OD Interventions: An Overview

What is OD intervention? How does OD consultant help? Types of OD interventions OD intervention strategies Impact of OD interventions

What is OD Intervention?
Sets of structured activities in which selected organizational units engage in a task or sequence of tasks with the goals of organizational improvement and individual development.

How does OD Consultant help?

OD Consultant brings in A set of values; A set of assumptions about people, organizations and inter-personal relations; A set of goals for the practitioners and the organization and its members; A set of structured activities that are the means for achieving the values assumptions and goals.

Types of OD Interventions
Discrepancy interventions: contradictions in actions and attitudes lead to exploration and change Theory interventions: behavioural science knowledge and theories are used to explain current behaviour at the workplace and set agenda for change Procedural interventions: critiquing procedures to determine whether the best methods are being used

Types of OD Interventions
Relationship interventions: examining strong/negative feelings about each other at the workplace and exploring possible resolution of the inter-personal issues Experimentation interventions: two different action plans are tested for their consequences before a final decision on one is made Dilemma interventions: an imposed or emergent dilemma is used to force close examination of the possible choices

Types of OD Interventions
Perspective interventions: use of historical data, context and future objectives in order to assess whether or not the actions are still on target Organization structure interventions: examination/evaluation of structural causes of organizational ineffectiveness followed by corrective measures Cultural interventions: examination of organizational culture followed by corrective measures

OD intervention strategies
Involvement of relevant people or those affected by problems/opportunities Problem/opportunity orientation Goal and strategic clarity Attainability of tasks Use of experience-based as well as conceptual learning

OD intervention strategies
Nurturing conducive climate for interventions Nurturing an enabling environment where participants learn how to learn while learning how to solve problems Focus on tasks as well as processes Integration of the whole person with the organization

Impact of OD interventions
Feedback Awareness of changing socio-cultural norms or dysfunctional current norms Increased interaction and communication Confrontation Education Participation Increased accountability Increased energy and optimism