LECTURE 7 & 8: ARCHETYPES

FOR INTERVENTION &

INFORMATION GATHERING
MODULE 3.1 TO 3.2
A/Professor Peter A.
Murray

DIAGNOSING
Diagnosing is gathering data, identifying issues, exploring
opportunities, informing choice, pre-empting change, examining
system/sub-system linkages, making implicit information explicit,
categorising parts, creating common dialogue, developing pictures,
creating metaphors

Pictures

Dialogue

Systems

Data

Choice

Knowledge

The outcome will be determined by

peoples expectations about how the
data will be used
Productive
behaviour
Data
collection

Expectations
of impact
on outcomes

Generation
of energy

Counterproductive
behaviour

Expectation of
how data will be
used
Past experience
of change managers
use of data

Perceived contract
with data-collector

Holistic models
External
environment

Leadership

AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH IS TO START

BY LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE
BEFORE DRILLING DOWN TO EXPLORE
PARTICULAR COMPONENTS IN MORE
DETAIL.

Mission
and
strategy

Structure

Organizatio
n
culture

Management
practices

Systems
(policies
and
procedures)

Work unit
climate

Tasks and
individual
roles

Motivation

Individual
needs and
values

Individual and
organizational
performance

Holistic models
External
environmen
t
Leadership

An important
dynamic of the whole
system concerns the
nature of the
interactions between
the component parts.

Mission
and
strategy

Structure

Organizatio
n
culture

Management
practices

Systems
(policies
and
procedures)

Work unit
climate

Tasks and
individual
roles

Individual
needs and
values

Motivation

Individual and
organizational
performance

Source: Burke and Litwin, 1992: 528

OPEN SYSTEMS MODEL

Environm
ent
Inputs
Information
Energy
People

Transformations
Social Component
Technological
Component

Outputs
Goods
Services
Ideas

Feedback

Source Waddell, Cumming and Worley (2007) Organisation Development & Change. Thomson, South
Melbourne Australia

DIAGNOSTIC MODEL 1
At the Organisation Level

Inputs
Genera
l
Environ
ment
Uncertainty in
social,
technological,
economic ,
ecological and
political forces
Industry
Structure
Five forces
suppliers, buyer,
threats of entry,
threats of
substitutes and
rivalry among
competitors

Design
Components
Strategy
The way a company uses its
resources human economic or
technical to gain and sustain
competitive advantage

Outputs
Organisati
on
performan
ce
Productivity
Stakeholder
satisfaction
ROI, Profit
Innovative
Culture

WHAT IS DIAGNOSED AT THE ORGANISATION

LEVEL?

Inputs
Things that
will influence
the change
Environmental Forces
(PESTEL)
Other forces that dictate
rivalry e.g. power of
buyers)
Other competitors

Design
Components
Things that
may actually
need to change
Strategy (vision, mission,
intent, operational plans)
Technology (e.g. processes,
production)
Structure (e.g. type, local or
global,
differentiation/integration)
Measuring data (how will
we interpret it)
HRM (which skills, R&S,
motivation, rewards,
training)
Culture (e.g. values, beliefs)

Outputs
Result of
change & what
improves/
changes?
Organisational
Performance (e.g.
ROI)
People Performance
(e.g. New skills,
turnover rate)
Marketing
Performance (e.g.
Brand improvement,
new customers)
Productivity (e.g.
turnover per
employee)
Stakeholders (e.g.
shareholders,
bankers)

A POSSIBLE INTERVENTION AT ORGANISATION

LEVEL

Large Group Intervention

Input
Environmental Forces
Other forces
Other competitors

The Context
A famous old retailing
clothes company has lost 10
% market share down from
30% in 5 years. It needs to
reconstruct a new vision, a
plausible future, map current
& future external pressures,
examine future customers &
innovations, assess its
current capabilities against
the new ones required &
move towards the new vision

Process
Strategy &
merchandising
Technology
Structure
Measuring data
HRM
Culture
Output
Organisational
Performance
People Performance
Marketing
Performance
Productivity
Stakeholders

Diagnostic Model 2
At the Group or Team Level

Inputs

Design Components

Outputs

Goal Clarity
Organisation
Design

Task
Structure
Group
Composition

Team
Functioning
Group
Norms

Team
Effectiveness

WHAT IS DIAGNOSED AT THE GROUP OR

TEAM LEVEL?
Inputs
Things that
will influence
the change
Design of Team
Type of Team or team
structure (e.g. crossfunctional team, semiautonomous team)
Terms of reference
Training/Change agents
Level of Diversity

Design
Components
Things that
may actually
need to change
Type of intervention
Level of skills in
interpreting the
environment
Cognitive skills on display
(same also for groups)
Team harmony &
cooperation
Distributed leadership or
one leader
Team/Group conflict
Intergroup conflict
Competing goals & values
across groups/teams

Outputs
Result of
change & what
improves/
changes?
Meets or exceeds
objectives
Members learn more
than acting alone
Rewards

A POSSIBLE INTERVENTION AT
THE TEAM LEVEL

Large Group Intervention

The Context
A large manufacturing plant,
makers of aircraft
components supplying
Boeing, wants to change its
individuals workplace
culture to one represented by
teams, joint problem solving,
and getting people to think
differently. The consultant
comes up against a nonchange culture where
workers sincerely believe
they are just workers not
thinkers.

Input
Communication/involv
ement of consultant
Involvement of
worker/management
Time
Rewards
Process
Team training & micro
groups
Dealing with team
conflicts & attitudes
Changing rewards
Team champions
Output
Greater ownership
Less reworks
Continuous
improvement culture
Higher rewards
Revised work culture

Diagnostic Model 3
At the Individual level

Inputs
Organisation
Design
Group Design
Personal
Traits

Design Components

Outputs

skill Variety
Task
Identity
Task
Significance

Autonomy
Feedback
about Results

Individual
Effectiveness

WHAT IS DIAGNOSED AT THE INDIVIDUAL

LEVEL?
Inputs
Things that
will influence
the change
Recruitment & select
policies
Type of culture
Type of structure
(e.g. mechanistic or
organic)
Type of training &
skill equipping
Performance
management systems
Opportunities for
promotion

Design
Components
Things that
may actually
need to change
How we train, on-the-job or
off-the-job, coaching, other
Structure of actual work or job
design (e.g. very little task
significance versus high task
significant & autonomy)
Design of PMS (e.g. does it
close the skills gaps?)

Outputs
Result of
change & what
improves/
changes?
High skilled
individuals
Enhanced motivation
Low absenteeism &
low turnover

A POSSIBLE INTERVENTION AT THE

INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
Large Group Intervention

The Context
A business-level manager
notices that her workers are
not performing at the level of
interpretation and integration
she desires. She wants them to
think through problems and
be able to develop solutions
before they come to
management. She hopes that
skill-equipping might help
them but has not had good
experiences with in-house
training

Input
Type of training
selected
Who will train?
Which skills? Skill
audit necessary
Process
Creative thinking
with external trainer
Small teams to
practice strategic
thinking
Link to HR to set up
performance monitor
Output
Better individual
decision making
Enhanced cognitive
skills
Increased
communication skills
for teams

COMPONENT MODELS
One approach to
diagnosis is to
start by using
component models
to examine how
the many different
aspects of an
organization are
working.

Mission
and
strategy

Leadership

Management
practices

Organizatio
n
culture

Systems
(policies
and
procedures
)

Structure
Work unit
climate

Tasks and
individual
roles

Individual
needs and
values
Motivation

17

COMPONENT MODELS
... and to combine
these assessments
to build a big
picture of how the
organization is
functioning as a
whole.

Mission
and
strategy

Leadership

Management
practices

Organization
culture

Systems
(policies and
procedures)

Structure
Work unit
climate

Tasks and
individual
roles

Individual
needs and
values
Motivation

18

Kotter's integrative model of

organisational dynamics
Employees &
other tangible
assets
Formal
organisational
arrangements

Social system

KEY ORGANISATIONAL
PROCESSES:
Informational processes
Matter-energy
transporting/converting
processes

Dominant
coalition

Technology
External
environment

Source: J.P. Kotter, An integrative model of

organisational dynamics, in Porter, Nadler & Cammin,
Organizational Assessment, Wiley, 1980

ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS IN THE SHORT

TERM
Over the short term effective organizations are those that
have key processes that are characterised by levels of
decision making effectiveness and matter-energy efficiency
that help to ensure that resources are used efficiently.

processes

ALIGNMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL

EFFECTIVENESS OVER THE MEDIUM
TERM
Over the medium term effectiveness is determined
by the state of alignment (quality of fit) between
the structural elements.

Examples of poor fit:

Dominant coalition and task environment
Employees and technology
Employees and formal organisation

ADAPTABILITY AND ORGANIZATIONAL

EFFECTIVENESS OVER THE LONG
TERM
Over the long term, effectiveness is determined
by an organizations ability to adapt in ways that
will maintain internal and external alignment.
This adaptability is a function of the state of an
organisations structural elements.
These can range from highly constraining to very
unconstraining.
For example, an organization that has a single
complex technology that is difficult to adapt (so
change will require a massive capital investment
in new technology) is more constrained than an
organisation that has a technology that can be
used in different ways to produce a variety of
goods and services and which can be modified
incrementally over time.

THE MCKINSEY 7S MODEL

Structu
re

Strate
gy

Syste
ms
SuperSuperordinate
ordinate
goals
goals &
&
shared
shared
values
values

Skills

Style
Staff
Source: Pascale & Athos, 1981, The Art of Japanese
Management

INTERPRETATION
Change managers using the McKinsey 7S model can construct a
7S matrix to aid interpretation
Strategy

Structure

Systems

Staff

Style

Shared
values

Skills

Describe
strategy

Strategy/
structure
alignment

Strategy/
systems
alignment

Strategy/
staff
alignment

Strategy/
style
alignment

Strategy/
vales
alignment

Strategy/
skill
alignment

Describe
structure

Structure/
systems
alignment

Structure/
staff
alignment

Structure/
style
alignment

Structure/
values
alignment

Structure/
skills
alignment

Systems/staff
alignment

Systems/style
alignment

Systems/
values
alignment

Systems/skills
alignment

Staff/style
alignment

Staff/values
alignment

Staff/skills
alignment

Style/values
alignment

Style/skills
alignment

Describe
systems

Describe
staff

Describe
style

Describe
shared values

Values/skills
alignment

24

Describe
skills