Managing Change-Organisation Development and Change - Essay Example

Running Header: Managing change-Organization development and change Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Organization development and change Diagnosis is a systematic approach to understand current situation of an organization. This essay will evaluate various organizational diagnose tools at three levels including organizational, team, and individual levels. It will also evaluate organization development and political approach techniques in relation to every organizational diagnose tool system. The weakness and strengths of every diagnosis tool will be evaluated and discussed within the essay. An effective diagnosis of an organization, team, and individual is crucial towards ensuring the success of an organization. Organization plays a key role towards influencing the development and success of the teams. On the other hand, teams play a key role towards improving the performance capabilities of an individual. Teams ensure the capabilities of individuals are utilized towards the success of entire organization. Teams and individuals determine the success of an organization. The two major diagnostic tools or models that will be used include Weisbord six models that will be used at an organizational level and Cummings and Worley (2005) to be used at team and individual levels. The strengths and weakness of each level will also be evaluated in relation to Lentil as Anything organization. Marvin R. Weisbord created Weisbord six-model to assist in diagnosing organizations. It has six categories that cover various concerns that require to be addressed when designing to change an organization. The purpose of organizational diagnosis is to establish a broadly shared understanding of system and utilizing that understanding to decide whether change is desirable. The Weisbord six-model looks at specific ways of looking at organizational structure and design. Six-box model comprises several components including purposes, structure, relationships, rewards, leadership, and helpful mechanisms (Michael & Arie 2008). The purposes of an organization are its goals and missions. The structure refers to ways in which the organization is structured either by function where specialists work as a team or by program, project, or program where multi-skilled teams work together. Relationship is the ways in which people, technology, and units interact. Rewards include extrinsic and intrinsic. The leadership box refers to typical leadership tasks of defining the purposes of the organization while coordinating the programs. The leadership should defend the integrity of the organization while ordering internal conflict. Helping mechanism are the budgeting, information systems, planning, and controlling that serve to meet organizational goals. Inputs within the organization include machinery, ideas, people, and money used towards fulfilling its mission. The outputs include products and services (Oldham, 2006; Stone-Romero, Weaver & Glenar, 1995). They are strengths associated with Weisbord six-model at an organizational level. Weisbord six-model assists organization towards achieving its set missions and goals effectively and quickly. It assists organizations in organizing the purposes as well as effective coordination of the programs and other activities. It assists in joining organization with external environment towards ensuring good performance. An organization is able to achieve high performance when Weisbord six-model is utilized effectively. Weisbord six-model reduces the gap between what is and what should be within an organization. Diagnosis of the organization using Weisboard six-model assists in identifying the extent of the gaps occurring within the organization for potential improvement opportunities. However, they are weakness associated with this model. It becomes hard to identify where to focus the attention in the entire organization. The model does not show which factors are leading to unsuccessful operations. It does not also indicate where one should investigate within the organization. It does not also analyze where the time is required for organization’s attention in ensuring it works effectively. The model does not also give alternatives of solving out the problems facing the organization or even give alternatives to the solution of a key area that is not working effectively. At Lentil as Anything, there is relationship between the customer and employees are met. Due to the satisfaction of customers, the Lentil as Anything is getting enough rewards in terms of donations from the customers. This is an indication that is improved relationship between the organization and customers. There is also improved relationship between members and organization; this has led to less absentee among its staff with increased multicultural workforce. The helping mechanisms have been put in place towards ensuring Lentil as Anything is able to attain its set objectives. The planning, controlling, and budgeting have played a great role towards the success of Lentil as Anything. This has enabled the restaurant to attain the required amount of funds from customers as well as enough income to maintain its operations. The input in terms of non-set prices and affordable meals has led to generation of extra money in the restaurant. The Lentil as Anything members agree with and support the missions and goals of the organization. However, it may be difficult to meet the intended purposes or the restaurant’s missions and goals as some people have feelings that the food is free hence they may end up not contributing or contributing less amounts than they have consumed (Marc 2008). Teams in organizations determine the level of output and success of an organization. In the current world, workplace is a maze of nested teams. Pressure, virtual, functioning, and project are all towards the teams to perform and reform at a faster rate. The team diagnostic assessment is a state of art instrument that is based on a proven model. This defines the essential strengths for high-performing, sustainable, and motivated teams. Team diagnosis reviews the design of a team, its ways of coaching, and feedback. It assists in indentifying the major key issues that undermines the performance of a team. According to Cummings and Worley (2005), diagnosis is a major breakthrough towards improved performance of groups or teams. Teams consist of relatively small number of people who work face-to-face on a shared task. Work groups are found in all organizations (Thomas & Christopher, 2008). Team-level diagnosis involves inputs, which is in this case organization design. It consists of technology, structure, human resources system, and organizational culture. The other part consists of design components that involves goal clarity, task structure, group composition, group norms, and team functioning. Goal clarity involves how clearly the team understands its objectives. The goals should be moderately challenging. Task structure is concerned with the design of the group work. It involves coordination of member’s efforts and regulation of their task behaviors (Ruth, Richard & Erin, 2005). Group composition is concerned with membership of groups that differs with abilities, skills, experience, and education. Team functioning is mainly the underlying basis of group’s life in terms of how members relate to each other. The relationship quality among team members determines the performance of tasks. Performance norms are the beliefs of members and how the tasks should be performed. It includes all performance levels within an organization and they guide the behaviors of the groups (Thomas & Christopher, 2008). They are various strengths and weakness associated with Cummings and Worley (2005) team diagnosis. This team diagnosis assists in promoting interaction among the members of the group. It assists in evaluating the extent to which the tasks can be controlled. It assists in evaluating the efforts of members as well as their task behaviors. It is advantageous in that it helps towards evaluating how individuals can influence team members towards improving their performance. It also assists in evaluating and diagnosing how members interact with each other for the benefit of organization. It is crucial as it assists in determining the extent to which group members need to interact to increase the levels of interaction. It assists in identifying interpersonal and tasks problems and difficulties as well as working them out as a way of holding a team together. It is also important as it enables organization to improve the skills required by its team in order to be able to perform. It also assists in determining the type of rewards required by the team in order to improve its morale and capabilities. The rewards may be in terms of monitory and non-monitory rewards. However, they are weakness associated with Cummings and Worley (2005) diagnosis of a team. In some occasions, it becomes difficult to identify the ways to which the interpersonal differences can b resolved. Some individual differences and problems become difficult to influence through teams diagnosis. Cummings and Worley (2005) diagnosis may fail bring out the intended improvement of output in terms of work life quality and performance of the team. It becomes difficult even after diagnosis to determine and control the results and performance of a team. It may not assist in increasing the cohesion among the team members or even making them become committed towards the organization (Thomas & Christopher, 2008). At Lentil as Anything, they are various team aspects that have been identified by the team diagnosis that require to be improved. They are other team aspects that require to be improved for the benefit of the team and entire organization. It is through team diagnosis that interest between team members can be improved greatly. The diagnosis of the team assists towards caring each other among the members of the team. It has assisted in improving the respect among the individuals. Team members have become encouraged towards contributing and appreciating teamwork at Lentil at Anything. This has been seen to improve the multicultural workforce as well as encouraging the culture of trust. Team members have been able to care about each other after diagnosis. However, the value of a team has not been realized to the fullest at the restaurant. Therefore, there is need to encourage the need for this among the members of various teams. It may become difficult for the team to influence the team towards achieving quality results. The diagnosis may also fail at some point to identify the areas of weakness of the team. In some instances, it may fail to identify the weak points of the team. The goals of the groups at Lentil at Anything know very clearly their goals. They know they are supposed to deliver quality services and products to customers. The teams are self-driven with self-managing structure with high diversity of skills of offering the customer and convincing them on the importance of their donations. They assist their fellow individuals towards gaining other skills from them. At Lentil at Anything, every individual within the team contributes in making decisions for the group. These groups at Lentil are made of people from diversified areas who most of them offer free services to the restaurant. The team targets to influence every individual working within the organization as well as improving their levels of their services. At lentil as Anything, the cost of products is not set, customers pay according to their wish. They contribute according to how much they wish to assist charities and other organizations. Every team has its own set responsibilities that they are supposed to undertake. This ensures accomplishment of set tasks is achieved. Every team and its members communicate effectively towards ensuring delivery of expected results. They are various leaders within the teams or groups who are involved towards driving the team in achieving the desired change. They have charismatic characteristics; they are collaborative with their team members with full participation in the activities of the organization (Lisa 2010). Evaluation and diagnosis at an individual level is crucial towards identifying the characteristics of an individual that require to be embraced and others that require to be changed. According to Cummings and Worley (2005), individual diagnosis involves various inputs, design components, and the expected outputs from an individual. According to Cummings and Worley (2005), organization design, group design, and personal characteristics are major determinants towards the character of an individual. The design components of an individual include skill variety, task significance, task identity, feedback about results, and autonomy. An individual is diagnosed on whether he has variety of skill vital for performance of duties. Autonomy within an individual is self-independence that an individual has towards performance of his duties. An individual must also be capable of provide feedback on his performance. He should also be able to realize the significance of the task while being able to identify his tasks clearly. All those design components work together towards producing outputs of an individual in terms of work satisfaction and work quality. Cummings and Worley (2005) comprehensive model should assist towards evaluating an individual in ensuring his effectiveness is improved. Such include job satisfaction, performance, personal development, and absenteeism (Thomas & Christopher, 2008). They are some strengths and weakness associated with Cummings and Worley (2005) comprehensive diagnosis model of an individual. It assists in identifying the areas that an individual requires to improve in order to improve the performance and expected outcomes. Diagnosing design components of an individual plays a key role in increasing the effectiveness of an individual. It assists in identifying whether an individual is capable of providing feedback of his operations towards his skills development. However, they are some weakness associated with this diagnosis of an individual. It is difficult to change the character of an individual in terms of his skills. It does not to provide how the quality of the results will become after diagnosis. It may even fail to give proper guidance on how an individual will be able to achieve the expected results (Thomas & Christopher, 2008). At Lentil as Anything, every individual ensures he satisfies customers and if possible provides services and products that satisfy the customers’ expectations. Every individual is respected and valued equally, this result to members contributing and recognizing as well as appreciating their teams and the entire organization. The variety of skills within an individual is crucial at Lentil towards satisfaction and provision of quality services and products to customers. Every individual has freedom to work according to his will; personal freedom is emphasized as a major component in the operations of Lentil. Individuals are encouraged towards providing feedback on the work that they undertake. Self-independence of individuals has assisted greatly towards improving the personal development of an individual. Every individual at Lentil is satisfied with the job he does within the restaurant (Lisa 2010). The approaches to change in all the three levels of an organization can be viewed in terms of political and relationship approach. In political approach, sources of information required for change within an organization is determined by highest levels of management within an organization. In some occasions, the process of decision-making is not transparent when making decisions on how to change the organization. In some occasions, only top level of management is involved in making decisions (Stringer 2003). Management plays a great role in making organization policies. Management at highest-level recognizes and corrects organizational performance problems for the benefit of the organization. The building of relationship among individuals is a key determinant of bringing change to the organization and its development. Building a firm relationship among the individuals, teams, and entire organization determines how an organization can perform and change its performance and other aspects. This result to quick realization of expected development changes at all levels of organizations including individual, team, and organizational levels (Peter & John, 2000). They are various recommended actions that require to be undertaken at Lentil as Anything at all the three levels. This is towards enhancing and improving the performance. It is crucial for the organization to take into consideration various aspects that need to be utilized in ensuring the morale of individuals and teams is increased. They should be provided with both monitory and non-monitory rewards. Individuals whose performance levels are high should be promoted to higher levels. Individuals and teams at Lentil should be trained towards developing their skills. Their contributions should be appreciated and acknowledged at all levels. Team rotation should also be practiced as a way of promoting confidence and morale among the workers. In terms of monitory rewards, teams and individuals should be given a chance of owning the organization. They should also be part of those sharing the profits gained. it is important that they be part of sharing other issues arising within the organization and be part of decision making. Apart from those giving out free services or voluntary staff, others should be given a good salary package as a way of increasing their morale. It is also to coach people with little team experience in enabling them become effective. The overall benefit of diagnosing the team and individuals is to reduce the stress and improve their performance skills. In conclusion, they are various diagnostic models/techniques in the change management for diagnosing organizations. Weisbord’s six and Cummings and Worley (2005) development changes diagnostic models/technique assists in carrying out diagnosis of various organizations. Organization diagnosis plays a crucial towards improving the performance and change within an organization. In order to improve the performance of Lentil as Anything, an organization diagnosis should be carried out as a way of identifying areas that require to be changed. Team and individual diagnosis are also crucial, as they are key contributors of organizational change. However, they are weakness associated with models for diagnosis hence the need of taking into consideration those weaknesses when diagnosing. Finally, adaption of various identified factors by organizational diagnosis in Lentil as Anything is crucial towards ensuring it is able to meet its objectives easily. References Donald, A. (2009). 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Journal of Management Review, 13(2), 51-65. Thomas, G. & Christopher, G. (2008). Organization development & change. London: Cengage Learning. Read More