• Training and development skills• Program/project management skills • Using OD-related technology Personal Attributes Being • A genuine passion for what you do and concern for people an
Trang 1• Training and development skills
• Program/project management skills
• Using OD-related technology
Personal Attributes (Being)
• A genuine passion for what you do and concern for people and organizations
• A high degree of self-awareness, eagerness to learn and grow, and ability to practice what you teach
• A high level of genuineness, integrity, and believability
• An uplifting and humble attitude that promotes the success of others
• The courage and sense of ethics to do what is right
• Good rational/emotional balance and ability to be objective
• A strong sensitivity to the needs of individuals, groups, and organizations
• Excellent listening abilities
• Ability to level, confront, and resolve conflicts
• Self-discipline, self-control, and perseverance
• A good sense of humor and ability to roll with the punches
• An ability to successfully handle stress and turn difficulties into opportunities
The two most frequently mentioned new applications were the interest in appreciative inquiry and the application of technology to OD Appreciative inquiry (AI) is clearly gaining momentum as a new approach to OD However, some experts expressed concerns about AI theorists who they believe have wrongly characterized traditional OD as being deficiency and problem-focused and AI as being positive and futuristic-focused and practitioners who have embraced AI to the point of using AI exclusively while discarding traditional OD thinking and methods
Technology has also had a significant influence on OD Technology has cre-ated new alternatives for collecting and feeding back data, for facilitating small and large groups, and for working with virtual teams and new organizational arrangements A limited number of OD experts and, it is likely, OD practition-ers in general are familiar with the technology of OD It will be interesting to see whether technology renders some OD practices and practitioners obsolete
or if old and new approaches can exist side by side
As a general observation about the newer contributions from the view of the experts, very little has changed in terms of the fundamental theories and values
of OD What has changed is the environment in which OD is practiced, the new technology available to OD practitioners, and the new methods and practices that have evolved from adapting OD to a new organization world
Trang 2MAJOR ISSUES FACING OD IN THE FUTURE
There is work to be done in OD The experts identified many issues that need
to be dealt with in OD (see Exhibit 6.11) However, two stand out as being critical to the future success of OD The first is promoting the value of OD and the second is related—namely the need to provide quality training and educa-tion in OD
meetings, work with virtual teams and organizations, etc.)
3 Global OD and how OD applies to different cultures and addresses global issues
4 The multiple efforts being made to clarify OD, identify OD competencies, strengthen OD education, and increase the professionalism and ethical practices
in OD
5 Learning more about the change process, the implications of concepts such as chaos theory and non-linear change on planning changes, and developing meth-ods to accelerate the change process in times of dynamic, unpredictable change
6 New forms of action research (appreciative inquiry, participative inquiry, parallel learning structures, etc.)
7 Learning more about what is involved in systematically transforming organizations
8 Better understanding of organization culture, its impact on behavior and perfor-mance, and how to change it
9 Large-group interventions (the search conference, future search, real-time strate-gic change, the conference model, whole-scale change, preferred futuring, par-ticipative design workshop, etc.)
10 The knowledge and skills required to do whole-systems and large-scale change using multiple methods
11 Learning more about the new virtual organization and virtual teams
12 Creating innovative learning organizations
13 Learning more about applying OD to implementing mergers and acquisitions
14 Applying OD to inter-organization partnerships and alliances
15 The emphasis on OD professionals having a better understanding of business
16 Application of the life sciences and non-linear complex systems theory to OD
17 Transformational leadership and training leaders to be transformational leaders
18 Efforts being made to integrate OD and HR as a united, high-impact resource in organizations
19 The extensive literature and research available on OD, and especially on change
20 Some applications of emotional intelligence are finding their way into OD
Trang 3Exhibit 6.11 Major Issues Facing OD
1 Promoting the value of OD and getting resources committed to OD work, espe-cially during times of scarce resources OD professionals have to do a better job individually and collectively of providing training in OD and making OD a well-known and valued process among leaders, managers, HR professionals, and appropriate undergraduate and graduate students.
2 Protecting the integrity and value of the field Too many people are practicing and sometimes even teaching OD without any formal training in the field and are giving OD a bad reputation There is a need for more academic programs in
OD, more academicians capable of teaching OD, more consistency in teaching the fundamentals of OD while encouraging new and innovative thinking and approaches, more professional programs designed to train skilled OD profes-sionals, and more dialogue, cooperation, and collaboration between the academic and practitioner worlds.
3 Integrating new theories and methods without seeing them as the solution for all OD efforts.
4 Training OD professionals who are skilled in global OD.
5 Learning how to integrate technology into OD and how to facilitate virtual teams using technology.
6 Learning how to better involve and utilize leaders in the change process.
7 Doing a better job of integrating OD and HR The race is on between OD and HR
as to which will adapt the quickest to changing times and become the most rel-evant to organizations Greater efforts must be made to integrate the two fields.
8 Evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of certifying and developing a code of ethics for OD practitioners.
9 Doing a better job of defining the field The definitions, characteristics, values, and competencies that define the field require more clarity.
10 Becoming better students of what makes organizations successful, how to lead and manage change in an environment of dynamic change, and how to sustain change and integrate change into daily practices rather than seeing change efforts as big, infrequent events that rarely achieve lasting results.
11 Maintaining the core values of OD while innovating new approaches suitable to
a new organization world.
12 Learning how to apply OD to down times and to turning difficulties into oppor-tunities for change.
13 Finding ways to educate OD practitioners on business practices and issues.
14 Learning how to help organizations and their members deal with continuous, discontinuous, unfathomable, and unpredictable change.
15 Developing better methods for applying OD to newer applications, such as mergers and acquisitions, inter-organization development, and global issues.
Trang 4of the challenge is that OD educators and professionals have apparently not done
a good enough job of clearly defining the field and the value of OD Also, one of OD’s greatest successes has become one of its greatest weaknesses in promoting
it I am referring to how what has been learned in OD, especially regarding how
to lead and manage change, has become so incorporated in change efforts with
a wide variety of names that few identify the principles and processes with OD The second issue is also an important challenge OD still has not completely shed its “touchy feely” image and ill-prepared practitioners damage the name
of OD for true professionals The answer is not simply a quantitative issue of training more professionals and exposing more students and managers to OD
On this count, some progress is being made, as OD is included in most organi-zation behavior textbooks and other management-oriented textbooks, and change management is included in most management training and is a fre-quently featured topic in professional as well as academic journals Aside from this, however, there has been little growth in formal academic or professional training for those who desire advanced training in OD In fact, academic pro-grams that focus on OD are on the decline and it is very difficult to find quali-fied academicians to teach OD However, there is also a qualitative issue of knowing what to train students, managers, and professionals in, since there is a need for more clarity about the field itself Some efforts are being made regard-ing these issues with all of the efforts to better define the field, and a number
of colleges and universities with OD programs are sharing information and will-ingly inviting their programs to be evaluated to improve their quality
With all of the challenges facing the field of OD, it was clear that, with few exceptions, the experts still see a bright though turbulent future for OD OD is now a global phenomenon, and it has withstood the endless predictions of its demise and efforts to redefine new or modified concepts as replacements to OD rather than extensions of it The need for OD is certain to grow as organizations struggle with what it takes to build an organization for success and what it takes
to successfully adapt to and manage change
WHO WERE THE TEN MOST IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTORS TO THE FIELD?
In many ways, I wish that I had not asked this question All ninety of the experts surveyed, and others as well, have made valuable contributions to the field of OD, and the list of respondents to both my 1979 survey and the
Trang 52002–2003 survey all deserve special recognition for their dedication and long-time commitment to the field of OD Any list while honoring a few fails to mention others who have been instrumental in pioneering, shaping, and mak-ing significant contributions
Some experts felt uncomfortable answering the question, and several said that it may do a disservice to the many major contributors and the sense of community contributors have in this field Also, the answer is dependent on many factors such as who you are most familiar with, how up-to-date you are
on more recent contributors, and certainly how the results are tabulated Inter-estingly, those mentioned the most were all first-generation founders, and most are still active in OD or related endeavors today A number of experts noted the unique contributions of people in the field such as Robert Golembiewski for the most publications of anyone in the field; Don Cole for his pioneering efforts
in internationalizing OD; David Cooperrider, Suresh Sirvastva, and Jane Magruder Watkins for their contributions to appreciative inquiry; Kathy Dannemiller for her approaches to large scale change; and Billie Alban for her insights on large group methods Some suggested that I would be better advised
to list forty or fifty contributors since so many have played such important roles
in the field However, there is still the challenge of leaving deserving people out
no matter what cut-off number is chosen
In the final analysis I decided to report the findings since I asked the question and received responses, although I do so with some reluctance In identifying the top ten, I finally resigned myself to simply recording the number of times a name was mentioned rather than other methods, as they typically produced at least twenty names that were frequently mentioned Having said all this and realizing that all of those well-versed on OD could immediately recall many others who deserve to be identified with the top ten, here are those who were mentioned the most, listed in alphabetical order:
• Chris Argyris
• Richard Beckhard
• Warren Bennis
• Robert Blake and Jane Mouton (mentioned as one since they worked as
a team)
• Warner Burke
• Wendell French
• Edgar Schein
• Herb Shepherd
• Marvin Weisbord
Trang 6issues in OD was more than one with a passion for OD could hope for, and to see the effort that so many put into answering the questions was humbling to say the least Clearly I could spend a great deal of time analyzing and learning from the results
What is important, however, is that this study makes at least a small contri-bution to developing a better understanding of the field of organization devel-opment My hope is not so much that others will agree with the findings but that the findings will stimulate rich discussions and additional studies that will add clarity to the field
In evaluating the results, I have concluded that OD is alive and well, but is struggling through many important issues in adapting to the times and being rel-evant for changing organizational needs In one sense this could be said of any field such as HR that addresses organizational issues However, the time to adapt
is shorter than in previous times and the stakes are higher, as the fields that do not adapt will be marginal players in the future if they are players at all The sense
of urgency will, I hope, awaken leaders in OD who will play key roles in articu-lating the importance of OD, adapting OD to changing times, accelerating OD processes and methods, and developing new theories, methods, and applications Another conclusion is that there may be more agreement on the fundamen-tals and values of OD than many people think Different experts may say things
in different ways and, yes, there are areas of disagreement and different per-spectives, as you would expect in any field However, when it comes to the essentials, OD is not as complex and confusing as we often make it Again, this may be a challenge for leaders in OD to simplify and clarify the field and to do
a better job of articulating the value of OD
Finally, having done this study, I have developed an even greater respect for the pioneers who launched a new field that has been such a valuable contrib-utor to what we know about change and how to build healthy, high perfor-mance organizations I urge those who have carried on and added to the pioneers’ legacy to stay the course in diligently practicing and training others in
OD, in hopes that they and others will be re-energized to further develop and promote this valuable field
References
Beckhard, R (1969) Organization development: Strategies and models Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley.
Beer, M (1980) Organization change and development Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear.
Trang 7Bennis, W (1969) Organization development: Its nature, origins, and prospects Reading,
MA: Addison-Wesley.
Burke, W.W (1982) Organization development: Principles and practices Boston, MA:
Little, Brown.
Cole, D (1973) International registry of organization development professionals and organization development handbook Chesterland, OH: Organization Development
Institute.
Cummings, T., & Worley, C (2005) Organization development and change Cincinnati,
OH: South-Western.
French, W.L., & Bell, C.H., Jr (1999) Organization development: Behavioral science interventions for organization improvement Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Hultman, K (2002) Balancing individual and organizational values San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Schein, E (1992) Process consultation Boston, MA: Pearson.
Warrick, D.D (1984) Organization development In W.R Tracey (Ed.), Human resources management and development handbook (pp 915-925) New York:
American Management Association.
Warrick, D.D (1978, Winter) Definitions of OD by the experts Academy of Management OD Newsletter.
Warrick, D.D (1979, Spring) Upgrading the professionalism in OD Academy of Management OD Newsletter.
Warrick, D.D (1979, Winter) OD experts comment on the payoffs of OD to clients
and consultants Academy of Management OD Newsletter.
Trang 8A Future-Responsive Perspective for Competent Practice in OD
Saul Eisen, Jeanne Cherbeneau, and Christopher G Worley
Three decades ago, Don Michael (1973) used the phrase future-responsive
societal learning to denote the need to move beyond reactive problem
solv-ing in response to turbulent, radically changsolv-ing environments What was needed, he suggested, was the capacity to develop purposive anticipatory per-formance appropriate to the changing situation by learning to continually scan the relevant environment and develop appropriate capacities in response to anticipated needs Our world is changing—along predictable and unpredictable lines These changes are affecting organizations and communities, some of which become our clients It is thus important and useful for OD practitioners
to consider the future and its possible implications for the work we do
So how is our world changing, and how, consequently, will our ways of prac-ticing OD need to evolve in the years ahead? As the global and organizational environments in which we practice continue to change, OD practitioners are called on to adapt their intervention strategies and develop appropriate compe-tence to carry them out effectively This chapter is based on the outcomes of an exploration of these questions among most of the chapter authors in this book, plus an equal number of other participants, including external and internal con-sultants, managers, and futurists We consider the interpretation and implica-tions of these outcomes for the present and future practice of OD and for the continuing professional development of OD practitioners
Chapter Five provided a comprehensive inventory of competencies as cur-rently required for OD practice Building on that base, we consider competencies 188
Trang 9through the lens of emerging and future conditions that our client organizations will face There is inevitable and appropriate overlap between these two chap-ters; while some competencies for future OD practice may be entirely new, many will be similar or will build upon current ones Our future-oriented lens thus helps us to understand and prioritize OD practitioner competencies in the con-text of emerging trends and forces acting on organizations and their managers
A CHANGING GLOBAL CONTEXT
Significant changes in technology, global politics, demographics, and other trends are resulting in new needs and dilemmas in organizations, communities, and nations Some changes appear to be cyclical, gradual, and normal Histor-ically, for example, economies have had recurring ups and downs but generally seem to grow in the long run The global population is also growing, and the increasing demand from consumers drives a generally optimistic view of local, regional, and international markets As part of the trend toward globalization, many trade barriers have been reduced, and populations have been shifting toward regions of higher employment At the same time, businesses are moving jobs to regions where there is plentiful, lower-cost labor Continuing develop-ments in science and technology support the emergence of new products and services and increases in productivity The Internet and wireless communica-tion are creating an electronic global village, accelerating widespread availabil-ity of information and communication on a worldwide scale
Other changes seem to be less predictable, harder to comprehend, and more discontinuous As examples, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War upended assumptions and expectations about geopolitical power bal-ances and conflicts The September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon brought into painful focus a new threat to peace and security— decentralized, networked terrorist groups, dedicated to fighting the perceived oppression and invasion of Western values and power into Muslim lands
Similarly, the possibly catastrophic implications of global warming have only recently begun to be widely acknowledged And the increasing levels of popu-lation are not affecting all societies in the same way Globally, the rate of pop-ulation increase is slowing down, and some countries are expecting an actual decline Demographically, some primarily developing nations have great pro-portions of people under twenty, while others are experiencing growing num-bers of elders Legal and undocumented movement across borders is creating much more diverse populations in communities, schools, and organizations Global mass communication, coupled with geopolitical power shifts, is cre-ating a pressure-cooker effect of rising aspirations and growing frustration with the glacial pace of real improvement in living standards Regional and ethnic
Trang 10and effective in punishing their perceived tormentors Their success is fueling
a mirror-image reaction from their enemies in a vicious cycle of escalation The material in this chapter draws on the outcomes of a Delphi study we con-ducted The purpose of this study was to develop a future-responsive perspec-tive of OD competencies that will be required in the years ahead In the following sections we provide a brief overview of relevant literature on this subject (see Exhibit 7.1), describe the methodology of the study, present its key outcomes, and consider their possible interpretation and implications for OD practice Our approach for this analysis is based on the premises of strategic thinking and open-systems planning (Hanna, 1988) We are thus doing what we guide our clients to do: Monitor the relevant environment—how it is changing and how it might change in the future; consider what adaptive behavior may be appropriate to maintain the best fit between our customers’ needs and our unique resources; strive for future-responsive learning to maintain our relevance and competitive advantage—as individuals and as a profession
The Delphi method generates responses to a sequence of questions that are put
to a defined group of relevant experts Their answers to each question are sum-marized and fed back to them, and this summary provides the context for the next question Delphi forecasting was originally developed in the 1950s as a way
to draw on the expertise of diverse resource persons in situations where “accu-rate information is unavailable or expensive to obtain, or evaluation models require subjective inputs to the point where they become the dominant param-eters” (Linstone & Turoff, 1975, p 10) It was particularly useful in circum-stances in which participants with relevant expertise were geographically dis-persed Whereas early projects were conducted by mailed questions and responses, computer-mediated electronic communication now makes it possi-ble to manage such projects more easily and quickly
Delphi has been increasingly applied in business settings as well as to com-plex non-profit and public sector issues such as health care While it has become very popular, it has not always been applied well and has been passionately criticized by some Sackman (1975, p 74), for example, argued that it encour-aged “a shortcut social science method that is lacking in minimum standards of professional accountability.” The most useful critiques are about designs that fail to provide anonymity to protect participants from peer pressure and the lack