ODD originated from human resource theory or organizational behavior (Jim 2010: 22). It Is one form of organization change, stated by Warner (2005). Combined their views, 2 ODD is a type of change to improve human resource management. Warner (2005) argue that ODD Is planned change which focusing on all levels of an organization by addressing on changing organizational culture. Michael Beer (1993:142-150) has a more specific descriptive focusing on the process of ODD. He illuminated that ODD is a highly systematic process aimed at aligning among organizational structure, process, strategy, people and culture.
It included process like data collection, diagnosis, action planning, intervention, and evaluation etc. In the case, AL taken as a kind of intervention happened In NASH Trust which considered as one action of ODD. However, Peddler (2011) stated that ODD and AL are having deferent the roots and trajectories. ODD. Firstly, must result in the change of some aspect of the organizational system. For example, the AL in the Case changed key components in hospital system as a result, such as the patient benefits, empowerment level of nurses and the hospital policy or structure; secondly, there must be learning of knowledge or skills.
Applying in this case, AL method requires exchanging the nurses’ knowing and experience through questioning, taking action and reflection on action (Ravens, 1983); thirdly, there must be an intention to improve. However, there’s no full-scale explanation as there are always some hidden features that hasn’t appeared. CUPID (2014) suggested that although a number of definitions of ODD might be theoretically right, the problem is whether they can actually help practitioners to understand and apply them in the real world.
Anyway;ay, all approaches to ODD rely on theories about planned change (Cummings and Worldly, 2005: 23). According to O’Brien (2001), action research known as other names including participatory research, collaborative inquiry and action learning. Those theories put action research to the front. AL define as a continuous process of learning and reflection on real issues, aiming to solve the problem by supporting of a ‘set’ of people (McGill and Liz Beauty, 2001). The nature of AL reflected a fact that AL could be process only if one involved the members of the system in the inquiry process.
The tradition of 3 involving members in changing process distinguished ODD from other subjects (Cochlea and Britannic, 2000). Ravens’ learning formula (2008) described AL has three essential process which formulated as ‘L=P+Q’. It explained as learning through questioning based on programmed learning (the fact already known). In this case, P stands for the experience that 14 nurses are sharing; Q refers to the process of identify and analyze the current situation; L is the improvement needed for organization implementation.
French and Cecil (1972) pointed out that organization improved through action research, and the motivation to change was also strongly related to action (Lenin, 1946). Meanwhile, Scheme (2010) also argued that action search is one of the distinctive features of ODD and one of its core origins. 2. What impact has the intervention likely to have had on organization culture? CUPID (2014) stated that ODD is concerned with improving the overall organizational effectiveness over a period of time with a strong emphasis on change in an organization’s culture and behaviors, rather than structures, systems and processes.
Organizational Culture (CO) is what a group learns over a period of time to survival in an external environment and achieve internal integration (Scheme, 1990). Such learning exists as a behavior, awareness or an emotional process. He discussed CO are a pattern of basic assumptions. In this case, the assumptions made by NASH is that the nurses are powerless within medical hierarchy which refers to the paradigm in Culture web Monsoon and Schools, 1992). In sass’s, many publications suggested that a strong culture was a powerful lever for guiding workforce behavior.
Hellhole parts of the organization, and at how change in one part will affect the other parts”. The impacts on culture of NASH from AL are: Firstly, by being involved and influenced the implement programmer, nurses feel a part of the ODD, which explained as thespians; Other than that, they get more confident by recognition by contributing their skills and experience for the organization. Therefore, they get respect from employees from other levels in the hierarchy and feel them empowered.
These changes reflected in Culture web are 4 changing in power structures, which is the biggest changing element. Culture Weapons and Schools, 1992) is a useful approach for us to identify what culture existed in the organization and what needs to be changed if needed. There are six elements: stories, rituals and routines, symbols, organizational structure, control yester and power structures. The outcome in the case also has implicative changing in stories and routines changes. Furthermore, CO exists for implement new consensus.
Dialogue, namely equality, indented and repeated communication is the only path to that. The interaction in effectively AL process between employees, managers and shareholders creates understanding, trust and mostly importantly consensus. Especially for the people on higher level of hierarchy, AL is a chance to be open-minded and accept a wide range of views from colleagues. However, it also can be an issue that the set in AL can be influenced by the power of the people inside the set which resulted in a worthless meeting.
Another effect from AL is that systematic form of intervention built a powerful network which generates sustainable competitive advantages (Tech, 2000). Apart from that, a research from Sweden University(Razz, 2011) taken experiments in International Business Culture and Communication class in order to examine the effectiveness of Emotional intelligence in academic performance of different groups through AL. The result showed that AL sets improved their Emotional intelligence on aspects of leadership and teamwork. The change of enterprise culture eventually embodied in personnel behavior change (2005).
So the change in personal emotional intelligence also changes CO, as employee is an essential elements of CO. However, human is more changeable compared with elements of values and basic assumptions. Some ODD practitioners argue that unless they are changed, organization have not really changed their culture (Cummings and Worldly, 2005). According to Emerson and Martin, the culture provides a strong defense against external uncertainties and threats which also implement that people may strongly resist attempts to change it.
To add on, members hardly question on the deeply existed 5 culture and have difficulties to envision anything else; It is also worthy to know that that CO as a competitive advantage is hard to imitate, thus making more difficult for the new culture in the organization, it is still a big project to learn it in line with the culture. 3. What implications might there be for organization design and structure arising from the outcomes of the intervention? Organization design is the process and the result of changing an organizational structure, aiming at alignment of the CO (CUPID, 2014).
A structure of an organization illustrates the form of an organization. It answered that how does the relationships work among the components in order to achieve organizational goals (Husking and Buchanan, 1985). Max Weeper’s (1947) ideas on bureaucracy were developed, it literally means ‘rule by officials’ which simply said that employee do whatever authority tells due to legitimate power. And implemented from that time onwards, Payola (1900) developed classical management approach which was based wholly on the six managerial activities (forecasting, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling) performed by managers.
Complementing this approach, F. W. Taylor developed ‘scientific management’ in which workers and structures could be ‘scientifically selected to achieve organizational efficiency. It is still popular in industries dependent on standardization of work tasks, such as call centers and manufacturing lines. In sass’s, technology began to shape the organizational structure through task variety and task inalienability (Proper, 1970). While early approaches adopted a mechanistic take on structuring organizations with little consideration to people behaviors and attitudes, later models considered how people work together.
In the sass, systems approach appeared as awareness of the changes in the external environment by shifting the focus onto the CO and its people, 6 rather than structure only (CUPID, 2014). Response to the change, new forms of organization have been developed, such as matrix organization and network organization. It believes that CO and behavior affects performance and motivation seen as a relevant factor. Till Present, ongoing transactions still occur on a continuous basis between the organization and external environment, which originated from Bertelsmann (2012)g’s systems theory.
The theory illustrated a reciprocal ND interdependent relationship exists between the and environment. Those theories conceived in the past have been updated and continue to have a significant impact today. Appropriate organizational design enables an organization to execute better, faster and change more easily, concluded by Norman(1995:7). The theory indicated organization design can be used as an intervention in the ODD process through applying strategies.
While in this case, the powerlessness of nurses in the medical hierarchy has been changed through intervention, which implicated that change in CO also reflected in changing in organizational structure. Consular’s (2009) theory supported that there’s a reciprocal influence between CO and strategy in ODD, each is important and each influences the other, but CO is of primary importance. For instance, in the case, there may not be a satisfactory outcome if they changing the medical hierarchy directly in NASH as people are having their struggles or illness when facing a significant change (Ross, 1969).
H. Elevations (1976) also argued that all interventions are nevertheless a loss of familiar routines for an individual. Therefore, Balloon and Hope Halley (2004) found that up to 70% of the change aerogramme fail to reach their intended outcomes through ODD. This intervention as part of ODD typically occurs in response to a major change in the organizational strategy, which have to take into account people behaviors and people processes to be effective. Thus, in real-world circumstances, there’s several considerations as AL carrying out.
Stephen Semis(1988) developed a simple cycle of AL process which has four steps: plan, act, observe and reflect, presented as Macaulay’s Action Research Model (1995). 7 As any of these steps is involved with people, there will be uncertainty. Human has different personality and express in different way, which brings bias in the communication. Within this context, Shall Ores advocated that resistance to change is based both on personality and also where the change occurs. Humpback and Canella(1989) distinguished three types of resistance: blind, political and ideological.
Blind resistance refers to those simply lower intolerance of change. They discovered that people in this category are natural defensive at the first place, but it is unlikely to be an internal attitude as time passed; another kind of resistance elevate to political issues inside the organization which having influence to their Job status, Humpback suggested that consideration of long-term outcome would help to minus the level of political affection; people who has ideological resistance are holding values deeply that the planned change will fail, and they are more likely to be strongly persuaded by data and facts.
Burke (1935) conclude that all resistance understand the reasons under resistance with the purpose of implementing AL successfully. 4. What lessons can be drawn from the experience of this case for HER professionals? In order to minimize the above resistance in employees, a strategy has been mentioned frequently in organizational change literature which is engaged employees in the AL process or to empower them to make changes by themselves. And the strategy was well performed by NASH in this case through AL. For HER to notice, it is worth to help staff cope with the change by taken rational actions to motivate them.
While the sets are all from their own hospital in AL taken in NASH, which indicated that they are using internal change agent in the intervention. Adler(1987) outlined that the researchers studying their own organization have strength in the ay of understanding in use. On contrast, Ravish and Worth(1977) argues that role duality brings difficulty for researcher to balance between being a colleague, facilitator and manager. As AL 8 involves open communication among the people inside the organization, the researchers also must pay attention to the possible ethic issues.
For example, the power involved during the communication may cause affairs for the sets to give truth. Any form of research taken in an organization with political dynamics would prevent ODD from complement (Cochlea and Britannic, 2000). As well as Helsel (2006) pointed hat power and responsibility are unavoidable issues for those who hold positions that can make a difference in others’ lives, which is because that they have ethical responsibilities for the consequences of both what they do and do not do; Other than that, the limited power that higher management willing to share with others also affect the value of conversation.
In addition, due to the limited knowledge and skills, it is unknown that whether the problem addressed by the sets is real or not, as well as whether they can give contribution in AL or not. This is where an external change agent can be involved in the ODD. According to Perks and Perils (2013), Externals works where the internals cannot accurately measure their own performance because of political issues talked above. Despite of that, they’re the expertise on ODD area by handling with numerous of cases.
However, the original driving of externals is to make money, which means they may intentionally making the ODD process complicated for receiving compensation. As an HER practitioner, we need to carefully consider benefits and drawbacks of the change team. HER practitioners should take into account and input in organization design when designing and implementing people processes (CUPID, 2014). Firstly, they are responsible for understand the appropriate communication to reach different groups in the organization.
They need to make sure that alignment are there between the business strategy and interventions in organization design. For example, in a matrix organizational structure individuals need to be given clarity how and by whom their performance appraisals will be conducted. Secondly, HRS also need to use Thirdly, it is necessary for HRS to evaluate the organizational structure ability to implement the desired CO. Moreover, a review need to be taken on the extent of 9 purport that existing systems and processes can give for the new CO.
Last but not least works can done by HRS is to increase the pace of change by building trust through effective team working among change agents. Cultural change must be managed from the top of the organization (Cummings and Worldly, 2005). A study by Coyly-Shapiro and Kessler (2000) also found that managers were more positive in their assessment of the employer’s fulfillment of their obligations than the employees were. The finding advised that senior staffs have stronger commitment to the new values and more willing to change. A successful hanged in CO would firstly showing in their leaders through their own behavior.
For example, in Four Season Hotel chain, when they launch new hotel in Paris, there’s a need to consist French culture in branding which was originally rooted from Canada’s style. GM of the hotel in Paris made many decisions to switch culture and try to symbolize by his understand of French Culture. Actions like hiring local staff, adapting with local employment laws, creating new appraisal of performance and meeting the French union officials, which help to understand and align with local service expectation (Hallowed etc, 2002).
It is HER role to aware the value of toppling managers in translating new CO. Nonetheless, the HER approach is not free from critics who question the validation of the ODD and their application to unique organizational contexts. The researchers suggested an approach named “situational” or “contingency’, who arguing that the outcome of an ODD intervention depends heavily on situational variables from organization to organization (Dinghy and State, 1993). However, it also been pointed overemphasis on the importance of situation, where implying that there is no place for HRS in ODD. 10 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, AL as an effective method of ODD can bring positive impacts on CO, such as it helps organization reaching new consensus through improving level of engaging with employees and opened communication. Despite of that, AL also considered as an effective training programmer where employees’ communication skill, problem solving skill and emotional intelligence can be improved. As an outcome from this case, AL also shaped the organizational structure to some extent. At the same time, organizational design enables AL to execute better, faster and change more easily by using appropriate organization strategy.
