Organizational Development Activities Research Articles

Well-being in the workplace through interaction between individual characteristics and organizational context

Well-being in the workplace is considered by many authors to be the outcome of the interaction between individual characteristics and those of the working and organizational environment. This study aims to understand the significance attributed to the concept of well-being in the workplace by employees, its influencing factors, and, among those, the role of individual psychological characteristics. The research was conducted on a sample of 72 employees using a qualitative approach based on focus groups and individual interviews. Data analysis was performed by a paper and pencil technique. The focus groups and interviews collected 628 statements, which were divided into three main areas: meaning of well-being in the workplace (248), any kind factors that affect well-being in the workplace (158), and individual characteristics that affect well-being in the workplace (222). The individual characteristics identified by the participants as capable of influencing well-being in the workplace include being positive, communication, management of difficulties and conflicts, socio-emotional skills, and values. The research was limited by the participants involved and by the sole use of the paper and pencil technique of data analysis. Results highlight that well-being in the workplace does not depend exclusively on external conditions in terms of the working and organizational environment within which the individual operates: so, it could be promoted not only from above, through actions by management, but also from below, influencing individual traits and behaviours. Results would be useful for developing training, workplace counselling, and organizational development activities aimed to support small groups, leaders, and other strategic players in the construction of the subsystems of well-being in the workplace.

Disseminating Organizational Screening and Brief Intervention Services (DO-SBIS) for alcohol at trauma centers study design

ObjectiveIn 2005, the American College of Surgeons passed a mandate requiring that Level I trauma centers have a mechanism to identify patients who are problem drinkers and have the capacity to provide an intervention for patients who screen positive. The aim of the Disseminating Organizational Screening and Brief Intervention Services (DO-SBIS) cluster randomized trial is to test a multilevel intervention targeting the implementation of high-quality alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) services at trauma centers. MethodTwenty sites selected from all United States Level I trauma centers were randomized to participate in the trial. Intervention site providers receive a combination of workshop training in evidence-based motivational interviewing (MI) interventions and organizational development activities prior to conducting trauma-center-based alcohol SBI with blood-alcohol-positive injured patients. Control sites implement care as usual. Provider MI skills, patient alcohol consumption, and organizational acceptance of SBI implementation outcomes are assessed. ResultsThe investigation has successfully recruited provider, patient and trauma center staff samples into the study, and outcomes are being followed longitudinally. ConclusionWhen completed, the DO-SBIS trial will inform future American College of Surgeons’ policy targeting the sustained integration of high-quality alcohol SBI at trauma centers nationwide.

Navigating the swampy lowland: a framework for evaluating the effect of community mobilisation in female sex workers in Avahan, the India AIDS Initiative

BackgroundFew models of how community mobilisation works have been elaborated in the scientific literature, and evaluation of the impact of these programmes on HIV and other health outcomes is extremely...

WORLD VISION: RELIGIOUS IDENTITY IN THE DISCOURSE AND PRACTICE OF GLOBAL RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT

Three common perspectives regarding the role of religion in humanitarianism have led to the segregation, ignorance, or instrumentalization of religion. Faith-based organizations (FBOs) play a significant role in international development. These organizations' religious identities are not merely labels; international development stakeholders should ask how an organization is religious. This article explores the history of one influential faith-based relief and development agency, World Vision, illustrating how its religious identity is adapted, contested, and asserted through organizational structures and development activities. Rather than simply adjusting its religious identity to fit secular development, World Vision conceives its current development practice as a reflection of its Christian witness.

Organizational Development Goes Digital: Applying Simulation to Organizational Change

Organizational change initiatives are challenging for both researchers to understand and for practitioners/organizational leaders to execute. This article takes a conceptual approach to describe organizational simulation technologies as one of many approaches for use in organizational development activities while also providing two examples of how simulations have been applied to real-world scenarios. Scenario 1 involved a process re-engineering effort within a manufacturing organization where a manufacturing process was modeled to explore how numerous factors (e.g. product inputs, organizational structure, manpower allocation) influenced the simulated output. Scenario 2 included an organizational change initiative involving organizational design modifications in a command and control center. Here, two organizational design alternatives were compared and contrasted. Simulation technologies may provide organizational development (OD) professionals with the opportunity to experiment with alternative organizational designs, an inherent strength for generating potential return on investment estimates. Researchers from the Air Force Research Laboratory have used simulation technologies as one element of an overall organizational development strategy within two different projects, albeit as one aspect of a larger change management strategy. This article discusses these applied examples in the context of a conceptual discussion on the merits of simulation as a tool to support organizational change.

Internal consultation skill and linkage with the critical strategic roles of HR practitioners in Malaysia

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between the role of internal consultant and role of the HR practitioners in the manufacturing companies of Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThree main elements in the competency of internal consultation are measured. They are: knowledge in the area of project management; internal coaching ability; and the ability to be a solution provider.FindingsThe HR practitioner needs to overcome many barriers to reach the ultimate goal of becoming a strategic partner in his or her organisation. The findings suggest that the HR executive that understands business strategy is more likely to develop HR processes and procedures that support the implementation of a business strategy and are therefore, better able to involve themselves in organisational development activities on a deeper level.Research limitations/implicationsThis study by its very nature is limited by virtue of its having been carried out only on manufacturing companies in Johor, the Southern‐most state of Malaysia. Thus, its findings cannot be generalised. The number of respondents in this study was relatively small (89) and does not fully represent the thousands of HR managers employed by manufacturers in Malaysia.Practical implicationsEven though the findings cannot be used to reflect the overall HR competency of internal consultation in Malaysia, it does serve as an exploratory study that can be expanded more broadly in the future.Originality/valueThe paper can help HR professionals to look more perceptively into the expectations of their CEOs concerning their role as HR practitioners and will be of interest to those working in that area.

Helping Organizations Help Others: Organization Development as a Facilitator of Social Change

This article explores organization development (OD) interventions and their likelihood of increasing social change outcomes in public agencies. The central argument of this work is that public and nonprofit organizations can deliver better social outcomes by systematically engaging in OD interventions. An in-depth survey was conducted in 3 agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the end of the gubernatorial administration of Tom Ridge (1995–2002). During his administration, Governor Ridge led the agencies of Pennsylvania government through a large-scale change effort to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The change effort was a remarkable event for the Commonwealth because no other governor in the history of the state had attempted to conceptualize and deliver a comprehensive large-scale change management initiative. The successes and setbacks served as a fertile context to shed light on the following research question: Do OD interventions increase the likelihood that public organizations will deliver better social outcomes? This question is important in that public organizations may need to engage in organization development activities to improve their internal operations, which in turn may help them provide exemplary social outcomes to those whom they serve. In short, organization development interventions might allow public organizations to help themselves to help others.

Organizational handling of careers influences managers' organizational commitment

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how the relationship between two aspects of career management – the practice of career development activities by the organization (organizational career development) and career development activities by the individual (career self‐management), and affective and normative commitment levels, are influenced by the value that employees place on the career development offerings of their organizations.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical evidence was drawn from 196 manager members of the Australian Institute of Management. Hierarchical moderated regression analysis was used to test the hypothesized relationships of the model.FindingsLevels of affective and normative commitment improved when organizations provided continuous learning to managers. This was the case, for career management both by the individual, and by the organization. In particular, normative commitment was strongest for those who valued the continuous learning they received while managing their own careers. For the group of managers who experienced organizational career development the opposite was the case. Continuous learning provided by the organization improved their levels of affective commitment.Research limitations/implicationsOrganizations must understand the needs of their staff so that they can provide career management practices that are valued and can enhance their levels of affective and normative commitment.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the importance of organizations paying attention to what individuals value so that they may fit with the organization and enhance their commitment to it. It also draws attention to career self‐management as a positive organizational initiative.

Scoping software process lines

AbstractDefining organization‐specific process standards by integrating, harmonizing, and standardizing heterogeneous and often implicit processes is an important task, especially for large development organizations. On the one hand, such a standard must be generic enough to cover all of the organization's development activities; on the other hand, it must be as detailed and precise as possible to support employees' daily work. Today, organizations typically maintain and advance a plethora of individual processes, each addressing specific problems. This requires enormous effort, which could be spent more efficiently. This article introduces an approach for developing a Software Process Line that, similar to a Software Product Line, promises to reduce the complexity and thus, the effort required for managing the processes of a software organization. We propose Scoping, Modeling, and Architecting the Software Process Line as major steps, and describe in detail the Scoping approach we recommend, based on an analysis of the potential products to be produced in the future, the projects expected in the future, and the respective process capabilities needed. In addition, the article sketches experience from determining the scope of space process standards for satellite software development. Finally, it discusses the approach, draws conclusions, and gives an outlook on future work. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An exploratory study of alignment ERP implementation and organizational development activities in a newly established firm

PurposeThe importance of alignment of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation for organizational strategies has been widely recognized. However, ERP implementation in the context of new ventures has not yet been convincingly demonstrated. Furthermore, how to align ERP implementation with organizational development in new ventures deserves further examination as new ventures are in the emergency or early growth stage and thus have distinct concerns in adopting ERP. Against this background, the main purpose of this paper is to explore how ERP implementation can facilitate the organization development of new ventures.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts an in‐depth case study method for gathering and analyzing data. The case research strategy allows the exploration of unforeseen phenomena and offers insights into the inter‐dependencies among the factors captured in the study. It is believed that case study research will be most appropriate in gaining in‐depth knowledge of the practices of ERP implementation in new venture development.FindingsDrawing on an in‐depth case study from a Taiwanese IC design house, this study shows that, to leverage the value of ERP system, the implementation should consider the firm's growth stages, the unique industrial characteristics, the influences from the business group, and the alignment of the internal control and audit function, corporate governance, and information technology governance.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study contribute to the literature on ERP implementation and organization development in new ventures. The implications and future research directions are also discussed.Originality/valueThis single case study has provided valuable insights into the practice of ERP implementation. Furthermore, data analysis of this study provides a set of vocabularies that researchers and practitioners could employ in similar organizational processes as in new ventures. Accordingly, future ERP implementation processes can be compared and benchmarked.

Issues of Global and Local Norm Use in Assessments of Motivation

With the growth of globalization, organizations are facing an increased challenge to manage talent, improve employee engagement, develop effective teams, create succession pipelines, and increase organizational effectiveness in multinational settings. Given the need to evaluate and compare individuals from more than one country using standardized assessment instruments, there is a consequent need to understand the issues and implications of norm selection decisions. The current investigation examines the impact of global vs. local norm selection in the assessment of motivation in work settings. A sample of 21,248 participants from organizations in Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States completed the Individual Directions Inventory™ as part of ongoing organizational development activities. The choice of norm appeared to have minimal impact on most scales among the Anglo cultures studied. Results illustrate the issues researchers and organizations face when creating cross-national assessments and provide recommendations regarding norm selection and the communication of results to end users.

Using Leadership Development Programs to Improve Quality and Efficiency in Healthcare

With heightened emphasis on the imperatives to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivered in U.S. hospitals and health systems, healthcare managers are challenged to consider innovative approaches to address these issues. Leadership development programs are increasingly common offerings within healthcare organizations, but linking such initiatives to quality and efficiency improvement programs remains rare. This article uses data from three qualitative studies of leadership development in healthcare to answer the question, "What opportunities might exist to use leadership development programs to improve quality and efficiency?" Interviews from 200 individuals were conducted between September 2003 and December 2007 with hospital and health system managers and executives, academic experts, consultants, individuals representing associations and vendors of leadership development programs, and program participants. Analyses of these data showed that leadership development programs provide four important opportunities to improve quality and efficiency in healthcare: (1) by increasing the caliber of the workforce, (2) by enhancing efficiency in the organization's education and development activities, (3) by reducing turnover and related expenses, and (4) by focusing organizational attention on specific strategic priorities. Several concrete examples of how to leverage leadership development in these ways are provided to help managers consider how to apply these research findings. Healthcare managers can use the results reported from these studies to extend the reach of current leadership development programs or to inform the design of new initiatives that focus specifically on quality and efficiency improvement. Although quantitative metrics are required to measure definitive improvements in quality and efficiency in healthcare, these qualitative data highlight opportunities through which leadership development initiatives can contribute to improvement efforts.

Relational Evaluation of Organizational Development Activities

This article outlines a relational approach to evaluating organizational development activities. The paper analyzes organizational development activities as complicated, situated and “technically” mediated interactions between different actors. According to the relational evaluation the outcomes of development interventions are not reducible to any individual factor, but they are rather collectively produced by the different human and non-human elements. The approach is illustrated by a case where the processes and outcomes of development activities in 12 social welfare offices are followed and evaluated and where evaluation is harnessed to facilitate the development activities.

The relation between employee organizational and professional development activities

A model is presented showing hypothesized common and parallel antecedents of employee organizational development activity (ODA) versus professional development activity (PDA). A common antecedent is expected to affect both ODA and PDA, while a parallel antecedent is expected to affect its corresponding work referent. This model was tested using a sample of 197 medical technologists over a four year time period. Prior ODA and PDA were controlled for before testing hypotheses. Results showed that the common antecedent of learning motivation was a robust indicator of both ODA and PDA. Looking at parallel antecedents, job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment had a positive impact on ODA, while occupational satisfaction and affective occupational commitment had a positive impact on PDA. ODA had a negative impact on subsequent intent to leave organization, but PDA did not have a similar impact on intent to leave profession. Study limitations, issues around operationalizing ODA and PDA, and future research directions are discussed.

Balancing trust and technocracy? Leadership training in higher education

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to analyse how participants in leadership training programs in higher education value and perceive their training process.Design/methodology/approachA stylized theoretical model is developed indicating that leadership training may be designed along a collegial‐managerial continuum. To study how participants placed themselves on this continuum, a questionnaire was distributed to participants in three different leadership training programs.FindingsThe study shows that leadership training programs are tools to modernize higher education without resulting in a rejection of inherent values and characteristics of the sector.Originality/valueLeadership training programs need to be supplemented with broader organisational development activities and a more systematic follow‐up process after completion of the program.

Assessment methodology to prioritize knowledge management related activities to support organizational excellence

So far, a systematic and comprehensive assessment tool to prioritize organizational development activities, especially in the currently intensely discussed domain of knowledge management is not available in the literature. Utilizing the here proposed methodology, which is derived from a four dimensional system theory based model on knowledge utilization within an organization, managerial decision makers save time and money in the early process of implementation of (pilot) knowledge management projects by prioritizing critical actions out of several options right from the beginning. The methodology stresses four levels of potential intervention, starting with the strategy focused target level, next a knowledge level covering all knowledge workers of an organization, then an action level focusing on operations and processes and finally a data level with the explicitly available stock of (digital) resources. All levels are discussed in detail. These levels are complemented by categories that help to address the organizational entities of the individual, the communication and interaction dependent team and the organization. Additionally these categories are expanded to include the corporate environment as well. By applying the resulting matrix of four levels to organizational development activities with special focus on knowledge management supporting activities, a comprehensive methodology to prioritize those development options is suggested. The methodology is illustrated by the example of the innovation process which is an appropriate starting point to improve the organizational excellence in terms of knowledge and learning.

A tool to support the shared understanding of manufacturing systems organization in innovation processes

A concept and tool to support the technical and organizational development activities in agile, integrated enterprises are described. The drawbacks of conventional simulation model construction are discussed and the requirements for a collaborative tool based on simulation and conceptual modelling are described. The theoretical foundations of this tool are explained, focusing on a technical and organizational ontology. The features of the resulting system concerning conceptual modelling are presented together with the criteria to evaluate alternative scenarios based on the socio-technical premises. Finally, a practical application of the prototype tool is described, showing the usefulness of such a system in industrial innovation processes.

Learning by Changing: Action Science and Virtual Organization Development

Perhaps the most important reason that research has continued to be a central feature of organization development activities is that it is one of the better ways to bring about change. While research has evolved into a number of different variants, the central features of involving groups of people 'as active, inquiring participants in the conduct of social experiments about themselves' (Argyris and Schon, 1996, p. 44) and engaging in a learning cycle of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting, have endured. French (1973) explains that action research is so pervasive in OD efforts that organization development could be defined as `organization improvement through research' (p. 670). One research approach is science. In the following pages, I describe the use of science in virtual team development. A Virtual Action Science Course According to Argyris and Schon (1987), a theory of practice consists of a set of interrelated theories of that specify what actions, given a particular situation, will yield desired results. They distinguish between espoused theories or intentions and theories-in-use or actions. In science, practitioners engage in dialogue and reflection on their theories of action, questioning the congruence between intentions and actions, the effectiveness of the actions they produce to implement their theories, and whether or not they value the world they create by their theories and actions. Action science stresses that language, how we talk to one another, is a basic form of action. For the past three years, I have worked with Dr. Mike Davis of The University of North London (then of The University of Manchester) to create a unique, largely virtual course to teach science to individuals interested in workplace learning and the use of reflective technologies. Participants spend one week together in either location and then work together in transatlantic virtual teams for the next seven weeks. The purpose of the course is to create a laboratory where we use T-group experiences and science case work as means to explore interpersonal competence, to facilitate group learning, and to begin to see how organizations can be changed by confronting and transforming defensive routines. Through the process of and reflection--the essence of research--we work to improve group process and critical reflection skills. Action science structures the second part of the face-to-face laboratory Participants write science cases of problematic interactions in their work, and discuss them in small groups. In addition to theoretical input, each student takes turns to present an science case study that is then explored and examined in a sub-group of five or six with support from the two facilitators. These same sub-groups are used in the computer-mediated component of the course. In the sections that follow, I illustrate this work with portions of the on-line team's discussion. We begin with an excerpt from a participant's science case. Cecilia's unexpressed thoughts and feelings are indicated in italics. An Excerpt from Cecilia's case Great C: That's what I want to talk with you about. I'll be back on August 1, just like we've planned. I need to let you know though, that my two-week Military Annual Training date has changed and I'll have to go to Ft. S. after I return to work.... M: What are the dates for your training? Here it comes, I can hear her now. I don't want to tell her this -- but she needs to know in order to plan. I do understand that. C: Well, it's a special training period this year and it is actually going to be three weeks in length. It begins August 26 and lasts until September 16. M: Oh No. Three weeks, that's horrible. The dates are the worst possible. That's just when school starts. Believe you me -- I'd get out of this if I could. …

Lessons from a major cultural change workshop programme

Examines the response of a utilities company (UtilityCo) to the commercial pressures associated with privatisation and a requirement for it to genuinely change employee expectations about the future ways in which the company would need to operate. It describes a cultural change programme centred on a workshop methodology embracing all 2,000 of its employees. The components of the specially designed workshop are described along with the linked rationales for creating change readiness in the delegates. A review of key organisation challenges and the identification of probable solutions are described and also linked to broader organisational development activities (e.g. employee communications). The evaluation processes showed a positive impact had been achieved and five key lessons are emphasised as important: a true understanding of what is required at the level of the individual employee; management buy‐in; sound evaluation; a plan for subsequent change management interventions; the need for knowledge management/embedded change.

Organizational development and time-based flexibility: An empirical analysis of AMT adoptions

It has been consistently reported that many firms that have adopted advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) are failing to exploit the true flexibility potential of these systems. Since a firm's ability to improve flexibility is thought to be reliant on the flexibility of its people, it is often suggested that inadequate emphasis on people-centred implementation activities such as worker development are major contributors to many of these failures. The purpose of this study is to determine if differences in the level of effort exerted on several organizational development activities have any impact on a firm's time-based flexibility ability to respond quickly to changes in customer needs. Our analysis indicates that firms which expend higher levels of effort on worker development and functional integration strategies will achieve higher levels of time-based flexibility.