Page 80 - DMGT520_ORGANIZATION_CHANGE_AND_DEVELOPMENT

Unit 5: Diagnostic, Action and Process

Notes
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Case Study The Old Family Bank

he Old Family Bank is a large bank in southeastern city. As a part of a comprehensive
internal management study, H. Day, the data processing vice president, examined
Tthe turnover, absenteeism, and productivity figures of all work groups in the
organisation. The results Day obtained contained no real surprises except in the case of the
check-sorting and data processing departments.
The Study

The study revealed that in general the department displaying high turnover and
absenteeism rates had low production figures, and those with low turnover and absenteeism
were highly productive. When analysis began on he check sorting and data processing
figures, Day discovered that both departments were tied for the lead for the lowest turnover
and absenteeism figures. What was surprising was that the check-sorting department
ranked first as the most productive unit, whereas the electronic data-processing department
ranked last.

The inconsistency was further complicated by the fact that the working conditions for
check-sorting employees are extremely undesirable. They work in a large open room that
is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. They work alone and operate high-speed
check-sorting machines requiring a high degree of accuracy and concentration. There is
little chance for interaction because they all take rotating coffee breaks. The computer
room is air-conditioned, with a stable temperature the year round; it has perfect lighting
and is extremely quiet and convertible. It was known that both groups are highly cohesive
and that the workers function well with others in their department. This observation was
reinforced by the study’s finding of the low levels of turnover and absenteeism.
The Interview Data
In an effort to understand this phenomenon, vice president Day decided to interview the
members of both departments. Day hoped to gain some insight into the dynamics of each
group’s behavior. It was discovered that the check-sorting department displayed a great
deal of loyalty to the company. Most of the groups are unskilled or semiskilled workers,
although they have no organized union, and each person felt that the company had made
special efforts to keep their wages and benefits in line with organized operations. They
knew that their work required team effort and were committed to high performance.
A quite different situation existed in the data-processing department. Although the workers
liked their fellow employees, there was a uniform feeling among this highly skilled
group that management placed more emphasis on production than on staff units. It was
their contention that pay increases had been better for operating department and that the
gap between the wage earners and salaried employees did not reflect the skill differences.
Because of that, a large percentage of the group displayed little loyalty toward the company,
even though they were very close among themselves.
Questions
1. Discuss the role of OD consultant. Identify the possible modes through which
consultant and client relate to each other.
2. What are the possible assumptions in the initial relationship between the consultant
and client?
Contd...

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