Overview of the Case:
The OD consultant receives a telephone call from Robert Denton, plant manager of Ken worth Motors who was referred by a sailing friend who was a colleague of the consultant. Denton has held his job for eight months and believes things are generally going well, but has a sense things could be better. He invites the consultant to visit him and discuss his situation. The consultant does a little research about the company prior to the meeting but was thoughtful about what he wanted his emotional and professional posture to be. During the meeting, Denton describes that his plant and its employees get along fine, work well together and do a good job. Yet, he contends that things nag at me that I can't put my finger; we haven't jelled together as a team quite like I'd hoped. The consultant asks more questions but the answers from Denton reveal nothing indicating a problem. At this point the consultant offers to independently confirm how things are going in the plant through employee interviews. He explains that this approach in itself may impact the organization, possibly raise tensions and even perhaps cause problems. Denton responds by asking about other options. The consultant suggests a weekend retreat for the management team including Denton. Denton expresses interest and the consultant quickly calculates his fees in his head and shares them with the client. He says that the content of the retreat would be somewhat flexible and that Bob Denton would have to trust him. Denton quickly agreed to the retreat weekend. The OD consultant and he proceeded to select a weekend for the event.
The case describes in detail the discussions between the consultant and Denton which were meant to clarify the organization issues. In what ways were these discussions effective or ineffective for the OD practitioner? Are there other questions that might have been asked to clarify organizational issues?
Week One Assignment - PowerPoint Questions
1. Define organization development and why it is relevant to an organization in today's marketplace.
2. Compare and contrast Lewin's change model, the action research model, and the positive model. Describe their strengths and weaknesses.
3. Discuss the role of the OD practitioner in depth. Outline the skills associated with effective practitioners.
Peppercorn Dining is a restaurant on the All American University campus and serves students who have purchased "meal plans" as well as cash-paying customers. A group of consultants from Square One Consulting was having lunch at Peppercorn when they bump into Drew, Peppercorn's manager. One of the consultants, Erica, worked at Peppercorn as a student. Based on this chance meeting, Drew describes the situation at Peppercorn as he sees it and they eventually reach an agreement to do some operational auditing. After several days, the group of three consultants, Roger, Lynn, and Erica, collect data from managers at the restaurant, representatives from the parent dining organization for the university, and from various student, full time, and temporary employees. Their interviews cover various operations functions, including serving, the kitchen, cashiers, dishwashers, and supplies.
Toward the end of the first day of observations and interviews, Erica describes a new development, the announcement that the university will be constructing a new dining facility and that Drew will be the head of the new unit. The consultants complete their interviews and observations and must make sense of the data collected as well as think through the purpose and design of a feedback session where Drew will hear about their conclusions and recommendations.
What do you think of the entry and contracting process?
1. Describe the process of entering an organizational system from an internal OD practitioner's perspective.
2. Describe an effective diagnostic model at the organization-level. Discuss its major inputs, outputs and strategic orientation.
3. Discuss the similarities and differences among the organization, group, and job levels in open systems theory.
4. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods of data collection.