Organizational Development and Change Practice Flashcards

Flashcards covering the vocabulary, historical backgrounds, management systems, and change models from Chapters 1-5 of Organizational Development.

Organizational Development (OD)

A planned change discipline concerned with applying behavioral science, knowledge and practices to help organizations achieve greater effectiveness.

T-group (training group)

A small, unstructured group developed by Kurt Lewin in 1946 in which participants learn from their own interactions.

Kurt Lewin

A German-American psychologist and modern pioneer of social, organizational, and applied psychology who applied himself to applied research, action research, and group communication.

Action Research

A background of OD developed in the 1940s by John Collier, Kurt Lewin, and William Whyte that linked research closely to action in managing change.

Blake and Mouton’s Grid

One of the most structured interventions in OD, designed to improve planning based on clear logic and help managers gain skills to supervise effectively.

Exploitive Authoritative Systems (System 1)

An exhibit of autocratic, top-down approach to leadership within Likert’s Participative Management background.

Benevolent Authoritative Systems (System 2)

A paternalistic management style where employees are allowed limited interaction and decision making within boundaries defined by management.

Consultative Systems (System 3)

A system where management consults employees and increases interaction, though management still makes final decisions.

Participative Group Systems (System 4)

Designed to foster high degrees of member involvement and participation; the opposite of System 1.

Quality-of-Work-Life (QWL)

Based on research by Eric Trist, it focuses on the personal consequences of the work experience and satisfying personal needs, including Employee Involvement (EI).

Strategic change

Involves improving the alignment among an organization’s design, strategy, and environment, often triggered by a major disruption.

Values

Foundational principles that guide behavior, decision-making, and practices within an organization.

Integrity

Upholding honesty, transparency, and ethical behavior while ensuring actions align with stated organizational values.

Empowerment

Providing employees with the authority, resources, and support to make decisions and take initiative.

Sustainability

Committing to environmentally and socially responsible practices and striving for long-term business viability.

Incremental modification

A magnitude of change that makes sense within an established framework or method of operating.

Transformational changes

Modifications in the frameworks themselves rather than just changes within an established framework.

Episodic change

Change defined as distinct periods of change that are usually infrequent and explicitly defined.

Continuous change

The idea that the organization is never truly out of a state of change and that change is always occurring in minute ways.

Burke-Litwin Model

A comprehensive framework identifying factors like External environment, Mission/Strategy, Leadership, and Culture to analyze organizational performance and change.

Culture (Burke-Litwin Model)

The collection of overt and covert rules, values, and principles that guide organizational behavior, described as ‘the way we do things around here’.

Climate (Burke-Litwin Model)

The collective current impressions, expectations, and feelings of the members of local work units.

Lewin’s Change Model

A theoretical three-step process for planned change consisting of Unfreeze, Move/Change, and Refreeze.

The Positive Model

A planned change theory involving five steps: Initiate the inquiry, Inquire into best practices, Discover the themes, Envision a preferred future, and Design and deliver ways to create the future.

People variable (System Model)

A variable in the System Model of Change that applies to individuals working for the organization.

Unfreeze

The stage in Lewin’s Force Field Analysis where people gain perspective on day-to-day activities, unlearn bad habits, and open up to new ways of reaching objectives.

Trigger Layer

The layer in Transition Management concerning the identification of needs and openings for change formulated as opportunities.

Crisis of Leadership

The first period of crisis in Greiner's growth model where informal communication and management become insufficient as the organization grows.

Crisis of Red Tape

A crisis in organizational growth where increasing bureaucracy leads to slow decision-making and a lack of flexibility.

Crisis of Identity

The challenge where an organization struggles with its culture while integrating external entities and aligning them with core values.