Starter Question

Starter Question • Think of a messy room. What are the advantages of organizing it? • Complete the silverware activity

OD Practitioners As “Organizational Doctors" OD practitioners are "organizational doctors" who try to improve the effectiveness of people and organizations by: • Establishing relationships with key personnel in the organization (aka, entering) • Researching and evaluating systems in the organization to understand dysfunctions and/or goals (aka, diagnosing) • Identifying approaches to improve effectiveness of the organization and its people (aka, interventions) • Applying approaches to improve effectiveness (aka, planned change) • Evaluating the ongoing effectiveness of the approaches and their results (aka, assessment)

Organizations Organizations are dynamic systems in which individuals engage in collective efforts in pursuit of common goals Organizations share five common features: • Collective of people • Shared direction (vision, mission and goals) • Coordinated activities (processes) • Structure or relationships • Environmentally and culturally embedded Organizations vary by type: • For profit • Non-profit • Social/Affinity • Political • Organizations vary in form: • Relationship-oriented • Change-oriented • Status quo-oriented • Task-oriented

Organizational Tensions Mechanistic vs Organic • Mechanistic organizationsare efficient, rigid, predictable, and standardized organizations that thrive in stable environments. • Organic organizationsare flexible, adaptive, outward-focused organizations that thrive in dynamic environments. Centralization vs Decentralization • Centralization means that the authority for most decisions is concentrated at the top • Decentralization represents authority that is delegated through all levels of the organization Fundamental tension of organizations: To thrive and survive, organizations must control and coordinate the actions of their members. But, control and coordination frustrate individuals needs for autonomy, creativity, and sociability.

Organizational/Business Communication Understanding what an organization is and how it works requires an understanding of the communication that exists within it. Communication is a rules basedtransaction that conveys meaning to another via verbal and/or nonverbal behavior. Fidelity is often the goal of most communication. • Fidelityis the clarity and accuracy of communication • Strategic ambiguity, however, may also be a goal

Communication Networks Within collectives, communication occurs within networks Communication networks are regular patterns of person-to-person interactions through which information flows • Formal networks are designed by leaders to dictate who should talk to whom (e.g., an organization chart) • Informal networks are the patterns of communication that develop organically based on proximity, expertise, affinity, etc. People often rely more heavily on informal networks to understand what is really going on Within a hierarchy, directional communication becomes important: • Downward communication – the messages superiors deliver to subordinates (e.g., job instructions) • Upward communication – the messages subordinates deliver to superiors (e.g., status reports) • Lateral communication – the messages peers deliver

Table 15-2 Characteristics of Mechanistic vs. Organic Structures

Starter Question