Organization Development and Workplace Change and Schedules
Defining Organization Development
Organization development (OD) is formally defined as the process of improving organizational performance by implementing changes that are organization-wide rather than focused on specific individuals. According to Warner Burke (2008), while OD encompasses many facets, the primary focus is often centered on four overarching issues: the management of change, the empowerment of employees, the process of downsizing, and the implementation of innovative work schedules. The discipline seeks to understand not only how and why organizations change but also how to increase employee acceptance of that change and the various effects of structural shifts, such as layoffs, on victims, survivors, the organization itself, and the surrounding community.
Identifying Organizational Inefficiencies: Sacred Cow Hunts
Kriegel and Brandt proposed a concept known as the "sacred cow hunt" as a vital first step toward organizational change. Organizational sacred cows are long-standing practices that have become invisible over time but serve to reduce productivity. A sacred cow hunt is an organization-wide effort to identify and eliminate these useless practices. Kriegel and Brandt categorized three common types of sacred cows: the paper cow, the meeting cow, and the speed cow.
The Paper Cow refers to unnecessary paperwork, such as forms and reports that incur costs in preparation, distribution, and reading time without increasing efficiency, productivity, or quality. A practical strategy to identify paper cows was demonstrated by employees at one company who simply stopped sending a specific monthly report. Because no one complained for three consecutive months, they concluded the report served no purpose.
The Meeting Cow involves examining the frequency and duration of meetings. Organizations are encouraged to evaluate how much time in these meetings is actually spent on business versus socializing and whether the meetings were necessary at all.
The Speed Cow deals with unnecessary deadlines. While some deadlines are vital, "speed for the sake of speed" often forces employees to work at a faster than optimal pace. This results in decreased quality of work, increased psychological stress, and long-term health problems for the staff.
Understanding Employee Resistance and Acceptance of Change
Change is often met with initial reluctance because employees are comfortable with established routines and fear that change may lead to less favorable working conditions or negative economic outcomes. Acceptance is influenced by the reason for the change, the leadership involved, and the personality of the employees. Warner Burke (2008) distinguishes between two types of change: evolutionary and revolutionary. Evolutionary change is the continual process of upgrading processes, such as changing a supervisor or altering travel receipt reimbursement procedures. Revolutionary change, described as a "real jolt to the system," involves drastic shifts like changing organizational structure or addressing misconduct. Revolutionary change is significantly more difficult for employees to accept.
Employees are more likely to accept change if they understand the financial problems, external mandates, or improvement goals driving it. Acceptance levels drop significantly if the reasons are not communicated. Furthermore, changes suggested by an internal work group are viewed more positively than those from external sources. Leaders who are well-liked, respected, and have a history of success find more success in implementing change than those whose motives are questioned.
Personality Profiles in Organizational Change
Individual personalities dictate how a person reacts to change. Change agents are individuals who enjoy change and may even seek it out for its own sake, operating under the motto "If it ain't broke, break it." Change analysts are willing to make changes only if they objectively improve the organization, operating under the motto "If it ain't broke, leave it alone; if it's broke, fix it." Receptive changers will not start the change themselves but are willing to help, saying, "If it's broke, I'll help fix it." Reluctant changers will only change if absolutely necessary and remain skeptical, asking, "Are you sure it's broken?" Finally, change resisters hate and fear change to the point of active opposition, believing that "It may be broken, but it's still better than the unknown."
Strategies for Implementing Change and Empowerment
Effective implementation requires creating the proper atmosphere, which involves keeping employees informed and involved from the planning phase to final implementation. Denton (1996) and Wanberg & Banas (2000) suggest that unless secrecy is required (such as in mergers), transparency is key. Changes should occur in a timely fashion; if the process takes longer than years, employees may become disillusioned.
Empowerment involves giving employees control over their work to increase job satisfaction. Research shows that empowerment increases satisfaction in countries like the United States, Mexico, and Poland, though it did not show the same results in India. There are four levels of employee input. At the Following level, employees have no control and follow strict instructions. At the Ownership of Own Product level, employees are told what to do but are solely responsible for the quality (e.g., a secretary ensuring no typos in a report). At the Advisory level, employees provide suggestions that the organization considers but is not obligated to follow. At the Shared/Participative/Team level, decisions are made at the group level, such as teams determining benefit packages or marketing strategies.
The Mechanics and Management of Downsizing
Downsizing results from economic difficulty, stockholder pressure, mergers, or automation. To reduce the impact, organizations may freeze hiring, fill vacancies with temporary employees, or utilize outsourcing (used by over of organizations). Other alternatives include offering early retirement packages or asking for pay cuts and deferred salary increases. In the case of pay cuts, organizations often provide company stock in exchange.
When layoffs are inevitable, selection criteria typically include seniority, performance, salary, or organizational need. Committees making these decisions should be diverse in race, sex, and age to avoid legal issues. Announcements should be made in person and provide concrete answers regarding the "why," "when," and "who" of the layoffs, as well as information on financial assistance and pension impacts. Outplacement programs are often used to provide emotional and financial counseling, career assessment, and job search training.
The Consequences of Downsizing
Downsizing affects four major groups. Victims experience physical health issues like hypertension, ulcers, and heart trouble, as well as emotional distress such as depression and drug abuse. Survivors, though they kept their jobs, suffer from psychological trauma, and their productivity depends on how the layoffs were handled. The Local Community suffers from a reduced tax base and increased crime and social problems, although the available workforce quality may increase. For the Organization, it is often unclear if downsizing actually increases overall effectiveness.
Innovative and Alternative Work Schedules
While the five-day, -hour workweek has been standard since , various alternatives exist. Compressed workweeks involve working fewer days with more hours, such as -hour days for days or -hour days for days. Moonlighting occurs when employees hold more than one job, often for extra income, provided there is no conflict of interest.
Flexible Work Hours (Flextime) consists of three parts: Bandwidth (the total available hours, e.g., to ), Core Hours (when everyone must be present, e.g., to ), and Flexible Hours (when the employee chooses to work). Gliding time allows for choosing hours without advance notice, while flexitour requires scheduling in advance.
Other models include Peak-time pay, where part-time employees are paid higher hourly rates to cover busy periods, and Job Sharing, where two employees split a -hour position. Shift Work is used by approximately of the workforce due to safety or economic needs (e.g., police and nurses). This can disrupt circadian rhythms—the -hour physiological cycles. Shift work can be Fixed (same shift permanently) or Rotating (cycling through day, swing, and night shifts).