Practicing Organization Development (A guide for Consultants) - Part 33 ppt

Interviews. Interviewing is a most interesting and important part of OD. A
skilled interviewer could go into most organizations, spend a day talking to key
people, and probably have a reasonably good idea of the strengths and weak-
nesses of the organization and have some preliminary ideas about what it would
take to move the organization to a higher level. According to Cummings and
Worley (2001, p. 116), interviews are the most widely used method for collect-
ing data in OD. Interviewing offers many advantages for collecting information
because of the ability to see people face-to-face, probe for clarification and pos-
sible alternatives, and build personal credibility and trust. However, it can also
be time-consuming and expensive.
Interviews can be classified as structured or non-structured, individual or
group, and face-to-face or non-face-to-face. Structured interviews contain pre-
pared questions asked in a particular order that are designed to elicit responses
in specific areas. Unstructured interviews consist of open-ended questions fol-
lowed by probing based on what the respondent says. Most OD practitioners
use a blend of the two, with prepared questions designed to cover a number of
specific areas and the flexibility to go with the flow as the interview unfolds.
Interviews can also be done with individuals or groups or a combination of
both. Respondents are likely to be more open in individual interviews, but group
interviews, of course, make it possible to reach and involve far more people.
While most interviews are done face-to-face, when this is not possible, there are
still other options, such as telephone, teleconference, videoconference, or syn-
chronous (or even asynchronous) chats on the Internet. Exhibit 10.4 offers some
guidelines on conducting interviews, and Exhibit 10.5 provides a list of possi-
ble interview questions.
Questionnaires. Questionnaires can be used to understand whole organizations
and groups, as well as provide valuable information in forming organizations and
groups. They can also be used to address specific areas, such as organization
structure, culture, and communications, the leadership or interpersonal skills of
leaders, and how people are dealing with intercultural issues, or for evaluating
what the driving issues are, such as a lack of teamwork and cooperation

between groups. Ideally, questionnaires should be easy to understand; brief
enough to motivate people to complete them, yet comprehensive enough to
solicit valuable information; and based on a theory or model that makes it pos-
sible easily to understand and utilize the results.
Observations. Data can also be collected by observing organizational dynam-
ics. This can be done in a formal way with specific things to observe or infor-
mation to collect, such as observing a top management meeting and evaluating
roles, relationships, and group dynamics, or informally by walking around or
spending time with individuals and groups.
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292 PRACTICING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT, 2ND EDITION
Exhibit 10.4. Interviewing Guidelines
1. Provide a comfortable and private place where there will be no interrup-
tions. There should be few barriers such as a desk between you and the
interviewee.
2. Introduce yourself and ask for the name, department, and job of the interviewee.
You may also want to know the name of the interviewee’s immediate supervi-
sor. Briefly describe the purpose of the interview. Point out that you are looking
for trends and will not report
any information that would identify the source without permission from the
interviewee. Ask for permission to take notes. Interviewing provides a good
opportunity for you to personally build credibility and to promote the program
you are involved in.
3. Try to be as natural, warm, and as friendly as possible and do not over-react to
what is said. Over-reactions will stimulate or hamper continued discussion on a
subject. An alert body posture and good eye contact are important.
4. You should be aware that the questions you ask and comments you make are
likely to be reported to others after each interview.
5. If a survey is also being used, it is best to administer the survey first so the

results can be used in developing questions for the interview. It is also helpful to
use questions that will serve as a crosscheck with the survey and reveal the sub-
jective data behind the numbers.
6. Take notes so you can remember what was said. Skip quickly over unimportant
items. Your objective is to (1) identify major strengths and opportunities for
improvement; (2) solicit supporting information; and (3) ask for possible solu-
tions to opportunities for improvement. Learn to take notes without losing eye
contact with the interviewee.
7. Make sure that you encourage the interviewee to talk about strengths and
creative ideas. Dwelling primarily on weaknesses is likely to produce guilt and
discouragement.
8. Objectivity is extremely important! You must record what is being said—not what
you were primed by others to believe ahead of time or what you want to hear.
Check out your perceptions thoroughly if you have any doubts about what is
being said.
9. You can end an interview at any time by asking, “Is there anything else that you
think I should know?” Don’t prolong an interview when a person has little to say.
When you finish, thank the interviewee for his or her time.
10. Summarize the interview at the conclusion of the day according to the following
format: (1) major strengths; (2) major issues along with their supporting facts
and possible solutions; and (3) miscellaneous information.
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Exhibit 10.5. Sample Interview Questions
1. What words or phrases would you use to best describe your organization at this
time?
2. If you were to rate how successful your organization is at this time on a 10-point
scale with 10 high and 1 low, what number would you choose?
3. If you were to rate morale on a 10-point scale, what number would you choose?
4. On a 10-point scale, rate your organization as a place to work. How well does

your organization treat employees? How would you describe the working condi-
tions such as pay, fringe benefits, facilities, and the things you need to do your
job well? What words or phrases would you use to describe the culture or work
environment here?
5. Describe your leader and how well-regarded he/she is in your organization.
How would you describe his/her management style? What are his/her major
strengths and weaknesses? What could he/she do to be more effective? If
important, do the same for other senior leaders.
6. How clear are the vision, mission, values, and goals of your organization?
7. In your opinion what are the major strengths of your organization? What are the
major weaknesses or opportunities for improvement? What are the major con-
cerns you have or hear other employees talking about?
8. What is going well in your organization? What is not going well or could be
improved?
9. If you could only choose three things your organization could or should do to
become more effective or successful, what would they be?
10. Now do some creative, bold, breakthrough thinking and list a few additional
things your organization could do to go from good to great or become a one-of-
a-kind organization.
11. Is your organization structured for results with the right organization design and
the right people in the right places?
12. What does your organization do to provide training and professional develop-
ment for leaders and employees?
13. How client-centered and service-oriented is your organization? What would your
clients likely say about your organization?
14. What words or phrases would you use to describe the culture or work environ-
ment here?
15. How effective is your organization at communicating with employees, keeping
them informed, and encouraging open communications?
16. How good is the organization at teamwork at the top, within teams, and

between teams?
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Live Assessments. A high interest and fast way to collect data is to do so live
in workshops or meetings, or even electronically by linking tele- or audio-
conferencing with the technology to collect and tabulate data, and to make deci-
sions instantly, even though the participants may be dispersed worldwide. This
method is particularly used in large-group meetings where data are collected,
fed back, organized, and used for decision making and action planning. Many
of these types of meetings, such as The Search Conference, Future Search, and
Real Time Strategic Change are described in Bunker and Alban (1997) and in
Holman and Devane (1999).
A method that I developed that is simple to use and often causes significant
shifts in thinking and motivation to change is shown in Exhibit 10.6. I first pass
out and briefly discuss the Culture Model shown in the exhibit, which bases
culture on the emphasis the group being evaluated (whole organization, team,
etc.) places on performance and people. Then I have the participants take a 3
by 5 card and write the first letter of the culture that is most characteristic of
the target group (A for autocratic, L for laissez faire, P for paternalistic, and H
for high performance). The cards are collected and given to someone to sort
and compute the number and percentage in each group. This takes about five
minutes. The results are then reported and discussed. I have seen this simple
Exhibit 10.5. Continued
17. What are some of the major frustrations or obstacles you face in getting things
done?
18. How are changes typically made in your organization?
19. What kinds of behaviors are rewarded and are discouraged in your organization?
20. Does your organization do a good job of providing training and professional
development opportunities?
21. If you were to rate how free you feel to be open on a 10-point scale with 10

representing very open and 1 very guarded, what number would you choose?
22. What does your organization do to encourage innovative thinking, new ideas,
and improvements?
23. How does a person get ahead in your organization?
24. What does the organization do to value, recognize, and reward people for their
contributions?
25. What are some of the major motivators and de-motivators in your organization?
What would motivate you more?
26. What do you consider to be the major issues facing the future of your organization?
27. Is there anything else you would like to comment on?
Practicing Organization Development, 2nd Ed Copyright © 2005 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reproduced
by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. www.pfeiffer.com
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process literally shock leaders into action after discovering that 80 percent of
the participants identified the dominant culture as autocratic. This in fact
occurred in an organization that was rated one of the top 200 places to work by
Fortune magazine.
Brief questionnaires can also be administered and tabulated live, either elec-
tronically or by hand. For example, have each team member complete a ques-
tionnaire on how the team is functioning, shuffle the questionnaires so that each
team member receives a questionnaire at random (or produce the results elec-
tronically, if the technology is available), and have team members read off the
results for each item and then discuss the findings.
ORGANIZATION ACTION PLANNING
Action planning in OD is the collaborative process of systematically planning a
change effort using sound strategies, change models, and change principles.
When done effectively, it can energize and mobilize people, and significantly
improve the impact of a change or improvement and accelerate the time needed
to accomplish the desired actions. When done ineffectively, action plans will

generate little commitment and have a low probability of being implemented
and may, in fact, create unintended negative side effects.
Understanding Action Planning
Even though action planning is an integral part of any OD effort, surprisingly
little has been written about the details of action planning. Action planning first
appeared in the pre-OD days of Kurt Lewin in his action research concept. The
process, which is basically a process for gathering data, organizing and feeding
data back, and using the data to explore ways to improve, is described in detail
in Chapter Two.
Beckhard and Harris (1977, p. 28) offer one of the most detailed descriptions
of action planning. They describe it as a process of developing strategies and
action plans to manage the transition between present and future states. They
list four steps in the action planning process:
1. Determine the client’s degree of choice about change (How much con-
trol do clients have in deciding whether to change and how to
change?).
2. Determine what needs to be changed.
3. Determine where to intervene.
4. Choose intervention technologies.
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Exhibit 10.6. Culture Assessment
Instructions
The model below portrays four organization cultures based on the emphasis an
organization places on performance and people. The term “organization” can be
used to describe the group being evaluated, such as a whole organization or team.
An organization’s culture is made up of the beliefs, values, practices, and “feel” of the
organization. Research indicates that organization culture has a significant influence
on the performance and behavior of people. Most organizations have a dominant
culture (the most pervasive culture) and numerous subcultures (cultures that differ

from the dominant culture). Study the model and descriptions below and check the
culture that best represents the dominant culture of the whole organization or group
you are evaluating. You can use the numbers to plot which culture is most represen-
tative if you choose. Then take a 3 by 5 card and print in a large letter the first letter
of the culture you checked (A, L, P, or H). Have someone collect the cards and report
how many are in each culture and the percentage of each.
1
1
2
3
4
Laissez-Faire
Culture
Weak Emphasis on
Both Performance
and People
Autocratic
Culture
Strong Emphasis on
Performance and a
Weak Emphasis on
People
5
6
7
8
9
Paternalistic
Culture
Weak Emphasis on

Performance and a
Strong Emphasis on
People
Strong
Emphasis
People Management
Performance Management
Weak
Emphasis
Weak
Emphasis
Strong
Emphasis
High-Performance
Culture
Strong Emphasis on
Both Performance
and People
10
2345678910
Practicing Organization Development, 2nd Ed Copyright © 2005 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reproduced
by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. www.pfeiffer.com
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1. AUTOCRATIC CULTURE. The organization places a strong emphasis on perfor-
mance and a weak emphasis on people. The leaders are preoccupied with per-
formance and push for greater and greater results while showing little regard for
the concerns or needs of people. Decisions are made primarily at the top and
employees do not feel empowered, valued, or free to communicate openly and
be innovative without possible consequences.

2. LAISSEZ FAIRE CULTURE. The organization places a weak emphasis on perfor-
mance and people. The leaders rarely lead, the goals of the organization are
unclear, and minimal direction, guidance, and accountability are provided. There
is little pressure for results, coordination, or cooperation, and people work with
considerable freedom but little purpose and eventually become
frustrated with the lack of results or direction.
3. PATERNALISTIC CULTURE. The organization places a weak emphasis on perfor-
mance and a strong emphasis on people. The leaders go out of their way to
keep people happy and involve people but do little to push for results, hold
people accountable, or address people issues. Problems are smoothed over to
avoid possible conflict and the permissive environment results in some people
taking advantage of the organization with few if any consequences.
4. HIGH-PERFORMANCE CULTURE. The organization places a strong emphasis on
performance and people. The leaders expect a high level of results but also gen-
uinely care about the people and look for ways to fully utilize, empower, and
develop the potential of their people. The work environment has a good balance
between being very goal- and results-oriented and being a friendly and fun
place to work, where communication is open, innovation is encouraged, and
teamwork and cooperation are a way of life.
Beckhard and Harris also provided guidelines for developing an activity or
process plan (pp. 51–52). Their seven guidelines for developing a process plan
are as follows:
1. The activities should be clearly linked to the goals and priorities of the
identified change.
2. The activities should be clearly identified rather than broadly generalized.
3. Discrete activities should be linked.
4. The activities should be time-sequenced.
5. Contingent plans should exist in case unexpected forces develop dur-
ing the change process.
6. The change plan should be supported by top management.

7. The plan should be cost-effective.
Practicing Organization Development, 2nd Ed Copyright © 2005 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reproduced
by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. www.pfeiffer.com
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David Nadler (1977, pp. 156–158) listed six characteristics that are impor-
tant for successful action planning meetings:
1. Motivation to work with the data. People must feel that working with
the data will lead to positive results.
2. Assistance in using the data. Someone, usually an OD practitioner,
needs to be familiar with the data and how to interpret and utilize
them.
3. A structure for the meeting. An agenda, usually planned by an OD
practitioner or collaboratively developed with the involvement of an
OD practitioner, should provide a useful process for dealing with the
data and for planning actions.
4. Appropriate membership. The right people should attend the meeting.
This could include, for example, those who most need to buy into the
action planning process and who can best contribute to planning rele-
vant actions.
5. Appropriate power. Membership should also include one or more per-
sons with the power to make needed changes.
6. Process help. A skilled facilitator, usually an OD practitioner, is needed
to guide the process and observe how the group is working.
The Action Planning Process
The action planning process shown in Exhibit 10.1 includes five steps:
1. Involve key stakeholders.
2. Evaluate and prioritize relevant data.
3. Agree on the changes to be made (actions to be taken).
4. Develop a change strategy.

5. Clarify roles and follow-through responsibilities.
Much of the action planning process is just good common sense. This is true
of the entire OD process, just as it is of good leadership and of building a suc-
cessful organization. However, common sense is not so common and often
requires a high level of expertise to discover and implement. In just about every
endeavor in life, whether we are talking about OD practitioners, leaders, ath-
letes, musicians, teachers, or parents, those who are highly skilled make what
they do seem almost effortless. This is definitely the case with action planning.
When done well, it makes sense and has a natural flow to it. However, to do it
well requires a clear understanding of at least the five steps presented above.
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Involve Key Stakeholders
Stakeholders include people at all levels of an organization and occasionally peo-
ple outside an organization who are influenced by and/or can influence or con-
tribute to the success of change efforts. When key stakeholders are involved in
the action planning process, the plans tend to be sound and realistic, and those
involved tend to have a strong commitment to assuring the success of the
planned actions. When key stakeholders are not involved, commitment may be
lacking from those who can make or break changes, time and planning required
to convince key players to support the actions can be excessive, and the plans
are often well-intended but faulty because those involved may lack the wisdom
and insight of those close to the action. Therefore, the first step in the action
planning process is to evaluate who should be involved in various action plan-
ning efforts. It is assumed that the OD practitioner guiding the OD effort will
facilitate or be involved in the selection process and most action planning efforts.
In deciding who should be involved, consider the following:
• Givens: Start with the givens, that is, people who would be expected to
be involved.
• Expertise: Who possesses the knowledge and skills necessary to con-

tribute to successful action planning?
• Position, power, and influence: Who has the ability to mobilize neces-
sary resources and make change happen?
• Track record: Who has been involved in past successful change efforts?
• Structure: Who has responsibility for approving changes and who will
be impacted most by the changes?
• Ideal involvement: Explore the ideal and plan for the real while compen-
sating as much as possible for gaps.
Either before or after decisions are made on involvement, a change agent or
change champion should be appointed to assure that someone will have responsi-
bility for leading any change effort and, if necessary, appoint a change team to assist
the change agent or change champion in planning and managing the change
process. Change agent is another name for an OD practitioner. A change champion
is a person at any level of the organization who is skilled at championing needed
change and who in the action planning process is assigned the responsibility for
assuring that planned actions are accomplished. A change team is often assembled
to assist the leader of a change or improvement effort in planning and managing
the change or improvement process. A change team is a team of representative peo-
ple assigned to work with a change agent or change champion in helping plan and
manage the change process and assure that planned actions are accomplished.
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In some cases the change agent (OD practitioner) involved will lead the
action planning and follow-through efforts, including leading a change team
when one is involved. However, in most cases the change agent will facilitate
and help guide the action planning and follow-through efforts and coach a
change champion who is formally appointed to lead follow-through efforts. The
actual names assigned to roles, such as change agent, change champion, and
change team, will vary with different organizations depending on the names
that best fit the culture of the organization.
Involvement Tips

• Keep involvement strategic and simple. By involving the right people
with the right skills and influence at the right time, by carefully plan-
ning and facilitating the action planning process, and by working to
keep the action planning process simple, plans can be developed and
commitment developed rather quickly.
• Over-involvement can be just as damaging as under-involvement.
While widespread involvement tends to build commitment and
may be possible to achieve quickly in large-scale meetings, not
everyone has to be involved in everything to build commitment
and get things done. Over-involving people can be time-consuming
and costly, sometimes reducing rather than improving the quality
of decisions, and can slow down the decision-making and change
process.
• As much as possible, always have at least one high-level decision maker
involved. Having someone present who can give immediate perspective
and can make or pave the way for quick decisions greatly accelerates
the decision-making and change processes.
• Whenever possible, connect the feedback and action planning
processes. This raises the interest and energy level of those involved
and creates a natural flow from feedback to action planning.
Evaluate and Prioritize Relevant Data
It takes a skilled OD practitioner to facilitate action planning meetings where
data can be evaluated, prioritized, and turned into action plans. This is true of
working with a small group like the top management team and is particularly
true in facilitating large-group meetings that may include hundreds or even
thousands of people representing many different groups and perspectives. Even
highly experienced OD practitioners will have to do some or perhaps a great
deal of planning to make an action planning meeting run smoothly. Some of
the issues that must be considered in preparing for action planning follow:
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