© Pixmann/Imagezoo/

Getty Images

9
Evaluating and Institutionalizing
Organization Development Interventions

learning Illustrate the research design and measurement issues associated with
objectives evaluating organization development (OD) interventions.
Explain the key elements in the process of institutionalizing OD
interventions.

T
his chapter focuses on the final stage of the results of successful change programs persist
organization development cycle—evaluation over time.
and institutionalization. Evaluation is con- Evaluation processes consider both the
cerned with providing feedback to practitioners implementation success of the intended intervention
and organization members about the progress and and the long-term results it produces. Two key
impact of interventions. Such information may sug- aspects of effective evaluation are measurement
gest the need for further diagnosis and modification and research design. The persistence of intervention
of the change program, or it may show that the effects is examined in a framework showing the
intervention is successful. Institutionalization is a organization characteristics, intervention dimensions,
process for maintaining a particular change for an and processes contributing to institutionalization of
appropriate period of time. It ensures that the OD interventions in organizations.

9-1 Evaluating Organization Development

Interventions
Assessing OD interventions involves judgments about whether an intervention has been
implemented as intended and, if so, whether it is having desired results. Managers
investing resources in OD efforts increasingly are being held accountable for results—
being asked to justify the expenditures in terms of hard, bottom-line outcomes. More
and more, managers are asking for rigorous assessment of OD interventions and are
using the results to make important resource allocation decisions about OD, such as
whether to continue to support the change program, to modify or alter it, or to terminate
it and try something else.
Traditionally, OD evaluation has been discussed as something that occurs after the
intervention. Chapters 10 through 20, for example, present evaluative research about
the interventions after discussions of the respective change programs. That view can be
207
208 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

misleading, however. Decisions about the measurement of relevant variables and the
design of the evaluation process should be made early in the OD cycle so that evaluation
choices can be integrated with intervention decisions.
There are two distinct types of OD evaluation: one intended to guide the implemen-
tation of interventions and another to assess their overall impact. The key issues in eval-
uation are measurement and research design.

9-1a Implementation and Evaluation Feedback

Most discussions and applications of OD evaluation imply that evaluation is something
done after intervention. It is typically argued that once the intervention is implemented,
it should be evaluated to discover whether it is producing the intended effects. For exam-
ple, it might be expected that a job enrichment program would lead to higher employee
satisfaction and performance. After implementing job enrichment, evaluation would
involve assessing whether these positive results indeed did occur. This after-
implementation view of evaluation is only partially correct. It assumes that interventions
have been implemented as intended and that the key purpose of evaluation is to assess
their effects. However, in many, if not most, organization development programs, imple-
menting interventions cannot be taken for granted.1 Most OD interventions require sig-
nificant changes in people’s behaviors and ways of thinking about organizations, but they
typically offer only broad prescriptions for how such changes are to occur. For example,
job enrichment (see Chapter 14) calls for adding discretion, variety, and meaningful
feedback to people’s jobs. Implementing such changes requires considerable learning
and experimentation as employees and managers discover how to translate these general
prescriptions into specific behaviors and procedures. This learning process involves
much trial and error and needs to be guided by information about whether behaviors
and procedures are being changed as intended.2 Consequently, we should expand our
view of evaluation to include both during-implementation assessments about if and how
well changes are actually being implemented and after-implementation evaluation of
whether they are producing expected results.
Both kinds of evaluation provide organization members with feedback about interven-
tions. Evaluation aimed at guiding implementation may be called implementation feedback,
and assessment intended to discover intervention outcomes may be called evaluation feed-
back. Figure 9.1 shows how the two kinds of feedback fit with the diagnostic and interven-
tion stages of OD. The application of OD to a particular organization starts with a
thorough diagnosis of the situation (Chapters 5 and 6), which helps identify particular
organizational problems, areas for improvement, or strengths to leverage as well as the
likely drivers underlying them. Next, from an array of possible interventions (Chapters 10
through 20), one or some set is chosen as a means of improving the organization. The
choice is based on knowledge linking interventions to diagnosis (Chapter 7) and change
management (Chapter 8).
In most cases, the chosen intervention provides only general guidelines for organiza-
tional change, leaving managers and employees with the task of translating those guide-
lines into specific behaviors and procedures. Implementation feedback informs this
process by supplying data about the different features of the intervention itself, percep-
tions of the people involved, and data about the immediate effects of the intervention.
These data, collected repeatedly and at short intervals, provide a series of snapshots
about how the intervention is progressing. Organization members can use this informa-
tion, first, to gain a clearer understanding of the intervention (the kinds of behaviors and
procedures required to implement it) and, second, to plan for the next implementation
 CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 209

FIGURE 9.1
Implementation and Evaluation Feedback

© Cengage Learning
steps. This feedback cycle might proceed for several rounds, with each round providing
members with knowledge about the intervention and ideas for the next stage of
implementation.
Once implementation feedback informs organization members that the intervention
is sufficiently in place and accepted, evaluation feedback begins. In contrast to imple-
mentation feedback, it is concerned with the overall impact of the intervention and
with whether resources should continue to be allocated to it or to other possible inter-
ventions. Evaluation feedback takes longer to gather and interpret than does implemen-
tation feedback. It typically includes a broad array of outcome measures, such as
performance, job satisfaction, productivity, and turnover. Negative results on these mea-
sures tell members either that the initial diagnosis was seriously flawed or that the wrong
intervention was chosen. Such feedback might prompt additional diagnosis and a search
for a more effective intervention. Positive results, on the other hand, tell members that
the intervention produced expected outcomes and might prompt a search for ways to
institutionalize the changes, making them a permanent part of the organization’s normal
functioning.
An example of a job enrichment intervention helps to clarify the OD stages and
feedback linkages shown in Figure 9.1. Suppose the initial diagnosis reveals that
employee performance and satisfaction are low and that jobs being overly structured
and routinized are an underlying cause of this problem. An inspection of alternative
interventions to improve productivity and satisfaction suggests that job enrichment
might be applicable for this situation. Existing job enrichment theory proposes that
increasing employee discretion, task variety, and feedback can lead to improvements in
work quality and attitudes and that this job design and outcome linkage is especially
strong for employees who have growth needs—needs for challenge, autonomy, and
development. Initial diagnosis suggests that most of the employees have high growth
210 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

needs and that the existing job designs prevent the fulfillment of these needs. Therefore,
job enrichment seems particularly suited to this situation.
Managers and employees now start to translate the general prescriptions offered by
job enrichment theory into specific behaviors and procedures. At this stage, the interven-
tion is relatively broad and must be tailored to fit the specific situation. To implement
the intervention, employees might decide on the following organizational changes: job
discretion can be increased through more participatory styles of supervision; task variety
can be enhanced by allowing employees to inspect their job outputs; and feedback can be
made more meaningful by providing employees with quicker and more specific informa-
tion about their performances.
After three months of trying to implement these changes, the members use imple-
mentation feedback to see how the intervention is progressing. Questionnaires and
interviews (similar to those used in diagnosis) are administered to measure the differ-
ent features of job enrichment (discretion, variety, and feedback) and to assess employ-
ees’ reactions to and understanding of the changes. Company records are analyzed to
show the short-term effects on productivity of the intervention. The data reveal that
productivity and satisfaction have changed very little since the initial diagnosis.
Employee perceptions of job discretion and feedback also have shown negligible
change and employees seem confused about the expectations of managers, but percep-
tions of task variety have shown significant improvement. In-depth discussion and
analysis of this first round of implementation feedback help supervisors gain a better
feel for the kinds of behaviors needed to move toward a participatory leadership style.
This greater clarification of one feature of the intervention leads to a decision to
involve the supervisors in leadership training to develop the skills and knowledge
needed to lead participatively. A decision also is made to make job feedback more
meaningful by translating such data into simple bar graphs, rather than continuing to
provide voluminous statistical reports.
After these modifications have been in effect for about three months, members gather
a second round of implementation feedback to see how the intervention is progressing.
The data now show that productivity and satisfaction have moved moderately higher
than in the first round of feedback and that employee perceptions of task variety and feed-
back are both high. Employee perceptions of discretion, however, remain relatively low.
Members conclude that the variety and feedback dimensions of job enrichment are suffi-
ciently implemented but that the discretion component needs further improvement. They
decide to put more effort into supervisory training and to ask OD practitioners to provide
counseling and coaching to supervisors about their leadership styles.
After four more months, a third round of implementation feedback is sought. The
data now show that satisfaction and performance are significantly higher than in the first
round of feedback and moderately higher than in the second round. The data also show
that discretion, variety, and feedback are all high, suggesting that the job enrichment
intervention has been successfully implemented. Now evaluation feedback is used to
assess the overall effectiveness of the program.
The evaluation feedback includes all the data from the satisfaction and performance
measures used in the implementation feedback. Because both the immediate and broader
effects of the intervention are being evaluated, additional outcomes are examined, such
as employee absenteeism, maintenance costs, and reactions of other organizational units
not included in job enrichment. The full array of evaluation data might suggest that after
one year from the start of implementation, the job enrichment program is having the
expected effects and thus should be continued and made more permanent.
CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 211

9-1b Measurement
Providing useful implementation and evaluation feedback involves two activities: select-
ing the appropriate variables and designing good measures of them.

Selecting Appropriate Variables Ideally, the variables measured in OD evaluation

should derive from the theory or conceptual model underlying the intervention. The
model should incorporate the key features of the intervention as well as its expected
results. The general diagnostic models described in Chapter 5 meet this criterion, as do
the more specific models introduced in Chapters 10 through 20. For example, the job-
level diagnostic model described in Chapter 5 proposes several major features of work:
task variety, feedback, and autonomy. The theory argues that high levels of these ele-
ments can be expected to result in high levels of work quality and satisfaction. In addi-
tion, as we shall see in Chapter 14, the strength of this relationship varies with the degree
of employee growth needs: the higher the need, the more that job enrichment produces
positive results.
The job-level diagnostic model suggests a number of measurement variables for
implementation and evaluation feedback. Whether the intervention is being implemen-
ted could be assessed by determining how many job descriptions have been rewritten to
include more responsibility or how many organization members have received cross-
training in other job skills. Evaluation of the immediate and long-term impact of job
enrichment would include measures of employee performance and satisfaction over
time. Again, these measures would likely be included in the initial diagnosis, when the
company’s problems or areas for improvement are discovered.
Measuring both intervention and outcome variables is necessary for implementation
and evaluation feedback. Unfortunately, there has been a tendency in OD to measure
only outcome variables while neglecting intervention variables altogether.3 It generally
is assumed that the intervention has been implemented, and attention, therefore, is
directed to its impact on such organizational outcomes as performance, absenteeism,
and satisfaction. As argued earlier, implementing OD interventions generally takes con-
siderable time and learning. It must be empirically determined that the intervention has
been implemented; it cannot simply be assumed. Implementation feedback serves this
purpose, guiding the implementation process and helping to interpret outcome data.
Outcome measures are ambiguous without knowledge of how well the intervention has
been implemented. For example, a negligible change in measures of performance and
satisfaction could mean that the wrong intervention has been chosen, that the correct
intervention has not been implemented effectively, or that the wrong variables have
been measured. Measurement of the intervention variables helps determine the correct
interpretation of outcome measures.
As suggested above, the selection of intervention variables to be measured should
derive from the conceptual framework underlying the OD intervention. OD research and
theory increasingly have come to identify specific organizational changes needed to imple-
ment particular interventions (much of that information is discussed in Chapters 10
through 20). These variables should guide not only implementation of the intervention
but also choices about what change variables to measure for evaluative purposes. Addi-
tional sources of knowledge about intervention variables can be found in the numerous
references at the end of each of the chapters on intervention in this book and in several
of the books in the Wiley Series on Organizational Assessment and Change.4
The choice of what outcome variables to measure also should be dictated by inter-
vention theory, which specifies the kinds of results that can be expected from particular
212 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

change programs. Again, the material in this book and elsewhere identifies numerous
outcome measures, such as job satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, organizational commit-
ment, absenteeism, turnover, and productivity.
Historically, OD assessment has focused on attitudinal outcomes, such as job satisfac-
tion, while neglecting hard measures, such as performance. Increasingly, however, managers
and researchers are calling for development of behavioral measures of OD outcomes. Man-
agers are interested primarily in applying OD to change work-related behaviors that involve
joining, remaining, and producing at work, and are assessing OD more frequently in terms
of such bottom-line results. Macy and Mirvis have done extensive research to develop a
standardized set of behavioral outcomes for assessing and comparing intervention results.5
Table 9.1 lists 11 outcomes, including their behavioral definitions and recording categories.
The outcomes are in two broad categories: participation-membership, including absentee-
ism, tardiness, turnover, internal employment stability, and strikes and work stoppages;
and performance on the job, including productivity, quality, grievances, accidents, unsched-
uled machine downtime and repair, material and supply overuse, and inventory shrinkage.
All of the outcomes should be important to most managers, and they represent generic
descriptions that can be adapted to both industrial and service organizations.

Designing Good Measures Each of the measurement methods described in

Chapter 6—questionnaires, interviews, observations, and unobtrusive measures—has
advantages and disadvantages. Many of these characteristics are linked to the extent
to which a measurement is operationally defined, reliable, and valid. These assessment
characteristics are discussed below.
Operational Definition. A good measure is operationally defined; that is, it specifies
the empirical data needed, how they will be collected and, most important, how they
will be converted from data to information. For example, Macy and Mirvis developed
operational definitions for the behavioral outcomes listed in Table 9.1 (see Table 9.2).6
They consist of specific computational rules that can be used to construct measures for
each of the behaviors. Most of the behaviors are reported as rates adjusted for the num-
ber of employees in the organization and for the possible incidents of behavior. These
adjustments make it possible to compare the measures across different situations and
time periods. These operational definitions should have wide applicability across both
industrial and service organizations, although some modifications, deletions, and addi-
tions may be necessary for a particular application.
Operational definitions are extremely important in measurement because they pro-
vide precise guidelines about what characteristics of the situation are to be observed and
how they are to be used. They tell OD practitioners and organization members exactly
how diagnostic, intervention, and outcome variables will be measured.
Reliability. Reliability concerns the extent to which a measure represents the “true”
value of a variable—that is, how accurately the operational definition translates data
into information. For example, there is little doubt about the accuracy of the number of
cars leaving an assembly line as a measure of plant productivity. Although it is possible
to miscount, there can be a high degree of confidence in the measurement. On the other
hand, when people are asked to rate their level of job satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 5,
there is considerable room for variation in their response. They may just have had an
argument with their supervisor, suffered an accident on the job, been rewarded for high
levels of productivity, or been given new responsibilities. Each of these events can sway
the response to the question on any given day. The individuals’ “true” satisfaction score
is difficult to discern from this one question and the measure lacks reliability.7
 CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 213

TABLE 9.1
Behavioral Outcomes for Measuring OD Interventions: Definitions and Recording Categories

Behavioral Definitions Recording Categories

Absenteeism: each absence or illness Voluntary: short-term illness (less than three consecutive days),
over four hours personal business, family illness
Involuntary: long-term illness (more than three consecutive days),
funerals, out-of-plant accidents, lack of work (temporary layoff),
presanctioned days off
Leaves: medical, personal, maternity, military, and other (e.g., jury duty)
Tardiness: each absence or illness Voluntary: same as absenteeism
under four hours Involuntary: same as absenteeism
Turnover: each movement beyond the Voluntary: resignation
organizational boundary Involuntary: termination, disqualification, requested resignation,
permanent layoff, retirement, disability, death
Internal employment stability: each move- Internal movement: transfer, promotion, promotion with transfer
ment within the organizational boundary Internal stability: new hires, layoffs, rehires
Strikes and work stoppages: each day lost Sanctioned: union-authorized strike, company-authorized lockout
as a result of strike or work stoppage Unsanctioned: work slowdown, walkout, sitdown
Accidents and work-related illness: each Major: OSHA accident, illness, or death which results in medical
recordable injury, illness, or death treatment by a physician or registered professional person
from a work-related accident or from understanding orders from a physician
exposure to the work environment Minor: non-OSHA accident or illness which results in one-time treat-
ment and subsequent observation not requiring professional care
Revisits: OSHA and non-OSHA accident or illness which requires
subsequent treatment and observation
Grievances: written grievance in Stage: recorded by step (first through arbitration)
accordance with labor–management
contract
Productivity:* resources used in Output: product or service quantity (units or $)
production of acceptable outputs Input: direct and/or indirect (labor in hours or $)
(comparison of inputs with outputs)
Production quality: resources used in Resource utilized: scrap (unacceptable in-plant products in units
production of unacceptable outputs or $); customer returns (unacceptable out-of-plant products in
units or $); recoveries (salvageable products in units or $);
rework (additional direct and/or indirect labor in hours or $)
Downtime: unscheduled breakdown of Downtime: duration of breakdown (hours or $)
machinery Machine repair: nonpreventive maintenance ($)
Inventory, material, and supply variance: Variance: over- or under-utilization of supplies, materials,
unscheduled resource utilization inventory (resulting from theft, inefficiency, and so on)

*Reports only labor inputs.

SOURCE: B. Macy and P. Mirvis, “Organizational Change Efforts: Methodologies for Assessing Organizational Effectiveness and
Program Costs Versus Benefits,” Evaluation Review 6, pp. 306–10. © 1982 by Sage Publications, Inc. Reprinted by permission
of Sage Publications, Inc.
214 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

TABLE 9.2
Behavioral Outcomes for Measuring OD Interventions: Measures and Computational Formula

Behavioral Measure* Computational Formula

Absenteeism rate** (monthly) ∑ Absence days
Average workforce size Working days
Tardiness rate** (monthly) ∑ Tardiness incidents
Average workforce size Working days
Turnover rate (monthly) ∑ Turnover incidents
Average workforce size
Internal stability rate (monthly) ∑ Internal movement incidents
Average workforce size
Strike rate (yearly) ∑ Striking Workers Strike days
Average workforce size Working days
Accident rate (yearly) ∑ of Accidents illnesses
200,000***
Total yearly hours worked
Grievance rate (yearly) ∑ Grievance incidents
Plant: Average workforce size
∑ Aggrieved individuals
Individual:
Average workforce size
Productivity:**** Output of goods or services units or $
Total Direct and or indirect labor hours or $
Below standard Actual versus engineered standard
Below budget Actual versus budgeted standard
Variance Actual versus budgeted variance
Per employee Output/average workforce size
Quality:****
Total Scrap Customer returns Rework Recoveries ($, units, or hours)
Below standard Actual versus engineered standard
Below budget Actual versus budgeted standard
Variance Actual versus budgeted variance
Per employee Total/average workforce size

Downtime Labor ($) Repair costs or dollar value of replaced equipment ($)
Inventory, supply, and material usage Variance (actual versus standard utilization) ($)

*All measures reflect the number of incidents divided by an exposure factor that represents the number of employees in the
organization and the possible incidents of behavior (e.g., for absenteeism, the average workforce size × the number of working
days). Mean monthly rates (i.e., absences per workday) are computed and averaged for absenteeism, leaves, and tardiness for
a yearly figure and summed for turnover, grievances, and internal employment stability for a yearly figure. The term rate refers
to the number of incidents per unit of employee exposure to the risk of such incidences during the analysis interval.
**Sometimes combined as number of hours missing/average workforce size × working days.
***Base for 100 full-time equivalent workers (40 hours × 50 weeks).
****Monetary valuations can be expressed in labor dollars, actual dollar costs, sales dollars; overtime dollar valuations can be
adjusted to base year dollars to control for salary, raw material, and price increases.
SOURCE: B. Macy and P. Mirvis, “Organizational Change Efforts: Methodologies for Assessing Organizational Effectiveness and
Program Costs Versus Benefits,” Evaluation Review 6, pp. 306–10. © 1982 by Sage Publications, Inc. Reprinted by permission
of Sage Publications, Inc.
CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 215

OD practitioners can improve the reliability of their measures in four ways. First,
rigorously and operationally define the chosen variables. Clearly specified operational
definitions contribute to reliability by explicitly describing how collected data will be
converted into information about a variable. An explicit description helps to allay the
organization’s concerns about how the information was collected and coded.
Second, use multiple methods to measure a particular variable. As discussed in
Chapter 6, the use of questionnaires, interviews, observations, and unobtrusive measures
can improve reliability and result in a more comprehensive understanding of the organi-
zation. Because each method contains inherent biases, several different methods can be
used to triangulate on dimensions of organizational issues. If the independent measures
converge or show consistent results, the dimensions or problems likely have been diag-
nosed accurately.8
Third, use multiple items to measure the same variable on a questionnaire. For exam-
ple, in Hackman and Oldham’s Job Diagnostic Survey for measuring job characteristics
(Chapter 14), the intervention variable “autonomy” is operationally defined by the average
of respondents’ answers to the following three questions (measured on a 7-point scale):9
1. The job permits me to decide on my own how to go about doing the work.
2. The job denies me any chance to use my personal initiative or judgment in carrying
out the work. [reverse scored]
3. The job gives me considerable opportunity for independence and freedom in how
I do the work.
By asking more than one question about “autonomy,” the survey increases the accuracy
of its measurement of this variable. Statistical analyses (called psychometric tests) are
readily available for assessing the reliability of perceptual measures, and OD practitioners
should apply these methods or seek assistance from those who can apply them.10 Similarly,
there are methods for analyzing the content of interview and observational data, and
OD evaluators can use these methods to categorize such information so that it can be
understood and replicated.11
Fourth, use standardized instruments. A growing number of standardized question-
naires are available for measuring OD intervention and outcome variables. For example,
the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California (http://ceo
.usc.edu) and the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan (http://home
.isr.umich.edu) have developed comprehensive survey instruments to measure the features
of many of the OD interventions described in this book, as well as their attitudinal out-
comes.12 Considerable research and testing have gone into establishing measures that are
reliable and valid. These survey instruments can be used for initial diagnosis, for guiding
implementation of interventions, and for evaluating immediate and long-term outcomes.
Validity. Validity concerns the extent to which a measure actually reflects the variable it
is intended to measure. For example, the number of cars leaving an assembly line might be
a reliable measure of plant productivity, but it may not be a valid measure. The number of
cars is only one aspect of productivity; they may have been produced at an unacceptably
high cost or at exceptionally low quality. Because the number of cars does not account for
cost and quality, it is not a completely valid measure of plant productivity.
OD practitioners can increase the validity of their measures in several ways. First,
ask colleagues and organization members if a proposed measure actually represents a
particular variable. This is called face validity or content validity. If experts and members
agree that the measure reflects the variable of interest, then there is increased confidence
in the measure’s validity. Second, use multiple measures of the same variable, as
216 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

described in the section about reliability, to make preliminary assessments of the mea-
sure’s criterion or convergent validity. That is, if several different measures of the same
variable correlate highly with each other, especially if one or more of the other measures
have been validated in prior research, then there is increased confidence in the measure’s
validity. A special case of criterion validity, called discriminant validity, exists when the
proposed measure does not correlate with measures that it is not supposed to correlate
with. For example, there is no good reason for daily measures of assembly line produc-
tivity to correlate with daily air temperature. The lack of a correlation would be one indi-
cator that the number of cars is measuring productivity and not some other variable.
Finally, predictive validity is demonstrated when the variable of interest accurately fore-
casts another variable over time. For example, a measure of team cohesion can be said to
be valid if it accurately predicts improvements in team performance in the future.
It is difficult, however, to establish the validity of a measure until it has been used.
To address this concern, OD practitioners should make heavy use of content validity
processes and use measures that already have been validated. For example, presenting
proposed measures to colleagues and organization members for evaluation prior to mea-
surement has several positive effects: It builds ownership and commitment to the data
collection process and improves the likelihood that the client system will find the data
meaningful. Using measures that have been validated through prior research improves
confidence in the results and provides a standard that can be used to validate any new
measures used in collecting the data.

9-1c Research Design

In addition to measurement, OD practitioners must make choices about how to design
the evaluation to achieve valid results. The key issue is how to design the assessment to
show whether the intervention did in fact produce the observed results. This is called
internal validity. The secondary question of whether the intervention would work simi-
larly in other situations is referred to as external validity. External validity is irrelevant
without first establishing an intervention’s primary effectiveness, so internal validity is
the essential minimum requirement for assessing OD interventions. Unless managers
can have confidence that the outcomes are the result of the intervention, they have no
rational basis for making decisions about accountability and resource allocation.
Assessing the internal validity of an intervention is, in effect, testing a hypothesis—
namely, that specific organizational changes lead to certain outcomes. Moreover, testing
the validity of an intervention hypothesis means that alternative hypotheses or explana-
tions of the results must be rejected. That is, to claim that an intervention is successful, it
is necessary to demonstrate that other explanations—in the form of rival hypotheses—do
not account for the observed results. For example, if a job enrichment program appears
to increase employee performance, such other possible explanations as new technology,
improved raw materials, or new employees must be eliminated.
Accounting for rival explanations is not a precise, controlled, experimental process
such as might be found in a research laboratory.13 OD interventions often have a number
of features that make it difficult to determine whether they produced the observed results.
They are complex and often involve several interrelated changes that obscure whether indi-
vidual features or combinations of features are accounting for the results. Many OD inter-
ventions are long-term projects and take considerable time to produce desired outcomes.
The longer the time period of the change program, the greater are the chances that other
factors, such as technology improvements, will emerge to affect the results. Finally, OD
interventions usually are applied to existing work units rather than to randomized groups
 CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 217

of organization members. Ruling out alternative explanations associated with randomly

selected intervention and comparison groups is, therefore, difficult.
Given the problems inherent in assessing OD interventions, practitioners have
turned to quasi-experimental research designs.14 These designs are not as rigorous and
controlled as are randomized experimental designs, but they allow evaluators to rule
out many rival explanations for OD results other than the intervention itself. Although
several quasi-experimental designs are available, those with the following three features
are particularly powerful for assessing changes:
1. Longitudinal measurement. This involves measuring results repeatedly over rela-
tively long time periods. Ideally, the data collection should start before the change
program is implemented and continue for a period considered reasonable for pro-
ducing expected results.
2. Comparison unit. It is always desirable to compare results in the intervention situ-
ation with those in another situation where no such change has taken place.
Although it is never possible to get a matching group identical to the intervention
group, most organizations include a number of similar work units that can be used
for comparison purposes.
3. Statistical analysis. Whenever possible, statistical methods should be used to rule
out the possibility that the results are caused by random error or chance. Various
statistical techniques are applicable to quasi-experimental designs, and OD practi-
tioners should apply these methods or seek help from those who can apply them.
Table 9.3 provides an example of a quasi-experimental design having these three fea-
tures. The intervention is intended to reduce employee absenteeism. Measures of absentee-
ism are taken from company monthly records for both the intervention and comparison
groups. The two groups are similar yet geographically separate subsidiaries of a multiplant
company. Table 9.3 shows each plant’s monthly absenteeism rate for four consecutive
months both before and after the start of the intervention. The plant receiving the inter-
vention shows a marked decrease in absenteeism in the months following the intervention,
whereas the control plant shows comparable levels of absenteeism in both time periods.
Statistical analyses of these data suggest that the abrupt downward shift in absenteeism fol-
lowing the intervention was not attributable to chance variation. This research design and
the data provide relatively strong evidence that the intervention was successful.
Quasi-experimental research designs using longitudinal data, comparison groups,
and statistical analysis permit reasonable assessments of intervention effectiveness.
Repeated measures often can be collected from company records without directly involv-
ing members of the experimental and comparison groups. These unobtrusive measures
are especially useful in OD assessment because they do not interact with the intervention

TABLE 9.3
Quasi-Experimental Research Design

Monthly Absenteeism (%)

Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.

© Cengage Learning

Intervention group 5.1 5.3 5.0 5.1 Start of intervention 4.6 4.0 3.9 3.5
Comparison group 2.5 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.5
218 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

and affect the results. Measures that are more obtrusive, such as questionnaires and
interviews, are reactive and can sensitize people to the intervention. When this happens,
it is difficult to know whether the observed findings are the result of the intervention, the
measuring methods, or some combination of both.
Multiple measures of intervention and outcome variables should be applied to mini-
mize measurement and intervention interactions. For example, obtrusive measures such
as questionnaires could be used sparingly, perhaps once before and once after the inter-
vention. Unobtrusive measures, such as the behavioral outcomes shown in Tables 9.1
and 9.2, could be used repeatedly, thus providing a more extensive time series than the
questionnaires. When used together, the two kinds of measures should produce accurate
and nonreactive evaluations of the intervention.
The use of multiple measures also is important in assessing perceptual changes result-
ing from interventions. Considerable research has identified three types of change—alpha,
beta, and gamma—that occur when using self-report, perceptual measures.15
Alpha change refers to movement along a measure that reflects stable dimensions of
reality. For example, comparative measures of perceived employee discretion might show
an increase after a job enrichment program. If this increase represents alpha change, it
can be assumed that the job enrichment program actually increased employee percep-
tions of discretion.
Beta change involves the recalibration of the intervals along some constant measure
of reality. For example, before-and-after measures of perceived employee discretion can
decrease after a job enrichment program. If beta change is involved, it can explain this
apparent failure of the intervention to increase discretion. The first measure of discretion
may accurately reflect the individual’s belief about the ability to move around and talk to
fellow workers in the immediate work area. During implementation of the job enrich-
ment intervention, however, the employee may learn that the ability to move around is
not limited to the immediate work area. At a second measurement of discretion, the
employee, using this new and recalibrated understanding, may rate the current level of
discretion as lower than before.
Gamma change involves fundamentally redefining the measure as a result of an OD
intervention. In essence, the framework within which a phenomenon is viewed changes.
For example, the presence of gamma change would make it difficult to compare mea-
sures of employee discretion taken before and after a job enrichment program. The mea-
sure taken after the intervention might use the same words, but they represent an
entirely different concept. As described above, the term “discretion” may originally refer
to the ability to move about the department and interact with other workers. After the
intervention, discretion might be defined in terms of the ability to make decisions about
work rules, work schedules, and productivity levels. In sum, the job enrichment interven-
tion changed the way discretion is perceived and how it is evaluated.
These three types of change apply to perceptual measures. When changes other than
alpha ones occur, interpreting measurement changes becomes far more difficult. Potent
OD interventions may produce both beta and gamma changes, and this severely compli-
cates interpretations of findings reporting change or no change. Further, the distinctions
among the three different types of change suggest that the heavy reliance on question-
naires, so often cited in the literature, should be balanced by using other measures,
such as interviews and unobtrusive records. Analytical methods have been developed to
assess the three kinds of change, and OD practitioners should gain familiarity with these
recent techniques.16
Application 9.1 describes the implementation and evaluation feedback that were
developed for the Alegent Health project. It is a good example of how data can be used
 CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 219

EVALUATING CHANGE AT ALEGENT HEALTH

application 9 1

I
n July and August of 2005, Alegent Health of business planning following the DAs. Senior
(AH) conducted six large group interventions management, all of whom had participated in the
or “decision accelerators” (DAs) to generate original six DAs, drove this process and were quite
innovative strategies for its six clinical ser- clear about the resulting priorities and initiatives.
vice areas. Researchers at USC’s Center for This clarity, however, was not widely shared by
Effective Organizations contracted with AH to the hospital COOs, many physicians, and many
assess the impact of the interventions and to operational managers. This resulted in a percep-
help the organization learn how to leverage fur- tion of a strong connection between strategy for-
ther change. The applications in Chapter 4 mulation and implementation at the top of the
described how the researchers entered and organization, but a weak perception in the middle
contracted with the organization, and Applica- of the organization. Managers and nurses felt
tion 6.1 described the data collection and anal- overwhelmed—they heard about change with lit-
ysis process. In this application, we describe tle context, and believed that the speed of change
the implementation and evaluation feedback was slower rather than faster because “every-
the researchers generated. thing was important.” Similarly, many physicians
In terms of implementation feedback, the who were energized by the DAs wanted to know
collected data described perceptions of change “where’s the change?” While exceptions to this
progress and employee involvement. For exam- observation did exist, there was a general sense
ple, executive interviews and surveys from peo- that senior managers were more involved and
ple who participated in “review DAs” to reflect on saw more change than others saw.
implementation progress and plan future changes Second, the absence of formal change-
supported a positive assessment of overall prog- management processes made important
ress. People generally agreed that the implemen- resource allocation decisions, trade-offs on tech-
tation of the clinical strategies was going well. nology, and coordination of quality processes
They were positive about the social capital that across the system more difficult. There was no
had been created by the DAs, especially between visible mechanism, for example, to decide how
administrators and physicians, as well as the evi- quality programs should be rolled out or where
dence of culture change. Nearly everyone in the to pilot electronic medical record systems. The
organization believed that the clinical strategies lack of formal change-management systems
were the “right thing to do.” In contrast to these (action plans, governance mechanisms, learning
positive findings, there was some concern about practices) following the DAs was related to some
feeling involved in the change. feelings among all stakeholder groups that
That is, the DAs were a great energizer for change was slow in coming and overwhelming
the organization, generated comprehensive when it did come. Most people correctly viewed
strategies, and catalyzed important changes. the strategies created by the DAs as high-level
However, the data also contained some reserva- plans providing general direction. However, the
tions about the organization’s ability to leverage process for developing action plans and imple-
the changes. As described in Application 6.1, mentation activities was not visible to many peo-
the implementation approaches were mostly ple. Ad hoc change systems emerged based on
informal; the organization was afraid that too the nature of the strategy implementation activi-
many dedicated change processes and systems ties and these helped to focus attention and
might slow down the change process. The data resources. Interestingly, these systems all started
revealed a more complex set of issues. to emerge about one year after the original DAs.
First, executives and some physicians under- Based on these implementation data, and the
stood the roles, decisions, and processes related data presented in Application 6.1 about how the
to implementation more than operational man- DA needed to evolve, the researchers recom-
agers and other physicians. The six clinical ser- mended (1) creating different versions of the DA
vices areas studied described an intense period to address different issues and (2) formalizing
220 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

some change processes so that the resourcing, exe- other hand, when the DA had a high concentration
cution, and communication of change were more of community participants, the vision was more
coordinated. However, their overall recommendation comprehensive. These results were reflected in
was to continue using the DA for strategy formulation the survey data as well. The percentage of commu-
and visioning, as well as tactical and implementation- nity participants was positively related to percep-
oriented issues. tions that the strategy was more innovative but
In terms of evaluation feedback, the analysis of less aggressive and business oriented. The concen-
the activities described in the DA reports provided tration of physicians in the DA tended to have oppo-
some important conclusions. For example, the com- site relationships with the strategy dimensions.
position of the DAs, or the mix of AH managers and When these data were fed back to the organi-
staff, physicians, community members, and other zation, the researchers specifically pointed out that
stakeholders, affected the processes and out- these findings did not suggest that it was wrong to
comes. First, in DAs where there was a higher pro- involve physicians or that a higher percentage of
portion of physicians, there was a narrower range of community members was better. To the contrary,
stakeholder participation and an increased likelihood the fundamental assumption of DA interventions
that the group would deviate from the agenda. In was that a broader mix of stakeholders contributes
addition, there was a weak relationship between to a better solution. These data did suggest that
higher percentages of community participants and not all stakeholder groups are created equal. Too
all DA processes. That is, when the DA had more many of any type of stakeholder group may lead
community participants, there was broader partici- to lopsided discussions and sway the agenda. In
pation in the discussions, the debates were more several of the DAs, for example, almost half of
intense, and the DA stayed on track. the participants were physicians, making it likely
Second, the composition of the DA had differ- that this constituency would disproportionately
ential impacts on the outcomes of meeting. When impact the flow of the meeting.
the DA had a high percentage of physicians, the The table below summarizes many of the find-
resulting vision was less comprehensive. On the ings from the Alegent project.

Evaluation Question Data

• Does Alegent’s strategy, purpose, and – Yes—Many powerful internal and external forces are
organization support change? pushing for and supporting change
• How effective were the original six – Very effective—The DAs generated a lot of energy for
DAs in achieving intended outcomes? change, healed physician relationships, and utilized good
thinking
• What DA characteristics made a – The DA’s composition was an important influence on its
difference? processes and outcomes
• How do executives and managers char- – Comprehensive, somewhat innovative, and business-
acterize the service-line strategies? oriented
• Are they similar or different? – Managers are more positive than executives
• How is the implementation process – Informally—As a result, people feel overwhelmed by
being orchestrated? change
• What processes, structure, and roles – Few—People agree there is change capacity but want
have been put in place to make the more involvement and action
strategies a reality?
• How is the implementation going? – Generally positive attributions
• Is there evidence that implementation is – While uncertainty exists, there are many shared sug-
likely to produce desired outcomes? gestions for moving forward and commitment is high
 CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 221

Overall, the researchers concluded that: physicians. Finally, there was broad agreement
1. There was a demonstrable and palpable that the DA process represented a visible and
change in a variety of organization features tangible effort to address physician relation-
that if not directly tied to the DA were certainly ships and clearly moved those relationships
hastened by it. A large number of specific stra- in a positive direction.
tegic, operational, and practice-oriented 2. The organization’s initial use of the DA process
changes connected with each clinical area as a strategic visioning intervention persists
had been implemented relatively quickly. In in the minds of most organization members.
addition, there was substantial agreement Alegent Health can productively apply the
that the culture was changing, as evidenced technology and principles to other, more
by new language, regular and extensive use implementation-oriented issues. On the other
of DAs, collaborative decision making, open- hand, DAs cannot do everything, and comple-
ness to innovation, confidence in leadership, mentary governance and implementation pro-
and openness to joint ventures with the cesses are necessary.

to guide current implementation and evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention. But

the evaluation is not perfect. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the assessment?
How could it have been improved? How much confidence do you have in the lessons
learned from this organization?

9-2 Institutionalizing Organizational Changes

Once it is determined that changes have been implemented and are effective, attention is
directed at institutionalizing the changes—maintaining them as a normal part of the
organization’s functioning for an appropriate period of time.17 In complex and uncertain
environments, some changes are only part of a long journey of organization adaptation.
Innovating new products is not a one-time change but a continuous process that must be
implemented over and over again. Other changes, such as the process for appraising per-
formance, need to persist. For example, there is little to be gained from making front-line
supervisors learn a new performance rating system every year.
Lewin described change as occurring in three stages: unfreezing, moving, and
refreezing. Institutionalizing an OD intervention concerns refreezing. It involves the
long-term persistence of organizational changes: To the extent that changes persist, they
can be said to be institutionalized. Such changes are not dependent on any one person
but exist as a part of the culture of an organization. This means that numerous others
share norms about the appropriateness of the changes.
How planned changes become institutionalized has not received much attention in
the OD literature. Rapidly changing environments have led to admonitions from consul-
tants and practitioners to “change constantly,” to “change before you have to,” and “if
it’s not broke, fix it anyway.” Such a context has challenged the utility of the institution-
alization concept. Why endeavor to make any change permanent given that it may
require changing again soon? However, the admonitions also have resulted in institution-
alization concepts being applied in new ways. Change itself has become the focus of
institutionalization. Dynamic strategy making, self-design, organization learning, and
built-to-change interventions described in Chapter 19 all are aimed at enhancing the
222 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

organization’s change capability.18 In this vein, processes of institutionalization take on

increased utility. This section presents a framework for identifying factors and processes
that contribute to the institutionalization of OD interventions, including the process of
change itself.

9-2a Institutionalization Framework

Figure 9.2 presents a framework that identifies organization and intervention character-
istics and institutionalization processes affecting the degree to which change programs
are institutionalized.19 The model shows that two key antecedents—organization and
intervention characteristics—affect different institutionalization processes operating in
organizations. These processes, in turn, affect various indicators of institutionalization.
The model also shows that organization characteristics can influence intervention char-
acteristics. For example, organizations having powerful unions may have trouble gaining
internal support for OD interventions.

9-2b Organization Characteristics

Figure 9.2 shows that the following three dimensions of an organization can affect inter-
vention characteristics and institutionalization processes:
1. Congruence. This is the degree to which an intervention is perceived as being in har-
mony with the organization’s managerial philosophy, strategy, and structure; its cur-
rent environment; and other changes taking place.20 When an intervention is
congruent with these dimensions, the probability is improved that it will be supported
and sustained. Congruence can facilitate persistence by making it easier to gain mem-
ber commitment to the intervention and to diffuse it to wider segments of the organi-
zation. The converse also is true: Many OD interventions promote employee

FIGURE 9.2
Institutionalization Framework
© Cengage Learning
CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 223

participation and growth. When applied in highly bureaucratic organizations with for-
malized structures and autocratic managerial styles, participative interventions are not
perceived as congruent with the organization’s managerial philosophy.
2. Stability of environment and technology. This involves the degree to which the
organization’s environment and technology are changing. The persistence of change
is favored when environments are stable. Under these conditions, it makes sense to
embed the change in an organization’s culture and organization design processes.
On the other hand, volatile demand for the firm’s products or services can lead to
reductions in personnel that may change the composition of the groups involved in
the intervention or bring new members on board at a rate faster than they can be
socialized effectively.
3. Unionization. Diffusion of interventions may be more difficult in unionized set-
tings, especially if the changes affect union contract issues, such as salary and fringe
benefits, job design, and employee flexibility. For example, a rigid union contract
can make it difficult to merge several job classifications into one, as might be
required to increase task variety in a job enrichment program. It is important to
emphasize, however, that unions can be a powerful force for promoting change, par-
ticularly when a good relationship exists between union and management.

9-2c Intervention Characteristics

Figure 9.2 shows that the following five features of OD interventions can affect institu-
tionalization processes:
1. Goal specificity. This involves the extent to which intervention goals are specific
rather than broad. Specificity of goals helps direct socializing activities (for example,
training and orienting new members) to particular behaviors required to implement
the intervention. It also helps operationalize the new behaviors so that rewards can
be linked clearly to them. For example, an intervention aimed only at increasing
product quality is likely to be more focused and readily put into operation than a
change program intended to improve quality, quantity, safety, absenteeism, and
employee development.
2. Programmability. This involves the degree to which the changes can be pro-
grammed or the extent to which the different intervention characteristics can be
specified clearly in advance to enable socialization, commitment, and reward alloca-
tion. For example, job enrichment specifies three targets of change: employee discre-
tion, task variety, and feedback. The change program can be planned and designed
to promote those specific features.
3. Level of change target. This concerns the extent to which the change target is the
total organization, rather than a department or small work group. Each level of the
organization has facilitators and inhibitors of persistence. Department and group
change are susceptible to countervailing forces from others in the organization.
These can reduce the diffusion of the intervention and lower its ability to impact orga-
nization effectiveness. However, this does not preclude institutionalizing the change
within a department that successfully insulates itself from the rest of the organization.
Such insulation often manifests itself as a subculture within the organization.21
Targeting the intervention toward wider segments of the organization, on the
other hand, can also help or hinder change persistence. A shared belief about the
intervention’s value can be a powerful incentive to maintain the change, and
224 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

promoting a consensus across organization departments exposed to the change can

facilitate institutionalization. However, targeting the larger system also can inhibit
institutionalization. The intervention can become mired in political resistance
because of the “not invented here” syndrome or because powerful constituencies
oppose it.
4. Internal support. This refers to the degree to which there is an internal support sys-
tem to guide the change process. Internal support, typically provided by an internal
OD practitioner, can gain commitment for the changes and help organization mem-
bers implement them. External consultants also can provide support, especially on
a temporary basis during the early stages of implementation. For example, in
many interventions aimed at implementing high-involvement organizations (see
Chapter 13), both external and internal OD practitioners provide change support.
The external consultant typically brings expertise on organizational design and
trains members to implement the design. The internal consultant generally helps
members relate to other organizational units, resolve conflicts, and legitimize the
change activities within the organization.
5. Sponsorship. This concerns the presence of a powerful sponsor who can initiate,
allocate, and legitimize resources for the intervention. Sponsors must come from
levels in the organization high enough to control appropriate resources, and they
must have the visibility and power to nurture the intervention and see that it
remains viable. There are many examples of OD interventions that persisted for sev-
eral years and then collapsed abruptly when the sponsor, usually a top administra-
tor, left the organization. There also are numerous examples of middle managers
withdrawing support for interventions because top management did not include
them in the change program.

9-2d Institutionalization Processes

The framework depicted in Figure 9.2 shows the following five institutionalization pro-
cesses that can directly affect the degree to which OD interventions are institutionalized:
1. Socialization. This concerns the transmission of information about beliefs, prefer-
ences, norms, and values with respect to the intervention. Because implementation
of OD interventions generally involves considerable learning and experimentation,
a continual process of socialization is necessary to promote persistence of the
change program. Organization members must focus attention on the evolving
nature of the intervention and its ongoing meaning. They must communicate this
information to other employees, especially new members of the organization.
Transmission of information about the intervention helps bring new members
onboard and allows participants to reaffirm the beliefs, norms, and values underly-
ing the intervention.22 For example, employee involvement programs often include
initial transmission of information about the intervention, as well as retraining of
existing participants and training of new members. Such processes are intended to
promote persistence of the program as new behaviors are learned and new mem-
bers introduced.
2. Commitment. This binds people to behaviors associated with the intervention. It
includes initial commitment to the program, as well as recommitment over time.
Opportunities for commitment should allow people to select the necessary behaviors
freely, explicitly, and publicly. These conditions favor high commitment and can
CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 225

promote stability of the new behaviors. Commitment should derive from several orga-
nizational levels, including the employees directly involved and the middle and upper
managers who can support or thwart the intervention. In many early employee involve-
ment programs, for example, attention was directed at gaining workers’ commitment to
such programs. Unfortunately, middle managers were often ignored and considerable
management resistance to the interventions resulted.
3. Reward allocation. This involves linking rewards to the new behaviors required by
an intervention. Organizational rewards can enhance the persistence of changes in at
least two ways. First, a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards can reinforce
new behaviors. Intrinsic rewards are internal to people and derive from the oppor-
tunities for challenge, development, and accomplishment found in the work. When
interventions provide these opportunities, motivation to perform should persist.
This behavior can be further reinforced by providing extrinsic rewards, such as
money, for increased contributions. Because the value of extrinsic rewards tends to
diminish over time, it may be necessary to revise the reward system to maintain
high levels of desired behaviors.
Second, new behaviors will persist to the extent that rewards are perceived as
equitable by employees. When new behaviors are fairly compensated, people are
likely to develop preferences for those behaviors. Over time, those preferences
should lead to normative and value consensus about the appropriateness of the
intervention. For example, many employee involvement programs fail to persist
because employees feel that their increased contributions to organizational improve-
ments are unfairly rewarded. This is especially true for interventions relying exclu-
sively on intrinsic rewards. People argue that an intervention that provides
opportunities for intrinsic rewards also should provide greater pay or extrinsic
rewards for higher levels of contribution to the organization.
4. Diffusion. This refers to the process of transferring changes from one system to
another. Diffusion facilitates institutionalization by providing a wider organizational
base to support the new behaviors. Many interventions fail to persist because they
run counter to the values, purpose, or identity of the larger organization. Rather
than support the intervention, the larger organization rejects the changes and often
puts pressure on the change target to revert to old behaviors. Diffusion of a change
to other organizational units reduces this counter-implementation force. It tends to
lock in behaviors by providing normative consensus from other parts of the organi-
zation. Moreover, the act of transmitting institutionalized behaviors to other systems
reinforces commitment to the changes.
5. Sensing and calibration. This involves detecting deviations from desired interven-
tion behaviors and taking corrective action. Institutionalized behaviors invariably
encounter destabilizing forces, such as changes in the environment, new technolo-
gies, and pressures from other departments to nullify changes. These factors cause
some variation in performances, preferences, norms, and values. To detect this
variation and take corrective actions, organizations must have some sensing mech-
anism. Sensing mechanisms, such as implementation feedback, provide informa-
tion about the occurrence of deviations. This knowledge can then initiate
corrective actions to ensure that behaviors are more in line with the intervention.
For example, if a high level of job discretion associated with a job enrichment
intervention does not persist, information about this problem might initiate cor-
rective actions, such as renewed attempts to socialize people or to gain commit-
ment to the intervention.
226 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

9-2e Indicators of Institutionalization

Institutionalization is not an all-or-nothing concept but reflects degrees of persistence in
a change. Figure 9.2 shows five indicators of the extent of an intervention’s persistence.
The extent to which the following factors are present or absent indicates the degree of
institutionalization:
1. Knowledge. This involves the extent to which organization members have knowl-
edge of the behaviors associated with an intervention. It is concerned with whether
members know enough to perform the behaviors and to recognize the consequences
of that performance. For example, job enrichment includes a number of new beha-
viors, such as performing a greater variety of tasks, analyzing information about task
performance, and making decisions about work methods and plans.
2. Performance. This is concerned with the degree to which intervention behaviors are
actually performed. It may be measured by counting the proportion of relevant peo-
ple performing the behaviors. For example, 60% of the employees in a particular
work unit might be performing the job enrichment behaviors described above.
Another measure of performance is the frequency with which the new behaviors
are performed. In assessing frequency, it is important to account for different varia-
tions of the same essential behavior, as well as highly institutionalized behaviors that
need to be performed only infrequently.
3. Preferences. This involves the degree to which organization members privately
accept the organizational changes. This contrasts with acceptance based primarily
on organizational sanctions or group pressures. Private acceptance usually is
reflected in people’s positive attitudes toward the changes and can be measured by
the direction and intensity of those attitudes across the members of the work unit
receiving the intervention. For example, a questionnaire assessing members’ percep-
tions of a job enrichment program might show that most employees have a strong
positive attitude toward making decisions, analyzing feedback, and performing a
variety of tasks.
4. Normative consensus. This focuses on the extent to which people agree about the
appropriateness of the organizational changes. This indicator of institutionalization
reflects how fully changes have become part of the normative structure of the organi-
zation. Changes persist to the degree members feel that they should support them. For
example, a job enrichment program would become institutionalized to the extent that
employees support it and see it as appropriate to organizational functioning.
5. Value consensus. This is concerned with social consensus on values relevant to the
organizational changes. Values are beliefs about how people ought or ought not to
behave. They are abstractions from more specific norms. Job enrichment, for exam-
ple, is based on values promoting employee self-control and responsibility. Different
behaviors associated with job enrichment, such as making decisions and performing
a variety of tasks, would persist to the extent that employees widely share values of
self-control and responsibility.
These five indicators can be used to assess the level of change persistence. The more
the indicators are present in a situation, the higher will be the degree of institutionaliza-
tion. Further, these factors seem to follow a specific development order: knowledge, perfor-
mance, preferences, norms, and values. People must first understand new behaviors or
changes before they can perform them effectively. Such performance generates rewards
and punishments, which in time affect people’s preferences. As many individuals come to
prefer the changes, normative consensus about their appropriateness develops. Finally, if
 CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 227

INSTITUTIONALIZING STRUCTURAL CHANGE

application 9 2

AT HEWLETT-PACKARD

I
n May 2002, the hotly contested acquisition of in 1982 when HP transformed itself from a pro-
Compaq by Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com) ducer of high-quality electronic measuring
was finalized. Unlike the major organization instruments into a computer company. At the
changes before it, the acquisition challenged time, computers and computer-related equip-
the abilities of this perennial “most admired com- ment accounted for only about one-third of rev-
pany” to execute a complex structural change. enues and HP was structured into more than 50
The success of the integration process described highly autonomous and decentralized product
in Application 8.4 is partly due to a store of institu- divisions focused on specialized niche markets.
tionalized knowledge and capability within the HP Individual engineers came up with innovative
organization. This application describes a number ideas and “bootstrapped” new products any
of large-scale structural changes at HP. The com- way they could. Organization members were
pany’s repeated ability to carry out such change encouraged to work with other engineers in
speaks to its institutionalized capability to manage other departments within the same division,
change. but there was little incentive to coordinate the
Since its founding in 1939, HP has implemen- development of technologies across divisions.
ted successfully no fewer than a dozen major orga- This focus on the individual was supported by
nizational changes, including the transition from a a performance management system that mea-
high-tech entrepreneurial start-up to a profes- sured and rewarded “sustained contributions;”
sionally managed company; from a small instru- the key to success for an individual was work-
ments business to a leading computer company; ing with many people in the division. HP pros-
from a company oriented around complex- pered by maximizing each of its parts.
instruction-set computing technology to reduced- Former CEO John Young’s decision to
instruction-set computing technology; from a focus on computers fundamentally shifted the
technology/engineering-based company to a keys to success. Computer production required
market/brand-driven company; and, from a “pure a coordinated effort among the different compo-
products” company to a services company. nent divisions and market shares large enough
HP’s electronics and computer business to encourage software vendors to write pro-
was characterized by highly volatile technological grams for their machines. In a culture that sup-
and market change. It had to quickly adopt, inno- ported individual contributions over divisional
vate, and implement a variety of technological cooperation, Young placed all the instruments
and organizational changes just to survive. HP’s divisions into one group and all the computer
traditional and current strategies were built on divisions into another group, a basic design that
innovation, differentiation, and high quality. persisted until the spin-off of the Agilent instru-
Another important feature of HP, and one of its ments business in 1999. In addition, he central-
more enduring characteristics, is the “HP ized research, marketing, and manufacturing,
Way”—a cultural artifact that supports a partici- which had previously been assigned to the divi-
pative management style and emphasizes com- sions. Problems quickly arose. In one case, the
monness of purpose and teamwork on one hand company’s new and highly touted graphics
and individual freedom and initiative on the other. printer would not work with its HP3000 mini-
Over time, however, the HP Way has been both computer. The operating software, made by a
a constraint to and a facilitator of change. third HP division, would not allow the two pieces
For example, the HP Way has been at the of hardware to interface.
root of the company’s difficulties in institutional- In response, the computer group formed
izing structural and behavioral changes to bring committees to figure out what new technolo-
about more cooperation among the computer gies to pursue, which to ignore, which of HP’s
divisions. The initial structural change occurred products should be saved, and which would be
228 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

shelved. As the committees came up with recom- cooperatively with other divisions to create new pro-
mendations, the committees themselves kept mul- ducts that used multiple-division technologies.
tiplying. The company’s entrenched culture, built The new structure was a big success. Growth
around the HP Way’s philosophy of egalitarianism in the printer and PC markets drove revenues from
and mutual respect, promoted consensus: Every- $13.2 billion in 1990 to $38.4 billion in 1996, with
one had to have a hand in making a decision. profits growing in the same proportions. In 1996,
By 1988, the organization chart still showed a they were the fifth-most-admired company in the
predominantly decentralized divisional structure. United States. In the Internet world, however, their
What it didn’t show was the overwhelming number success was short-lived, and critics argued that
of committees that slowed decision making and Platt’s subsequent attention to “soft” issues such
product development. In one case, it took seven as work/life balance and promoting diversity, rather
months and nearly a hundred people on nine commit- than launching an Internet strategy, resulted in stalled
tees to name the company’s new software product. growth. For 1997 and 1998, and aided by the Asian
This web of committees, originally designed to foster financial crisis, growth rates slipped to single digits.
communication among HP’s operating divisions, had In the summer of 1998, Platt believed that HP had
pushed up costs and slowed development. In the simply become too big and complex. In March 1999,
rapidly changing world of software, personal compu- he announced and implemented the spin-off of HP’s
ters, minicomputers, and printers, the HP Way was $7.6 billion instruments division, the business on
hamstringing the organization’s success. The ethic of which the company had been founded.
individual freedom balanced by teamwork had pro- Shortly after being named HP’s fourth CEO in
duced an unwieldy bureaucracy. 1999, and the first to come from outside the com-
After a series of delays of important new pro- pany, Carly Fiorina laid out her agenda: create a com-
ducts, John Young reorganized the computer pelling vision for HP, implement a structure to
group. In late 1990, he eliminated most of the com- support the vision, and launch a marketing campaign
mittees and removed layers of management by to build the HP brand. The vision called for a shift
dividing the computer business into two groups: from a stand-alone products company to a services
one to handle personal computers and peripherals company. The structural change involved merging
sold through dealers, and the other to handle sales the four major product divisions into a group focused
of workstations and minicomputers to big custo- on computing and a group focused on printing. This
mers. To match the organization structure, the pre- structure for the first time united HP’s laser and ink-
viously centralized corporate sales force was split jet printing divisions and furthered the opportunities
and assigned to particular divisions. This change for computer products to coordinate their activities.
focused HP’s computer systems on the market Fiorina also announced a major marketing campaign
and restored much of the autonomy to the divi- focused on the HP Way’s value of innovation. Then,
sions. The balance between individuality and com- in the fall of 2001, Fiorina announced the intended
mon purpose that characterized the original HP acquisition of Compaq computers.
Way was unleashed, leading to several years of The lessons of history had not been lost on the
strong revenue and profit growth. CEO. The acquisition process pulled knowledge
In 1993, and before he was officially installed as from the experiences of other mergers and other
the new CEO, Lewis Platt announced that HP would changes within HP; it acknowledged the strengths
pursue the convergence of several base technolo- and weaknesses of the HP Way; and structural
gies, such as wireless communication, printing, changes were backed up with changes in the com-
and measurement, to create whole new products pensation system. Few organizations implemented
for the converging computer, communication, and as many major changes and still maintained both
consumer electronics markets. Implementing such strong financial performance and corporate reputa-
a strategy again depended on strong coordination tion during this decisive period in the computer
among HP’s product divisions. To ensure that the industry. HP’s history of seeing the need for, imple-
gains in cooperation were not lost as HP embarked menting, and reaping the benefits of structural
on its new strategy, CEO Platt tied division change was a testament to its ability to institutional-
managers’ incentive compensation to working ize change, as these examples demonstrate.
 CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 229

there is normative agreement about the changes reflecting a particular set of values, over
time there should be some consensus on those values among organization members.
Given this developmental view of institutionalization, it is implicit that whenever
one of the last indicators is present, all the previous ones are automatically included as
well. For example, if employees normatively agree with the behaviors associated with job
enrichment, then they also have knowledge about the behaviors, can perform them effec-
tively, and prefer them. An OD intervention is fully institutionalized only when all five
factors are present.
Application 9.2 describes Hewlett-Packard’s successful history of institutionalizing
a new set of behaviors through structural change. It describes how culture and reward
systems can play a strong role in both supporting and constraining change.23

SUMMARY
We discussed in this chapter the final two stages of combination of questionnaires, interviews, and
planned change—evaluating interventions and insti- company records.
tutionalizing them. Evaluation was discussed in terms Research design focuses on setting up the condi-
of two kinds of necessary feedback: implementation tions for making valid assessments of an intervention’s
feedback, concerned with whether the intervention is effects. This involves ruling out explanations for the
being implemented as intended, and evaluation feed- observed results other than the intervention. Although
back, indicating whether the intervention is produc- randomized experimental designs are rarely feasible in
ing expected results. The former comprises collected OD, quasi-experimental designs exist for eliminating
data about features of the intervention, perceptions of alternative explanations.
the people involved, and its immediate effects, OD interventions are institutionalized when the
which are fed back repeatedly and at short intervals. change program persists and becomes part of the organi-
The latter comprises data about the long-term effects zation’s normal functioning. A framework for under-
of the intervention, which are fed back at long standing and improving the institutionalization of
intervals. interventions identified organization characteristics (con-
Evaluation of interventions also involves gruence, stability of environment and technology, and
decisions about measurement and research design. unionization) and intervention characteristics (goal spec-
Measurement issues focus on selecting variables and ificity, programmability, level of change target, internal
designing good measures. Ideally, measurement deci- support, and sponsorship) that affect institutionalization
sions should derive from the theory underlying the processes. The framework also described specific institu-
intervention and should include measures of the fea- tionalization processes (socialization, commitment,
tures of the intervention and its immediate and long- reward allocation, diffusion, and sensing and calibration)
term consequences. Further, these measures should that directly affect indicators of intervention persistence
be operationally defined, reliable, and valid and (knowledge, performance, preferences, normative con-
should involve multiple methods, such as a sensus, and value consensus).

NOTES
1. T. Cummings and E. Molloy, Strategies for Improving Journal of Organizational Change Management 8, no. 2
Productivity and the Quality of Work Life (New York: (1995): 17–28.
Praeger, 1977); J. Whitfield, W. Anthony, and K. Kacmar, 2. T. Cummings and S. Mohrman, “Self-Designing Organi-
“Evaluation of Team-Based Management: A Case Study,” zations: Towards Implementing Quality-of-Work-Life
230 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

Innovations,” in Research in Organizational Change and A Guide to Methods, Measures, and Practices, ed.
Development, vol. 1, ed., R. Woodman and W. Pasmore S. Seashore, E. Lawler III, P. Mirvis, and C. Cammann
(Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1987), 275–310. (New York: Wiley-Interscience, 1983), 71–119.
3. Cummings and Molloy, Strategies for Improving Produc- 13. R. Woodman, J. Bingham, and F. Yuan, “Assessing Orga-
tivity and the Quality of Work Life. nization Development and Change Interventions,” in
4. P. Goodman, Assessing Organizational Change: The Handbook of Organization Development, ed. T. Cummings
Rushton Quality of Work Experiment (New York: John (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2008): 187–216;
Wiley & Sons, 1979); A. Van de Ven and D. Ferry, eds., R. Bullock and D. Svyantek, “The Impossibility of Using
Measuring and Assessing Organizations (New York: John Random Strategies to Study the Organization Develop-
Wiley & Sons, 1985); E. Lawler III, D. Nadler, and ment Process,” Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 23
C. Cammann, eds., Organizational Assessment: Perspectives (1987): 255–62.
on the Measurement of Organizational Behavior and 14. D. Campbell and J. Stanley, Experimental and Quasi-
Quality of Work Life (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Experimental Design for Research (Chicago: Rand McNally,
1980); A. Van de Ven and W. Joyce, eds., Perspectives on 1966); T. Cook and D. Campbell, Quasi-Experimentation:
Organizational Design and Behavior (New York: John Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings (Chicago: Rand
Wiley & Sons, 1981); S. Seashore, E. Lawler III, P. Mirvis, McNally, 1979); Woodman, Bingham, and Yuan, “Assessing
and C. Cammann, eds., Assessing Organizational Change: Organization Development and Change Interventions.”
A Guide to Methods, Measures, and Practices (New York: 15. R. Golembiewski and R. Munzenrider, “Measuring
Wiley-Interscience, 1983). Change by OD Designs,” Journal of Applied Behavioral
5. B. Macy and P. Mirvis, “Organizational Change Efforts: Science 12 (April–June 1976): 133–57.
Methodologies for Assessing Organizational Effectiveness 16. W. Randolph and R. Edwards, “Assessment of Alpha,
and Program Costs Versus Benefits,” Evaluation Review 6 Beta and Gamma Changes in a University-Setting OD
(1982): 301–72. Intervention,” Academy of Management Proceedings
6. Ibid. (1978): 313–17; J. Terborg, G. Howard, and S. Maxwell,
“Evaluating Planned Organizational Change: A Method
7. J. Nunnally, Psychometric Theory, 2nd ed. (New York:
for Assessing Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Change,” Acad-
McGraw-Hill, 1978); J. Kirk and M. Miller, Reliability
emy of Management Review 7 (1982): 292–95; R. Millsap
and Validity in Qualitative Research (Beverly Hills, CA:
and S. Hartog, “Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Change in
Sage Publications, 1985).
Evaluation Research: A Structural Equation Approach,”
8. J. Corbin and A. Strauss, Basics of Qualitative Research, Journal of Applied Psychology 73 (1988): 574–84;
4th ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2013); R. Thompson and J. Hunt, “Inside the Black Box of
D. Miller, Handbook of Research Design and Social Mea- Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Change: Using a Cognitive-
surement (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1991); Processing Model to Assess Attitude Structure,” Academy
N. Denzin and Y. Lincoln, eds., Handbook of Qualitative of Management Review 21 (1996): 655–91.
Research (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1994).
17. D. Buchanan, L. Fitzgerald, D. Ketley, R. Gollop, J. Jones,
9. R. Hackman and G. Oldham, Work Redesign (Reading, S. Lamont, A. Neath, and E. Whitby, “No Going Back: A
MA: Addison-Wesley, 1980). Review of the Literature on Sustaining Organization
10. Nunnally, Psychometric Theory. Change,” International Journal of Management Reviews
11. M. Huberman and M. Miles, Qualitative Data Analysis: 7 (2005): 189–205.
An Expanded Sourcebook, 2nd ed. (Newbury Park, CA: 18. E. Lawler and C. Worley, Built to Change (San Francisco:
Sage Publications, 1994); K. Neuendorf, The Content Jossey-Bass, 2006); P. Senge, The Fifth Discipline (New
Analysis Guidebook, 2nd ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage York: Doubleday, 1990); Cummings and Mohrman, “Self-
Publications, 2013). Designing Organizations”; L. Greiner and T. Cummings,
12. J. Taylor and D. Bowers, Survey of Organizations: A Dynamic Strategy Making: A Real-Time Approach for the
Machine-Scored Standardized Questionnaire Instrument 21st Century Leader (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009).
(Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, University of 19. This section is based on the work of P. Goodman and
Michigan, 1972); G. Ledford and S. Mohrman, Comprehen- J. Dean, “Creating Long-Term Organizational Change,” in
sive Quality-of-Work-Life Survey (Los Angeles: Center for Change in Organizations, ed. P. Goodman (San Francisco:
Effective Organizations, University of Southern California, Jossey-Bass, 1982), 226–79. To date, the framework is
1981); C. Cammann, M. Fichman, G. D. Jenkins, and largely untested and unchallenged. Other than a few case
J. Klesh, “Assessing the Attitudes and Perceptions of Orga- studies with inducted principles, Ledford’s process model
nizational Members,” in Assessing Organizational Change: of persistence (see note 20) is the only other model
 CHAPTER 9 EVALUATING AND INSTITUTIONALIZING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS 231

proposed to explain institutionalization. The empirical sup- 9-482-125 (Boston: Harvard Business School, 1982);
port for either model, however, is small but growing slowly B. Buell and R. Hof, “Hewlett-Packard Rethinks Itself,”
as described in Buchanan, “No going back.” BusinessWeek, April 1, 1991, 76–79; R. Hof, “Suddenly,
20. G. Ledford, “The Persistence of Planned Organizational Hewlett-Packard Is Doing Everything Right,” Business-
Change: A Process Theory Perspective” (Ph.D. diss., Uni- Week, March 23, 1992, 88–89; “Can John Young Rede-
versity of Michigan, 1984). sign Hewlett-Packard,” BusinessWeek, December 6, 1982,
72–78; J. Levine, “Mild-Mannered Hewlett-Packard
21. J. Martin and C. Siehl, “Organizational Cultures and
Is Making Like Superman,” BusinessWeek, March 7,
Counterculture: An Uneasy Symbiosis,” Organizational
1988, 110–14; R. Hof, “Hewlett-Packard Digs Deep for a
Dynamics (1983): 52–64; D. Meyerson and J. Martin,
Digital Future,” BusinessWeek, October 18, 1993, 72–75;
“Cultural Change: An Integration of Three Different
A. Fisher, “America’s Most Admired Corporations,”
Views,” Journal of Management Studies 24 (1987): 623–47.
Fortune, March 4, 1996, 90–98; P. Burrows and
22. L. Zucker, “The Role of Institutionalization in Cultural P. Elstrom, “The Boss,” BusinessWeek, August 2, 1999,
Persistence,” American Sociological Review 42 (1977): 76–83; D. Hamilton, “H-P to Relaunch Its Brand,
726–43; R. Jacobs, “Institutionalizing Organization Adopt New Logo,” Wall Street Journal, November 16,
Change Through Cascade Training,” Journal of European 1999, B6; D. Hamilton and S. Thurm, “H-P to Spin Off
Industrial Training 26 (2002): 177–83. Its Measurement Operations,” Wall Street Journal, March
23. R. Von Werssowetz and M. Beer, “Human Resources 3, 1999, A3; E. Nee, “Lew Platt: Why I Dismembered
at Hewlett-Packard,” Harvard Business School Case HP,” Fortune, March 29, 1999, 167–69.
232 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

SUNFLOWER INCORPORATED*

Selected Cases
S
unflower Incorporated is a large distribution purchasing practices. Agnes Albanese was
company with over 5,000 employees and hired from the finance department of a compet-
gross sales of over $700 million (1991). ing organization. Her new title was director of
The company purchases and distributes pricing and purchasing, and she reported to the
salty snack foods and liquor to independent vice president of finance, Mr. Mobley. Steelman
retail stores throughout the United States and and Mobley gave Albanese great latitude in
Canada. Salty snack foods include corn chips, organizing her job and encouraged her to estab-
potato chips, cheese curls, tortilla chips, and lish whatever rules and procedures were nec-
peanuts. The United States and Canada essary. She was also encouraged to gather
are divided into 22 regions, each with its information from each region. Each region
own central warehouse, salespeople, finance was notified of her appointment by an official
department, and purchasing department. The memo sent to the regional managers. A copy
company distributes national as well as local of the memo was posted on each warehouse
brands and packages some items under private bulletin board. The announcement was also
labels. The head office encourages each region made in the company newspaper.
to be autonomous because of local tastes and After three weeks on the job, Albanese
practices. The northeast United States, for decided that pricing and purchasing decisions
example, consumes a greater percentage of should be standardized across regions. As a
Canadian whisky and American bourbon, first step, she wanted the financial executive in
while the West consumes more light liquors, each region to notify her of any change in local
such as vodka, gin, and rum. Snack foods in prices of more than 3%. She also decided that
the Southwest are often seasoned to reflect all new contracts for local purchases of more
Mexican tastes. than $5,000 should be cleared through her
Early in 1989, Sunflower began using a office. (Approximately 60% of items distributed
financial reporting system that compared in the regions was purchased in large quantities
sales, costs, and profits across regions. Man- and supplied from the home office. The other
agement was surprised to learn that profits var- 40% was purchased and distributed within the
ied widely. By 1990, the differences were so region.) Albanese believed that the only way to
great that management decided some stan- standardize operations was for each region to
dardization was necessary. They believed that notify the home office in advance of any change
highly profitable regions were sometimes in prices or purchases. Albanese discussed the
using lower-quality items, even seconds, to proposed policy with Mobley. He agreed, so
boost profit margins. This practice could hurt they submitted a formal proposal to the presi-
Sunflower’s image. Other regions were facing dent and board of directors, who approved the
intense price competition in order to hold mar- plan. Sunflower was moving into the peak holi-
ket share. National distributors were pushing day season, so Albanese wanted to implement
hard to increase their market share. Frito-Lay, the new procedures right away. She decided to
Bordens, Nabisco, Procter & Gamble (Pringles), send an email to the financial and purchasing
and Standard Brands (Planter’s peanuts) were executives in each region notifying them of the
pushing hard to increase market share by cut- new procedures. The change would be inserted
ting prices and launching new products. in all policy and procedure manuals throughout
As these problems accumulated, Sunflower within four months.
Mr. Steelman, president of Sunflower, decided Albanese showed a draft of the email to
to create a new position to monitor pricing and Mobley and invited his comments. Mobley said
the Internet was an excellent idea but wondered
if it was sufficient. The regions handle hundreds
*Adapted from R. Daft, Organization Theory and Design
of items and were used to decentralized decision
(St. Paul: West, 1983), pp. 334–36.
 SELECTED CASES 233

making. Mobley suggested that Albanese ought to Eight weeks later, Albanese had not received
visit the regions and discuss purchasing and pricing notices from any regions about local price or pur-
policies with the executives. Albanese refused, chase changes. Other executives who had visited
saying that the trips would be expensive and regional warehouses indicated to her that the
time-consuming. She had so many things to do at regions were busy as usual. Regional executives
headquarters that a trip was impossible. Mobley also seemed to be following usual procedures for that
suggested waiting to implement the procedures until time of year.
after the annual company meeting in three months.
Albanese said this would take too long because the
Questions
procedures would not take effect until after the peak
sales season. She believed the procedures were 1. How well did Albanese manage the pricing
needed now. The email went out the next day. and purchasing changes at Sunflower? Were
During the next few days, replies came in from the changes implemented successfully? How
most of the regions. The executives were in agree- would you find this out?
ment with the email and said they would be happy 2. What might Albanese have done differently?
to cooperate. What should she do now?
234 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

KENWORTH MOTORS*

Selected Cases
I
t began with a telephone call, as did so many The drive westward from Spokane across
of my engagements. The person calling iden- the state of Washington on Interstate 90 begins
tified himself as Robert Denton, the plant with several hours of boring highway. I had pur-
manager of Kenworth Motors’ Seattle truck posely put off thinking about my appointment
manufacturing operations. Denton said he’d got- with Robert Denton until I was on the road. As
ten my name from Charles Wright, a client of the interstate stretched out over the rolling sage-
mine in Seattle. Charlie is the OD manager for brush hills and checkered wheat fields, I turned
a major timber products company. I’d been my thoughts to Kenworth Motors and Denton.
doing several projects with Charlie’s group of Uppermost in my mind was that I was about to
internal consultants for the past three years talk with a man I knew little about, consult with a
and occasionally served as the OD group’s con- firm I knew very little about, and I had no
sultant. Denton noted that Charlie and he were focused agenda. What should I say and do?
members of the same sailing club. He went on As the miles went by, I envisioned several
to say that when, as someone relatively new to alternative scenarios for my upcoming appoint-
Seattle, he’d asked Charlie if he knew any con- ment with Robert Denton, the plant manager of
sultants, Charlie had spoken highly of me. the truck manufacturing division of Kenworth
I remember thinking that Charlie probably Motors Corporation. I saw his office in several
wouldn’t have mentioned me unless he thought possible ways. It could be spartan and centrally
I could be useful to Denton. My trust in Charlie’s located to the production floor. It could be con-
competence and judgment was very high. ventionally furnished but of a fair size. It could
Denton went on to explain that he’d been be large. It might even be opulent. It could be
the plant manager for only eight months, that personalized with mementos of career, hob-
things seemed to be going well, but that he bies, or family. It might be far from the produc-
had a gnawing sense that things could be bet- tion floor, or even in a separate building. The
ter. I must have murmured something appropri- more I tried to envision Denton’s office, the
ate because Denton invited me to visit him and more alternatives came to mind. So I focused
become acquainted with his operation. on Denton, trying to imagine him from the
I was both flattered by and interested in voice cues on the telephone—not old, probably
Denton’s invitation. After all, I thought to fit, probably clean shaven. Again the futility of
myself, it’s nice to be wanted, a consulting trying to imagine came home to me.
engagement might come out of it, I always What did I think I knew? I didn’t know much
wanted to get behind the gate of the Kenworth beyond a handful of facts about his title and his
plant, and Denton sounded like a basically job tenure, the fact that he knew Charlie,
smart guy and nice besides. However, reality believed things were generally going OK at the
intruded into my thoughts, as it often does. plant, and had some vague notion something
wasn’t quite right. I also had the distinct impres-
THOUGHTS ON THE ROAD sion he had been fairly eager to talk with me—
I reminded Denton that I lived across the state after all, he’d initiated calling me and had quickly
in Spokane and added that I had limited time settled for an appointment convenient to me.
available in the short run. I noted that I had What did I really want to accomplish when
plans to visit Seattle in three weeks and could I met with Denton? The more I considered this
see him then, otherwise it might not be for a question, the more I pared down my answers.
month. Denton sounded almost eager as he At minimum, it seemed for me a low-cost
agreed to a 10 A.M. appointment on April 11. situation—a couple of hours of my time, per-
haps some impressions of me that would be
communicated to Charlie (though I believed
Charlie and I had a relationship of mutual
*Craig C. Lundberg, Cornell University.
 SELECTED CASES 235

respect and trust based on a lot of shared work). the corridor traffic, busy but quiet. I settled back to
On the other hand, there was potentially a lot to wait.
gain—perhaps another consulting job, perhaps About ten minutes later, a man of medium
more visibility and reputation in Seattle, which height and build wearing a sports jacket over an
would be good for my business. open-collared shirt came through the door behind
I decided I couldn’t plan for our meeting in the secretary and walked directly to me. He
much detail; about all I could reasonably do was to extended his hand, smiled, introduced himself as
be true to the posture I found to be useful in situa- Bob Denton and motioned me into his office.
tions like this. I had to be myself, be as real as pos- The office was larger than I expected. It was
sible. I see myself as a curious, friendly person who paneled and a large Persian rug was centered on
basically likes others. I also know I can be bold and the floor. At one end were a clean desk with side
thought I might have to be to get the conversation chairs and a table full of papers behind it. At the
going, to help Denton become clear as to why we other side of the office were a couch and two
were talking together, and to clarify my role. stuffed chairs around a low coffee table. Drapes
I also wanted to leave our meeting with a deci- framed one large window that looked out on the
sion to either go forward or not. While I didn’t mind parking lot. Denton asked if I wanted coffee, and I
investing a little time, my time was valuable. I also said I did. He went to the door and asked the secre-
felt strongly, as I always do, that I didn’t want to tary to bring us both coffee and added we were not
work with anyone who I didn’t basically like as a to be disturbed. While waiting for the coffee, we sat
person or who didn’t seem to genuinely want to on the two stuffed chairs and made small talk. He
do some real work. Seeing the Cascade mountains asked about my drive across the state; I asked
on the horizon, I began to feel easier. I’d be myself, about the framed sailing prints on the wall and
whatever happened. Only one question nagged: whether he’d been sailing lately. We chatted about
Could Denton and I connect swiftly enough so the Sonics, the Kingdome, and the coming World’s
there would be time to push for clarity in our pos- Fair in Vancouver. After our coffee arrived, I asked
sible work relationship? him to tell me about his plant and products.
Denton spoke excitedly for 10 or 12 minutes on
MAKING CONTACT a wide range of topics—the daily production rate of
At the Kenworth plant, the uniformed guard at the 23 trucks, the cost of a truck, the sales order back-
plant gate checked his clipboard, slipped around log, some equipment updating just finished, his
my car, and copied down my license plate number. coming to this job from a plant in the Midwest, his
Returning to my open window, he pointed ahead spending a lot of time lately with the next year’s
to a one-story brick building attached to the multi- budget, and so forth. My impression of Denton
storied plant and told me I could park in the space was that he was highly involved in his work. He
in front and then go inside and identify myself to spoke rapidly but clearly with enthusiasm. Finally,
the receptionist. he leaned back, smiled, and said, “Well, I’ve been
The floor of the wide hallway inside the double going on, haven’t I?” I remember thinking I liked
glass doors of the office building was freshly Denton’s ease and his willingness to talk about his
waxed. Framed photographs of trucks and large plant and himself. I’d already learned a lot about the
buildings lined the walls. A middle-aged woman plant and his job without more than looking inter-
in a suit looked up from her desk and smiled. ested. Denton certainly did seem likable, and he
After I identified myself, she led me down a side was younger and more casual than I expected.
corridor to an alcove and informed the secretary
there who I was and that I was there to see GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
Mr. Denton. She then turned to me, smiled again, I clearly recall my response to Denton’s question.
and wished me a good day. The seated secretary “Actually, I’ve appreciated your sharing all this
told me Mr. Denton was expecting me, but was on background with me. I’ve always been curious
the telephone. She gestured toward a bank of chairs about this plant. Years ago, I had a part-time job
and asked me to wait. As I sat down, I observed when I was in college and used to deliver some
236 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

industrial supplies in this end of town and always few days interviewing a sample of managers and
wanted to know what happened in this plant. All I other key staff people to see what might turn up.”
could see from the road were those lines of big “From what you’ve heard so far, do you think
shiny trucks. It’s nice to know they’re built with that makes sense here?” Denton asked.
care. But you asked for this meeting, Bob. “Frankly, I don’t know. It might be worth it to
Remember you told me that while things were you just to learn things really are OK. What usually
going well here you sensed something wasn’t happens, however, is that I do find out about some-
quite right. Can you tell me a little more now?” thing that could be improved. After all that’s what
“Not really. I know the plant is doing fine. I feel I’m supposed to be good at, finding problems. One
pretty much on top of my job. I like what I’m doing way or another, Bob, the mere fact I was here
here very much. My department heads—all nine of would have some impact. The word would spread
them—are all good people. All but two have been pretty fast that some outsider was snooping
here quite a while. They’re dependable, damn around. What impact that might have I can’t say. If
good at what they do, get along fine, and basically things really are OK, my presence might mean little.
are good managers,” he said. If there are real problems, my being here would
“I get along good with everyone. I go out in probably create some tensions, it could raise expec-
the plant every day and circulate around. Things tations that something would be done about them,
are moving smoothly. My two newer managers— and it could even cause problems.”
one runs our purchasing and inventory, the other is Denton nodded, “I see what you mean. If you
in personnel—couldn’t be working out better. Yet came in, it would cost me some bucks, it would
some things nag at me that I can’t put my finger have some risks in how my people reacted; one
on. I guess it boils down to some crazy notion I way or another I’d have to do something.” He
have that while we get along fine and work paused and then went on. “Well, to tell the truth,
together well, we haven’t jelled together as a I don’t want to upset things if they’re OK, but just
team quite like I’d hoped.” finding out whether they are or not appeals to me.
I bombarded Denton with questions, trying to Isn’t there some other way to do this?”
find something that didn’t hang together or might Bob Denton seemed to me to be open to some
indicate a problem. No matter what I asked minimal work by me. He’d responded as I’d hoped
about—from union relations to accounts receivable, to my candidness about the risks of some conven-
from engineering-production relations to turnover tional diagnostic snooping. He’d really seemed to
figures—Denton’s responses were consistently fac- pay attention to what I’d said, and I was beginning
tual and full, and everything seemed to be in to like him and was intrigued with the situation. At
remarkably good shape. times like this, my thought processes seem to jump
I caught myself from going on with more ques- into high gear. After all, a careful response was
tions. Instead I said, “Bob, everything I’ve been called for and there were a number of considera-
asking about tells me you’re OK. Maybe things tions to factor in. The things I recall noting to myself
here really are OK. Maybe you’ve just got some went like this: apparently some minimal motivation
apprehension that things couldn’t be that good. on Bob’s part; my real lack of information about the
After all, you’ve been here long enough to really Kenworth situation; my own schedule for the com-
know. While there is some chance that you’re ing months—which was pretty full; my intuition that
not well informed, and some things aren’t so hot, probably nothing major was wrong with Bob and his
the odds are against it. About all I can suggest is managers; and that whatever I proposed had to be
whether you might want someone like me to inde- of modest cost.
pendently confirm how things are going.” Denton
smiled as if to himself and replied, “Hmm, maybe, LET’S HAVE A RETREAT
what would you suggest?” I said to Bob: “Let me sketch out one idea that
“What’s usually done in situations like this, if comes to mind. We could do a modest retreat.
there is the interest and if there is the money to You, your department managers, and I could
pay for it, is to engage someone like me to spend a meet away from here for a couple of days, say
 SELECTED CASES 237

on a weekend, to jointly explore how things are provide food and lodging. As for what we’d actually
going. At minimum, I see several probable out- do, that’s more difficult to say exactly. Frankly, while
comes from such a meeting: everyone would get I have several ways to get us started, I’d need to
somewhat better acquainted with one another; play it by ear. In general, it would be my responsibil-
we’d know better if there were serious issues to ity to see we talked straight and a lot with one
tackle; we’d have the experience of jointly going another to surface our concerns both big and
through problem identification; and you’d get a small. I’m afraid you’d have to trust me on this.”
sense of whether or not your team was open to I said this last couple of sentences with some trepi-
working with an outsider like myself.” dation, knowing from my experience that most
I paused and went on: “Such a meeting would managers would want much more clarity, but
be relatively efficient. It wouldn’t take time away I needed to know how Bob was viewing me.
from work, and it wouldn’t cost an arm and a I was surprised at what happened next. Denton
leg.” Bob nodded, sipped his coffee and looked quickly agreed to have a retreat weekend as I’d
at me intently. “OK,” he said, “I can see your outlined. We also selected a weekend a month-
points. Just what would we be doing?” and-a-half away. He would find a site and let
Seeing Bob’s interest as well as warming to me know. In addition, we agreed he would use
the idea myself, I went on to outline a retreat. I the phrase “a communications workshop” when
suggested doing it at a country club or lodge within he informed participants. Glancing at my watch as
a few hours’ drive of Seattle. This setting was to I left Denton’s office, I saw it was just 11:30.
provide a symbolic break from the customary busi-
ness environment, and because it would cost
everyone weekend time and the company the Questions
expense of travel, food, and lodging, it would
1. How well did the OD consultant prepare for
show Bob’s seriousness about the event. I then
the meeting with Denton? Would you have
suggested we begin with cocktails and dinner on
done anything differently?
a Friday evening, work all day Saturday with appro-
priate breaks, and conclude by noon Sunday. 2. In the discussion between the OD consultant
Again, Bob nodded. He then asked, “But what and Denton, what was effective and ineffec-
would we do? What would you charge?” tive about the consultant’s behavior?
I did some quick calculations and responded, 3. How effective was the contracting process
“As for my fee, I’d have to bill you for a minimum described in the last part of the case? What is
of three days at my daily rate of $___ per day, and the scope and clarity of the agreement?
travel expenses—assuming Kenworth would 4. How would you design the upcoming retreat?
238 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

PEPPERCORN DINING*

Selected Cases
T
he partners of Square One Consulting were County had become a boomtown and, as a
having lunch at Peppercorn Dining on the result, the university was having difficulty gain-
campus of All-American University. Although ing employees. Roger wondered aloud about
Square One was headquartered nearby, most the general steps Peppercorn had taken to off-
of the consultants’ business was conducted in set the current labor shortage.
other cities. The partners were enjoying having Drew, sensing the consultant’s interest,
the opportunity to attend a seminar on a campus openly discussed his perceptions of the dining
in their hometown. By chance, Drew Randall, unit. He stated:
the manager of Peppercorn, noticed the trio
I would like to make Peppercorn a more
and recognized Erica, who had worked her way
pleasant place for everyone to work. I get
through college as a student manager at the din-
great productivity out of these guys and
ing unit. Drew pulled up a chair and started to
they really care. It’s just that there needs to
catch up on the two years that had transpired
be something more. Maybe morale is a little
since she had graduated. The other consultants,
low. There’s not much creativity involved in
Roger and Lynn, listened as they began to remi-
most of the tasks, but the cooks feel great
nisce about the “good old days” at Peppercorn.
when they sell out of stuff. However, when
Erica recalled the time a swim test coin-
we sell out, it’s probably because the forecast
cided with her first shift at the dining hall. She
was incorrect rather than as a response to a
called to let the unit know she would be
good product. I take a humanistic manage-
detained, and she finally arrived about an hour
ment approach, maybe they just need some
late. When Erica entered the unit, she was
kind of support. On the other hand, I may
greeted by a supervisor who took her down-
give them too much autonomy since I let
stairs to change into the uniform of blue pants,
them manage themselves to a large degree.
blue-and-white-checkered shirt, a hair net, and
I believe that scheduling is manage-
a name tag, an outfit similar to what was being
ment’s right. I base my scheduling on oper-
worn by the current employees. Erica was then
ational need. Ultimately, the manager is
taken to the dish room and informed she was
responsible for the success or failure of the
receiving a verbal warning for being late. As the
operation, therefore, I should have the right
group laughed, the consultants chided Erica
to put the people where I deem best. You
further by commenting that her sense of timing
know, niche management. Although, I did
hadn’t changed. Drew, however, suggested
inherit a lot of the schedule.
that times had changed.
As Erica tentatively nodded her head in
DEVELOPING A CONTRACT response to Drew’s comments, Roger and
The consultants were eager to learn about Pep- Lynn caught each other’s gaze and shrugged
percorn, and Erica, eager to learn about the inquisitively. By the consultants’ behavior, it
changes Drew had alluded to, asked about cur- was apparent they were wondering about the
rent operations at the unit. Drew, sipping on his meaning behind Drew’s words. However,
coffee, commented, “Staffing is a nightmare. because he was obviously in the mood to talk,
We can’t find qualified people anywhere; the consultants did not interrupt.
recruiting and retention has become a constant Warming up to his listeners, Drew contin-
challenge.” Drew went on to explain that the ued, “Some employees have been at Pepper-
labor market in the county had become tight corn, working in the same position, for 20 plus
due to the prosperous Reagan years. Garden years. Bob, the day cook, has been working
here for 28 years. Can you believe that Doug,
the night cook, has been here for 10 years and
*JoAnn Carmin, Cornell University; Todd Comen, is waiting for Bob to retire so that he can
Cornell University; Yariels Kerr, Cornell University.
 SELECTED CASES 239

transfer to the day shift? Doug may have to wait a concerning me for quite some time. I know that
long time since Bob won’t be retiring for at least 15 you must be very busy, but perhaps you could
years. It’s hard for me to believe that Doug looks find the time to work with me. Erica already
forward to that time and that he refuses to transfer knows a lot about the operation, and it wouldn’t
to another dining unit.” take long for her to become reacquainted.”
“That’s amazing,” said Roger. “You seem to Because the consultants were planning to be in
have loyal employees. It must be easy to manage the area for several days to attend the seminar and to
people who know their job so well.” complete some paperwork, Erica suggested they
Drew responded: observe operations at Peppercorn. The group, dis-
cussing Erica’s suggestion, agreed that the first
It’s not that simple. The union contract forms a
stage should be a preliminary evaluation of the unit,
second set of rules and operating parameters.
followed by a feedback session with management.
The contract deals with turnover, sick leave,
Then, based on the outcome, management could
pay, promotion, and all of the other usual
conduct an in-depth operations audit. Drew con-
stuff. It seems that there is no reward for
curred that evaluation and feedback could be useful
non-sickness, but there is a reward for sick-
first steps in achieving his goals. He restated that his
ness. Now people get one and a half times
goals for Peppercorn were to increase productivity
the pay for sick days if they are on overtime.
and to improve morale among the workers.
If they are on overtime, absenteeism is more
The consultants concluded their discussion by
of a contractual issue than a workplace issue.
telling Drew they would drop off a written contract
Frankly, I believe that staffing affects atti-
by the following afternoon. The contract would include
tudes and attitudes affect quality; both of
their fee structure as well as a schedule of the dates
which affect productivity. Increased productiv-
and times they would like to be on the premises.
ity means making better use of time. Perhaps I
should structure the tasks in a better way, but
managing and working behind the lines makes REVIEWING BACKGROUND INFORMATION
it difficult for me to see the trees through the Two days later, the team gathered around the table
forest. There’s no time for anyone to stand in Roger’s office to discuss the Peppercorn consul-
back and see what’s happening. tation. Roger and Lynn initiated the discussion by
reintroducing the subject of Erica’s objectivity. It
Drew paused and, as if speaking more to him-
became obvious that all three of the partners
self than to the consultants, said, “Since I’ve been
were concerned about how Erica’s past experi-
so busy, maybe I’ve lost track of some of my
ences would bias her view of the operation. The
priorities.” Turning to the consultants, Drew
partners also discussed the fact that Erica’s views
inquired about their experience with situations of
would influence Roger and Lynn’s perceptions of
this type and what advice they might offer.
the dining unit. Although Erica believed she could
The partners explained they are usually con-
recognize and work with her bias, she suggested
tacted by organizations when management
she focus on gathering current managerial data.
believes an external opinion could provide a fresh
Because their time was limited, Lynn recom-
outlook on operations. They went on to state they
mended that Erica also conduct a few on-site inter-
normally begin their work by performing an opera-
views with people who would be more candid with
tions audit, the results of which are presented to
an old friend than with strangers.
management. Additionally, when the situation war-
As he was reaching for a notepad, Roger asked
rants, strategic interventions are designed to facili-
Erica about the general operating procedures and
tate the achievement of management objectives.
the key personnel at Peppercorn. Erica began out-
The partners further indicated they believe it is
lining the operation:
essential to become familiar with an organization
before appropriate suggestions can be made. Peppercorn’s hours are 11 A.M. to 7:30 P.M.,
Without hesitation, Drew said to the consul- Monday through Friday. When I first started,
tants, “The situation here at Peppercorn has been we served about 1,500 to 1,600 lunches
240 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

and 900 to 1,000 dinners daily. By the time The student supervisors were the only
I graduated, the counts were down by about other key players that I can think of at this
30 percent at lunch and approximately 50 per- point, and they had extensive responsibilities
cent at dinner. which included daily management, scheduling,
When I was a student worker at Pepper- and hiring of the student workers.
corn, there were full-time employees, all of
The partners’ conversation shifted to the amount
whom were union members. There were
of time available for the investigation. Lynn asked
also student workers, and we had our own stu-
her partners how much time they thought was nec-
dent management staff. When I first started
essary for conducting the initial investigation. “Well,
working, there were more student workers
Lynn,” replied Roger, “based on the information we
than when I graduated. Some of the gaps
have so far, it’s possible that the longtime employees
were filled by full-time temporary workers.
may not be as open as we might like. They may be
Lynn pointed out that it would be important to protective of their turf.” Lynn agreed but added that
determine if these changes were affecting the they shouldn’t jump to any conclusions. She noted
operation. Erica agreed and indicated that by the that often it was the old-time employees who were
time she had graduated, minor conflicts were aris- most interested in talking about their work.
ing between student and temporary workers at The consultants agreed that three days should be
Peppercorn. Erica continued her briefing by provid- an ample amount of time to gather the necessary data
ing an overview of the key personnel during her and to develop a presentation for the management of
tenure with All-American Dining, the parent organi- Peppercorn Dining. The consultants concluded the
zation of Peppercorn. meeting by agreeing that Lynn would concentrate
Erica stated: on the production areas of the unit while Roger
would survey front-of-house operations.
Drew is obviously the manager of Peppercorn.
He was also the manager of the Salt Mill over
at the “B”-School. He was responsible to Stan DAY ONE: INTERVIEWS
O’Malley, one of the assistant directors of All- AND OBSERVATIONS
American Dining. Stan supervised Drew and Lynn was the first to arrive at Peppercorn the fol-
Beth Clarkson, the manager of food service lowing morning. As she approached the facility,
in the student union. she noticed that three female employees were
John Cerrano was the receiving clerk. He smoking cigarettes on the loading dock, joking
always worked closely with Drew. There never around with a purveyor. Lynn introduced herself
seemed to be any problems with his work; he and lingered with the workers for a few minutes.
always knew where everything was because
he received the goods and then put them in Back of House
storage. John, or “Bo-bo” as we called him, Entering the kitchen from the loading dock, Lynn
was the shop steward. He had a close relation- noticed it was clean and most of the equipment
ship with most of the employees and a bunch looked relatively new. The kitchen had fairly good
of us used to go out drinking with him regularly. fluorescent lighting, and natural lighting was pro-
Matt Copperfield was definitely a key vided by windows in the pot washing and food
player. Matt was the professional supervisor preparation areas.
who handled inventory, purchasing, scheduling, As Lynn placed her coat and briefcase on a rack
and other administrative tasks. It always in the storage area, she observed that the dry goods
seemed as if he was at the heart of the opera- were neatly arranged, although the supplies were
tion. I can’t remember her name, but there was not plentiful. From the storeroom doorway, she
a secretary who was also in a pivotal position. could see that the workers were busy, but not
She had access to a lot of information and she rushed. The members of the kitchen staff chatted
was the source and respondent of all official as they worked and they appeared to know what
Peppercorn communication. tasks to perform without needing direction.
 SELECTED CASES 241

The kitchen was divided into five areas (as The doors to the dining facility were opened at
shown in Figure 1). After introducing herself to 10:55 A.M. at which time the pantry workers took a
the workers and taking a brief tour of the kitchen, break.
Lynn positioned herself near the walk-in cooler Bob, the day chef, was grilling sandwiches in
where she could easily see most of the kitchen the tilt brazier while Robert, the day cook,
operations. She noticed that the walk-in cooler was breading pork. Robert moved between food
and freezer were clean and were stocked with a preparation, the fryer, and the steamer. During
moderate amount of supplies. She also observed lunch service, the kitchen staff appeared to
that the workers’ uniforms were clean. However, be relaxed. Although there was not much
some of the workers were wearing aprons and talking, they did joke with each other from time
some were not. As if reading her thoughts, a stu- to time.
dent worker passing through the room commented Shortly after 11:00 A.M., a man wearing a chefs
to no one in particular, “We’re out of aprons again. uniform entered the kitchen and greeted the other
Oh well, it’s no big deal.” Lynn wondered what workers. He then took a clipboard and a stack of
else might not be a “big deal” to the workers. computer printouts to a table near where Lynn was

FIGURE 1
Floor Plan of Peppercorn Dining
242 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

FIGURE 1
Floor Plan of Peppercorn Dining, (continued )

© Cengage Learning
 SELECTED CASES 243

standing. Lynn felt a bit awkward until he intro- short stock. We haven’t had any salt all semester.
duced himself as Doug, the dinner chef. This is mostly a result of computer errors.”
Lynn explained she was observing the facility in Doug went on to talk about some of his
order to become familiar with the operation. Doug coworkers. Bob, the lunch chef, has been at
showed interest in Lynn’s curiosity and stated: Peppercorn for 28 years. Chris, the assistant dinner
chef, has been with the unit for about three years.
I want the kitchen to run as smoothly as possi-
Chris, who moved to the kitchen from the short-
ble. I believe that it takes organization, morale,
order station, was trained by Doug. They enjoy
communication, and a system to have an effi-
sharing ideas and they always try to prepare the
cient operation. Communication is important. I
food a day in advance.
ask the servers how things are working out so
While Lynn was talking with Doug, she could
that I know if I should change anything. I try to
see the cafeteria line by way of a pass-through win-
maintain a routine system so there won’t be
dow. She noticed that a steady flow of diners was
many questions during service. I train all of my
entering the facility. Realizing that Doug enjoyed
workers and I enjoy having the opportunity to
talking about the unit and being curious about
teach. I’ve been in food service for 25 years
Doug’s responses, Lynn felt comfortable continuing
and at Peppercorn for 10 years. I started working
the conversation. Observing a student supervisor
in the food service industry when I was about 11.
restocking the hot food line, Lynn asked Doug
I think that Peppercorn has the best food on
how he felt about working with students.
campus. Some of my own recipes have been
He replied, “Some student workers are reli-
accepted by management and are now a part
able, while others are less committed.” Lynn
of the menu database. I’ve also developed
asked Doug about the role of the student supervi-
ideas that have been adopted here and at
sor and in response Doug called the student over.
other campus dining facilities. For example, I
The student seemed unhurried and went on to
started the trend of keeping plastic tasting
explain that student supervisors do not have any
spoons by the steam kettles. I’m also the per-
power over the regular workers; only over temps
son who started using a yellow marker to high-
and other students. Students have their own man-
light important items on the computer printouts.
agement structure that includes a student coordi-
As Lynn and Doug were talking, a man came nator, managers, and pay clerk. The student
over and listened to their conversation. Doug’s personnel coordinator handles complaints. Temps
speech became hesitant in this man’s presence. and regular workers take complaints to the regular
After only a few minutes, the man left. Lynn won- personnel worker. More temps have been needed
dered who the man was and why he had such an recently since there are less student workers at
effect on Doug. From the way he was dressed, Peppercorn than in previous years.
there was no way to determine if he worked at As Lynn, Doug, and the student were talking,
Peppercorn, was from the union, or was part of the Larry entered the kitchen again. When the student
All-American management staff. noticed him, he quickly went back to work restock-
Coincidentally, Doug explained to Lynn that the ing the food line.
man was Larry, the professional supervisor. He The activity in the kitchen seemed to be get-
went on to say Larry plans the menus and tries to ting busier, and Lynn decided she should move to
balance the use of ovens and kettles so the equip- another position so Doug could continue his work.
ment is not overloaded. According to Doug, Larry Before she left, Doug commented about the union.
prints out the menus from a computer located in He stated, “Skilled workers are on the same union
the office. Doug added that the system does not contract as unskilled workers. I think that this
always work the way it should. It is supposed to arrangement holds back the skilled workers and
print menus, compile order lists, and check the helps the unskilled to get ahead. It doesn’t work
inventory. Doug commented, “Sometimes it works well, and we don’t even have a shop steward.
well, and sometimes not. Sometimes the menus The only way that I can move up in the organization
have to be changed at the last minute because of is to become part of management.”
244 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

Lynn bid Doug farewell and went into the ser- and a line server. Now that the swap is final, Carrie
vice area to get some lunch. As she went through believes the other woman, who is now the door
the cafeteria line, she noticed Roger observing the checker, may not think the trade was equitable.
cafeteria service. Lynn invited him to join her for During his conversation with Carrie, Roger saw
lunch, but Roger declined, saying he had just begun the chef come out of the kitchen and pick up an
his observation and he wanted to spend some time empty pan. The chef lingered for a minute. He
watching service during the busiest hours. appeared to be watching the line service. Roger
returned his attention to Carrie and continued the con-
Service Areas versation by asking her about line staffing. Carrie
Roger immediately noticed the line servers inter- explained, “Usually there are three main workers on
acted a great deal with the customers. He also the line, two full-timers at one station and one student
noted there was no portion control. The students or temp at the other. We choose our own positions on
would ask the line servers for “a little more spaghetti, the line and we usually stick to the same spots. When
just meatballs, no corn, more sauce, or a small cup of it gets busy, additional student workers fill in. Today
soup.” Each customer wanted the standard portions one full-timer is sick, so a temp from another area filled
or combinations of food items altered to meet their the position. Sometimes they can’t find substitutes,
personal needs, and they were accommodated. so we just have to work that much harder.”
The first line server plates the entrees and Roger stepped aside as a student worker car-
the second worker serves the side dishes (see rying a tray of soup cups began to restock the ser-
Figure 2). The workers must communicate in vice line. Roger apologized for any inconvenience
order to properly fill each order. The overall atmo- and explained he was a member of a group learn-
sphere in the serving area was relaxed. Roger ing about the operations at Peppercorn. Roger
timed the service and discovered it took two to asked the student if he could take a moment to
four minutes for a customer to enter the line and tell him about the relationship between student
be served during a busy period. and nonstudent workers.
As the flow of customers slowed, Roger initi- The student explained that Peppercorn is sup-
ated a conversation with a line worker who intro- posed to be staffed primarily by students. The stu-
duced herself as Carrie. She told Roger she had dents are grouped into three segments: student
been at Peppercorn for 10 years and was a door managers, student supervisors, and student work-
checker for 9½ of those years. She explained the ers. However, he said, “Since the supply of stu-
door checker made sure that only diners on the dents has been diminishing over the years, more
university meal plan were allowed in the noncash temps have had to fill the positions. There’s a lot of
dining area. She went on to say she had become tension between students and temps as well as
bored with her position. She was also dissatisfied between students and full-timers. This isn’t sur-
with her former hours, which were from 11 A.M. to prising since the students supervise the operation.
7:30 P.M. Carrie attained her new position with They call us ‘students’ as opposed to ‘supervisors’
Drew’s help. He facilitated a trade between her and we seem to be stereotyped.”

FIGURE 2
Line Servers Setup
© Cengage Learning
 SELECTED CASES 245

He clarified his statement, saying, “There’s a into racks with dirty dishes. He also noticed the sil-
discrepancy with age, economic status, and experi- verware was run through the dishwasher twice.
ence in many cases. Only the full-timers and the Roger wanted to know why the silverware had
professional managers are not under the supervision to go through the wash cycle two times, so he
of students. Students have a difficult time supervis- asked the dish sorter who was positioned at the
ing older people, and older people have a difficult end of the line. The sorter said, “We’re concerned
time taking orders from young people who they that plates and especially the silver are clean. We
probably consider similar to their own children.” wouldn’t want people catching something from
The student went back to work, leaving Roger someone else.”
to his thoughts. He was reminded of the conversa- The sorter asked Roger what he was doing in
tion that he had with his partners about the con- the dish room. Roger explained and then asked the
flicts between student and nonstudent workers. It worker how long he had been at Peppercorn. The
was becoming clear to Roger that this was an worker said he had been at Peppercorn for a year.
important issue. Further discussion revealed the worker is on a split
Just as Roger was beginning to consider the shift. He works from noon to 4 P.M. and then from
problems that can arise from role conflict and role 6 P.M. until 10 P.M. He said he likes having a midday
ambiguity, he was startled by the sound of shattering break in order to get things done in his personal life.
glass. Roger turned in time to notice a student step- He explained that he knew three of the other work-
ping away from a broken glass, acting as if nothing ers before he started the job. Because he was the
had happened. Several dishwashers, on their way to newest employee in the dish room, he was sta-
the drink station, also saw the broken glass as they tioned at the hottest position. He pointed out that
walked by. Roger was curious to see how long it the two full timers he worked with had held their
would take for someone to clean up the mess. Two positions for four and two years, respectively. The
minutes later, a dishwasher returned and swept up other three workers, including him, were temps.
the glass. During this time, a student supervisor was The worker finished sorting and left the dish
informed of the problem. Roger noted she never room to get his coworkers a cold drink. Roger
returned to make sure the situation was corrected. went over to the area where workers were scraping
Roger followed the dishwasher toward the dish and sorting dirty plates. The dishes and filled racks
room. As he rounded the corner of the serving area, were piling up. Roger noted the dish machine was
Roger heard the sound of blaring music. He had to not able to keep up with the demand. He also saw
weave his way through a narrow passage that was that the paper items were shredded with the food
blocked with customers at the cashier’s station. scraps and that Styrofoam was sorted separately.
As he entered the dish room through an open The oldest woman in the dish room yelled out
doorway, Roger was greeted by a mixture of from time to time, “Come on, keep it movin’.”
machinery noise, loud music, and a hot, humid Roger spent a few more minutes observing.
atmosphere. The machinery was arranged in a pat- As he recalled Erica’s story about her first day at
tern that allowed many people to perform different Peppercorn, Roger wondered why there were no
tasks simultaneously. The five workers gave Roger students working in the dish room. As he was leav-
a cursory glance and continued with their tasks. ing, a student supervisor came in to get trays for
Roger, feeling a bit out of place and self- the service area.
conscious, stood to one side of the work area and Roger proceeded to the cashier station where
watched the activity. There was a lot of joking, talk- he found the dish sorter chatting with the cashier.
ing, and interacting as the workers sorted and After a minute, the sorter returned to the dish
cleaned dishes, silverware, glasses, and trays. Full room. Roger struck up a conversation with the
dish trays were stacked at the rinse station. Each cashier. After briefing her about his project, the
rack was rinsed and then sent through the dish- cashier proceeded to tell Roger about some of
washing machine. When the dishes completed her observations and experiences at Peppercorn.
their cycle, a worker sorted the dishes. Roger She explained that the cashier’s job is a full-
noted the worker put several freshly washed dishes time, nonunion position she has held for two
246 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

years. She replaced the person who is currently the that if someone sees something that needs
secretary. She enjoys having the opportunity to doing, they are supposed to do it. Therefore, during
meet people and getting to know the regulars, but slow periods I help clean tables, do the menu
she has found that some of the students are rude. board, and look around for other things to do.”
The cashier stated, “I usually get along well with Roger asked the cashier about her plans for the
management. Everyone has their good and bad future, and she explained she would like to have a
days. I was a manager in my previous job, so I under- secretarial job so she could get away from food ser-
stand what Drew has to deal with. I also understand vice for a while. The cashier went on to say there are
the problems that the student supervisors have.” temps and students that make more money than
Roger wondered what the cashier meant by this she does as a full-timer and this disparity makes
statement. What does Drew have to deal with and her resentful. The wages seem to be based on job
what problems do the student supervisors really position or union membership. Only four positions
have to deal with? Thus far, he had noted that the are nonunion. These positions include the cashier,
operation appeared effective, although some com- secretary, supervisor, and manager. The rest of the
munication problems were evident. workers at Peppercorn are temporary, union mem-
The cashier, seeing Drew passing by, stopped bers, or students. The cashier added there are only
him and asked him for more change and small bills. five single people on the staff.
Roger asked if it was standard procedure for her to When Roger asked the cashier about the relation-
ask managers for more money, or if she was able to ship between student and full-time workers, she
get it herself. She replied she is authorized to get replied there is a lot of pressure in the dish room.
cash, but it is difficult for her to leave her station. She believes the pressure builds up because the stu-
While the cashier was waiting for Drew to dent supervisors never send student workers in to
return, Roger asked her about work conditions. help. The supervisors’ excuse is that they are short
The cashier replied: of help elsewhere. Drew returned with the cash,
and Roger went to see if he could find his partners.
I get cold in the winter because I’m so close to
the entrance and the wind blows in. It’s ironic Administrative Information
because the rest of the workers complain
Roger found Lynn and Erica sitting in the dining
about it being too hot at their stations. Pepper-
area. Erica was telling Lynn she had arranged for
corn is built over heating ducts, so it’s very hot
them to have dinner with some students that even-
everywhere except at my station. People’s big-
ing. Roger sat down with his partners and asked
gest complaint is the heat. There isn’t ade-
Erica if she could clarify some details about the
quate ventilation or air flow. Another common
organizational structure.
complaint is that there’s not enough room in
Erica responded, “There are three tiers of man-
the dining, kitchen, and service areas. This is
agement at Peppercorn (Figure 3). There is the pro-
because Peppercorn used to be a riding stable.
fessional management staff, which consists of
In the winter I get sick easily, but I only
Drew and Larry. They oversee the full-time workers.
miss about five days per year. I’ve learned to
There are also student managers and student super-
live with not feeling well on the job. I have a
visors. The student managers oversee student
sore back every night because I sit on a bar
supervisors as well as the student workers. The stu-
stool all day.
dent supervisors are responsible for daily opera-
Before Roger could inquire if she had ever tions. The student workers and the temporary
talked to management about her work conditions, employees report to them. It seems, however,
she stated, “I’m the only cashier. I have to call on that the temporary workers also report to, and are
the secretary when it’s really busy, but I know she trained by, the professional managers.”
has a lot of work to do. I also restock silverware. Roger and Lynn interjected that they had
This entails shutting down the register, running to noticed difficulties between the students and the
the dish room, and then restocking before the reg- other workers at Peppercorn. Lynn asked Erica if
ister line gets too long. Our job descriptions say she would clarify the distinction between the
 SELECTED CASES 247

FIGURE 3
Peppercorn Dining Organizational Chart

© Cengage Learning
different levels of employees. Erica clarified the director of All-American Dining (Figure 4). She has
organizational structure stating: been spending a great deal of time traveling to dif-
ferent universities in order to analyze their food ser-
There are full-time union employees, full-time
vice operations. Stan O’Malley is still an assistant
nonunion temporary employees, and student
director of All-American Dining. Although there is a
labor. Full-time employees hold the positions
central office, each unit is independently operated.
of cooks, short order chefs, pantry workers,
Roger asked Erica is she had the opportunity to
and cashiers. In past years, students filled all
speak with any employees and if she had been able
the other supplementary positions, including
to uncover any information about management-
dishwashers, servers, cooks, helpers, short
employee relations. Erica told her partners she had
order helpers, pantry helpers, beverage ser-
spoken with John Cerrano and some of the pantry
vers, and serving area floaters. For the past
workers.
four to five years, fewer students have wanted
Erica went on to say she and John spoke about
jobs at Peppercorn. This phenomena has
changes that had occurred at Peppercorn since she
resulted in the addition of the third type of
had left. John told Erica the lack of student help has
employee, the full-time temporary worker.
hurt operations at the unit. For example, a special
Erica went on to tell her partners that she had dining event that Peppercorn sponsored last night
gathered enough information to update them on the was difficult for the workers. There were virtually
key players at All-American Dining. She explained no students on the staff. As a result, the full-time
that Larry Pendleton is the new professional super- workers and temps had to pick up the slack.
visor, replacing Matt Copperfield at Peppercorn. In John also commented that Larry doesn’t listen
the central office, Nancy Lawrence is still the to his advice about ordering food. John spends a
248 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

© Cengage Learning
Department of Dining Services
FIGURE 4
 SELECTED CASES 249

lot of his time getting food items that should have things will impact Peppercorn, but the scoop is that
come in from the suppliers from the other units on Drew will be the manager of the new facility!”
campus. According to John, Larry doesn’t have the Erica, acting quite pleased, sat back, smiled,
respect of the staff. He doesn’t take anyone’s and waited for her partners to respond. Lynn
advice and acts like a know-it-all. The situation paused only for a moment and then, turning to
is made worse because Larry doesn’t do his job Erica, said, “This isn’t making much sense, but,
very well. before I ask the obvious, why don’t you tell us
Erica went on to discuss the pantry workers the rest of the facts?”
stating: Erica, a little disappointed at the response her
comment evoked, went on to explain that Drew
The workers seemed to indicate a general
would be leaving Peppercorn in about five months
belief that the management of All-American
and that Eric Weston, the current vending manager,
Dining, as well as the management at Pep-
would take charge of the unit as soon as Drew left.
percorn, doesn’t really care about them. They
As Lynn and Erica began to engage in an
mentioned how All-American’s previous per-
intense discussion about the future of Pepper-
sonnel director used to visit the different dining
corn dining, Roger, in true form, looked at his
units at least once a month and talk with the
watch and stated, “Well, not only do we have a
full-time employees. During that time, the work-
contract, we also have a dinner engagement in
ers felt that someone cared about them. They
20 minutes. Let’s get some fresh air before we
said that the new personnel director doesn’t
meet with the students!” The partners began
come around at all and probably doesn’t even
laughing and, recognizing the sanity of Roger’s
know who the full-time employees are.
comment, decided a break was in order.
The workers also told me that there is min-
imal union representation for food service Dinner with Student Managers
employees. According to the workers, food ser-
After freshening up, the trio returned to Peppercorn
vice members are a minority faction of the
to meet the students for dinner. Molly, the student
union and aren’t considered important unless
coordinator, and Shaun, the student personnel man-
a strike is in progress. Apparently, the union’s
ager, were waiting for the consultants at Pepper-
primary concern is with maintenance workers,
corn’s main entrance. The five of them went
groundskeepers, janitors, and bus drivers.
through the cafeteria line and then entered the din-
There’s no shop steward and union officials
ing room, where they found a quiet table to have
don’t come to Peppercorn unless there is an
their dinner.
official grievance.
Shaun seemed to know why the consultants
Lynn added that Doug had also commented on had asked them to dinner and began to tell them
the union. She stated, “Based on what we have about his tenure at Peppercorn. Shaun explained
heard so far, no one is thrilled with the union. that when he had started at Peppercorn four
Workers and management alike seem to find the years ago, there were two to three times the num-
union a burden.” ber of student workers. He went on to say more
Roger asked Erica about how each unit on the students made the work fun and the operation ran
campus was staffed. Erica explained that the units more efficiently. Shaun explained it is hard for the
were independently staffed and at the beginning of students who have been at Peppercorn for a long
each semester, the different units held recruitment time because they know how it used to be.
campaigns. Molly agreed with Shaun, saying students
Erica became quite excited as she stated, “OK, would work at Peppercorn because it had a reputa-
enough of the routine stuff. One thing that I found tion for being social. “To attract student workers,”
out today is that the university is building a new Molly said, “Peppercorn must become special, more
400-seat dining facility. Also, a privately funded conducive to meeting students’ needs. In the early
food service operation that will include a variety of days, students were proud to be Peppies and looked
dining concepts is opening nearby. Of course, these forward to seeing their coworkers.” She proceeded
250 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

to say they have to treat students well because they spring and meet their supervisors when they
can’t risk alienating anyone. They can’t afford to fire begin working in the fall. They immediately have
students or give them too many warnings. some respect for their supervisor. I think that the
Erica asked the students to comment on work- new manager will be in a bind.”
ing with the temporary workers. Shaun said, “The Molly said she believed the change would
temp-student relationship is not great. Temps are have a greater effect on the full-time and tempo-
under the student supervisors’ authority, but it rary workers than on the students. She has heard
doesn’t really work that way. Temps are less effi- some workers mention they are concerned
cient than students, but they are needed to fill the because Peppercorn’s future is unclear. Many of
vacant positions. They are probably not as efficient the full-time workers are loyal to Drew; they have
because they have less loyalty to Peppercorn than become comfortable with his management style.
the students.” Roger, addressing Molly, asked about commu-
Molly interjected, “This year, no students and nication at Peppercorn. Molly responded:
temps work in the same areas except for emergen-
Communication has been a major problem. The
cies. Temps are trained by the professional man-
students thought that if they left me notes,
agement but are supervised by students. Last
things would get done. I would take the notes
year, it was unclear who was in charge of the
to management, but important things were not
temps. This year it is better. Most things are writ-
noted as being important. Mostly, the problems
ten in manuals.”
were repair and maintenance issues. People
“The regular and temporary workers don’t talk
brooded that things didn’t get done quickly.
much to the students,” continued Molly. “Temps
They didn’t realize that most things have to go
and full-timers think students are stupid; they have
through a lot of channels, which takes time.
an attitude toward students. It’s hard for the students
There is so much paperwork involved. Now the
to get cooperation and respect from the temps.”
students make special notations when issues
Lynn asked the students about their relation-
are urgent so that I can establish priorities.
ships with Drew. Shaun and Molly explained that
An area that is related to communication is
while most students don’t interact with Drew
ordering. There are a lot of problems with
frequently, they, as supervisors, meet with him reg-
Larry. Last year, we had a problem with the
ularly. Most of the students think Drew is rude and
person who filled a similar job but the job
cold and unapproachable, but they have found he
description has changed. Last year, the
can be very patient. Additionally, many students
kitchen workers were getting burnt out. Larry
don’t believe Drew is knowledgeable about food
revised the menus and for a while the kitchen
service operations. Molly and Shaun have discov-
seemed better. Larry just doesn’t do his job
ered that he is, in fact, an astute person. They attrib-
well and we constantly run out of things.
uted his reputation to a lack of accessibility, noting
that Drew is generally more accessible to the full- Roger asked about the student pay structure at
time and temporary workers than to the students. Peppercorn. Molly told him the pay rate has been
Lynn further inquired about the students’ reac- changed twice. The effect is that workers are kept
tions to the forthcoming management changes. on the same pay grade because the raises push peo-
Molly replied, “Since most of the students don’t ple back to level one. The only workers who benefit
work closely with Drew, we really can’t foresee from the changes are the student managers.
the change having much of an effect on them. Shaun noted that one of the most frustrating
Most students don’t have any preconceived ideas situations at Peppercorn was the lack of student inter-
about the new management.” est, something that could not be controlled. Even
Shaun disagreed with Molly stating, “It’s going when the wages were raised, no one applied for
to be hard for a new manager to come in mid-year. jobs. Shaun added that the student supervisors are
The transition will cause problems since the new upset about paying for their meal plan tickets because
manager won’t have the experience. I think that many of them worked their way through school.
the new manager should change things quickly. It was getting late and the students had to
New student workers are recruited by us in the attend classes the next morning. The consultants
 SELECTED CASES 251

thanked the students for being so candid with greeted each other cordially and chatted for a few
them. After the students left, the consultants dis- minutes. Drew, taking off his lab coat, said he was
cussed their impressions of Peppercorn. due at a meeting on the other side of the campus.
Roger commented that their earlier concerns Erica left the kitchen and went into the office to
about the willingness of employees to speak with gather more information on the structure and opera-
them were unfounded. Lynn agreed, noting that tions of Peppercorn. When she entered through the
although most of the workers seemed to be quite open office door, she found Larry working at the
open, Doug was an exception. He was eager to computer, placing orders with the central purchas-
talk, but the discussion seemed contrived. He ing system. Larry explained to Erica that the com-
seemed to be conveying information that he puter system had not been working properly. It is
thought she should know and was careful to por- supposed to generate order lists and inventories
tray himself and the operation in a favorable light. based on the menus that he inputs. He indicated,
Lynn said she thought he was concerned about however, there must be some problem with the
possible repercussions from his responses. system because the orders are not coming in, and
Lynn went on to recount the interactions she when they do, they frequently are late. After provid-
had observed earlier in the day between Larry, ing Erica with some literature such as employee
Doug, and the student supervisor. She then com- handbooks, Larry suggested she talk to Patricia,
mented, “Larry is an interesting player. All of the the secretary at the main office.
workers mention him. He seems to have a lot of Erica followed Larry’s suggestion and on her
power over the other workers, yet he seems to way out of the unit she met Roger. She explained
govern by fear. The workers become timid in his she was planning to visit the main office and said
presence, nonetheless, they don’t appear to have she would meet her partners in the late afternoon
much respect for him.” to discuss her findings.
Picking up on Lynn’s train of thought, Roger noted Roger wandered around the unit for over an
that in his conversations and observations throughout hour, observing the lunch service. During the first
the day, he had begun to wonder about the social sys- hour, the cafeteria was packed with customers.
tem at the unit. He commented, “Although the orga- Roger noticed the student supervisors were busy
nization was highly stratified, operations still seem to refilling the salad and beverage stations. Shaun
run smoothly. While workers may be timid around helped by restocking glasses and trays. The cafe-
Larry and even fear Drew, the fact that operations teria line became long and at one point, Drew, hav-
are smooth and that the workers appear to be loyal ing returned from his meeting, helped serve food.
indicates that personality conflicts and role ambiguity Roger noted that by the end of the lunch period,
are symptoms of a larger problem.” the cafeteria was short on silverware.
“That’s true,” said Erica. “The unit always had As the lunch service slowed, Roger decided to
a reputation for being a social environment. In the take a look at the student office. As he entered the
past, we were able to overlook personality and downstairs dining room, he immediately noticed it
role conflicts because there was a strong culture was very hot, that a large percentage of the tables
at the unit.” were dirty, and that many of the light bulbs in the
Noticing that the cleaning crew was beginning dining room needed replacement. Roger located
to break down the dining room, the partners the student office and what appeared to be a
decided to call it a night. small gathering or meeting area.
From the open office doorway, Roger could see
DAY TWO: INTERVIEWS a bank of time cards on the wall. Roger also noted
AND OBSERVATIONS the office contained a suggestion box. As he peered
Erica arrived at the dining hall at 10:30 A.M. As she in the door, he was greeted by the sound of a
climbed the stairs beside the loading dock, she woman’s voice. Roger entered and introduced him-
noticed a worker was in the car wash, hosing self. In response, the woman identified herself as
down the trash cans. As she entered the kitchen, Sarah Lange. Roger asked Sarah if she would be will-
Erica spotted Drew helping out in the pantry. They ing to discuss her work experiences at Peppercorn.
252 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

Sarah began by saying she had worked at Pep- worked seemed highly professional and reflective
percorn for three years and had been a student of the long years the employees had worked
supervisor two years. Sarah stated, “Working at together.
Peppercorn is not as much fun as it used to be. When Doug finally noticed Lynn, he greeted
Although the job was never easy, it has become her warmly and began to chat with her. As Doug
increasingly difficult. As supervisors, we don’t really and Lynn were talking, a man who Doug said was
manage any more, and the upper-level student man- a short-order cook walked through the kitchen. He
agers like Shaun don’t work and don’t care. He stopped and stared at Lynn for a moment and then
won’t even help out when we are short staffed.” asked, “Are you with the health department or the
Sarah described an incident when Naomi, union?” Lynn introduced herself and explained the
another student supervisor, was working a snack nature of her project. The man stared at her again
shift that was understaffed. Shaun, aware of the briefly and then walked away.
problem, stayed downstairs at his desk. When Doug excused himself and Lynn, left to her
Naomi went downstairs to ask him for help, he thoughts, wondered if the man had accurately
acted ambivalent. Shaun finally helped in the dining stated the paranoia she had perceived in Doug the
room for about 20 minutes. previous day. Doug returned a few minutes later
“In contrast to Shaun,” Sarah commented, with a cup of soup and offered it to Lynn, saying
“Molly is willing to pitch in when we are short he thought she should have the opportunity to
staffed, but this has caused her to become burnt taste Peppercorn’s good food. As Lynn was finish-
out. Molly has a hard time dealing with problems ing the soup, she saw two students walk through
that arise among the student supervisors. A few the kitchen carrying tacos. They proceeded to the
days ago, she called a meeting and told us there loading dock and began to eat their meal. Lynn,
was a new policy restricting the snacks that we wanting some fresh air, went out to the dock and
were allowed to eat. She also told us that we began to converse with the students.
were scheduled to work on special dining programs, The students told Lynn they had worked at Pep-
which are always at dinnertime. The whole time percorn for three years. One of the students said,
that Molly spoke with us, she was really curt and “Peppercorn used to be a better place to work.
acted like she was annoyed. We don’t even have We used to have more students working here. The
a student rep to complain to anymore. At least unit always used to be cheerful, and they used to
Molly is leaving at the end of the school year.” buy beer and have parties on Friday nights.”
Sarah said that although she is not very happy Lynn asked what had caused the situation to
working at Peppercorn, she does not want to quit. change and the second student replied, “Drew is
She has loyalty to both her fellow workers and to much tighter about things. The management is
the unit. Sarah said she would definitely quit if only concerned about customers and not about
some of her friends, who are also supervisors at workers. When I first started working here, we had
Peppercorn, stopped working at the unit. to mop the floor, but there were a lot of students so
Roger thanked Sarah for talking with him and it was more fun. Then they didn’t make us mop any
wished her luck in the future. As he walked up the more. Now we have to mop again, but there is not
stairs to the service area, Roger made a mental as much camaraderie among the workers.”
note to talk to his partners about information flow The worker continued, “What makes the situ-
and to further discuss coalitions within the unit. ation worse is that we can’t even mop properly
While Roger had been observing service, because we are always short of supplies. We
Lynn, who arrived at 12:30, had entered the unit haven’t had any bleach for a week.”
from the loading dock. Hoping the workers would Doug came out to the loading dock and said he
be less self-conscious if she was undetected, Lynn was going on break. He wanted the students to
quietly observed operations for almost an hour. come inside so he could give them instructions
During that time, Lynn noticed the steam kettles before he left. Doug told the students that because
were draining, and much like the previous day, there was not much work to be done, they could
the kitchen workers appeared unhurried but atten- work at a slow pace or even sweep the floor so
tive to their tasks. The manner in which they they could work their full shift.
 SELECTED CASES 253

Lynn followed Doug and the students back new recipe by putting out small chaffing
into the kitchen. Bob and Robert were finishing dishes in the meal plan dining room and then
the lunch cleanup, and Chris was looking at the asking students for comments on the product.
dinner menu while eating a snack. When Chris It worked out fairly well and we’ve used the
saw Lynn standing alone, he approached her and recipe several times.
immediately began to tell her about his work
As Lynn was wondering about Drew’s com-
experiences and views of Peppercorn.
ment on being a participatory manager, Erica
Chris told Lynn he likes working at Pepper-
entered the kitchen and came over to tell her she
corn. In the same breath, he said he had recently
was able to gather some information from the
seen ads for positions at a hotel and plans on
main office. Lynn thanked Chris for speaking with
applying for jobs. Chris said, “I think the food ser-
her, and she and Erica went into the service area to
vice industry is hard. We’re always working when
find Roger. Roger was chatting with some custo-
other people are off, and it’s hard to get good finan-
mers near the salad bar. When he saw his partners
cial compensation.”
approaching, he concluded his conversation.
Chris went on to explain that the management
The consultants each purchased a beverage
at Peppercorn does not give the kitchen staff feed-
and on their way to the dining room, Roger told
back. He believes this is because management
his partners that customers generally had a favor-
does not eat at Peppercorn often. He also said
able impression of Peppercorn. They like the food
the management is very cost oriented and won’t
but thought the service was too slow. The only
bring in the best quality products.
other comment the customers made was that the
Chris went on to state:
dining areas were too warm. Erica added that
Dining used to pay for us to attend profes- when she had worked at Peppercorn there were
sional culinary classes. Now they don’t want rarely any complaints about the food, but they con-
to spend the money, so they present lectures stantly received negative feedback about the heat.
by campus chefs. It doesn’t accomplish much After the consultants were seated, Roger
since we are usually taught things that we asked Erica what she was able to discover about
already know how to make or things that are the structure of the All-American Dining organiza-
not within the budget constraints. It doesn’t tion. Erica showed her partners copies of the orga-
make sense that they are willing to shell out nizational chart, mission statement (Figure 5), and
bucks for things like unit specials and manage- goals and objectives (Figure 6). Erica went on to
ment classes and not spend any money on us. describe a few of the things she had discovered
It’s hard to get new recipes on the menu. that day. For example, menu and staffing changes
I’ve tried, but I’m usually met with resistance. I had to be approved by the central office. She also
guess that in large quantities they can’t afford found out that managers are frequently transferred
mistakes. Once, they let us try to test market a between units.

FIGURE 5
Mission

The mission of All-American Dining is to meet the nutritional, social, aesthetic, and economic needs
of the university community with varied and innovative dining services. By meeting these needs we:
• Exert a strong and positive influence on community life.
• Provide educational opportunities for students, staff, and faculty.
• Create a living environment that will help maintain All-American’s position as an outstanding
© Cengage Learning

center of learning.
The challenge is to accomplish all this within the framework of the enterprise concept.
254 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

FIGURE 6
Goals and Objectives

The goals of All-American Dining are closely interwoven with those of the Division of Campus Living
and the University. These goals and related objectives are outlined below.
I. Customer Satisfaction. The primary goal is to provide the All-American community with a
nutritious, economical, and quality dining program. The objectives are to:
• Provide high-quality cuisine at an affordable price.
• Conduct surveys to determine customer satisfaction and provide guidelines for change.
• Maintain a variety of quality dining services, including: cafeterias, professional catering,
vending, and retail food outlets.
• Offer special dining experiences such as gourmet cuisines, unit specials, and community
dining events.
• Create flexible and cost-effective meal plans and options that give customers a wide choice
of dining times and locations.
• Maintain the highest standards of health and safety.
II. Excellent Facilities. The department’s goal is to maintain dining facilities in superior condition.
The objective is to continually assess and maintain the functional and aesthetic design of
facilities in the comprehensive context of the following:
• An ever-changing and varied customer market.
• The need to assure that production and service areas are clean, safe, efficient, and
comfortable.
• Budgetary constraints.
• Department and university master facilities planning processes.
• Energy conservation goals.
III. Professional Management. Recruit and maintain a professional management staff that can
meet the challenges of a dynamic food service enterprise. The objectives are to:
• Encourage a participatory, decentralized management style.
• Recruit exceptional talent and support internal promotions.
• Provide a stimulating work environment through interunit transfers, challenging staff
assignments, and intradepartmental competition of programs and services.
• Maintain a compensation program that attracts and motivates an innovative,
skilled staff.
• Maintain open and positive lines of communication among management, staff, and
customers.
• Provide and encourage education and training opportunities that promote professional and
personal growth.
• Conduct regular performance evaluations that are based on predetermined goals and
objectives.
• Maintain policy and procedural manuals that will ensure consistent and efficient
administration.
 SELECTED CASES 255

FIGURE 6
Goals and Objectives, (continued )

IV. Sound Financial Management. Develop and maintain effective financial accounting and report-
ing systems that facilitate effective planning, decision making, and accountability. The objectives
are to:
• Be financially self-sufficient.
• Encourage financial responsibility by providing timely, accurate statements, emphasizing the
management budget process and requiring managers to be financially accountable.
• Maintain an effective system of internal controls.
• Control labor costs through efficient use of employee time and control the costs of goods
with purchasing, menuing, forecasting, and precosting policies and procedures.
• Protect the department against fluctuation in meat costs through hedging in the commodi-
ties market.
• Evaluate and budget effectively for future facilities and equipment replacement needs.
• Conduct thorough cost-benefit analyses of potential programs and products.
• Cut costs with a comprehensive energy conservation program.
• Use resources in a reasonable manner.
• Evaluate short-term possibilities with long-range perspective.
V. Contribution to the University Mission. Dining’s program must contribute to the educational,
economic, and community service goals of the University. The objectives are to:
• Support the educational goals of the University through staff teaching and lecturing.
• Provide educational opportunities for the students.
• Use the diverse dining facilities as laboratories for student research and job training.
• Contribute professional time in support of the community.
• Encourage staff participation in University committees and projects.
VI. Industry Leadership. Maintain Dining’s position as a leader through continual educational and
professional contributions to the food service industry. The objectives are to:

© Cengage Learning
• Develop active and creative food service leaders.
• Participate in professional organizations and committees.
• Communicate our ideas and problem-solving techniques to others in the industry.

Erica then asked her partners what their thoughts alone adequate communication between manage-
were on the structure of All-American Dining and ment and line employees.”
what effect it had at the unit level. Roger suggested The consultants continued to talk for a while
that from the information that Erica had gathered, the about the tension they had noticed at the unit.
organization seemed highly centralized. However, Since Drew was leaving, they wondered if their
workers at the unit level are interested in making presence at the unit would have any affect and if
their own decisions. He added that the structure of the feedback session would really serve its pur-
the organization could be contributing to the problems pose. The consultants decided they would spend
that Drew perceived with productivity and morale. several hours the following morning reviewing the
Lynn, looking over the mission and goal state- information they had gathered. In order to facilitate
ments that Erica had collected, commented, “All- their meeting, they quickly constructed a partial list
American professes to be decentralized. Also, Drew of the individuals they had encountered during
believes he is a participatory manager. It seems as their observations. This list included characteristics
if this organization doesn’t play by its own rules. the consultants believed might be important to
I haven’t seen any indication of participation, let their analysis (Figure 7).
256 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

FIGURE 7
All-American Dining and Peppercorn Dining Personnel Chart (partial)

Part-time
Name Job Title Education Seniority Age Full-time Student Management
Peppercorn
Drew Manager A.S.-Restaurant 8 yrs. 37 X
Bob Day chef 28 yrs. 48 X
Robert Day cook Navy cook 11 yrs. 44 X
Doug Night chef Navy cook 10 yrs. 36 X
Chris Night cook 3 yrs. 31 X
Carrie Server 10 yrs. 28 X
Larry Supervisor A.S.-Mgmt. 1 mo. 32 X
John Receiving 11 yrs. 35 X
Bonnie Cashier 2 yrs. 28 X
Molly Coordinator Senior-A&S 4 yrs. 21 X
Shaun H.R. manager Senior-E.E. 4 yrs. 21 X
Sarah Supervisor Senior-Gov’t. 4 yrs. 21 X
All-American Dining
Nancy Director A.S.-Restaurant 12 yrs. 41 X
Stan Asst. director B.S.-Hotel 9 yrs. 32 X
Larry Supervisor A.S.-Mgmt. 6 yrs. 32 X
© Cengage Learning

Eric Vending B.A.-English 8 yrs. 34 X

manager

As the consultants sat at the table, several of Questions

the employees came over to speak with them. The
1. How effective was the OD consultants’
workers seemed relaxed and joked with the con-
data gathering? The content of the data?
sultants. Doug commented he was working on
The process of how the data were
putting his résumé together, and Chris told the
collected?
partners about some new recipes he was develop-
ing. The pantry workers and dish room workers 2. What concepts or models might help you
made small talk until the consultants said they analyze the data? What conclusions would you
had to depart. Roger, Lynn, and Erica thanked the draw from the analysis?
workers for being so cooperative and said they 3. How should the feedback session be
hoped to see them sometime soon. designed?
 SELECTED CASES 257

DIAGNOSIS AND FEEDBACK AT ADHIKAR*

Selected Cases

A
dhikar is a human rights-based, non- back on the analysis and recommendations for
governmental organization (NGO). Head- action.
quartered in Jharkhand, India, it was Together, Pia and the OD practitioners
founded in 1985 to empower society’s agreed to one- to two-hour interviews with
poor and marginalized populations. It has each coordinator concerning their views of
worked from within socially marginalized com- the organization, its culture, and any concerns
munities to organize against the unjust distribu- or suggestions. All the respondents were to be
tion of wealth, resources, or power. Rajan assured of the confidentiality of their
Mishra founded the organization and demon- responses. In addition, the OD practitioner
strated the importance of self-determination would visit a field location in Ghatsila to interact
by organizing people into unions and other col- with the workers and interview the regional
lectives. The organization has grown from a coordinator, Mr. Dubey. During this visit, she
handful of people inspired by Mishra’s vision would sit in on one of the regional meetings
during its early days to over 200 employees. and interview the field workers in small groups
Adhikar’s scope of work and involvement of four or five. This was done to understand the
are outlined in Figure 1. Under the umbrella of organization from the view of the fieldworkers
the Adivasi Sangathan unit, Adhikar organizes and gain insight into its issues through their
regional laborers into unions. Adhikar also lens.
works in the area of budgetary analysis and Finally, the OD practitioner would make
expenditure monitoring of the state govern- systematic observations of nonverbal beha-
ment through its financial education unit called viors, patterns of interaction, and descriptions
Arthik Siksha. In addition, Adhikar administers a of the relationships among members during
scholarship program that seeks to fund and interviews, focus groups, and the meetings
train local level leaders and an emergency she attended. This would provide indications
response program that delivers relief services of the organization’s climate.
in times of natural disasters. Following the data collection, a session
would be held with all the coordinators to pres-
INITIATING A CHANGE PROCESS— ent the findings. This would serve as both a
ENTRY AND CONTRACTING mirroring (feedback) activity as well as a
The Adhikar engagement began with contact forum for initiating dialogue and communica-
between Ms. Pia Mishra, an Adhikar regional tion across the various units and members of
coordinator and an OD practitioner with the organization.
whom she had worked previously, to discuss Prior to the interviews, the OD practitioner
the possibility of an intervention. The organiza- familiarized herself with Adhikar and its activi-
tion had grown substantially, and its founder ties through a study of various reports and pub-
had recently joined the central government, lications, including annual reports, budget
necessitating his withdrawal from day-to-day analysis reports of Arthik Siksha, newspaper
management. A second meeting was arranged clippings, and other documents relating to the
to explain the nature of the intended engage- organization. The OD practitioner then met
ment and seek formal permission to enter the each of the coordinators of Adhikar, starting
organization, gather information, and report with Pia, who served as the point of contact
throughout. Most of the issues and concerns
*This case was abridged and adapted from N. Nair and described below surfaced through these ses-
N. Vohra, “The case of OD in an NGO in India,” Journal sions. She observed that while most coordina-
of Management Development, 30 (2011): 148–59. tors opened up freely to discuss their
The names of the organization, its location, and the concerns, others, like Ms. Devi (the Chaibasa
various individuals have been disguised to maintain
Regional Coordinator), were less open and did
confidentiality.
258 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

FIGURE 1
Adhikar’s Scope of Work

© Cengage Learning 2015

not share much about their views on Adhikar and direction of Adhikar as either rights-based or devel-
its functioning. opmental or a combination of both did not have a
Most coordinators had been with the organiza- consensus among all the coordinators. The view
tion since its inception. All of them echoed a strong posed by some was that it was time for Adhikar
sense of organizational identification and commit- to move into developmental work, given that
ment. There was high regard for the founder, much of the rights-based work had been success-
Mr. Mishra. However, Pia has had to prove herself ful and the future lay in the area of capacity
in the organization, although she is professionally building.
qualified and has been actively working in the
field. Interestingly, during meetings with Pia, she Issues Related to Structure
never mentioned that she was the daughter of There appeared to be a lack of clarity regarding
the founder. The OD practitioner came to know Adhikar’s structure. As the organization had
this only during the course of her later interviews. grown, its structure had evolved. Adhikar was cur-
rently structured along both geographic and pro-
DIAGNOSTIC DATA gram dimensions (Figure 3). The various unions
The data from the interviews were categorized and programs were managed by different coordina-
using Weisbord’s six-box model (Figure 2) and are tors that all reported directly to the Managing
described below. Trustee, Mr. Mishra. In addition, location coordina-
tors in Chaibasa, Ghatsila, and Saraikela worked to
Issues Related to Purpose see that the programs were implemented locally
There was considerable agreement on the organi- and also reported to the Managing Trustee.
zation’s objective: facilitating social change through The structural confusion existed primarily
rights-based mobilization and advocacy. However, because of considerable overlap in reporting rela-
some coordinators believed that the organization tionships and responsibilities between programs
needed to work more towards the capacity build- and regions. Interviewees cited instances when
ing development of the tribal/regional unions and this caused conflict regarding reporting relation-
not just their formation. The vision and future ships or precedence of command.
 SELECTED CASES 259

FIGURE 2
Weisbord’s Six-Box Model

© Cengage Learning 2015

FIGURE 3
Adhikar Reporting Structure

© Cengage Learning 2015

260 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

Coordinators had considerable autonomy. How- because of their dedication to the original cause.
ever, some felt that the sense of responsibility and The newer employees (some better qualified pro-
accountability that comes with empowerment was fessionally) were getting paid higher wages, which
lacking in Adhikar. Various coordinating mechan- was perceived to be discriminatory and was a
isms, such as periodic meetings among coordinators source of discontent among the older members.
to make decentralization effective, were absent. In As a NGO that depended on external funding,
such a scenario, the different units seemed to be the issue of job security was also a matter of con-
operating in silos with little coordination and a total cern. With Mr. Mishra’s declining involvement,
absence of centralization at any level. there was a palpable fear that Adhikar might
close its doors in the not too distant future. The
Issues Related to Relationships interviewees suggested that some form of assur-
The most common theme in the interviews was the ance from the leadership of Adhikar might ease the
concern over a lack of coordination. Most of the sense of insecurity.
program coordinators thought that there should be
more integration among them. Each unit of Adhikar Issues Related to Helpful Mechanisms
was performing well, but there was little sharing of
Some coordinators were concerned about the
information. Although there was a high degree of
irregularity of reporting. While some coordinators
decentralization and autonomy at the coordinator
made progress reports on time, others were con-
level, the coordinating mechanisms were absent.
sistently tardy and this was pointed out as an
There had been a noticeable decline, over time, in
example of inconsistency in leadership and author-
the number of meetings when all the coordinators
ity. Most coordinators in the past had reported ver-
met, and many cited this as a reason for the discon-
bally on a regular basis to Mr. Mishra, who was
nect they felt with Adhikar as a whole.
able to fill in gaps of information whenever
In talking with old versus new coordinators,
required for other coordinators. Thus, the formal
the data supported the conclusion that there was
system of submitting and reading others’ reports
little trust between the two groups. The new coor-
had never been emphasized.
dinators felt their professional growth and program
initiatives were stymied by the old guard who
appeared to be protecting their turf. New coordina- Issues Related to Leadership
tors did not feel welcomed by the more senior Adhikar’s founder and leader was considered
coordinators. On the other hand, the older mem- dynamic and charismatic—a number of people
bers in the organization believed that the new coor- had been attracted to the organization by his per-
dinators were over-ambitious and got right into the sonality. At the time of the interviews, Mr. Mishra
field without making an effort to understand the had taken a position in India’s central government
organization. This concern was voiced by a few and was moving away from day-to-day manage-
but not all coordinators, but the OD practitioner ment. This behavior was interpreted as an appro-
believed it had the potential to grow and create priate response to keep political alignments
conflict if not properly addressed. transparent. However, it did create a leadership
A related theme was that new entrants did not vacuum.
go through any formal socialization process, which Perhaps because of his absence, many in the
also manifested in a feeling of not being welcomed organization were worried about a dearth of
into the organization. The interviewees provided second-level leaders in the organization. Even in
examples where new entrants had to seek infor- his absence, Mr. Mishra still appeared to be the
mation and figure things out for themselves, de facto leader. The organization seemed to be fac-
which further created a feeling of isolation. ing a crisis in terms of a leader who could com-
mand the same level of respect and following.
Issues Related to Rewards Two women, Ms. Devi and Pia, were most
Adhikar began as a rights-based organization and often cited as potential future leaders of Adhikar.
most of the older employees chose to work there The Chaibasa coordinator, Ms. Devi, had been
 SELECTED CASES 261

with the organization since its founding and was however, the OD practitioner got the sense that
supported by the people in her region. In the they were open to having a woman leader. Some
eyes of some others, however, Ms. Devi was a of the coordination issues were expected to be
shadow of Mr. Mishra and a surrogate leader for addressed if a new leader was appointed.
Pia. Ms. Devi was viewed consistently as a good
worker, but lacked the vision needed to lead a Questions
highly motivated team. Ms. Devi had not been
1. Based on the data provided in the case, what’s
very forthcoming in the interview.
your analysis of the situation at Adhikar? Is the
In the absence of her father, Pia appeared to
organization in trouble? If so, how big is the
be the chief decision maker. She had been with
problem? Is the organization “doing fine?”
the organization for five years as the Program
That is, are all the data presented just symp-
Director of Ghatsila, and operated from the head-
toms of an organization that is young and
quarters while Ms. Devi preferred to work from her
growing?
Chaibasa location.
Both women, independently, echoed reserva- 2. Design the feedback meeting. What’s the
tions as potential next leaders and mentioned their purpose of the meeting, what’s the agenda,
gender as one of the reasons. They felt that the how will you present the data?
other male coordinators and the community they 3. What activities do you believe the Adhikar
served might not be ready for a female leader. In organization should take? What problems do
discussions with most of the other coordinators, you think these actions would solve?
262 PART 2 THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

MANAGING CHANGE: ACTION PLANNING FOR

Selected Cases
THE VÉLO V PROJECT IN LYON, FRANCE

T
he city of Lyon is located in the central part of time—was that commuters and pedestrians
France, about two hours south of Paris via could pick up a bicycle at installations around
TGV. It has a long and rich history as the cap- the city—near metro stops, businesses, or
ital of Gaul in the Roman Empire, a world- large public venues—and use it to shop, go to
wide center of silk production, and a work, or simply get from one part of town to the
stronghold of the French resistance during other more conveniently than a car or the bus,
World War II. Today, Lyon is the third largest metro, or light-rail system. The original idea was
city in France, has a thriving high tech and phar- that the bike could be used for free for less than
maceutical industry, and is considered the gas- an hour and at very low prices if used for longer
tronomical capital of a country known for its periods. (To get a picture of the system and
cuisine and wine. Unfortunately, with size and its different parts today, go to www.velov
industry came pollution, overcrowding, and traf- .grandlyon.com.) “It is our intent to turn bicycles
fic jams. In the mid-1990s, only 18% of its citi- into a mode of daily travel for workers in the
zens had easy access to public transportation city,” said one government official.
versus 30% in other towns of equivalent size. An initial budget of €2 million per year was
By 2000, Lyon’s city government had con- estimated to invest in bikes, registration sys-
structed an above-ground light rail system to tems, installations, and support operations
complement the existing underground metro until about 2007. To support the project, the
and bus network in an effort to extend public city also envisioned construction or remodeling
transportation to more people. However, the of several parking garages to encourage people
outdoor station’s stops needed shelters to pro- to park their cars on the outskirts of town and
tect waiting passengers from the wind, rain, and then pick up a bike to finish the commute. Two
snow. In an innovative program, the marketing parking garages in the downtown area had
and advertising firm, JCDecaux, in cooperation already begun offering free bicycles for those
with Lyon’s development office, created “street who parked their vehicle there.
furniture” to house the benches, ticket vend- The project—named Vélo V—was pre-
ing machines, route maps, and time tables. sented by the city’s mayor before the second
JCDecaux constructed and maintained the annual “day without a car” festival. Vélo V
sites in exchange for the revenue from adver- would be managed by JCDecaux. They would
tisements placed on the shelters. The program own and maintain the bikes and finance opera-
was a win–win for both organizations. tions through advertising receipts. The head of
The success of the cooperative tram and the city’s development function suggested that
bus shelter project, and the city’s continued inter- it was a bold attempt to “effect a radical change
est in easing pollution and traffic jams in the in the philosophy” of the urban community. At
commercial center of the city, led them to seek the time, less than 3% of the people in Lyon
out additional change. They asked JCDecaux for used a bicycle, against 10% in Strasbourg and
input. JCDecaux had been testing the idea of a other cities. The proposal was supported by Les
self-service bicycle program in Vienna, Austria Verts, France’s Green political party, but the
and Córdobo and Gijon, Spain and they proposed president of the local nongovernmental transpor-
adopting and implementing a “bike exchange” tation union was upset that there had been little
network in and around Lyon in mid-2002. For dialogue with various concerned organizations.
Lyon and its neighboring city of Villeurbanne, it The goal was to launch a 24 hours/day
was a risky and large-scale proposal. operation in May 2005 with 1,200 bicycles
The vision—common now in many in 120 stations. According to a JCDecaux
European cities, but completely novel at the regional manager, they expected 2,000 bikes
 SELECTED CASES 263

in 180 stations by October and projected 3,000 bikes 2. Using the tools, methods, and processes
in 2006 and 4,000 bikes in 2007. described in Chapter 8, construct a compre-
hensive “action plan” for this project. Where
Questions would you start? Who are the key stake-
holders and how will you manage them? What
1. Assume you are a project manager at
are the practical categories of activities that
JCDecaux and have been assigned to work
need to be addressed? What are the
with the City of Lyon to implement this physi-
sequences of change that have to happen?
cal, organizational, and social change. What
What do you see as the key activities and
are the practical and philosophical implications
initiatives?
of this work?