned as per environmental

demands Techno-structural interventions

Parallel learning structures: Creating an informal, flexible collateral organization to supplement existing

organization, to solve problems that a regular organization cannot solve.

Human Resource Management Interventions:

Goal setting: Setting clear and challenging goals, improving organizational effectiveness by

establishing better fit between personal and organizational objectives.

Performance appraisal:

Joint assessment of work-related achievements, strengths and weaknesses; providing performance feedback to individuals and work groups
IReward systems:

Designing incentive and reward system for improving employee satisfaction and performance
Career planning and development: Guiding employees to choose career paths and to attain career objectives;

means of improving employees quality of work life.

Managing workforce diversity:

Change in gender ratio, ethnic ratio, physically challenged employees; flexibility in policies to accommodate these changes
Employee wellness:

Employee assistance programs, stress management, etc.

Parallel Learning Structures: Creating an informal, flexible collateral organization to supplement existing

organization, to solve problems that a regular organization cannot solve.

Person-Focused OD Interventions:
Partnerships between individuals (participants) and behavioral science experts (facilitators)

Requirements of Successful implementation of OD Interventions:

Support of Top Management: Without the support of top management, any OD intervention is like to fail and thus lead to wastage of time, resources and energy. Identification of the Objectives of Change: Clarity about objectives of change will help in planning strategies of change. Determination of the Elements to be Changed: Changes may be required in the following elements: structure, technology and people. Adequate planning: Planning of change involves finding answers to questions such as: when to bring about change, who will be affected by change, how to introduce change and who will introduce change. Workers Participation: Participation will give the people involved a feeling of importance. They are likely to be more committed to the change. Effective Communication: There should be effective two-way communication in the organization between the management and the subordinates. Effective leadership: During the implementation stage, the management should provide effective leadership to the workers and act as facilitator of change. Congenial Organizational Climate: There must be an atmosphere of open communication, mutual trust and collaboration in the organization. Both management and workers should trust each other and be willing to cooperate with each other for the betterment of the organization and of themselves.