intro to hrm lecture 10 - challenges in organizational development

Challenges in OrganizationDevelopment

Overview

• Theories of change in individuals and organizations

• Model of planned change

• HRD and change: individual and organizational

• Challenges:

• Diversity

• Glass ceiling

Allen Grabo – VU University Amsterdam 2

What is Organizational Development?

A process used to enhance both the effectiveness of an

organization and the well-being of its members through planned

interventions

Two most prominent theories:

• Change Process Theory

• Implementation Theory


Change Process Theory – Lewin’s Model

Seeks to explain the dynamics through which individual and

organizational improvement and changes take place

Three Stages:

• Unfreezing (readiness)

• Moving / Changing (adoption)

• Refreezing (institutionalization)


Schein’s (expanded) Three-Stage Model

Unfreezing: Creating motivation and readiness to

change

• Disconfirmation or lack of confirmation

• Creation of guilt or anxiety

• Provision of psychological safety


Schein’s Three-Stage Model

Changing: helping an individual to see, judge, feel, and

react differently

• Based on a new point of view

• Identifying with a new role model, mentor

• Scanning the environment for new relevant information


Schein’s Three-Stage Model

Refreezing: helping an individual to integrate the new

point of view

• Personality

• Self-concept

• Relationships


The Big Issue with these models

Focus is primarily on resistance

• If you’re not familiar, may I recommend a great read:


Promoting Readiness for Change

Instead of focusing on resistance to change, shift in emphasis

toward ensuring both individuals and organizations are ready for

change.

I’ll be explaining with the help of John Candy and the rest of the

cast of the classic 1993 movie “Cool Runnings”


Discrepancy: The gap between current and ideal state

Why change?


Efficacy: Confidence in the ability to make the change

“Can we do this?”


Appropriateness: Perception that this is the right change

“Why this change?”


Principal Support: Leaders support the change

• “Is management walking the talk?”


Valence: Intrinsic and extrinsic benefits

What’s in it for me?


8 Factors for successful change

1. Ensure the need

2. Provide a plan

3. Build internal support for change and overcome resistance

4. Ensure top management support and commitment

5. Build external support (where needed)

6. Provide resources

7. Institutionalize change, (“refreezing”)

8. Pursue comprehensive change



Model of Planned Change

Implementation Theory

Focuses on specific intervention strategies that are designed

to induce organizational change

Four types of interventions:

• Human process-based

• Techno-structural

• Socio-technical systems (STS) designs

• Large system changes (organizational transformation)




Level Emphasis HRD Application

Human

Process

Based

Employee needs

Job satisfaction

Individual differences

Norms and values

Team effectiveness

Career development

Stress management

Coaching

Cross-cultural training

Orientation and socialization

Team training


Level Emphasis HRD Application

Techno- structural Job competencies

Improving work content

Skills and technical training

Job design and enrichment

Socio-technical Self-managed teams

Total quality management

Team training

Quality training

Organization

Transformation

Beliefs and principals

Reorganization

(Downsizing)

Continuous learning

Missions and Goals

Employee assistance

programs

Management development

High performance work

systems



Model of Planned Change

Individual Cognitive Change

Alpha

• Perceived change in the levels of variables (skills) without

altering their configuration (job)

Beta

• Change in the value of variables

Gamma (A)

• Change in the configuration of existing paradigm

Gamma (B)

• Replacement of one paradigm with another that contains new

variables


Gamma (B): Replacement of one paradigm with another that contains new variables


Limitations to Organizational Development

• Lack of true experimental designs

• Lack of resources available to practitioners

• Limitations of field research designs

• Potential bias by OD evaluators (who are often the designers of

the intervention)


Quick Break


Part 2 - Diversity

What do you see?


People aged 14-50 from Bolivia, China, Ethiopia, France, Indonesia, Italy, the Netherlands, Peru, Tunisia, and Uganda offered the following interpretations:

• Two women are walking and a man threatens one of the women with a piece of wood.

• Two men are attacking a woman.

• A woman steps aside to let a blind man pass.

• A beggar and a woman

• Gardening

• A farm family working on their land

• Two people helping each other do something

• Poor people. The man is digging for something and the woman is waiting to take it.

• A man cleaning the floor


What do you see?


What do you see?

• A teacher reprimanding a student

• A man teaching other men

• A boss giving instructions to employees

• A government official warning people

• Someone giving a blessing

• A preacher in church

• A film director instructing his crew where to stand

• A salesman trying to sell his wares


What do you see?


What are the main influences?

• Family relationships

• Hierarchical relationships

• Unique attributes of people in the picture

• Gender differences

• Cooperation

• Antagonism

• Details that highlight professional or religious roles


Diversity in the Workplace: Cultural Training

Globalization has resulted in more individuals being given expatriate assignment

Many organizations are providing cross-cultural training to prepare these individuals for their assignments. The four primary elements are:

• Raising the awareness of cultural differences

• Focusing on ways attitudes are shaped

• Providing factual information about each culture

• Building skills in the areas of language, nonverbal communication, cultural stress management, and adjustment adaptation skills


Cultural Training


Diversity and Socialization

Issues confronting minorities in the workplace:

• Feeling of isolation due to cultural differences

• Additional stress if they feel they must become “bicultural” in

order to be accepted

• Held to higher standards than other coworkers as they enter

nontraditional occupations


Questions for Cultural Awareness Training


Question Potential area of discussion Examples

What are some key dissimilarities

between people from different

cultures?

1. Physical traits

2. System of values

3. Language or dialect

4. Religion

5. Institutions

Gender

Age

Race

Work ethic, …

How do these differences come

about?

1. Custom

2. Lifestyle

3. Shared norms

4. Shared experiences

5. Communication patterns

Clothing

Food

Nonverbal symbols

What are the implications when

different cultures interact?

1. Conflict

2. Stereotyping or

ethnocentrism

3. Sexism or racism

Misunderstanding

Refusing to accept

Discrimination

Diversity Practices


Effective Diversity Practices Theme Importance rank

Inclusive culture and values

Retaining diverse talent

Advancing diverse talent

Global/Cultural diversity

Recruiting diverse talent

Community/Supplier/Customer diversity

Diversity education and training

Career development for diverse talent

Employee involvement

Leadership commitment and involvement

Corporate communications reflective of diversity

Performance accountability and measurement

1 (71%)

2(69%)

3(63%)

4(59%)

5(57%)

6(53%)

8(51%)

9(49%)

10(42%)

11(40%)

12(39%)

13(30%)

Forms of Discrimination: (1)Access Discrimination

When an organization places limits on job availability

• Restricting advertisement and recruitment

• Rejecting applicants

• Offering a lower starting salary


(2) Treatment Discrimination

Occurs after a person is hired

• Limiting opportunities, promotions

• Difficulty moving into executive / policymaking positions

• Racial harassment on the job


Equal Employment Opportunity

The right to obtain jobs and earn rewards in them regardless of

non-job-related factors

Unlawful for employers to make employment decisions

based on:

• Race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, mental or physical

handicap, Vietnam-era or disabled veteran status, or pregnancy,

unless these factors can be shown to be job related


The Glass Ceiling

An invisible but impenetrable boundary preventing women and

minorities from advancing to senior management levels


The Glass Ceiling Commission (1996)

• Neither women nor minorities tended to advance as far as

their white male counterparts, although women advanced

further than minorities

• While most organizations made a concerted effort to identify

and develop key (white male) employees, few organizations

had taken any ownership for equal employment

opportunity and access


The Glass Ceiling Commission (1996)

• The few women and minorities who held executive jobs were in

staff positions that were considered outside the corporate

mainstream for promotions to senior-level positions

• While most of these organizations held federal government

contracts, most had inadequate equal employment and

affirmative action record keeping


EU Report on Gender Equality (2017)


Summing Up

Human resource development can address the challenges and

generate potential benefits of workforce diversity through a

combination of:

• Training and development

• Career development

• Organizational development


intro to hrm lecture 10 - challenges in organizational development

Leadership & Management