An Overview of OD interventions

OD interventions are sets of structured activities in

which selected organizational units(target groups or individuals) engage in a task or a sequence of tasks with the goals of orgnstl improvement and individual development. The OD practitioner brings out four sets of attributes to the organizational setting; A set of values A set of assumptions about people Organizations and inter-personal relationships A set of structured activities that are the means for achieving the values, assumptions and goals.

 The OD practitioners have created an array of

interventions to help organizations in addressing the problems and opportunities. Like:Team building Survey feedback Role analysis Intergroup conflict resolution Quality of work life Collateral organization Self-directed teams High performance work teams. Etc

 OD is a complete strategy for change that

encompasses theory, practice methods, and values. Interventions are just one component of OD formula.

Classification of OD interventions

Following are the major families of OD interventions:Diagnostic activities Team-building activities Inter-group activities Survey feedback activities Education and Training activities Techno structural and Structural activities Process consultation activities Grid-organization development Third-party peacemaking Coaching and counseling Life and career planning Planning and goal setting Strategic management Organizational transformation

 Diagnostic activities: Designed to ascertain the state of things Available methods are interviews, questionnaires, surveys,

meetings, and examining orgnsl records.

Team-building activities: Activities designed to enhance operation of system teams Focus on task issues, the way things are done, the skills and

resources needed to accomplish a task. The quality of relationship among the team members and the leader Different kinds of teams such as formal teams, temporary teams, newly constituted teams, and cross- functional teams.

 Inter-group activities:-

Activities designed to improve the working of inter-

dependent groups The activities are also known as orgnsl mirroring. Survey-feedback activities: Activities that rely on questionnaire surveys to generate information that is then used to identify problems and opportunities.

 Education and training activities: Activities designed to improve individual skills, abilities and

knowledge. For example, the individual can be educated in isolation from his or her own work group or can be educated in relation to the work group. Techno structural and structural activities Activities designed to improve the effectiveness of organizational structures and job designs The activities may take the form of experimenting with new organization structures and evaluating their effectiveness Or devising new ways to bring technical resources to bear on problems.

 Process consultation activities:-

Activities designed to help the client understand and

act upon the process events which occur in the clients environment. These activities describe a consulting mode in which client gains insight into the human processes in organizations and learn skills in diagnosing and managing them.

 Grid Organization development activities: Activities developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton

that constitute a six-phase change model involving the total organization. The model starts with upgrading individual managers skills and leadership qualities, moves to team improvement activities, then to inter-group relations. Third-Party peacemaking: Activities conducted by a skilled consultant designed to help two members off an organization manage their interpersonal conflicts. Based on confrontation tactics and an understanding of the processes involved in conflict and conflict resolution.

 Coaching and counseling activities:-

Activities that involve the consultant and the org.

members working with individuals to help Define learning goals Learn how others see their behavior Learn new behaviors to help them better achieve their goals. Life and career planning activities: Activities that enable individuals to focus on life and career objectives and how to go about achieving them.

 Planning and goal-setting:-

Activities that include theory and experience in

planning and goal setting, problem solving models, ideal org vs real org discrepancy. Goal is to improve these skills at the levels of the individual, group and the total org. Strategic Management activities: Activities that help key policy makers to reflect systematically on the orgs basic mission and goals and threats and opportunities.

 Orgsl transformation activities:-

Activities that involve large-scale system changes;

activities designed to fundamentally change the nature of the org.