Organizational development project

Learning Goal: I’m working on a research & summaries project and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Final Change Analysis in an Organizational Setting:

THIS PROJECT WILL CONSIST OF THREE PORTIONS :

1: THE INTRODCUTION

2: THE ANALYSIS

3: FINAL PAPER WITH RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUMMARY

As you begin to finish the degree program, you should have analyzed the systems external and internal environments of your organization and identified a topic you wish to seek and make a change. We need to understand how our change will and can impact the overall system as a whole. You considered the prospects of adopting a new initiative for the organization. Creating effective change and OD programs for organizations begins with a diagnosis and assessment of the needs in the context of the organization’s strategy. This also entails an analysis of the organization’s human resources, culture, organizational design, and structure among other things.

Once assessed and analyzed, the next task is to design and develop interventions to achieve change and OD objectives. It is now time to consider the aspects of the organization that need modified in order to make the change. You should take into account organizational aspects such as the organization’s mission and stakeholders. You should also consider the implications for its actors, structures, and systems.

Based on your analysis you will choose and tailor an intervention to the agency, situation, or problem you wish to change within the system. The intervention can involve action research, change strategies that are custom developed from your analytical work, as well as extant OD interventions, such as survey feedback, appreciative inquiry, team building, six sigma and so forth.

A coherent and realistic organizational change plan includes a few elements. These are:

 A very brief overview of the organization, its context, the recurrent problems emerging in the organization, and the issue that needs to be solved by the leader and the followers in the organization.

 The incremental steps of the change plan. Students will use at least three theories from the text. Use the frames/images associated with those theories to identify and describe the incremental steps you’ll need to make the change. There are many ways students might present these incremental steps (e.g., bulleted/bolded, matrix, narrative with appendix).

No matter how a student presents the incremental steps, each step should include a brief discussion identifying a timeline for implementation, the responsible agent, the action (e.g., the tool[s] used), a mode for assessment and evaluation, and how the action will be reported. Utilizing “SMART” goals as these will be presented and described in class is especially important.

 A realistic appraisal of probable success. In this element of the change plan, students should be realistic. They should identify not only the probability of success but also the area(s) which students believe may negatively impact success. Students should provide options and fallback positions that need to be considered.

 A summation emphasizing the purpose to be achieved by adopting this plan and the major reason(s) why it should be accepted.

These elements do not constitute a unitary template. Instead, they provide the basic elements normally included in a professionally-developed organizational change plan. For a host of factors, not the least of which is that organizations differ, it is entirely appropriate if a student believes necessary to adapt these elements to one’s organizational context when completing the change plan. What is absolutely crucial is that students identify the issue that is at the heart of the problems emerging in the organization.

A successful organizational change plan will consist of no more than eight pages (excluding cover, abstract, references, and appendices). Why is the document so short? Because this is what administration /CEO’s expect of their direct reports. You don’t believe it? One of the first steps Lou Gerstner (2002) took when he was named CEO and Chairman of IBM was to give his direct reports a homework assignment. Within 30 days, each was to submit a 10-page report covering customer needs, product line, competitive analysis, technical outlook, economics, both long- and short- term key issues, and the next year’s business outlook (p. 25). From those reports, Gerstner crafted his highly successful and well-regarded leadership agenda for changing IBM.

The organizational change plan must comply with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Students should remember to keep this concise and precise. Avoid the stylistic errors pointed throughout your courses.

Lastly: remember the goal is to apply theory to practice by identifying a workable change proposal that deals with the issue underlying organizational problems.

The final paper should follow this outline:

1. Introduction : What is the situation, organization, and context for the change? Characterization of the challenge and an analytic description of the organization (and the department/s and partnership, coalition,

network, etc. if relevant) in which the challenge is grounded. Also, it is important that you convey clearly from what perspective you will be writing the analysis. (2-3 pages maximum )

2. Analysis according to class materials : Analyze and diagnosis the change, the approach suggested to b taken by the change agent(s), and write separate sections for each of the following:

a) the image of the type of change held by the change agent(s),

b) the “culture” of the setting that is changing and the role culture played in the change, c) systematically what will this change effect, how and why?,

d) an examination of leadership process and practice that relates to the change.

(4-5 pages Maximum)

3. Recommendations Include a list of recommendations suggesting what steps could be taken to increase the success of the project.

a)What are the suggested method(s) for implementing change,

b) the vision for the change, and

c) how the change can be communicated was communicated. (2-3 pages maximum)

4. Summary and next steps ( THIS CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO THE RECOOMENDATIONS SECTION)

Professor questions that guide grading criteria:

a) Identification and application of materials from this course and other courses. I expect that your paper will make a numbe of references to class readings and discussions. While you do not need to footnote, you should cite the reading by putting the author’s name and the date of the publication in parentheses following the reference. Where quotes are used directly put the page number the quote appears on. A list of all readings you referenced in the paper should appear at the end of the paper.

b) The overall use of supplemental material to support the paper (if applicable): Please include graphs, process flow diagrams, organizations charts, survey results, etc. that help tell the story more vividly.

c) The rigor of your analysis of the change process on a step-by-step basis. If you make an assertion such as “Morale at my company was at an all-time low,” on what do you base this? Or, if you suggest, “This project has had an enormous impact on customer satisfaction,” how do you know this to be true? While it is acceptable to occasionally insert some subjectivity into the analysis – be clear to identify what is subjective opinion and what is based on more objective data sources.

d) How was the diagnosis, assessment and quality of your conclusions and recommendations?

As always in compliance with the program policy, this should be done in 7th edition APA style.

USE THE ATTACHED ANOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY