Intervention and Evaluation: A Proactive Team Approach to OD

Abstract

A team of 8 change agents initiated an intensive, organization development program in a nonacademic, service department of a midwestern university. A contract whereby consultation services were exchanged for research opportunities was negotiated equally with management and nonmanagement employees. Interventions included interviews and questionnaires, data feedback, problem solving meetings, and team building exercises. Consultations were provided to nonmanagement and management groups, separately and together. Changes assessed by questionnaires in a pretest-posttest design over a 1-year interval suggested the following: Self-perceptions of legitimate, reward, coercive, expert and referent power changed significantly, indicating for the most part an increase in employees' sense of power within the system. Role stresses tended to decrease over time, and yet an important index of role strain rose significantly. These data argue for increased awareness of possible job strains induced by OD interventions per se. Organizational climate measures evidenced little change despite the extensive intervention work; on the other hand, perceptions of specific factors in the work setting were altered. An implication of these data is that "narrow band" interventions might have more visible effects than those resulting from global change strategies. Reflections on the results have provided some useful learnings for future interventions. Concluding comments explore the feasibility of substantive organizational change in short-term OD programs, the possibility of nonlinear relations between OD outcomes and time investments in change activities, some dilemmas resulting from participatively oriented OD programs, and some advantages and disadvantages of team work in OD.