Page 183 - DMGT520_ORGANIZATION_CHANGE_AND_DEVELOPMENT

Organization Change and Development

Notes
ideas. They were all involved in the design of the programme (as was Deo) and worked
hard to make it a success. Often the group would sit around until nine, ten, or even
midnight, critiquing the session and planning new approaches for change.

Within the group there was a diversity of dress and so on, but with individuality and
openness being the norm. Saurav and Jayesh usually dressed informally, in Levi’s and
sports shirts, while Rohit and Anubha dressed in more of an executive style, wearing
sports jacket and the like. This difference in dress also reflected a division of thought
within the group. Saurav, George, and Jayesh wanted to be more confrontational and
aggressive in approach. They wanted innovative changes and wanted to overhaul the
production operations. The others felt that they needed to be accepted first and favoured
more gradual changes. They felt that the group needed to start “where the system was” if
they were to be effective. About this time, Deo left for a visit to Europe to inspect new
market opportunities.
The Activities

As the training continued through all levels of the organisation, they were also collecting
organisation survey data to be used in planning the next phase of the OD programme.
Here the controversies begin to emerge. Some wanted to hold feedback sessions and to
confront the members with the data, then begin a job design programme leading to
quality control circles. The second group, including Rohit and Anubha, suggested a slower
and more gradual approach. They thought that given their low level of acceptance in the
organisation, they should start with something less threatening, such as data gathering
and feedback.
A second rift occurred when they began to see less and less of Deo as the training progressed.
However, Anubha could call the President’s office and get an appointment any time,
which she often did. Rohit also held a weekly briefing session with Deo when he was in
town.
The other members, particularly Saurav made a lot of jokes about this fact, but there was
often an edge of seriousness under the humour. For example, Saurav and Jayesh had been
trying to see Deo from last two weeks to explain their ideas, but he was unavailable. Yet
his secretary called for Anubha to join him for coffee. When the group discussed this,
Rohit and Anubha simply stated that they were trying to maintain and develop the group’s
relationship with the client. Saurav replied, “I thought that the whole organisation was
our client.”
Unfortunately, the evaluation of the training programme was mixed. Some managers and
departments were full of praise for the programme, whereas others were highly negative,
calling it “a waste of time and money.”

In a meeting with Deo, the controller expressed the idea that, in view of the disappointing
results, it would be a good idea to move the OD group to the industrial relations (IR) for
budgeting purposes. The group was currently charging over ` 200,000 per year into
overhead costs, and this was highly unpopular among the line managers since overhead
costs were allocated. Deo said he would give the matter some thought and discuss this
possibility with the executive committee.
The Meeting

Shortly after this (approximately 1 year after the group had been formed) they were
invited into the executive committee meeting, where the performance of the OD
programme was discussed and evaluated. Deo and others expressed high praise for the
Contd...

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