BACKGROUND AND THEORY
FOR LARGE SCALE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE METHODS
Robert
H. Rouda, Simulation Software
This
is a summary of many of the most widely used methods for managing
organizational change with large groups. Much of this information
was gathered by Smith and Smith (1994), and by Bunker and Alban (1992).
The
major features of large-scale, real-time change management process include:
- the theory-base
uses less action research and discrepancy theory, and focuses on
application of systems theory (see Senge, 1994)
- the data base
source is no longer internal to the organization, but now involves
both the organization and its environment (an open-systems approach)
- the data base,
which formerly had limited availability, is now widely shared throughout
the organization
- time: what
was formerly a slow "waterfall" process is now a fast, quick response
which results in immediate action taking place
- learning moves
from the individual or unit to the whole organization
- the responsibility
and accountability moves from senior management to a mixture of
senior management plus the whole system
- the consultant
role, formerly reserved for data collection and feedback, now also
includes structures and facilities for data analysis and action
planning
- the change
process moves from incremental change to fundamental, organization-wide
change
Of course, this all
goes back to Kurt Lewin (1951). The basic outline of the OD interventions
are to first "unfreeze" the current situation so change can occur, then
to make changes, and finally to refreeze the new situation in place.
SOME
MAJOR LARGE GROUP APPROACHES
Dannemiller-Tyson
Interactive Strategic Planning
Kathie
Dannemiller and her co-workers use a 2 to 3 day event of from 100
to 2300 people, to roll out a new strategic direction, to get clear
on their strategy, and to provide feedback to the top people in the
organization. They stress planning: the use of a planning team, with
much up-front advance work to make the event successful. Their approach
is very task-focused and very structured, and involves interaction
in small groups as part of the full-group proceedings.
The
theory of the Dannemiller approach is based on a formula that Beckhard
and Harris (1987) attribute to David Gleicher:
Dissatisfaction
x Vision x First Steps > Resistance to Change
This
means that three components must all be present to overcome the
resistance to change in an organization: Dissatisfaction
with the present situation, a Vision of what is possible
in the future, and achievable First steps towards reaching
this vision. If any of the three is zero or near zero, the product
will also be zero or near zero and the resistance to change will
dominate. The purposes of these OD interventions are to bring approaches
to the organization that will enable these three components to surface
so that the process of change can begin.
They
also use the strategy suggested by Drucker (1974) of converting
words into actions. They believe that there should be a common activity
focus which is highly reactive, yet highly directive from above.
Their focus is on results, on prioritizing choices, and on keeping
the participants from feeling overwhelmed.
Dannemiller
also cites an "Arthritic Model" of organizations. This refers to
an "organizational arthritis" where there are blockages at every
joint of the traditional management-structure pyramid. Their task
is to exercise the organization so that change is not only possible
but is inherent in the structure and design of the organization.
Their
process is to first develop a database of the current reality. This
is accomplished by getting views from the customer, the leaders,
workers throughout the corporation, and their industry. They then
proceed to organizational diagnosis -- identifying the problems
that are impeding change and progress.
They
send "valentines" to each other -- messages covering what they appreciate
from each other, and what is needed for others to help each of them
to do their jobs in a more productive way.
The
rest of the Dannemiller approach involves setting strategy and gathering
and processing feedback on this strategy. They use a method of "preferred
futuring" (much like Weisbord, below), and concentrate on action
planning to secure commitments to make the proposed strategy develop
into reality.
Marv
Weisbord's Future Search Conference
This
is a planned 2-1/2 day event. Ideally, it involves 64 people,
with a maximum of 72. This is clearly too small a group for many
whole-organization large-scale change events, but it works well
for smaller groups.
Weisbord's
conference is designed to define and move towards the preferred
future, through finding common ground among the
diverse participants. The preferred future approach involves
an examination of the past, present, and future -- for the whole
system. Weisbord also uses a planning team approach to define
and focus on the stakeholders. The Future Search Conference
is based on Asch's conditions for effective dialogue (1952),
with an emphasis on finding common ground. The process involves
looking at the past -- examining the state of the people,
the business, the industry, and the global environment. It also
looks at the present -- examining events that shape
their reality. Weisbord uses "prouds and sorries",
a look at successes and failures in the organization, to develop
scenarios of their preferred future (keeping some of the past,
changing where needed for the future). And, like other practitioners,
Weisbord puts an emphasis on action planning to define the steps
that will be taken so that the process does not end with the
conference itself but is translated into future action steps.
Dick
Axelrod's Conference Model Redesign
This
method uses a series of four 3-day conferences, held a month
apart. It is based on reengineering as defined by Hammer and
Champy (1993). Its purpose is organization redesign -- radical
changes to be made quickly and permanently in the organization,
not in incremental change and improvement methods like TQM
(Total Quality Management; many references -- see works by
Deming and Juran).
Axelrod's
conferences are fast, and highly-participative. Axelrod
also uses a thorough planning approach, using a steering
committee, a data assist team, and a walk-through (a "staging")
in advance of the meeting. His approach is customer-focused,
concentrates on the technical work flow, and develops a
preferred design for the organization.
The
theory behind the Conference Model includes Socio-Technical
Theory, search theory, and experiential/creative methods.
Axelrod's
process involves four conferences:
- Vision
Conference -- similar to Weisbord's Future Search
Conference
- Customer
Conference -- defining the requirements, the business
and relationships, their roles, and their customers
- Technology
Conference -- to identify redundancy and variance,
and clarify their assumptions about their business
- Design
Conference -- to develop a preferred design, to use
"treasure hunt" features
This is
followed by a succession of implementation steps to put the
plans into action.
Harrison
Owen - Open Space
Owen
uses a 1 to 3 day event for 20 to 100 people. The purpose
is to surface information and promote dialogue. He uses
the concept of an idea marketplace, and emphasizes learning,
networking, and community building.
Part
of the planning for Open Space involves open facilities,
an open agenda, breakout rooms, and blank walls.
The
approach of this method can be characterized as relevant,
emerging, creative, and self- shaping with personal
responsibility for self learning.
The
Open Space model is based on the use of ground rules,
focusing on the "here and now", and is partially based
on Chaos Theory (see Wheatley, 1992) to have order emerge
from an apparent lack of planning, structure, and order.
The
process involves networking, clearly stating meeting
themes, identifying and posting issues, breakout discussions,
and sharing in the whole group. Owen summarizes his
method as:
- "whoever
comes"
- "whatever
happens"
- "whenever
it starts"
- "when
it is over it's over"
ICA
Strategic Planning
Spencer
(1989) describes the ToP (Technology of Participation)
process and results of the work of the Institute of
Cultural Affairs (ICA). This group sponsors 2 day
events for 10 to 300 people. Their purpose is to delineate
and move toward a practical vision. Their planning
consist of using working groups with trained facilitators
and lots of Post-It® notes.
The
ICA approach can be characterized as participative,
creative, fast, action-oriented, and synergistic.
The ICA model is based on Spencer's Dialogue, on
community building, participation, and especially
empowerment.
The
process involves an environmental scan, followed
by developing a shared vision (of what they see
in place). They look for contradictions (what is
blocking them from reaching their vision). They
then set a strategic direction, by dealing with
these blocks and moving their vision forward. They
are heavy into setting action plans, with a 90 day
calendar for implementation.
They
have a process for discussion (structured conversation),
for workshops, and for action planning. It is a
very useful approach to design and implement facilitation
in a diverse variety of settings.
The
ICA approach is very people-centered. It puts an
emphasis on ambiance, on environment, and on personal
involvement of the participants. It is the closest
of all of these approaches to incorporating both
spiritual and humanistic components into OD.
OTHER
LARGE GROUP APPROACHES:
Simu-Real.
Don Klein (1992) has developed a method involving
a combination of reality and simulation for large-group
interventions.
The
Mobius Model. Bill Stockton (1985)
and Marjorie Herdes developed the Mobius Model
for large-group interaction. The model is a
guide to the assessment and design of appropriate
OD interventions; it is not a plan for the events
themselves. It is a model which can also serve
as a real-time guide to facilitating during
these events. It works very well in integrating
spiritual and community approaches to the technology
of large-scale processes. Some of their methodology
has its roots in the ICA Strategic Planning
Approach.
The
Mobius Model, like a mobius strip, has no difference
between the inside and the outside. It promotes
wholeness, there being no difference between
who you are and what you do (congruence). It
reflects internal dialogue, as people follow
their own internal voices, their anger and their
fears. It develops understanding, by bringing
the inside (the covert, suppressed truth) to
the outside (as overt, shared data and understanding).
World
Healing Model. Bob Rouda (1995) has developed a revolutionary
model based on a combination of ancient and
modern wisdom applied to repairing the world.
This begins with ourselves and progresses through
organizations to communities and our ecological
system. This model is guaranteed produce long-term
results, but this success requires that the
details of the theory and methodology not be
revealed in advance. Trust me.
REFERENCES
AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Smith,
J. & Smith, J. (1994). Notes from ASTD
Future Search Conference. Apple Valley, MN:
Southern Minnesota Section, American Society
for Training and Development.
- Bunker,
B. & Alban, B. (1992). What Makes Large
Group Interventions Effective?, Journal of
Applied Behavioral Science 28(4).
- Senge,
P. (1994). The Fifth Discipline: The Art &
Practice of The Learning Organization. New
York: Currency-Doubleday.
- Lewin,
K. (1951). Field theory in social science.
New York: Harper & Row.
- Dannemiller,
K., et.al. (1994). Consultant Guide to Large-Scale
Meetings. Ann Arbor: Dannemiller-Tyson Associates.
- Jacobs,
R.W. (1994). Real Time Strategic Change. San
Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
- Dannemiller,
K. & Jacobs, R. (1992). Changing the Way
Organization Change: A Revolution of Common
Sense, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science
28(4).
- Beckhard,
R. & Harris, R. (1987). Organizational
Transitions. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
- Drucker,
P.F. (1974). Management: Tasks, Responsibilities,
Practices. New York: Harper & Row.
- Weisbord,
M. & Janoff, S. (1995). Future Search
-- An Action Guide to Finding Common Ground
in Organizations & Communities. San Francisco:
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.
- Weisbord,
M. (1992). Discovering Common Ground. San
Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
- Asch,
S. (1952). Social psychology. New York: Prentice-Hall.
- Axelrod,
R. (1995). The Conference ModelTM
Approach, Perspectives (a newsletter of the
Axelrod Group). Wilmette, IL: The Axelrod
Group.
- Axelrod,
R. (1992). Getting Everyone Involved: How
One Organization Involved Its Employees, Supervisors,
and Managers in Redesigning the Organization,
Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 28(4).
- Axelrod,
R.. (1993). Using the Conference ModelTM
for work redesign. Journal for Quality and
Participation, December 1993, pp. 58-61.
- Hammer,
M. & Champy, J. (1993). Reengineering
the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business
Revolution. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
- Cummings,
T. & Srivastva, B. (1977). Management
of Work: A Socio-Technical Systems Approach.
San Diego: University Associates.Owen, H.
(1992). Open space technology: A user's guide.
Potomac, MD: Abbott.
- Owen,
H. (1992). Open space technology: A user's
guide. Potomac, MD: Abbott.
- Wheatley,
M. (1992). Leadership and the new science:
learning about organization from an orderly
universe. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.
(Chapter 7.)
- Spencer,
L.J. (1989). Winning Through Participation:
Meeting the Challenge of Corporate Change
with the Technology of Participation. Dubuque,
IA: Kendell/Hunt.
- Klein,
D. (1992). Simu-Real: A Simulation Approach
to Organizational Change, Journal of Applied
Behavioral Science 28(4).
- Stockton,
W. (1985). The Mobius ModelSM.
St. Louis Park, MN: Mobius, Inc. (unpublished
work).
- Rouda,
R.H. (1995). A model for repairing the
world. Roseville, MN: Simulation Software
(unpublished work).
- Rouda,
R.H. (1995). Organization Development
- the management of change, Tappi Journal 78(8).
- Rouda,
R.H. (1995). Managing Change with
Large-Scale, Real-Time Interventions ,
Tappi Journal 78(12).
