Unit 5a:
Organizational
Diagnosis
Parmod Achary
Objectives
• What is diagnosis?
• The need for diagnostic models
• The Open Systems model
• Discus the philosophy and purpose of diagnosis in organization
development (OD).
• Explain the role of diagnostic models in OD, especiallythe
open-systems model.
• Describe and apply organization-level diagnostic processes.
• Describe and apply group-level diagnostic processes.
• Describe and apply individual-level diagnostic processes.
Organizational Diagnosis
• Organizational diagnosis is a formal and comprehensive
evaluation of the dynamics of interacting forces within and
outside the organization.
• process based upon behavioral science theory for publicly
entering a human system, collecting valid data about human
experiences with that system, and feeding that information
back to the system to promote increased understanding of the
system by its members (Alderfer, 1981).
Organizational Diagnosis
• Diagnosis may be looked at as the process of understanding
how the organization is currently functioning and it provides
the information necessary to design change interventions.
• In recent years organizational diagnosis has evolved from a
technique used as part of the organizational development
process to a major technique in its own right.
• closing gaps between how things are and how they should be,
using all the tools of science and technology.
Understanding Diagnosing Organizations
• Analysis of those data could uncover determinants of
absenteeism or loyalty in the department, thus helping the
manager and the practitioner to develop an appropriate
intervention to address the issue.
• This process seeks to uncover specific areas for future
development of the department's effectiveness.
• Diagnosis may be aimed at uncovering the causes of specific
problems
• Organizational diagnosis is a major practitioner skill.
A Useful Diagnostic Tool:
DIAGNOSTIC MODELS
• The models are presented in the chronological
order in which they first appeared in the
literature. The models reviewed in this section
include:
• 1. Force Field Analysis (1951)
• 2. Leavitt’s Model (1965)
• 3. Likert System Analysis (1967)
• 4. Open Systems Theory (1966)
2. Leavitt’s Model (1965)
Sometime after Lewin conceptualized Force Field
Analysis (i.e., fourteen years later, in 1965),
Leavitt designed another relatively simple model.
This model does specify particular variables
within organizations, rather than driving forces;
these variables include: task variables, structure
variables, technological variables, and human
variables (Burke, in Howard, 1994;
Characteristics of Organizations as Systems
• Boundaries
• The part of the system that separates it from its environment
• Four Types of Boundaries (Becker, 1997)
• Physical Boundary - prevents access (security system)
• Linguistic Boundary - specialized language (jargon)
• Systemic Boundary - rules that regulate interaction (titles)
• Psychological Boundary - restricts communication (stereotypes,
prejudices)
Characteristics of Organizations as Systems
• The ‘Closed’ System
• Healthy organization is OPEN
• Do not recognize they are embedded in a relevant environment
• Overly focused on internal functions and behaviors
• Do not recognize or implement equifinality
• Inability to use feedback appropriately
• CO-DEPENDENT
Open Systems Model
Diagnostic Considerations Using the
Open Systems Model
• Inputs, transformations and outputs
• Boundaries
• Feedback
• Equifinality
• Alignment
Open System
Sense OPEN
Response
SYSTEM
ENVIRONMENT
University – Open System
Policy
Approved Funding
Industry Needs UNIVERSITY
Students
Funding Requests
New Knowledge
Graduates
Contingency Theory
• There is no one best way to structure and manage
organizations.
• Structure and management are contingent on the
nature of the environment in which the
organization is situated.
• Argues for “finding the best communication
structure under a given set of environmental
circumstances.”
• Management of Innovation - Burns and Stalker
(1968)
• 5. Weisbord’s Six-Box Model (1976)
• 6. Congruence Model for Organization Analysis (1977)
• 7. McKinsey 7S Framework (1981-82)
• 8. Tichy’s Technical Political Cultural (TPC) Framework
(1983)
• 9. High-Performance Programming (1984)
• 10. Diagnosing Individual and Group Behavior (1987)
• 11. Burke-Litwin Model of Organizational Performance
& Change (1992)
• 12. Falletta’s Organizational Intelligence Model (2008)
Two Contingency Theories
• Burns and Stalker (1968) Management of Innovation
• Organizational systems should vary based on the level of stability in
the environment
• Two different types of management systems
• Mechanistic systems - appropriate for stable environment
• Organic systems - required in changing environments (unstable
conditions)
• Management is the Dependent Variable
• Variations in environmental factors lead to management
• Lawrence and Lorsch (1969)
• Key Issue is environmental uncertainty and information flow
• Focus on exploring and improving the organization’s relationship
with the environment
• Environment is characterized along a certainty-uncertainty
continuum
Pragmatic Application of Systems Theory
• The Learning Organization
• Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the
Learning Organization (1990)
• An organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create
its future
• Organizational Learning Occurs under Two Conditions
1) When design of organizational action matches the intended outcome
2) When initial mismatch between intentions and outcomes is corrected,
resulting in a match
• Key attribute of learning organization is increased adaptability
• Adaptability is increased by advancing from adaptive to generative
learning
The Learning Organization
• Adaptive (single-loop) Learning
• Involves coping with a situation
• Limited by the scope of current organizational assumptions
• Occurs when a mismatch between action and outcome is corrected
without changing the underlying values of the system that enabled
the mismatch.
• Generative (double-loop) Learning
• Moves from COPING to CREATING an improved organizational
reality
• Necessary for eventual survival of the organization
• Both are Central Features of the Model of the Communicative
Organization (Chapter 6)
• Synergy and Nonsummativity are Important
The Learning Organization
• Through communication, teams are able to learn more than
individuals operating alone.
• Critics argue that teams inhibit learning
• Thoughts?
• Leadership is a key element in creating and sustaining a learning
organization.
• Leaders are responsible for promoting an atmosphere
conducive to learning
• CREATIVE TENSION
• Represents difference between the “vision” of where the
organization could be and the reality of the current organizational
situation.
Impediments to Learning Organization
• Complexity of the Environment
• Difficult to determine cause and effect
• Multiple contributing elements in complex environments
• Internal Conflicts
• Individuals, teams, departments, and subcultures are often at odds
• Energy is drained by conflect
• Organization members must be trained in communication and
conflict-negotiation skills
Other models
• . Weisbord’s Six-Box Model (1976)
• . Congruence Model for Organization Analysis (1977)
• . McKinsey 7S Framework (1981-82)
• Tichy’s Technical Political Cultural (TPC) Framework
(1983)
• High-Performance Programming (1984)
• Diagnosing Individual and Group Behavior (1987)
• Burke-Litwin Model of Organizational Performance &
Change (1992)
• Falletta’s Organizational Intelligence Model (2008)
