Professors:
Cindy Roman, EdD. 703-569-4605 (phone), 703-569-5666 (fax)
email: chroman@ix.netcom.com
Eric Dent, Ph.D. 202-496-8385 (phone), 202-676-5232 (fax)
email: edent@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu
web page: http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~edent
I. INTRODUCTION
This course provides an introduction to theories of planned change, which can
be described through the young academic discipline of Organization Development. OD
helps organizations achieve objectives by increasing responsiveness to internal and
external stakeholders, and helping individuals improve performance within
organizations. The objective of OD is to assist organizations in operating effectively
both adapting to changes in their unique environment and affecting positive changes
internally. This course introduces an OD process of contracting, assessment,
intervention, institutionalization, evaluation, and termination. Specific foci are change
and interventions, such as team building, process consultation, strategic planning, and
Total Quality Management.
II. COURSE OUTLINE
Week 1. Introduction to Organization Development
Week 2. The Evolution of Organization Development
Week 3. The Organization Development Practitioner
Week 4. The Nature of Change
Week 5. The Masters of Change
Week 6. Leadership of Change
Week 7. Workplace Design/Reengineering
Week 8. Assessment Models, Data Collection, and Feedback
Week 9. Human Process Interventions
Week 10. Technostructural Interventions
Week 11. Human Resource Management
Week 12. Strategic Interventions
Week 13. Evaluation, Institutionalization, and Termination
Week 14. Diagnostic Change Presentations
Week 15: Final Examination
III. REQUIRED READINGS
Cummings, Thomas G. and Worley, Christopher, G. (1997). Organization Development and Change, Sixth Edition, Cincinnati: South-Western College Publishing.
Listed below as ODC
Kleiner, Art (1996). The age of heretics: Heroes, outlaws, and the forerunners of corporate change. New York: Currency Doubleday.
Listed below as TAH
Kotter, John (1996). Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Listed below as LC
Other handouts to be read before the week listed. Other reading assignments will be
handed out in class, at least one week beforehand. Please make friends with someone
who will collect any handouts for you if you must miss a class.
Recommended Readings
Senge, Peter (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning
organization. New York, Doubleday Press.
Vaill, Peter B. (1989). Managing as a Performing Art. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
1989.
Weisbord, Marvin R. (1987). Productive Workplaces, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.,
1987.
IV. SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS
After class in weeks 4, 8, and 12, you are required to send an email message to us by midnight on Thursday. This message will include:
1. Your key learnings from the previous four weeks' class.
2. Your "muddiest" point. This could be something that wasn't explained well, something that you need clarification on, or some other reason why the point isn't crystal clear to you.
3. Your own level of preparedness for the classes on a scale of 1
(unprepared) to 5 (fully prepared).
The purpose of the feedback is not to evaluate you. You will receive full credit for
sending the messages in this format, regardless of their content. You are not required
to have a "muddiest" point. The purpose of the feedback is to help us know how the
class is being received, whether concepts are coming across clearly, and whether or
not we need to make any adjustments. These messages are intended to be composed
in 3 minutes or less.
WEEK 1 (January 13): INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT
ODC: Ch. 1
TAH: "Monastics"
LC: Ch. 1
WEEK 2 (January 20): THE EVOLUTION OF ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT
Double session: Both sections meet from 12:15-4:15
TAH: "Reformists" and "Mystics"
WEEK 3 (January 27): THE ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONER
ODC: Ch. 3, 4
TAH: "Pelagians"
WEEK 4 (February 3): THE NATURE OF CHANGE
ODC: Ch. 3
TAH: "Protesters"
LC: Ch. 2
Handout:
Levy, Amir (Autumn 1986). "Second-Order Planned Change: Definition and
Conceptualization," pp. 5-20.
WEEK 5 (February 10): MASTERS OF CHANGE
ODC: Ch. 10
LC: Chs. 3-6
WEEK 6 (February 17): LEADERSHIP OF CHANGE
TAH: "Lovers of Faith and Reason"
LC: Chs. 7-10
WEEK 7 (February 24): WORKPLACE DESIGN/REENGINEERING
Double session: Both sections meet from 12:15-4:15
LC: Chs. 11-12
WEEK 8 (March 3): ASSESSMENT MODELS, DATA COLLECTION and FEEDBACK
ODC: Ch. 5-8
WEEK 9 (March 10): HUMAN PROCESS INTERVENTIONS
ODC: Chs. 12-13
TAH: "Parzival's Dilemma"
March 17 - Spring Break - Enjoy!
WEEK 10 (March 24): TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS
ODC: Chs. 14-16
WEEK 11 (March 31): HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS
ODC: Chs. 17-18
WEEK 12 (April 7): STRATEGIC INTERVENTIONS
ODC: Chs. 19-20
TAH: "Millenarians"
WEEK 13 (April 14): EVALUATION, INSTITUTIONALIZATION, AND TERMINATION
Organizational change or Change strategies report due
ODC: Ch. 11
TAH: "The Rapids"
WEEK 14 (April 21): DIAGNOSTIC CHANGE PRESENTATIONS
Diagnostic project report due
ODC: Ch. 22, pp. 568-575
WEEK 15 (April 28): FINAL EXAMINATION
Good luck!
V. GRADING and OTHER POLICIES
5% - Email submissions
10% - Class contribution (see section VII)
10% - Preliminary Diagnostic Report
30% - Diagnostic Project Report and Presentation
20% - Organization Change Report or Change Strategies Report
25% - Final examination
100% - Total
Due date extensions
We will model the work of a change professional in this course. A change professional who misses a client deadline faces dire consequences, usually losing the client. We expect papers to be handed in by the date due. Extensions without penalty will only be considered if an outline or 2 pages of the paper is handed in one week prior to the due date. Lateness penalties: up to one week - 1-10% points; one to two weeks - 11-16% points; over 2 weeks - 17-25% points.
VI. ASSIGNMENTS
Diagnostic Project and Presentation
Find an organization that will allow you, at no fee, to conduct an organizational
assessment. Try to get the client's permission, before the interviews, to distribute the
report to each person interviewed. This project will be carried out in small groups (3
people).
Conduct individual interviews with at least five employees of the organization using the
interview protocol below. It will be easier for you if you select five people who all report
to the same manager. If this is not possible, ensure that you ask about a common
leader in the last section, perhaps a division head to whom everyone reports. You will
probably have to ask dozens of additional questions to get the information you need.
You must submit one additional question for each question below except those under
the heading of Introductory Information. Include your questions in your report. Be
prepared to spontaneously add new questions during the interview if they will help you
gather the information you need. Before you interview the employees, you may find it
useful to practice with friends or family by having them pretend to be employees.
Write a report (at least 20 pages) of your results including an overview of the
organization selected, your additional questions, and the written feedback you would
offer your "client." Your job is to write a narrative which presents a complete picture of
the six areas listed below. Do not include your raw data which consists of each
respondent's answer to each question. You add value by content analyzing the raw
data for common themes, consistent responses, and unusual observations (e.g., all five
people gave you different responses about goals). You should write two-and-a-half to
three pages for each of the six headings. The best papers will read as narrative
discussion so well synthesized that it won't be apparent which questions were asked. It
helps to include some specific examples of responses as long as they don't
compromise an interviewee's confidentiality. The assignment should be written to your
client. The only exception is the introductory information section which is necessary to
provide a context for the professor.
The purpose of this assessment is not to find problems. The purpose is to describe
what is happening in the organization. Some things that are happening may be
problematic, and some things that are happening may be incredibly effective. Either
way, your role is to document that. If decision-making, for example, works very well in
the organization, describe the process that is working so well. It is good for clients to
hear both what is working and what needs improvement. This assignment does not
require specific references to the textbooks. The professors can evaluate your
knowledge of the texts in the way that you prepare and present your report.
Do not give the paper to your client until after you receive comments from your
professor. Some changes may be necessary before the report is suitable to give to
your client. You will need to use the techniques you have learned in the course, but it
is not necessary to quote the textbooks. I suggest you start each interview with the
questions listed in Cummings and Worley (pp. 113-114).
Organize your feedback using the headings below. Be careful not to develop your own
recommendations. As a change agent, your role is to feed back the data and let the
client system develop its own recommendations.
Your group will make a brief (10 minute) presentation in the penultimate class. The
presentation should not be a summary of your paper. Your presentation should answer
the question, "What did you learn about organizational change from this project?"
Interview Protocol: If the organization isn't your own, or you aren't familiar with it, start with questions that provide you with that information.
What does your organization do?
Who are its competitors?
What products or services does your work group provide?
What specifically do you do?
Motivation
Describe the level of satisfaction people in your work group have with their jobs?
In what areas are employees encouraged to show initiative?
Communication
What are the primary forms of communication of information that you need to do your job?
Describe the level of communication among separate work groups.
Decisions
How are decisions made in this organization?
Describe the authority you have to make decisions necessary to accomplish
your job?
Goals
What goals has your organization established?
What performance criteria are established for you and your work group?
Controls
What is the one thing that you don't currently have the authority to do that if you did would most help you do your job?
What is the process (who has to signoff) for purchasing a new computer in your
work group? (or other relevant acquisition)
Leadership
Describe your manager's leadership style.
What things should your manager do more or less of?
PRELIMINARY DIAGNOSTIC PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
At least one week prior to the assignment due date, you will submit a small portion of
the assignment for evaluation and return. You should submit your write-up of one of
the six headings of the assignment (leadership, motivation, etc.). In order to do this
preliminary assignment, you must have completed all of your interviews. We will try to
review your preliminary assignment as soon after it is submitted as possible. If
necessary, we will fax a copy of your paper with my comments back to you. You should
use these comments as a guideline for rewriting the one section, and the writing of the
remaining sections. This feedback loop should be helpful in improving your grade on
the assignment.
OPTION #1 - ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE REPORT
In the book, Leading Change, Kotter describes reasons why organizations resist
needed change and he presents a multi-stage process for leading successful change.
In this report, write a case study of an organizational change effort. The organization
you choose to write about may be where you were assigned on rotation or an
organization where you have worked recently. The paper should not exceed 20 pages,
double-spaced. Using Kotter's framework and examples, analyze your organization's
change efforts including what was effective and what was ineffective. In your report,
discuss questions including the following:
The purpose of this report is not to do an organizational diagnosis by collecting and
analyzing data. The purpose of this report is to give you an opportunity to reflect on
the process of leading change in a real organization. You may want to collect
additional supporting examples for your discussion from other students who have
worked in your organization, but no formal assessment is required.
OPTION #2 - CHANGE STRATEGIES REPORT
In The Age of the Heretic, Kleiner describes a number of very different approaches to organizational change. You may approach this report in one of two ways. Either write most of the report on a single approach which intrigues you, or do some comparing and contrasting among the approaches. The paper should not exceed 20 double-spaced pages. Please do not spend much time summarizing information that is already available in the book. Begin your analysis assuming the reader has read the book. In your report discuss questions including the following:
VII. COURSE PHILOSOPHIES
- Learning is not just knowing the answers. That is mastermind learning at its best,
rote learning at its most boring, and conditioned response at its most basic. It
does not help you to change or to grow, it does not move the wheel.
- Learning is not the same as study, nor the same as training. It is bigger than
both. It is a cast of mind, a habit of life, a way of thinking about things, a way of
growing. Learning is not measured by examinations, which usually only test the
theory stage, but only by a growth experience, and experience understood and
tested.
- Learning is not automatic, it requires energy, thought, courage, and support. It is
easy to give up on it, to relax, and to rest on one's experience, but that is to cease
to grow.
- Learning is not only for the intellectuals, who often shine at the theorizing stage,
but are incurious and unadventurous and therefore add little to their experience
as they go through life.
- Learning is not finding out what other people already know, but is solving our own
problems for our own purposes, by questioning, thinking and testing until the
solution is a new part of our lives.
The Age of Unreason, by Charles Handy, pp. 62-63.
1. Class Participation vs. Contribution
We are not as interested in classroom participation as classroom contribution. Participation connotes involvement and talking. Contribution implies the willful intent to assist others in the forging of understanding. Contribution not only includes, but also enlarges upon the values represented by participation, because it rivets attention on the goal of generating knowledge. The litmus test question is "Does a comment contribute to class process and peer understanding of the concept under discussion?" Some ways to contribute include:
comment on specific issues discussed in the readings;
follow-up on comments from others in the class, either to ask for clarification or to ask for examples;
illustrate specific issues from the readings with examples from your own experience;
refraining from comment when you notice others, who have talked less, are wanting to speak
raise questions that are not covered in the readings;
contrast the ideas of one theory with those of another;
ask others in the class, who you know have a differing perspective, to express their ideas
support the insights or conclusions of a classmate or the instructor by referencing theory, your experience, or your reasoning;
argue against the insight or conclusions of a classmate or the instructor by
referencing theory, your experience, or your reasoning.
2. Writing Quality
We read your written work carefully. In fact, we read it for grammar, punctuation,
syntax, organization, transitions, clarity and precision of expression. We read it for
content. If you write well from a technical standpoint, then, if possible, write with
creativity and flair. Elements of Style should assist you in doing so.
3. Responsibility for Learning
In this class responsibility for learning is shared. As instructors we see our responsibility to create an environment in which meaningful and useful learning takes place. There is an old adage that "if the student hasn't learned, the teacher hasn't taught." But that is not an adage to which we subscribe. Rather we would hold with Einstein who said "I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn." We see learning as an active process that requires the learner, to actively test out abstract concepts in real world situations, to actively build connections between concepts, and to actively search for examples that confirm or disconfirm concepts. We know that as instructors we can not do these things for you - these are your responsibility.
We do not believe we will be teaching you "truth." Rather we are going to share with
you our understandings about organizational change as we currently frame them.
But we find that our understanding is under constant revision. What we view as a
useful construct today we may consider only partially true tomorrow. We can do no
more than to share with you our current understanding and hope that your active
involvement assists our understanding to grow. "We are each on a journey to
wholeness. If we choose to teach... We journey in the presence of others."
Name _____________________________________
Graduate level standards will be expected for all written assignments.
p=poor, f=fair, a=average, g=good, v=very good
Categories
Information obtained from interviews
Synthesis of interviews
Probe questions
Classification of interview information
Completeness of information
Goals
Motivation
Communications
Decisions
Controls
Leadership
Communication skills and clarity of expression
Grammar, mechanics, and appearance
Grading scale
p f a g v
p f a g v
p f a g v
p f a g v
p f a g v
p f a g v
p f a g v
p f a g v
p f a g v
p f a g v
p f a g v
p f a g v
Additional Comments:
Grade/points _____
VIII.
ERIC B. DENT, Ph.D.
Dr. Dent is presently an assistant professor of administrative sciences at The
George Washington University. He is a consultant to Fortune 500, government,
and non-profit organizations as well as an invited speaker to national audiences.
His research interests include leadership in dynamic, turbulent environments;
mental models which underlie organizational behavior; new science and chaos
theory applications in organizations, and organizational and adult learning.
In 1993, Dr. Dent founded Always Improvement a management consulting firm
dedicated to organizational improvement. His recent work has been in the areas of
organizational change, consultation skills, creative thinking, team-building, strategic
planning, total quality management, leadership, and business process assessment.
Prior to founding Always Improvement, Dr. Dent served as Vice President,
Operations and General Manager of the Washington, DC office of The Todd
Organization, a national executive compensation consulting firm. Revenue growth
increased at more than a 30% annual rate during his tenure. In this position Dr.
Dent acquired more executive management experience and had an opportunity to
work as an internal change agent. Dr. Dent also founded Cottontail Diaper Service,
Inc. and eventually sold that business startup to a large corporation.
For several years, Dr. Dent worked as a management consultant with Macro
International. As Technical Director, he managed over $10 million of training and
development contracts with the federal government. He most frequently consulted
with The Royal Bank of Canada, The Navy, and Westinghouse Electric Corporation.
Dr. Dent has a PhD in Management and Organization at George Washington
University where he worked with the noted human systems professor, Dr. Peter B.
Vaill. He has an MBA, also from GWU, and both MS and BS degrees in Computer
Science from Emory University.
Dr. Dent has taught over 100 credit hours at prominent universities. He is a
member of the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Managerial Issues. He has
authored two mini-textbooks, Organization Development (1993) and Management:
Perspectives, Processes, and Productivity (1995). He has published and presented
research on chaos theory, resistance to change, learning organizations, and many
other topics.
Dr. Dent's career began as a computer scientist. He worked for several years
designing satellite communications systems for the IBM Corporation. There he
developed state-of-the-art systems integration and project leadership skills.
CINDY H. ROMAN, Ed.D.
Dr. Roman is a partner with Strategic Performance Group, a consulting firm
specializing in organizational and human resource change management. With over
seventeen years of experience in both the public and private sectors, Dr. Roman is
often called upon to conduct action research projects, consult in organizational
change and deliver large scale training projects.
Dr. Roman began her career as an extension director for the University of Virginia.
She developed and managed off-campus courses in education and management.
Later she worked in health care management and led several marketing and public
relations campaigns.
As Senior HRD Specialist for Dynamic Systems, Inc., Dr. Roman directed a Navy
management development program, coordinating both education and training
programs. Working with government clients, she planned and directed programs
involving universities, training vendors, and external consultants. She trained teams
of line managers and consultants to deliver behavior-modeling based supervisory
skills programs at NSWCDD and NAVAIR.
Presently, Dr. Roman specializes in assisting organizations and individuals manage
change. Her key skill areas include performance development, action science
management coaching and training, team building, competency modeling, culture
change and facilitation. As a consultant, her clients include the Naval Surface
Warfare Center, CarrAmerica, Riggs Bank, the U.S. Department of Education and
LCC International, Inc.
Dr. Roman has an Ed.D. in human resource development from Virginia Tech, a
master's degree from the University of Georgia and BA degree from the University
of Virginia. She has taught graduate level courses in management and human
resources at several D.C. area universities, including the George Washington
University, Johns Hopkins University and Marymount University. Dr. Roman has
taught in university cohort programs for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Customs Service
and AT&T.
Dr. Roman is a member of the International Coach Federation, International Facilitators Association and the OD Network. She has published and presented research on adult learning and teaching, change management, and quality leadership. Her current research interests focus on leadership, coaching and dialogue.