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9

Evaluating and Institutionalizing
Organization Development Interventions

learning
objectives

Illustrate the research design and measurement issues associated with
evaluating organization development (OD) interventions.

Explain the key elements in the process of institutionalizing OD
interventions.

This chapter focuses on the final stage of theorganization development cycle—evaluationand institutionalization. Evaluation is con-
cerned with providing feedback to practitioners
and organization members about the progress and
impact of interventions. Such information may sug-
gest the need for further diagnosis and modification
of the change program, or it may show that the
intervention is successful. Institutionalization is a
process for maintaining a particular change for an
appropriate period of time. It ensures that the

results of successful change programs persist
over time.

Evaluation processes consider both the
implementation success of the intended intervention
and the long-term results it produces. Two key
aspects of effective evaluation are measurement
and research design. The persistence of intervention
effects is examined in a framework showing the
organization characteristics, intervention dimensions,
and processes contributing to institutionalization of
OD interventions in organizations.

9-1 Evaluating Organization Development
Interventions
Assessing OD interventions involves judgments about whether an intervention has been
implemented as intended and, if so, whether it is having desired results. Managers
investing resources in OD efforts increasingly are being held accountable for results—
being asked to justify the expenditures in terms of hard, bottom-line outcomes. More
and more, managers are asking for rigorous assessment of OD interventions and are
using the results to make important resource allocation decisions about OD, such as
whether to continue to support the change program, to modify or alter it, or to terminate
it and try something else.

Traditionally, OD evaluation has been discussed as something that occurs after the
intervention. Chapters 10 through 20, for example, present evaluative research about
the interventions after discussions of the respective change programs. That view can be

207

misleading, however. Decisions about the measurement of relevant variables and the
design of the evaluation process should be made early in the OD cycle so that evaluation
choices can be integrated with intervention decisions.

There are two distinct types of OD evaluation: one intended to guide the implemen-
tation of interventions and another to assess their overall impact. The key issues in eval-
uation are measurement and research design.

9-1a Implementation and Evaluation Feedback
Most discussions and applications of OD evaluation imply that evaluation is something
done after intervention. It is typically argued that once the intervention is implemented,
it should be evaluated to discover whether it is producing the intended effects. For exam-
ple, it might be expected that a job enrichment program would lead to higher employee
satisfaction and performance. After implementing job enrichment, evaluation would
involve assessing whether these positive results indeed did occur. This after-
implementation view of evaluation is only partially correct. It assumes that interventions
have been implemented as intended and that the key purpose of evaluation is to assess
their effects. However, in many, if not most, organization development programs, imple-
menting interventions cannot be taken for granted.1 Most OD interventions require sig-
nificant changes in people’s behaviors and ways of thinking about organizations, but they
typically offer only broad prescriptions for how such changes are to occur. For example,
job enrichment (see Chapter 14) calls for adding discretion, variety, and meaningful
feedback to people’s jobs. Implementing such changes requires considerable learning
and experimentation as employees and managers discover how to translate these general
prescriptions into specific behaviors and procedures. This learning process involves
much trial and error and needs to be guided by information about whether behaviors
and procedures are being changed as intended.2 Consequently, we should expand our
view of evaluation to include both during-implementation assessments about if and how
well changes are actually being implemented and after-implementation evaluation of
whether they are producing expected results.

Both kinds of evaluation provide organization members with feedback about interven-
tions. Evaluation aimed at guiding implementation may be called implementation feedback,
and assessment intended to discover intervention outcomes may be called evaluation feed-
back. Figure 9.1 shows how the two kinds of feedback fit with the diagnostic and interven-
tion stages of OD. The application of OD to a particular organization starts with a
thorough diagnosis of the situation (Chapters 5 and 6), which helps identify particular
organizational problems, areas for improvement, or strengths to leverage as well as the
likely drivers underlying them. Next, from an array of possible interventions (Chapters 10
through 20), one or some set is chosen as a means of improving the organization. The
choice is based on knowledge linking interventions to diagnosis (Chapter 7) and change
management (Chapter 8).

In most cases, the chosen intervention provides only general guidelines for organiza-
tional change, leaving managers and employees with the task of translating those guide-
lines into specific behaviors and procedures. Implementation feedback informs this
process by supplying data about the different features of the intervention itself, percep-
tions of the people involved, and data about the immediate effects of the intervention.
These data, collected repeatedly and at short intervals, provide a series of snapshots
about how the intervention is progressing. Organization members can use this informa-
tion, first, to gain a clearer understanding of the intervention (the kinds of behaviors and
procedures required to implement it) and, second, to plan for the next implementation

208 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

steps. This feedback cycle might proceed for several rounds, with each round providing
members with knowledge about the intervention and ideas for the next stage of
implementation.

Once implementation feedback informs organization members that the intervention
is sufficiently in place and accepted, evaluation feedback begins. In contrast to imple-
mentation feedback, it is concerned with the overall impact of the intervention and
with whether resources should continue to be allocated to it or to other possible inter-
ventions. Evaluation feedback takes longer to gather and interpret than does implemen-
tation feedback. It typically includes a broad array of outcome measures, such as
performance, job satisfaction, productivity, and turnover. Negative results on these mea-
sures tell members either that the initial diagnosis was seriously flawed or that the wrong
intervention was chosen. Such feedback might prompt additional diagnosis and a search
for a more effective intervention. Positive results, on the other hand, tell members that
the intervention produced expected outcomes and might prompt a search for ways to
institutionalize the changes, making them a permanent part of the organization’s normal
functioning.

An example of a job enrichment intervention helps to clarify the OD stages and
feedback linkages shown in Figure 9.1. Suppose the initial diagnosis reveals that
employee performance and satisfaction are low and that jobs being overly structured
and routinized are an underlying cause of this problem. An inspection of alternative
interventions to improve productivity and satisfaction suggests that job enrichment
might be applicable for this situation. Existing job enrichment theory proposes that
increasing employee discretion, task variety, and feedback can lead to improvements in
work quality and attitudes and that this job design and outcome linkage is especially
strong for employees who have growth needs—needs for challenge, autonomy, and
development. Initial diagnosis suggests that most of the employees have high growth

FIGURE 9.1

Implementation and Evaluation Feedback

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CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 209

needs and that the existing job designs prevent the fulfillment of these needs. Therefore,
job enrichment seems particularly suited to this situation.

Managers and employees now start to translate the general prescriptions offered by
job enrichment theory into specific behaviors and procedures. At this stage, the interven-
tion is relatively broad and must be tailored to fit the specific situation. To implement
the intervention, employees might decide on the following organizational changes: job
discretion can be increased through more participatory styles of supervision; task variety
can be enhanced by allowing employees to inspect their job outputs; and feedback can be
made more meaningful by providing employees with quicker and more specific informa-
tion about their performances.

After three months of trying to implement these changes, the members use imple-
mentation feedback to see how the intervention is progressing. Questionnaires and
interviews (similar to those used in diagnosis) are administered to measure the differ-
ent features of job enrichment (discretion, variety, and feedback) and to assess employ-
ees’ reactions to and understanding of the changes. Company records are analyzed to
show the short-term effects on productivity of the intervention. The data reveal that
productivity and satisfaction have changed very little since the initial diagnosis.
Employee perceptions of job discretion and feedback also have shown negligible
change and employees seem confused about the expectations of managers, but percep-
tions of task variety have shown significant improvement. In-depth discussion and
analysis of this first round of implementation feedback help supervisors gain a better
feel for the kinds of behaviors needed to move toward a participatory leadership style.
This greater clarification of one feature of the intervention leads to a decision to
involve the supervisors in leadership training to develop the skills and knowledge
needed to lead participatively. A decision also is made to make job feedback more
meaningful by translating such data into simple bar graphs, rather than continuing to
provide voluminous statistical reports.

After these modifications have been in effect for about three months, members gather
a second round of implementation feedback to see how the intervention is progressing.
The data now show that productivity and satisfaction have moved moderately higher
than in the first round of feedback and that employee perceptions of task variety and feed-
back are both high. Employee perceptions of discretion, however, remain relatively low.
Members conclude that the variety and feedback dimensions of job enrichment are suffi-
ciently implemented but that the discretion component needs further improvement. They
decide to put more effort into supervisory training and to ask OD practitioners to provide
counseling and coaching to supervisors about their leadership styles.

After four more months, a third round of implementation feedback is sought. The
data now show that satisfaction and performance are significantly higher than in the first
round of feedback and moderately higher than in the second round. The data also show
that discretion, variety, and feedback are all high, suggesting that the job enrichment
intervention has been successfully implemented. Now evaluation feedback is used to
assess the overall effectiveness of the program.

The evaluation feedback includes all the data from the satisfaction and performance
measures used in the implementation feedback. Because both the immediate and broader
effects of the intervention are being evaluated, additional outcomes are examined, such
as employee absenteeism, maintenance costs, and reactions of other organizational units
not included in job enrichment. The full array of evaluation data might suggest that after
one year from the start of implementation, the job enrichment program is having the
expected effects and thus should be continued and made more permanent.

210 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

9-1b Measurement
Providing useful implementation and evaluation feedback involves two activities: select-
ing the appropriate variables and designing good measures of them.

Selecting Appropriate Variables Ideally, the variables measured in OD evaluation
should derive from the theory or conceptual model underlying the intervention. The
model should incorporate the key features of the intervention as well as its expected
results. The general diagnostic models described in Chapter 5 meet this criterion, as do
the more specific models introduced in Chapters 10 through 20. For example, the job-
level diagnostic model described in Chapter 5 proposes several major features of work:
task variety, feedback, and autonomy. The theory argues that high levels of these ele-
ments can be expected to result in high levels of work quality and satisfaction. In addi-
tion, as we shall see in Chapter 14, the strength of this relationship varies with the degree
of employee growth needs: the higher the need, the more that job enrichment produces
positive results.

The job-level diagnostic model suggests a number of measurement variables for
implementation and evaluation feedback. Whether the intervention is being implemen-
ted could be assessed by determining how many job descriptions have been rewritten to
include more responsibility or how many organization members have received cross-
training in other job skills. Evaluation of the immediate and long-term impact of job
enrichment would include measures of employee performance and satisfaction over
time. Again, these measures would likely be included in the initial diagnosis, when the
company’s problems or areas for improvement are discovered.

Measuring both intervention and outcome variables is necessary for implementation
and evaluation feedback. Unfortunately, there has been a tendency in OD to measure
only outcome variables while neglecting intervention variables altogether.3 It generally
is assumed that the intervention has been implemented, and attention, therefore, is
directed to its impact on such organizational outcomes as performance, absenteeism,
and satisfaction. As argued earlier, implementing OD interventions generally takes con-
siderable time and learning. It must be empirically determined that the intervention has
been implemented; it cannot simply be assumed. Implementation feedback serves this
purpose, guiding the implementation process and helping to interpret outcome data.
Outcome measures are ambiguous without knowledge of how well the intervention has
been implemented. For example, a negligible change in measures of performance and
satisfaction could mean that the wrong intervention has been chosen, that the correct
intervention has not been implemented effectively, or that the wrong variables have
been measured. Measurement of the intervention variables helps determine the correct
interpretation of outcome measures.

As suggested above, the selection of intervention variables to be measured should
derive from the conceptual framework underlying the OD intervention. OD research and
theory increasingly have come to identify specific organizational changes needed to imple-
ment particular interventions (much of that information is discussed in Chapters 10
through 20). These variables should guide not only implementation of the intervention
but also choices about what change variables to measure for evaluative purposes. Addi-
tional sources of knowledge about intervention variables can be found in the numerous
references at the end of each of the chapters on intervention in this book and in several
of the books in the Wiley Series on Organizational Assessment and Change.4

The choice of what outcome variables to measure also should be dictated by inter-
vention theory, which specifies the kinds of results that can be expected from particular

CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 211

change programs. Again, the material in this book and elsewhere identifies numerous
outcome measures, such as job satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, organizational commit-
ment, absenteeism, turnover, and productivity.

Historically, OD assessment has focused on attitudinal outcomes, such as job satisfac-
tion, while neglecting hard measures, such as performance. Increasingly, however, managers
and researchers are calling for development of behavioral measures of OD outcomes. Man-
agers are interested primarily in applying OD to change work-related behaviors that involve
joining, remaining, and producing at work, and are assessing OD more frequently in terms
of such bottom-line results. Macy and Mirvis have done extensive research to develop a
standardized set of behavioral outcomes for assessing and comparing intervention results.5

Table 9.1 lists 11 outcomes, including their behavioral definitions and recording categories.
The outcomes are in two broad categories: participation-membership, including absentee-
ism, tardiness, turnover, internal employment stability, and strikes and work stoppages;
and performance on the job, including productivity, quality, grievances, accidents, unsched-
uled machine downtime and repair, material and supply overuse, and inventory shrinkage.
All of the outcomes should be important to most managers, and they represent generic
descriptions that can be adapted to both industrial and service organizations.

Designing Good Measures Each of the measurement methods described in
Chapter 6—questionnaires, interviews, observations, and unobtrusive measures—has
advantages and disadvantages. Many of these characteristics are linked to the extent
to which a measurement is operationally defined, reliable, and valid. These assessment
characteristics are discussed below.

Operational Definition. A good measure is operationally defined; that is, it specifies
the empirical data needed, how they will be collected and, most important, how they
will be converted from data to information. For example, Macy and Mirvis developed
operational definitions for the behavioral outcomes listed in Table 9.1 (see Table 9.2).6

They consist of specific computational rules that can be used to construct measures for
each of the behaviors. Most of the behaviors are reported as rates adjusted for the num-
ber of employees in the organization and for the possible incidents of behavior. These
adjustments make it possible to compare the measures across different situations and
time periods. These operational definitions should have wide applicability across both
industrial and service organizations, although some modifications, deletions, and addi-
tions may be necessary for a particular application.

Operational definitions are extremely important in measurement because they pro-
vide precise guidelines about what characteristics of the situation are to be observed and
how they are to be used. They tell OD practitioners and organization members exactly
how diagnostic, intervention, and outcome variables will be measured.

Reliability. Reliability concerns the extent to which a measure represents the “true”
value of a variable—that is, how accurately the operational definition translates data
into information. For example, there is little doubt about the accuracy of the number of
cars leaving an assembly line as a measure of plant productivity. Although it is possible
to miscount, there can be a high degree of confidence in the measurement. On the other
hand, when people are asked to rate their level of job satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 5,
there is considerable room for variation in their response. They may just have had an
argument with their supervisor, suffered an accident on the job, been rewarded for high
levels of productivity, or been given new responsibilities. Each of these events can sway
the response to the question on any given day. The individuals’ “true” satisfaction score
is difficult to discern from this one question and the measure lacks reliability.7

212 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

TABLE 9.1

Behavioral Outcomes for Measuring OD Interventions: Definitions and Recording Categories

Behavioral Definitions Recording Categories

Absenteeism: each absence or illness
over four hours

Voluntary: short-term illness (less than three consecutive days),
personal business, family illness

Involuntary: long-term illness (more than three consecutive days),
funerals, out-of-plant accidents, lack of work (temporary layoff),
presanctioned days off

Leaves: medical, personal, maternity, military, and other (e.g., jury duty)

Tardiness: each absence or illness
under four hours

Voluntary: same as absenteeism
Involuntary: same as absenteeism

Turnover: each movement beyond the
organizational boundary

Voluntary: resignation
Involuntary: termination, disqualification, requested resignation,

permanent layoff, retirement, disability, death

Internal employment stability: each move-
ment within the organizational boundary

Internal movement: transfer, promotion, promotion with transfer
Internal stability: new hires, layoffs, rehires

Strikes and work stoppages: each day lost
as a result of strike or work stoppage

Sanctioned: union-authorized strike, company-authorized lockout
Unsanctioned: work slowdown, walkout, sitdown

Accidents and work-related illness: each
recordable injury, illness, or death
from a work-related accident or from
exposure to the work environment

Major: OSHA accident, illness, or death which results in medical
treatment by a physician or registered professional person
understanding orders from a physician

Minor: non-OSHA accident or illness which results in one-time treat-
ment and subsequent observation not requiring professional care

Revisits: OSHA and non-OSHA accident or illness which requires
subsequent treatment and observation

Grievances: written grievance in
accordance with labor–management
contract

Stage: recorded by step (first through arbitration)

Productivity:* resources used in
production of acceptable outputs
(comparison of inputs with outputs)

Output: product or service quantity (units or $)
Input: direct and/or indirect (labor in hours or $)

Production quality: resources used in
production of unacceptable outputs

Resource utilized: scrap (unacceptable in-plant products in units
or $); customer returns (unacceptable out-of-plant products in
units or $); recoveries (salvageable products in units or $);
rework (additional direct and/or indirect labor in hours or $)

Downtime: unscheduled breakdown of
machinery

Downtime: duration of breakdown (hours or $)
Machine repair: nonpreventive maintenance ($)

Inventory, material, and supply variance:
unscheduled resource utilization

Variance: over- or under-utilization of supplies, materials,
inventory (resulting from theft, inefficiency, and so on)

*Reports only labor inputs.

SOURCE: B. Macy and P. Mirvis, “Organizational Change Efforts: Methodologies for Assessing Organizational Effectiveness and
Program Costs Versus Benefits,” Evaluation Review 6, pp. 306–10. © 1982 by Sage Publications, Inc. Reprinted by permission
of Sage Publications, Inc.

CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 213

TABLE 9.2

Behavioral Outcomes for Measuring OD Interventions: Measures and Computational Formula

Behavioral Measure* Computational Formula

Absenteeism rate** (monthly) ∑ Absence days
Average workforce size Working days

Tardiness rate** (monthly) ∑ Tardiness incidents
Average workforce size Working days

Turnover rate (monthly) ∑ Turnover incidents
Average workforce size

Internal stability rate (monthly) ∑ Internal movement incidents
Average workforce size

Strike rate (yearly) ∑ Striking Workers Strike days
Average workforce size Working days

Accident rate (yearly) ∑ of Accidents illnesses
Total yearly hours worked

200,000***

Grievance rate (yearly) ∑ Grievance incidents
Plant: Average workforce size

Individual:
∑ Aggrieved individuals
Average workforce size

Productivity:****
Total
Below standard
Below budget
Variance
Per employee

Output of goods or services units or $
Direct and or indirect labor hours or $
Actual versus engineered standard
Actual versus budgeted standard
Actual versus budgeted variance
Output/average workforce size

Quality:****
Total
Below standard
Below budget
Variance
Per employee

Scrap Customer returns Rework Recoveries ($, units, or hours)
Actual versus engineered standard
Actual versus budgeted standard
Actual versus budgeted variance
Total/average workforce size

Downtime Labor ($) Repair costs or dollar value of replaced equipment ($)

Inventory, supply, and material usage Variance (actual versus standard utilization) ($)

*All measures reflect the number of incidents divided by an exposure factor that represents the number of employees in the
organization and the possible incidents of behavior (e.g., for absenteeism, the average workforce size × the number of working
days). Mean monthly rates (i.e., absences per workday) are computed and averaged for absenteeism, leaves, and tardiness for
a yearly figure and summed for turnover, grievances, and internal employment stability for a yearly figure. The term rate refers
to the number of incidents per unit of employee exposure to the risk of such incidences during the analysis interval.

**Sometimes combined as number of hours missing/average workforce size × working days.
***Base for 100 full-time equivalent workers (40 hours × 50 weeks).
****Monetary valuations can be expressed in labor dollars, actual dollar costs, sales dollars; overtime dollar valuations can be

adjusted to base year dollars to control for salary, raw material, and price increases.

SOURCE: B. Macy and P. Mirvis, “Organizational Change Efforts: Methodologies for Assessing Organizational Effectiveness and
Program Costs Versus Benefits,” Evaluation Review 6, pp. 306–10. © 1982 by Sage Publications, Inc. Reprinted by permission
of Sage Publications, Inc.

214 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

OD practitioners can improve the reliability of their measures in four ways. First,
rigorously and operationally define the chosen variables. Clearly specified operational
definitions contribute to reliability by explicitly describing how collected data will be
converted into information about a variable. An explicit description helps to allay the
organization’s concerns about how the information was collected and coded.

Second, use multiple methods to measure a particular variable. As discussed in
Chapter 6, the use of questionnaires, interviews, observations, and unobtrusive measures
can improve reliability and result in a more comprehensive understanding of the organi-
zation. Because each method contains inherent biases, several different methods can be
used to triangulate on dimensions of organizational issues. If the independent measures
converge or show consistent results, the dimensions or problems likely have been diag-
nosed accurately.8

Third, use multiple items to measure the same variable on a questionnaire. For exam-
ple, in Hackman and Oldham’s Job Diagnostic Survey for measuring job characteristics
(Chapter 14), the intervention variable “autonomy” is operationally defined by the average
of respondents’ answers to the following three questions (measured on a 7-point scale):9

1. The job permits me to decide on my own how to go about doing the work.
2. The job denies me any chance to use my personal initiative or judgment in carrying

out the work. [reverse scored]
3. The job gives me considerable opportunity for independence and freedom in how

I do the work.

By asking more than one question about “autonomy,” the survey increases the accuracy
of its measurement of this variable. Statistical analyses (called psychometric tests) are
readily available for assessing the reliability of perceptual measures, and OD practitioners
should apply these methods or seek assistance from those who can apply them.10 Similarly,
there are methods for analyzing the content of interview and observational data, and
OD evaluators can use these methods to categorize such information so that it can be
understood and replicated.11

Fourth, use standardized instruments. A growing number of standardized question-
naires are available for measuring OD intervention and outcome variables. For example,
the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California (http://ceo
.usc.edu) and the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan (http://home
.isr.umich.edu) have developed comprehensive survey instruments to measure the features
of many of the OD interventions described in this book, as well as their attitudinal out-
comes.12 Considerable research and testing have gone into establishing measures that are
reliable and valid. These survey instruments can be used for initial diagnosis, for guiding
implementation of interventions, and for evaluating immediate and long-term outcomes.

Validity. Validity concerns the …

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Designing Interventions

learning
objectives

Describe the interventions presented in the text.

Discuss how contingencies related to the change situation affect
the design of effective organization development (OD) interventions.

Discuss how contingencies related to the target of change affect
the design of effective OD interventions.

A
n organization development intervention is a
sequence of activities, actions, and events
intended to help an organization improve its

performance and effectiveness. Designing interven-
tions, or action planning, derives from careful diag-
nosis and is meant to resolve specific problems
and to improve particular areas of organizational
functioning identified in the diagnosis. Organization
development (OD) interventions vary from standard-
ized programs that have been developed and used

in many organizations to relatively unique programs
tailored to a specific organization or department.

This chapter serves as an overview of the
intervention design process. It briefly describes
the various types of OD interventions presented in
this book. Parts 3–6 of this text describe fully the
major interventions used in OD today. Criteria that
define effective OD interventions are discussed and
contingencies that guide successful intervention
design are identified.

7-1 Overview of Interventions
The OD interventions described here represent the major organization change methods
used in OD today. They include four major types of planned change: human process
interventions, technostructural interventions, human resource management interven-
tions, and strategic change interventions.

7-1a Human Process Interventions
Part 3 of the book presents interventions focusing on people within organizations and
the processes through which they accomplish organizational goals. These processes
include communication, problem solving, group decision making, and leadership. This
type of intervention is deeply rooted in OD’s history and represents the earliest change

157

programs characterizing the field. Human process interventions derive mainly from the
disciplines of psychology and social psychology and the applied fields of group dynamics
and human relations. Practitioners applying these interventions generally value human
fulfillment and expect that organizational effectiveness follows from improved function-
ing of people and organizational processes.1

Chapter 10 discusses human process interventions related to interpersonal relation-
ships and group dynamics. They are among the oldest and most applied interventions in
OD and include the following three change programs:

1. Process consultation. This intervention focuses on interpersonal relations and social
dynamics occurring in work groups. Typically, a process consultant helps group
members diagnose group functioning and devise appropriate solutions to process
problems, such as dysfunctional conflict, poor communication, and ineffective norms.
The aim is to help members gain the skills and understanding necessary to identify
and solve interpersonal and group problems themselves.

2. Third-party intervention. This change method is a form of process consultation
aimed at dysfunctional interpersonal relations in organizations. Interpersonal con-
flict may derive from substantive issues, such as disputes over work methods, or
from interpersonal issues, such as miscommunication. The third-party intervener
helps people resolve conflicts through such methods as problem solving, bargaining,
and conciliation.

3. Team building. This intervention helps work groups become more effective in
accomplishing tasks. Like process consultation, team building helps members diag-
nose group processes and devise solutions to problems. It goes beyond group pro-
cesses, however, to include examination of the group’s task, member roles, and
strategies for performing tasks. The OD practitioner also may function as a resource
person offering expertise related to the group’s task.

Chapter 11 presents human process interventions that are more system-wide than
those described in Chapter 10. They typically focus on the total organization or an entire
department, as well as on relations between groups. They include three interventions:

1. Organization confrontation meeting. This change method mobilizes organiza-
tion members to identify problems, set action targets, and begin working on prob-
lems. It is usually applied when organizations are experiencing stress and when
management needs to organize resources for immediate problem solving. The
intervention generally includes various groupings of employees in identifying
and solving problems.

2. Intergroup relations. These interventions are designed to improve interactions
among different groups or departments in organizations. The microcosm group
intervention involves a small group of people whose backgrounds closely match the
organizational problems being addressed. This group addresses the problems and
develops means to solve them. The intergroup conflict model typically involves
an OD practitioner helping two groups understand the causes of their conflict and
choosing appropriate solutions.

3. Large group interventions. These interventions involve getting a broad variety of
stakeholders into a large meeting to clarify important values, to develop new ways
of working, to articulate a new vision for the organization, or to solve pressing
organizational problems. Such meetings are powerful tools for creating awareness
of organizational problems and opportunities for specifying valued directions for
future action.

158 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

7-1b Technostructural Interventions
Part 4 of the book presents interventions focusing on an organization’s technology
(e.g., task methods and job design) and structure (e.g., division of labor and hierarchy).
These change methods are receiving increasing attention in OD, especially in light
of current concerns about productivity and organizational effectiveness. They include
approaches to employee involvement, as well as methods for structuring organizations,
groups, and jobs. Technostructural interventions are rooted in the disciplines of engi-
neering, sociology, and psychology and in the applied fields of sociotechnical systems
and organization design. Practitioners generally stress both productivity and human
fulfillment and expect that organization effectiveness will result from appropriate work
designs and organization structures.2

In Chapter 12, we discuss the following three technostructural interventions con-
cerned with restructuring organizations:

1. Structural design. This change process concerns the organization’s division of
labor—how tasks are subdivided into work units and how those units are coordi-
nated for task completion. Interventions aimed at structural design include moving
from more traditional ways of dividing the organization’s overall work (such as
functional, self-contained unit, and matrix structures) to more integrative and flexi-
ble forms (such as process-based, customer-centric, and network-based structures).
Diagnostic guidelines exist to determine which structure is appropriate for particular
organizational environments, technologies, and conditions.

2. Downsizing. This intervention reduces costs and bureaucracy by decreasing the size
of the organization through personnel layoffs, organization redesign, and outsour-
cing. Each of these downsizing methods must be planned with a clear understanding
of the organization’s strategy.

3. Reengineering. This intervention radically redesigns the organization’s core work pro-
cesses to create tighter linkage and coordination among the different tasks. This work-
flow integration results in faster, more responsive task performance. Reengineering
is often accomplished with new information technology that permits employees to
control and coordinate work processes more effectively. Reengineering often fails if
it ignores the basic principles and processes of OD.

Chapter 13 is concerned with methods for involving employees in decision making.
These generally attempt to move knowledge, power, information, and rewards downward
in the organization. They include the following three interventions:

1. Parallel structures. This intervention involves organization members in resolving
ill-defined, complex problems. Parallel structures, such as cooperative union-
management projects and quality circles, operate in conjunction with the formal
organization and provide members with an alternative setting in which to address
problems and propose solutions.

2. Total quality management. This intervention involves organization members in
continuously improving quality as part of normal work operations. It includes
extensive training in total quality management knowledge and skills and the con-
stant application of that expertise to improve quality at work.

3. High-involvement organizations. This comprehensive intervention designs almost
all features of the organization to promote high levels of employee involvement.
Changes in structure, work design, information and control systems, and human
resource practices jointly support member involvement in relevant decision making
throughout the firm.

CHAPTER 7 DESIGNING INTERVENTIONS 159

Chapter 14 discusses designing work for individual jobs and interactive groups.
These change programs involve engineering, motivational, and sociotechnical systems
approaches to work design. They include two OD interventions:

1. Job enrichment. Based on motivational principles, this intervention creates jobs that
employees are likely to experience as meaningful with high levels of autonomy and
feedback from performing the work. Job enrichment results in high job satisfaction
and performance quality, especially for those individuals who have needs for growth
and learning at work.

2. Self-managed work teams. This intervention designs work for teams performing
highly interrelated tasks that require real-time decision making. Self-managed work
teams are typically responsible for a complete product or service and members are
able to make decisions and control their own task behaviors without a lot of external
controls.

7-1c Human Resources Management Interventions
Part 5 of the book focuses on interventions used to select, reward, develop, and support
people in organizations. These practices traditionally have been associated with the
human resources function in organizations. In recent years, interest has grown in
integrating human resources management with OD. Human resources management
interventions are rooted in labor relations and in the applied practices of compensation
and benefits, employee selection and placement, performance appraisal, career develop-
ment, and employee diversity and wellness. Practitioners in this area typically focus on
the people in organizations, believing that organizational effectiveness results from
improved practices for integrating employees into organizations.

Chapter 15 discusses interventions concerning performance management, including
the following change programs:

1. Goal setting. This change program involves setting clear and challenging goals. It
attempts to improve organization effectiveness by establishing a better fit between
personal and organizational objectives. Managers and subordinates periodically meet
to plan work, review accomplishments, and solve problems in achieving goals.
Management by Objectives, a special case of the goal-setting intervention, is also
discussed.

2. Performance appraisal. This intervention is a systematic process of jointly assessing
work-related achievements, strengths, and weaknesses. It is the primary human
resources management intervention for providing performance feedback to indivi-
duals and work groups. Performance appraisal represents an important link between
goal-setting and reward systems.

3. Reward systems. This intervention involves the design of organizational rewards to
improve employee satisfaction and performance. It includes innovative approaches
to pay, promotions, and fringe benefits.

Chapter 16 focuses on these change methods for managing, developing, and retain-
ing organizational talent:

1. Coaching and mentoring. This intervention helps executives and employees to clar-
ify their goals, deal with potential stumbling blocks, and improve their performance.
It often involves a one-on-one relationship between the OD practitioner and the
client and focuses on personal learning that gets transferred into organizational
results and more effective leadership skills.

160 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

2. Management and leadership development. Among the oldest strategies for organi-
zational change, training and development interventions increase organization mem-
bers’ skills and knowledge. The focus of these interventions is on building the
competencies needed to lead the organization in the future and includes traditional
classroom lectures as well as simulations, action learning, and case studies.

3. Career planning and development. This intervention helps people choose organiza-
tions and career paths and attain career objectives. It generally focuses on managers
and professional staff and is seen as a way to increase the retention of valuable
employees and to improve the quality of work life.

Chapter 17 describes interventions for supporting organization members:

1. Managing workforce diversity. This change program makes human resources prac-
tices more responsive to a variety of individual needs. Important trends, such as the
increasing number of women, ethnic minorities, and physically and mentally chal-
lenged people in the workforce, require a more flexible set of policies and practices.

2. Employee stress and wellness. These interventions include employee assistance pro-
grams (EAPs) and stress management. EAPs are counseling programs that help
employees deal with substance abuse and mental health, marital, and financial
problems that often are associated with poor work performance. Stress-management
programs help employees cope with the negative consequences of stress at work.
They help people reduce specific sources of stress, such as role conflict and ambiguity,
and provide methods for reducing such stress symptoms as hypertension and anxiety.

7-1d Strategic Change Interventions
Part 6 of the book considers interventions that link the internal functioning of the or-
ganization to the larger environment and transform the organization to keep pace with
changing conditions. These change programs are among the newest additions to OD.
They are implemented organization-wide and bring about a fit between business strategy,
organization design, and the larger environment. The interventions derive from the dis-
ciplines of strategic management, organization theory, economics, and anthropology.

In Chapter 18, we describe the characteristics of transformational change and dis-
cuss interventions that transform the way the organization relates to its environment or
operates internally:

1. Organization design. Organization design interventions address the different elements
that comprise the “architecture” of the organization, including structure, work design,
human resources practices, and management processes. In either domestic or world-
wide settings, organization design aligns these components with the organization’s
strategy and with each other so they mutually direct behavior to execute the strategy.

2. Integrated strategic change. This comprehensive OD intervention describes how
planned change can make a value-added contribution to strategic management. It
argues that business strategies and organizational systems must be changed together
in response to external and internal disruptions. A strategic change plan helps mem-
bers manage the transition between a current strategy and organization design and
the desired future strategy and design.

3. Culture change. This intervention helps an organization develop a culture (beha-
viors, values, beliefs, and norms) appropriate to its strategy and competitive environ-
ment. It focuses on developing a strong organization culture to keep organization
members pulling in the same direction.

CHAPTER 7 DESIGNING INTERVENTIONS 161

Chapter 19 addresses the increasing need for organizations to change continuously
in response to rapidly changing environments. These interventions are designed to sup-
port continuous organizational change:

1. Dynamic strategy making. This intervention helps organizations build a strategic
system that can adapt continually to changing conditions. It involves both the con-
tent (the “what”) of strategy formulation and the process (the “how” and “who”) of
strategy implementation.

2. Self-designing organizations. This change program helps organizations gain the
capacity to alter themselves fundamentally. It is a highly participative process involv-
ing multiple stakeholders in setting strategic directions and designing and imple-
menting appropriate structures and systems. Organizations learn how to design
and implement their own strategic changes.

3. Learning organizations. This intervention involves increasing the organization’s
capability to acquire and develop new knowledge, including how that knowledge
can be organized and used to improve organization performance. These changes
enable organizations to move beyond solving existing problems to learn how to
improve themselves continuously.

4. Built-to-change organizations. This approach to continuous change challenges the
traditional assumption that stability is the key to organizational success. Built-to-
change organizations, on the other hand, assume that the source of effectiveness is
the ability to change continuously. The features, skills and knowledge, and processes
of leading and managing these adaptable organizations are described.

In the final chapter of Part 6, Chapter 20, we describe strategic interventions that
shape how organizations collaborate with each other:

1. Mergers and acquisitions. This intervention describes how OD practitioners can
assist two or more organizations to form a new entity. Addressing key strategic,
leadership, and cultural issues prior to the legal and financial transaction helps to
smooth subsequent operational integration of the organizations.

2. Alliances. This collaborative intervention helps two organizations pursue common
goals through the sharing of resources, including intellectual property, people, capi-
tal, technology, capabilities, or physical assets. Effective alliance development gener-
ally follows a process of strategy formulation, partner selection, alliance structuring
and start-up, and alliance operation and adjustment.

3. Networks. This intervention helps to develop relationships among three or more
organizations to perform tasks or solve problems that are too complex for single
organizations to resolve. It helps organizations recognize the need for partnerships
and develop appropriate structures for implementing them. It also addresses how
to manage change within existing networks.

7-2 What Are Effective Interventions?
OD interventions involve a set of sequenced and planned actions or events intended to
help an organization increase its effectiveness. Interventions purposely disrupt the status
quo; they are deliberate attempts to change an organization or subunit toward a different
and more effective state. Three major criteria define an effective OD intervention: (1) the
extent to which it fits the needs of the organization; (2) the degree to which it is based
on causal knowledge of intended outcomes; and (3) the extent to which it transfers
change management competence to organization members.

162 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

The first criterion concerns the extent to which the intervention is relevant to the
organization and its members. Effective interventions are based on valid information
about the organization’s functioning; they provide organization members with opportu-
nities to make free and informed choices; and they gain members’ internal commitment
to those choices.3

Valid information is the result of an accurate diagnosis of the organization’s function-
ing. It must reflect fairly what organization members perceive and feel about their primary
concerns and issues. Free and informed choice suggests that members are actively involved
in making decisions about the changes that will affect them. This principle also means that
they can choose not to participate and that interventions will not be imposed on them.
This is an important distinction between change management—where a change legiti-
mately can be imposed on people—and OD—where the intent of the change process is
to build capacity for change and increase effectiveness. Internal commitment means that
organization members accept ownership of the intervention and take responsibility for
implementing it. If interventions are to result in meaningful changes, management, staff,
and other relevant members must be committed to carrying them out.

The second criterion of an effective intervention involves knowledge of outcomes.
Because interventions are intended to produce specific results, they must be based on
valid knowledge that those outcomes actually can be produced. Otherwise, there is no
scientific basis for designing an effective OD intervention. Unfortunately—and in con-
trast to other applied disciplines, such as medicine and engineering—knowledge of inter-
vention effects is in a rudimentary stage of development in OD. Much of the evaluation
research lacks sufficient rigor to make strong causal inferences about the success or fail-
ure of change programs. (Chapter 9 discusses how to evaluate OD programs rigorously.)
Moreover, few attempts have been made to examine the comparative effects of different
OD techniques. All of these factors make it difficult to know whether one method is
more effective than another.

Despite these problems, more attempts are being made to assess systematically the
strengths and weaknesses of OD interventions and to compare the impact of different
techniques on organization effectiveness.4 Many of the OD interventions that are dis-
cussed in Parts 3–6 have been subjected to evaluative research, and the chapters explore
the research appropriate to them.

The third criterion of an effective intervention involves the extent to which it
enhances the organization’s capacity to manage change. The values underlying OD sug-
gest that following an intervention, organization members should be better able to carry
out planned change activities on their own. From active participation in designing and
implementing the intervention, they should gain knowledge and skill in managing
change. Competence in change management is essential in today’s environment, where
technological, social, economic, and political changes are rapid and persistent. Many
organizations, such as Capital One, The Hartford, Limited Brands, and Microsoft, recog-
nize this need and are systematically building their change management capabilities.

7-3 How to Design Effective Interventions
Designing OD interventions requires paying careful attention to the needs and dynamics
of the change situation and crafting a change program that will be consistent with
the previously described criteria of effective interventions. Current knowledge of OD
interventions provides only general prescriptions for change. There is scant precise infor-
mation or research about how to design interventions or how they can be expected to

CHAPTER 7 DESIGNING INTERVENTIONS 163

interact with organizational conditions to achieve specific results.5 Moreover, because the
ability to implement most OD interventions is highly dependent on the skills and knowl-
edge of the change agent, the design of an intervention will depend to some extent on
the expertise of the practitioner.

Two major sets of contingencies that can affect intervention success have been dis-
cussed in the OD literature: those having to do with the change situation and those
related to the target of change. Both kinds of contingencies need to be considered in
designing interventions.

7-3a Contingencies Related to the Change Situation
Researchers have identified a number of contingencies present in the change situation
that can affect intervention success. These include individual differences among organi-
zation members (e.g., needs for autonomy), organizational factors (e.g., management
style and technical uncertainty), and dimensions of the change process itself (e.g., degree
of top-management support). Unless these factors are taken into account, designing an
intervention will have little impact on organizational functioning or, worse, it may pro-
duce negative results. For example, to resolve motivational problems among blue-collar
workers in an oil refinery, it is important to know whether interventions intended to
improve motivation (e.g., job enrichment) will succeed with the kinds of people who
work there. In many cases, knowledge of these contingencies results in modifying or
adjusting the change program to fit the setting. In applying a reward-system intervention
to an organization, the changes might have to be modified depending on whether the
firm wants to reinforce individual or team performance.

Although knowledge of contingencies is still at a rudimentary stage of development
in OD, researchers have discovered several situational factors that can affect intervention
success.6 These include specific contingencies for many of the interventions reviewed in
this book, and they will be discussed in respective chapters describing the change pro-
grams. Two additional and generic contingencies related to the country or region’s
national culture and stage of economic development are presented here.

National Culture The applicability and effectiveness of OD in countries outside of the
United States is the subject of intense debate.7 Because OD was developed predominantly
by American and Western European practitioners, its practices and methods are heavily
influenced by the values and assumptions of these Western industrialized cultures. Thus,
traditional approaches to planned change may promote management practices that con-
flict with the values and assumptions of other societies. Will Chinese cultural values, for
example, be preserved or defended as an increasing number of European and American
organizations establish operations in that country? How should OD be conducted in an
Indian firm operating in the United States? On the other hand, some practitioners
believe that OD can result in organizational improvements in any culture.

Researchers have proposed that applying OD in different countries requires a
“context-based” approach to designing interventions.8 This involves fitting the change pro-
cess to the organization’s cultural context, including the values held by members in the
particular country or region. These beliefs inform people about behaviors that are impor-
tant and acceptable in their culture. Cultural values play a major role in shaping the cus-
toms and practices that occur within organizations as well, and influencing how members
react to phenomena having to do with power, conflict, ambiguity, time, and change.

There is a growing body of knowledge about cultural diversity and its effect on
organizational and management practices.9 As shown in Table 7.1, researchers have

164 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

identified five key values that describe national cultures and influence organizational
customs:

1. Context orientation. This value describes how information is conveyed and time is
valued in a culture. In low-context cultures, such as Scandinavia and the United
States, people communicate directly in words and phrases. The more specific the
word, the more meaning is expressed. In addition, time is viewed as discrete and
linear—as something that can be spent, used, saved, or wasted. In high-context cul-
tures, on the other hand, the communication medium reflects the message more

TABLE 7.1

Cultural Values and Organization Customs

Value Definition
Organization Customs When
the Value Is at One Extreme

Representative
Countries

Context The extent to which words
carry the meaning of a
message; how time is
viewed

Ceremony and routines are
common

Structure is less formal; fewer
written policies exist

People are often late for
appointments

High: Asian and Latin
American countries

Low: Scandinavian
countries, United
States

Power
distance

The extent to which
members of a society
accept that power is
distributed unequally
in an organization

Decision making is autocratic
Superiors consider subordinates

as part of a different class
Subordinates are closely

supervised
Employees are not likely to

disagree
Powerful people are entitled to

privileges

High: Latin American
and Eastern
European countries

Low: Scandinavian
countries

Uncertainty
avoidance

The extent to which
members of an
organization tolerate
the unfamiliar and
unpredictable

Experts have status/authority
Clear roles are preferred
Conflict is undesirable
Change is resisted
Conservative practices are

preferred

High: Asian countries
Low: European

countries

Achievement
orientation

The extent to which
organization members
value assertiveness
and the acquisition of
material goods

Achievement is reflected in
wealth and recognition

Decisiveness is valued
Larger and faster are better
Gender …

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8

Managing Change

learning
objectives

Understand the five key elements of successful change management.

Explore the processes of change associated with each element.

A
fter diagnosing reveals the causes of pro-
blems or identifies opportunities for develop-
ment, organization members begin planning

and subsequently implementing the changes nec-
essary to improve organization effectiveness and
performance. A large part of organization devel-
opment (OD) is concerned with interventions for
improving organizations. The previous chapter
discussed the design of interventions and intro-
duced the major ones currently used in OD.
Chapters 10–20 describe those interventions in
detail. This chapter addresses the key activities

associated with successfully managing organiza-
tional changes.

Change can vary in complexity from the intro-
duction of relatively simple processes into a small
work group to transforming the strategies and design
features of the whole organization. Although change
management differs across situations, in this
chapter we discuss activities that must be per-
formed in managing any kind of organizational
change. (Tasks applicable to specific kinds of chan-
ges are examined in the chapters on intervention
in Parts 3–6.)

8-1 Overview of Change Activities
The OD literature has directed considerable attention at managing change. Much of the
material is highly prescriptive, advising managers about how to plan and implement
organizational changes. For example, one study suggested that successful managers in
continuously changing organizations (1) provide employees with clear responsibility
and priorities, including extensive communication and freedom to improvise; (2) explore
the future by experimenting with a wide variety of low-cost probes; and (3) link current
projects to the future with predictable (time-paced rather than event-paced) intervals and
choreographed transition procedures.1 Traditionally, change management has focused on
identifying sources of resistance to change and offering ways to overcome them.2 Other
contributions have challenged the focus on resistance and have been aimed at creating
visions and desired futures, gaining political support for them, and managing the transi-
tion of the organization toward them.3 Still others have described the learning practices
and leader behaviors that accelerate complex change.4

179

The diversity of practical advice for managing change can be organized into five
major activities, as shown in Figure 8.1. The activities contribute to effective change
management and are listed roughly in the order in which they typically are performed.
Each activity represents a key element in change leadership.5 The first activity involves
motivating change and includes creating a readiness for change among organization
members and helping them address resistance to change. Leadership must create an
environment in which people accept the need for change and commit physical and

FIGURE 8.1

Activities Contributing to Effective Change Management

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180 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

psychological energy to it. Motivation is a critical issue in starting change because ample
evidence indicates that people and organizations seek to preserve the status quo and are
willing to change only when there are compelling reasons to do so. The second activity is
concerned with creating a vision and is closely aligned with leadership activities. The
vision provides a purpose and reason for change and describes the desired future state.
Together, they provide the “why” and “what” of planned change. The third activity
involves developing political support for change. Organizations are composed of powerful
individuals and groups that can either block or promote change, and leaders and change
agents need to gain their support to implement changes. The fourth activity is concerned
with managing the transition from the current state to the desired future state. It involves
creating a plan for managing the change activities as well as planning special manage-
ment structures for operating the organization during the transition. The fifth activity
involves sustaining momentum for change so that it will be carried to completion. This
includes providing resources for implementing the changes, building a support system
for change agents, developing new competencies and skills, and reinforcing the new
behaviors needed to implement the changes.

Each of the activities shown in Figure 8.1 is important for managing change.
Although little research has been conducted on their relative contributions, leaders
must give careful attention to each activity when planning and implementing organiza-
tional change. Unless individuals are motivated and committed to change, getting move-
ment on the desired change will be extremely difficult. In the absence of vision, change is
likely to be disorganized and diffuse. Without the support of powerful individuals and
groups, change may be blocked and possibly sabotaged. Unless the transition process is
managed carefully, the organization will have difficulty functioning while it moves from
the current state to the future state. Without efforts to sustain momentum for change,
the organization will have problems carrying the changes through to completion. Thus,
all five activities must be managed effectively to realize success.

In the following sections of this chapter, we discuss more fully each of these change
activities, directing attention to how leaders contribute to planning and implementing
organizational change.

8-2 Motivating Change
Organizational change involves moving from the known to the unknown. Because the
future is uncertain and may adversely affect people’s competencies, worth, and coping
abilities, organization members generally do not support change unless compelling rea-
sons convince them to do so. Similarly, organizations tend to be heavily invested in the
status quo, and they resist changing it in the face of uncertain future benefits. Conse-
quently, a key issue in planning for action is how to motivate commitment to organiza-
tional change. As shown in Figure 8.1, this requires attention to two related tasks:
creating readiness for change and overcoming resistance to change.

8-2a Creating Readiness for Change
One of the more fundamental axioms of OD is that people’s readiness for change
depends on creating a felt need for change. This involves making people so dissatisfied
with the status quo that they are motivated to try new work processes, technologies,
or ways of behaving. Creating such dissatisfaction can be difficult, as anyone knows
who has tried to lose weight, stop smoking, or change some other habitual behavior.

CHAPTER 8 MANAGING CHANGE 181

Generally, people and organizations need to experience deep levels of hurt before they
will seriously undertake meaningful change. For example, IBM, Harley-Davidson, and
Sears experienced threats to their very survival before they undertook significant
change programs. The following three methods can help generate sufficient dissatisfac-
tion to produce change:

1. Sensitize organizations to pressures for change. Innumerable pressures for change
operate both externally and internally to organizations. As described in Chapter 1,
modern organizations face unprecedented environmental pressures to change them-
selves, including heavy foreign competition, rapidly changing technology, and volatile
global economies. Internal pressures to change include new leadership, poor product
quality, high production costs, and excessive employee absenteeism and turnover.
Before these pressures can serve as triggers for change, however, organizations must
be sensitive to them. The pressures must pass beyond an organization’s threshold of
awareness if managers are to respond to them. Many organizations, such as Kodak,
Polaroid, and Northwest Airlines, set their thresholds of awareness too high and
neglected pressures for change until those pressures reached disastrous levels.6

Organizations can make themselves more sensitive to pressures for change by
encouraging leaders to surround themselves with devil’s advocates; by cultivating
external networks that comprise people or organizations with different perspectives
and views; by visiting other organizations to gain exposure to new ideas and meth-
ods; and by using external standards of performance, such as competitors’ progress
or benchmarks, rather than the organization’s own past standards of performance.7

At Wesley Long Community Hospital, in Greensboro, North Carolina, for example,
managers visited the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Marconi Commerce Systems’ high-
involvement plant, and other hospitals known for high quality to gain insights
about revitalizing their own organization.

2. Reveal discrepancies between current and desired states. In this approach to gener-
ating a felt need for change, information about the organization’s current functioning
is gathered and compared with desired states of operation. (See Section 8-3 “Creating
a Vision,” on page 184, for more information about desired future states.) These
desired states may include organizational goals and standards, as well as a vision of a
more desirable future state.8 Significant discrepancies between actual and ideal states
can motivate organization members to initiate corrective changes, particularly when
members are committed to achieving those ideals. A major goal of diagnosing, as
described in Chapter 5, is to provide members with feedback about current organiza-
tional functioning so that the information can be compared with goals or with desired
future states. Such feedback can energize action to improve the organization. At Waste
Management, Sunbeam, and Banker’s Trust, for example, financial statements had
reached the point at which it was painfully obvious that drastic renewal was needed.9

3. Convey credible positive expectations for the change. Organization members invari-
ably have expectations about the results of organizational changes. The positive
approaches to planned change described in Chapter 2 suggest that these expectations
can play an important role in generating motivation for change.10 Expectations can
serve as a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading members to invest energy in change pro-
grams that they expect will succeed. When members expect success, they are likely
to develop greater commitment to the change process and to direct more energy into
the constructive behaviors needed to implement it.11 The key to achieving these posi-
tive effects is to communicate realistic, positive expectations about the organizational
changes. Research suggests that information about why the change is occurring, how it

182 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

will benefit the organization, and how people will be involved in the design and
implementation of the change was most helpful.12 Organization members also can be
taught about the benefits of positive expectations and be encouraged to set credible
positive expectations for the change program.

8-2b Overcoming Resistance to Change
Change can generate deep resistance in people and in organizations, thus making it dif-
ficult, if not impossible, to implement organizational improvements.13 At a personal
level, change can arouse considerable anxiety about letting go of the known and moving
to an uncertain future.14 People may be unsure whether their existing skills and contri-
butions will be valued in the future, or may have significant questions about whether
they can learn to function effectively and to achieve benefits in the new situation. At
the organization level, resistance to change can come from three sources.15 Technical
resistance comes from the habit of following common procedures and the consideration
of sunk costs invested in the status quo. Political resistance can arise when organizational
changes threaten powerful stakeholders, such as top executive or staff personnel, or call
into question the past decisions of leaders.16 Organization change often implies a differ-
ent allocation of already scarce resources, such as capital, training budgets, and talented
people. Finally, cultural resistance takes the form of systems and procedures that rein-
force the status quo, promoting conformity to existing values, norms, and assumptions
about how things should operate.

There are at least three major strategies for positively dealing with resistance to
change:17

1. Empathy and support. A first step in overcoming resistance is learning how people are
experiencing change. This strategy can identify people who are having trouble accept-
ing the changes, the nature of their resistance, and possible ways to overcome it, but it
requires a great deal of empathy and support. It demands a willingness to suspend
judgment and to see the situation from another’s perspective, a process called active
listening. When people feel that those people who are responsible for managing change
are genuinely interested in their feelings and perceptions, they are likely to be less
defensive and more willing to share their concerns and fears. This more open relation-
ship not only provides useful information about resistance, but also helps establish the
basis for the kind of joint problem solving needed to overcome barriers to change.

2. Communication. People resist change when they are uncertain about its conse-
quences. Lack of adequate information fuels rumors and gossip and adds to the anx-
iety generally associated with change. Effective communication about changes and
their likely results can reduce this speculation and allay unfounded fears. It can
help members realistically prepare for change. However, communication is also one
of the most frustrating aspects of managing change. Organization members con-
stantly receive data about current operations and future plans as well as informal
rumors about people, changes, and politics. Managers and OD practitioners must
think seriously about how to break through this stream of information. One strategy
is to make change information more salient by communicating through a new or
different channel. If most information is delivered through memos and emails,
then change information can be delivered through meetings and presentations.
Another method that can be effective during large-scale change is to deliberately
substitute change information for normal operating information. This sends a
message that changing one’s activities is a critical part of one’s job.

CHAPTER 8 MANAGING CHANGE 183

3. Participation and involvement. One of the oldest and most effective strategies for
overcoming resistance is to involve organization members directly in planning and
implementing change. Participation can lead both to designing high-quality changes
and to overcoming resistance to implementing them.18 Members can provide a
diversity of information and ideas, which can contribute to making the innovations
effective and appropriate to the situation. They also can identify pitfalls and barriers
to implementation. Involvement in planning the changes increases the likelihood
that members’ interests and needs will be accounted for during the intervention.
Consequently, participants will be committed to implementing the changes because
doing so will suit their interests and meet their needs. Moreover, for people having
strong needs for involvement, the act of participation itself can be motivating, lead-
ing to greater effort to make the changes work.19

Application 8.1 describes how an OD consultant helped the sexual violence preven-
tion unit of the Minnesota Department of Health generate commitment to a change
process when the unit’s leader left shortly after the change process began.20

8-3 Creating a Vision
The second activity in managing change involves creating a vision of what members
want the organization to look like or become. It is one of the most popular yet least
understood practices in management.21 Generally, a vision describes the core values
and purpose that guide the organization as well as an envisioned future toward which
change is directed. It provides a valued direction for designing, implementing, and asses-
sing organizational changes. The vision also can energize commitment to change by pro-
viding members with a common goal and a compelling rationale for why change is
necessary and worth the effort. However, if the vision is seen as impossible or promotes
changes that the organization cannot implement, it actually can depress member motiva-
tion. For example, George H. W. Bush’s unfulfilled “thousand points of light” vision was
emotionally appealing, but it was too vague and contained little inherent benefit. In con-
trast, John Kennedy’s vision of “putting a man on the moon and returning him safely to
the earth” was just beyond engineering and technical feasibility. In the context of the
1960s, it was bold, alluring, and vivid; it provided not only a purpose but a valued direc-
tion for the country. Recent research suggests that corporations with carefully crafted
visions can significantly outperform the stock market over long periods of time.22

Creating a vision is considered a key element in most leadership frameworks.23

Organization or subunit leaders are responsible for effectiveness, and they must take an
active role in describing a desired future and energizing commitment to it. In the best
cases, leaders encourage participation in developing the vision to gain wider input and
support. For example, they involve subordinates and others who have a stake in the
changes. The popular media frequently offer accounts of executives who have helped to
mobilize and direct organizational change, including Sergio Marchionne at Fiat and
Louis Gerstner at IBM. Describing a desired future is no less important for people lead-
ing change in small departments and work groups than for senior executives. At lower
organizational levels, there are ample opportunities to involve employees directly in the
visioning process.

Developing a vision is heavily driven by people’s values and preferences for what the
organization should look like and how it should function. The envisioned future repre-
sents people’s ideals or dreams of what they would like the organization to look like or
become. Unfortunately, dreaming about the future is discouraged in most organizations

184 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

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8
1 MOTIVATING CHANGE IN THE SEXUAL VIOLENCEPREVENTION UNIT OF MINNESOTA’S

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

A
ddressing the prevention of sexual vio-
lence is a complex challenge. Unlike ciga-
rette smoking or automobile accidents,
sexual violence is not only a health issue,

but also a social issue connected to people’s
attitudes, beliefs, norms, and taboos. The sex-
ual violence prevention unit of Minnesota’s
health department decided to undertake a five-
year strategic planning effort to address the “pri-
mary prevention” of sexual violence. Primary
prevention is defined as activities that focus
on preventing sexual violence before it occurs.
While there have been numerous successful
programs focused on dealing with victims or
addressing what happens after an assault,
there was a clear need for primary prevention.

There were two driving forces for the plan.
First, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control had
identified sexual violence as a key health issue
and was providing grants to states for the devel-
opment of primary prevention plans. Second,
Minnesota was a recognized leader in sexual vio-
lence prevention. The health department worked
closely with the Minnesota Coalition Against
Sexual Violence (MNCASA), a primary recipient
of state funding, and other stakeholders who
were working on sexual violence prevention.
This coalition had been meeting for several
years to develop education in primary prevention
and to engage in a cross-sector dialogue on
the issue.

The two primary objectives of the project
were to:

• Create a strategic plan for the primary pre-
vention of sexual violence in the state of
Minnesota.

• Mobilize a broad range of individuals and
organizations to take action in the primary
prevention of sexual violence.

This application describes the activities
involved with motivating change within the sex-
ual violence prevention unit to create the strate-
gic planning process. Application 8.3 describes
the activities associated with managing the

various stakeholders involved with this change
and the large group intervention that kicked off
the strategic planning and implementation effort.

BEGINNING THE PROJECT

The sexual violence prevention unit hired a
local OD consulting firm to facilitate the strate-
gic planning process. Everyone in the unit
believed that strategic planning was the next
right step. Community members wanted
action. In fact, they had stopped meeting in a
dialogue forum because they felt they were
not making progress in addressing the issue
systemically or strategically.

The project got off to a rough start. The day
after the OD consultants began working with the
unit, the unit director resigned. She had been a
major force in bringing the project to fruition, and
her departure represented a key challenge for
the consultants. In the interim, the unit’s pro-
gram director and administrator stepped in to
provide content leadership with the help of the
director of MNCASA. Her departure also created
a strong need to mobilize the members of the
unit and to recruit the necessary external stake-
holders with content knowledge and community
reputation to galvanize action in the community.

To focus the key stakeholders on the
change effort, the OD consultants met with
the departing director to identify a range of com-
munity stakeholders to interview. The inter-
views were critical in building the consultants’
knowledge of the issue and quickly establishing
relationships with key stakeholders. They also
helped identify community members who
could provide leadership on the project.

MOTIVATING COMMITMENT

As part of the effort to reinforce commitment to
the change process, a steering committee was
formed. It consisted of project leaders from the
health department, the OD consultants, and six
community members. This committee was
responsible for identifying and recruiting other

CHAPTER 8 MANAGING CHANGE 185

because it requires creative and intuitive thought processes that tend to conflict with the
rational, analytical methods prevalent there.24 Consequently, leaders may need to create
special conditions in which to describe a desired future, such as off-site workshops or
exercises that stimulate creative thinking.

Research suggests that compelling visions are composed of two parts: (1) a core
ideology or relatively stable identity that describes the organization’s core values and
purpose and (2) an envisioned future with bold goals and a vivid description of the
desired future state that reflects the specific change under consideration.25

8-3a Describing the Core Ideology
The fundamental basis of a vision for change is the organization’s core ideology. It
describes the organization’s core values and purpose and is relatively stable over time.
Core values typically include three to five basic principles or beliefs that have stood the
test of time and best represent what the organization stands for. Although the vision ulti-
mately describes a desired future, it must acknowledge the organization’s historical
roots—the intrinsically meaningful core values and principles that have guided and will
guide the organization over time. Core values are not “espoused values”; they are the
“values-in-use” that actually inform members what is important in the organization.
The retailer Nordstrom, for example, has clear values around the importance of cus-
tomer service; toymaker Lego has distinct values around the importance of families;
and the Disney companies have explicit values around wholesomeness and imagination.
These values define the true nature of these firms and cannot be separated from them.
Thus, core values are not determined or designed; they are discovered and described
through a process of inquiry.

internal and external stakeholders to participate in
the planning process. They also served as advisors
to the OD consultants on selecting the best forum
to conduct the planning, reviewing draft agendas,
and providing feedback on plan drafts. They were
asked to convene for two meetings as well as pro-
vide input on plans and written reports virtually.

All of the steering committee members were
volunteers recruited by the project leaders and OD
consultants after the initial interviews. The OD consul-
tants were part of the identification and recruitment
process because they had formed relationships with
several of the members through previous work and
had established strong rapport through their inter-
views. The community members of the committee
were chosen not only because of their expertise and
history in the field, locally and nationally, but also
because they had good process skills. Another

criterion for participation was diversity. It was impor-
tant that this group include members who could
speak for underrepresented groups, such as Native
American, Hispanic, African American, and youth seg-
ments. Everyone who was asked to participate
wanted to be part of this effort.

Despite this high level of commitment to the
project, time was a big constraint. To use time
well, the consultants asked for two meetings. In
between meetings, they drafted proposals for the
group to react to, rather than asking members to
decide on the work to be done by the group. When
members could not be at a meeting, the consul-
tants got their input individually, both before and
after the meeting. Because of their commitment
to prevention, all of the steering committee mem-
bers stayed in close contact with the consultants
and responded promptly to all requests.

186 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

Members can spend considerable time and energy discovering their organization’s
core values through long discussions about organizational history, key events, founder’s
beliefs, the work people actually do, and the “glue” that holds the organization together.26

In many cases, organizations want the core values to be something they are not. For
example, many U.S. firms want “teamwork” to be a core value despite strong cultural
norms and organizational practices that promote individuality.

The organization’s core purpose is its reason for being, the idealistic motivation that
brings people to work each day and gives work meaning.27 A core purpose is not a strat-
egy. Purpose describes why the organization exists and the organization’s understanding
of its image, brand, and reputation; strategy describes how an objective will be achieved.
Research suggests that organization purposes may fall into one of four categories and
that organizations often create a slogan or metaphor that captures the real reason they
are in business.28 Heroism refers to a purpose that exhorts members to do great things.
Dell Computer, Microsoft, and Ford were all founded to change the world for the better.
Henry Ford wanted to “build a machine to improve the world.” Discovery, a core pur-
pose for Apple, Sony, and 3M, refers to an innate desire to learn new things. A third
purpose, altruism, infers a belief in serving others. Disney’s return to prominence in the
late 1980s and 1990s was guided by the essential purpose of “making people happy” and
Whole Foods, Ben and Jerry’s, and The Body Shop all take on the responsibility of serv-
ing the greater good. Tata Corporation’s purpose of “what India needs next” has sup-
ported their growth for over 100 years. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway and Toyota reflect
the purpose of excellence.

Hatch’s concept of organization identity is similar to purpose and core ideology.29

Identity—the way core values, purpose, brand, and reputation are integrated—provides
guidelines for the strategic choices that will work and can be implemented versus those
that will not work because they contradict the true nature of the organization. Lawler
and Worley suggested that the real power of an organization’s identity was its ability to
consistently support and encourage change even though identity itself remained fairly
stable.30 An envisioned future can be compelling and emotionally powerful to members
only if it aligns with and supports the organization’s core values, purpose, and identity.31

8-3b Constructing the Envisioned Future
The core ideology provides the context for the envisioned future. Unlike core values
and purpose, which are stable aspects of the organization and must be discovered, the
envisioned future is specific to the change project at hand and must be created.
The envisioned future varies in complexity and scope depending on the changes being
considered. A relatively simple upgrading of a work group’s word-processing software
requires a less complex envisioned future than the transformation of a government
bureaucracy.

The envisioned future typically includes the following two elements that can be
communicated to organization members:32

1. Bold and valued outcomes. Descriptions of envisioned futures often …