Organisational development

Guidelines for selecting intervention methods

My model for organisational development, based on The Logic of Feeling, serves as a guide for determining intervention methods that fit in with the organisation’s phase of development, and with the nature of the issue. I named my model the Logic of Will, Discipline and Communication. The three driving forces of will (internal steering of the Natural System), discipline (external steering of the Social System of rules) and communication (integration by the Communicative self -steering System) can produce six types of obstacles in organisations. Each type of steering can be too weak or too strong. The table below shows how each obstacle can be recognized, the type of approach to deal with the obstacle and some examples of effective intervention methods.

As consultant and researcher I can help to determine what type of approach and interventions fit a specific situation. The outcome of this analysis has consequenses also determines the role of the consultant in the proces for change or development. See also vision on the role as consultant.

 

 

Obstacles Symptoms Approach Methods focusing on:
Stagnation
due to lack of will
  • Fear, uncertainty
  • People do not feel at ease, do not dare to take initiatives
Reinforce internal steering: ensure that people feel at home and get more will
  • Personal performance
  • Team building
  • Ecology of the workplace
  • Working conditions
  • Recruitment and selection
Agression
due to too strong will
  • Aggresseve energy
  • A lot of political games
  • Acting without thinking

 

Decrease internal steering: improve relations and manage aggression
Chaos
due to lack of discipline
  • Anger, confusion
  • Little cohesion due to lack of rules for collaboration
  • Agreements are not made or are not fulfilled
  • Constant reinvention of the wheel
Reinforce external steering: professionalize organisations,
develop discipline
  • management development geared towards discipline
  • HRM-systems
  • employments conditions and salary structure
  • on the job training
  • simulations
  • auditing tools and procedures
Bureaucracy
due to too much discipline
  • Oppression, rigidity
  • Excessive organisation, desire to steering everything
  • Much analysis and productions of ‘paper tigers’ but excisting norms and systems rule
Decrease external steering:
get more flexible, debureaucratization
  • Management training focusing on communication and reflection
  • Intervision
  • Involve environment
  • gaming
Depression
due to lack of communication
  • Depression
  • People are in fact invited to share ideas, but feel that they are not taken seriously
  • Communication and reflection do not result in new insights
  • Collective agreements are in fact made, but are executed differently or not at all
Reinforce communicative self-steering: develop capacities for reflection and communication
  • Develop servant leadership
  • Learning History
  • Large Scale Interventions
  • Non-traditional meetings
Disorientation
due to too much communication
  • Fustration, grief, it’s something different every time
  • Lack of a directing vision
  • A lot of consultants in and out, one change project after another
Interactive vision development,
promote creativity and decision making skills
  • Visions for the future with Large Scale Interventions
  • Empowerment
  • Visitation

The Logic of Will, Discipline and Communication

The model with the table results from thorough reflection and extensive practical experience. I have written an article about this model with the title ‘Detecting and approaching obstacles for collective learning’, published in the international scientific journal Challenging Organisations and Society. reflective hybrids®

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