CONTENTS

Figures, Tables, and Exhibits

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Getting the Most from This Book

Part One: Organization Development as a Profession and a Field

Chapter One: Organization Development as a Profession and a Field

The Field of Organization Development

Organization Development Results from an Integration of Ideas and Ideals

The Professional Practice of Organization Development

Tensions Within Organization Development

Conclusion

References

Chapter Two: A History of Organization Development

The Foundations of Organization Development

The Birth of OD

Early OD Consulting

OD Competence and Ethics

Professional OD Associations and Networks

Sharing OD Knowledge

Educating OD Professionals

The Expanding Field of OD

Conclusion

References

Chapter Three: Values, Ethics, and OD Practice

Values and OD Practice

OD Values: Then and Now

Ethics, Ethical Dilemmas, and Ethical Competence

Evolving Values in a Continuously Changing Future

References

Part Two: Core Theories and Methods

Chapter Four: Use of Self in OD Consulting: What Matters is Presence

Shifting the Paradigm

Understanding Self

Use of Self in OD Practice

Presence: The Practitioner’s DNA

Presence: Past, Present, Future

Summary

References

Chapter Five: Action Research: Origins and Applications for ODC Practitioners

The Origins of Action Research

Contemporary Action Research

Relationship of Action Research to the Phases of the Consultation Process

An Example of Action Research in an ERP Project

Operational Values of Action Research

References

Chapter Six: Organizational Change Processes

Systems Thinking

Dynamics of Change

Planning Change

Leading Change

Implementing Strategies

Conclusion

References

Chapter Seven: Resistance and Change in Organizations

A Way of Thinking About Resistance, and Support for Change

The Stages of Change

The Limits and Value of Thinking in Terms of Stages

Moving Ahead

References

Chapter Eight: Theory and Practice of Multicultural Organization Development

Historical Overview

Assumptions Behind the Theory and Practice of MCOD

The Practice of MCOD

Conclusion

References

Part Three: Organization Development and The OD Process

Chapter Nine: An OD Map: The Essence of Organization Development

The Map as Territorial Guide

Core Theories

OD Phases, Phase Tasks, and Competencies

Use of Self

The Future of OD: Essence out of Paradox

References

Chapter Ten: Entry and Contracting Phase

Overview

Preentry

Entry

Contracting

Transition

Consultant Competencies

Conclusion

References

Chapter Eleven: Organization Diagnosis Phase

Open Systems

Perceptual Bias

Diversity Issues in Organization Diagnosis

Diagnostic Models

Planning to Collect Data

Data Collection

Data Analysis and Presentation

Feedback

Conclusion

References

Chapter Twelve: Intervention Phase

Understanding the Intervention Phase of the OD Process

OD Intervention Phase in Practice

Skills and Competencies for the Intervention Phase

The Primacy of Values and Ethics in the Intervention Phase

Conclusion

References

Chapter Thirteen: Evaluation and Termination Phase

Evaluation

Termination

Conclusion

References

Part Four: Working From Levels of Systems Perspectives: Individuals to Environment

Chapter Fourteen: Working with Individuals in an Organizational Context

The Three Faces of Individual Work

The First Face: Coaching

The Second Face: Facilitating More Effective Interactions Between People

The Third Face: Strategic Advising

Distortions in Working at the Individual Level

Conclusion

References

Chapter Fifteen: Working with Groups in Organizations

Foundational Thinkers and Thoughts

Toward an Integrated Theory and Model

The Group Spiral

Factors That Affect Groups

Intervening in Groups

Competencies Needed

Conclusion

References

Chapter Sixteen: Large Group Methods: Developments and Trends

Invention and Early Development: Mid-1980s to About 1993

Adoption of the New Methods: 1993–2000

Incorporation: 2000s

Recent Developments and Trends

Conclusion: Giving Voice, Managing Differences, and Finding Common Ground

References

Chapter Seventeen: Working in Very Large Social Systems: The 21st Century Town Meeting

OD and Deliberative Democracy

Characteristics of Large Social Systems

The 21st Century Town Meeting Model

Core Competencies

Conclusion

References

Chapter Eighteen: Changing Organizations and Systems from the Outside: OD Practitioners as Agents of Social Change

Social Change Organizations, Systems, and Clients

Current Context for Social Change Organizations

Interventions for Changing Organizations from the Outside

Creating Multiorganizational Systems

Implications for OD Practitioners

A Cautionary Conclusion

Reference

Chapter Nineteen: Building a Sustainable World: A Challenging OD Opportunity

Opportunities and Challenges

Evidence of Progress

Building Critical Mass for Change

Summary

References

Part Five: Organization Development in an International and World Setting

Chapter Twenty: Borders and Boundaries: Cross-Cultural Perspectives for OD Practitioners

An Introductory Minicase

Border Crossings

Boundaries

Other Cultural Dimensions: The Issue of Identity

Identity as a Boundary Issue

Context and Communication

Borders, Boundaries, Context, and the Minicase

Borders, Boundaries, and Race

Conclusion

References

Chapter Twenty-One: Working Effectively as a Global OD Practitioner: The Whole World in One Room

Challenges in Working with the Whole World in One Room

Adopting a Whole-World Perspective and Ethics

Systems Matrix

Whole-World Competencies

Benefits of Using Whole-World Perspective and Practices

Conclusion: Meeting the Challenges of Global OD

References

Chapter Twenty-Two: Organization Development in Asia: Globalization, Homogenization, and The End of Culture-Specific Practices

Asian Stereotypes and OD Practice

The Homogenization of OD

Globalization and OD

OD Mind-Sets and OD Practice

Conclusion

References

Part Six: Organization Development Applications and Practices

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Impact and Opportunity of Emotion in Organizations

Emotion and Leadership Effectiveness

Emotional Reality

Resonance and Dissonance in Organizations

Leading with Emotional Intelligence

A Definition of Emotional Intelligence

Leaders Affect the Emotional Reality

Demystifying Emotion and Bringing It Back to Work

Contagious Emotions: Resonance and Dissonance and the Emotional Reality of Groups

Discovering the Emotional Reality of an Organization

Doing Sacred Work

Conclusion

References

Chapter Twenty-Four: Working With Energy in Organizations

An Energy Primer

The Cycle of Energy

The Practitioner as an Energetic Being

Conclusion

References

Chapter Twenty-Five: Appreciative Inquiry as an Organization Development and Diversity Process

Appreciative Inquiry Pillars

Setting the Stage for Appreciative Inquiry

Phases of the Appreciative Inquiry Process

Implications for OD Practitioners

Conclusion

References

Chapter Twenty-Six: Culture Assessment as an OD Intervention

Organization Culture and Cultural Assessment

The Culture Assessment Process

Summary and Conclusions

References

Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Complexity Science Approach to Organization Development

Complexity Science and OD

Working with Complex Responsive Processes

OD Practitioner Roles

Using a Complexity Approach for OD Processes

Conclusion

References

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Developing Organizations as Learning Systems

Learning and Change, Learning and OD

Learning in Response to Notable Events

Learning and Diversity

Learning and OD Practitioner Skills

Developing Organizations as Learning Systems

Summary

References

Part Seven: The Future of Organization Development

Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Positive Vision of OD’s Future

A Positive Future Scenario

Summary and Conclusions

References

About the Editors

About the Contributors

Name Index

Subject Index

About This Book

Why is this topic important?

Organizations and managers are facing unforeseen technological, labor force, economic, environmental, political, and social issues and changes. They are increasingly operating in international and world settings. The organization development (OD) profession and field is extending its range of knowledge and methodologies to be responsive, relevant, and effective in assisting organizations and managers with these issues and changes. New OD practitioners, students in academic and certificate OD programs, and even experienced practitioners are faced with understanding and integrating an evolving profession and field with many schools of thought and an extensive body of knowledge, theory, and methodology. The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change supports the effectiveness and development of OD practitioners and consultants by providing a description of the organization development profession and field and in-depth explorations of key OD approaches and applications. The book presents a framework for thinking about and understanding the variety and range of OD work in organizations. Core OD methods and approaches are described, along with new knowledge and innovations.

What can you achieve with this book?

The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change is a resource for OD practitioners and others interested in OD as they enter the field, participate in professional development and degree programs, and seek to gain information and understanding about OD as a profession and field, or aspects of the practice of OD. Based on the thinking and experiences of a range of academicians, researchers, and seasoned practitioners, many perspectives and approaches are discussed, explored, and examined, making this a useful and comprehensive handbook. The integrative perspective in The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change reflects the current state of the field and the complexity of organizations and the world; it offers working models for the development of OD consultants.

How is this book organized?

The book has seven parts. The first three parts describe the core elements of the OD field: the field and profession itself and its values and history, core theories and methods, and the phases of the OD process. The next three parts focus on the evolving nature and practice of organization development: working from different levels of systems perspectives, the practice of OD in international and world settings, and new and emerging applications. Part Seven addresses the future of the field and profession. The book is designed so that each chapter can be read separately, and sections and chapters are organized in a way that recognizes the evolving nature of the field. The content flows generally from core methodology and practice to innovation and from historical to present to future perspectives.

About Pfeiffer

Pfeiffer serves the professional development and hands-on resource needs of training and human resource practitioners and gives them products to do their jobs better. We deliver proven ideas and solutions from experts in HR development and HR management, and we offer effective and customizable tools to improve workplace performance. From novice to seasoned professional, Pfeiffer is the source you can trust to make yourself and your organization more successful.

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Copyright © 2006 by the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science.

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Pfeiffer also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

“Organizational Change Processes” copyright © 2006 by Ed Mayhew

“Theory and Practice of Multicultural Organization Development” copyright © 2006 by Bailey W. Jackson

“Working with Groups in Organizations” copyright © 2006 by Matt Minahan

“Building a Sustainable World: A Challenging OD Opportunity” copyright © 2006 by John D. Adams

“The Impact and Opportunity of Emotion in Organizations” copyright © 2006 by Annie McKee and Frances Johnston

“Working with Energy in Organizations” copyright © 2006 by Juliann Spoth

Excerpt from FIRO-B®Instrument In Organizations modified and reproduced by special permission of the Publisher CPP, Inc., Mountain View, Ca 94043 from Introduction to the FIRO-B®Instrument In Organizations by Eugene R. Schnell and Allen L. Haramer. Copyright 1993, 2004 by CPP, Inc. All rights reserved. Further reproduction is prohibited without the Publisher’s written consent.

Excerpts from Guiding Change Journeys: A Synergistic Approach to Organization Transformation by R. C. Allen. Copyright © 2001 by Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Reprinted with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Excerpts from DIBELLA, ANTHONY J., LEARNING PRACTICES: ASSESSMENT AND ACTION FOR ORGANIZATIONAL IMPROVEMENT, First Edition, copyright © 2001. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The NTL handbook of organization development and change: principles, practices, and perspectives /

Brenda B. Jones and Michael Brazzel, editors.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

SBN-13: 978-0-7879-7773-3 (alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 0-7879-7773-X (alk. paper)

1. Organizational change—Management. 2. Business consultants—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title: Handbook of organization development and change. II. Jones, Brenda B. III. Brazzel, Michael. IV. NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science.

HD58.8.N78 2006

658.4′06—dc22

Acquiring Editor: Matt Davis

Director of Development: Kathleen Dolan Davies

Developmental Editor: Susan Rachmeler

Production Editor: Andrea Flint

Editor: Thomas Finnegan

Manufacturing Supervisor: Becky Carreño

Illustrations: Lotus Art

FIGURES, TABLES, AND EXHIBITS

Figures

Figure 1.1 Core Knowledge Sets and Underlying Philosophy of Organization Development

Figure 4.1 Six Elements of Cultivating Presence

Figure 4.2 Perceived Weirdness Index (PWI) and Range of Effectiveness

Figure 5.1 Lewin’s Concept of Action Research

Figure 5.2 A Single Cycle in an Action Research Project

Figure 5.3 Phases of the Consulting Process

Figure 5.4 Application of the AR Cycle to Each Phase of the Consultation Process

Figure 5.5 Reiterative AR Cycles Applied to the Implementation Phase of the Consultation Process

Figure 6.1 Levels of Systems Thinking

Figure 6.2 People and Change

Figure 8.1 Continuum of Multicultural Organization Development

Figure 8.2 MCOD Process

Figure 9.1 OD: A Map of What to Know and What to Do

Figure 9.2 Action Research

Figure 9.3 Theory Happens

Figure 9.4 Organizations as Open Systems

Figure 10.1 Entry and Contracting Phase

Figure 10.2 Factors Affecting Client-Practitioner Dynamics

Figure 11.1 Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model

Figure 11.2 Freedman: Swamp Model of Sociotechnical Systems

Figure 11.3 The Burke-Litwin Model of Individual and Organization Performance

Figure 11.4 Weisbord Six Box Model

Figure 12.1 Intervention Map

Figure 14.1 Hanafin and Kitson Development Continuum

Figure 15.1 The Group Spiral

Figure 15.2 Carter’s Cube

Figure 19.1 Client Mental Models

Figure 19.2 Building Critical Mass for Change

Figure 22.1 Three Levels of Cultural Consciousness

Figure 22.2 OD Practice Models

Figure 24.1 The Energy Cycle

Figure 25.1 Four-D Appreciative Inquiry Model

Figure 26.1 Levels of Culture

Figure 27.1 Relationship of Order and Self-Organizing in Diversity Initiatives

Table

Table 3.1 OD Values and Value Themes over Time

Table 6.1 Closed Versus Open System Thinking

Table 6.2 Organizational Boundary Conditions

Table 7.1 Levels of Resistance: Putting It All Together

Table 10.1 Entry Phase Tasks and Actions

Table 10.2 Contracting Phase Tasks and Actions

Table 11.1 Bolman and Deal Four Frames Model

Table 11.2 Organization Diagnosis Phase Tasks and Actions

Table 11.3 Feedback Phase Tasks and Actions

Table 12.1 OD Approaches Vs. Change Management

Table 12.2 Intervention Phase Tasks and Actions

Table 12.3 Examples of Intervention Activities at Individual, Team, and Organizational Levels

Table 13.1 Questions at Each Level

Table 13.2 Evaluation Phase Tasks and Actions

Table 13.3 Termination Phase Tasks and Actions

Table 14.1 Matrix for Working with Individuals in an Organizational Context

Table 15.1 The FIRO-B Six-Cell Model and Behaviors

Table 15.2 Bennis and Shepard’s Theory of Group Development

Table 15.3 Banet’s Theory of Group Development Based on the I Ching

Table 15.4 Three Levels of Task within the Group Spiral

Table 16.1 Comparison of Large Group Methods

Table 17.1 Staffing Requirements for a 21st Century Town Meeting

Table 17.2 21st Century Town Meetings

Table 18.1 OD Practices and Tasks for Creating Multiorganizational Systems

Table 19.1 Working with Left-Side Focuses

Table 19.2 Working with Right-Side Focuses

Table 21.1 Systems Matrix

Table 21.2 Mapping a Global Human System

Table 21.3 Whole-World Competencies Matrix

Table 21.4 Strategies for Developing Cultural Competency with a Service Agency in a Multicultural Community

Table 24.1 Examples of Interventions

Table 27.1 Differences Between Traditional OD and OD from a Complexity Science Perspective

Table 28.1 Learning Orientations

Exhibit

Exhibit 4.1 Principles of Presence

Exhibit 12.1 Build It and They Will Come: Changing Institutional Focus

Exhibit 12.2 The Effective OD Interventionist (in Two Hundred Words)

Exhibit 14.1 Three Faces of Individual Work

Exhibit 18.1 Summary of Intervention Types and Tasks

Exhibit 18.2 OD Practitioner Roles and Intervention Types

Exhibit 19.1 Sample Questions for Building Versatility

Exhibit 20.1 Hofstede’s Five Dimensions of Culture

Exhibit 20.2 Dimensions of Culture and Core Issues of Identity

Exhibit 20.3 Contact Levels and Themes

Exhibit 21.1 Journey Map Questionnaire

Exhibit 25.1 Example of an AI Interview Protocol

Exhibit 26.1 Culture Assessment: A Ten-Step Process

Exhibit 28.1 Factors That Promote Learning

FOREWORD

We are writing this from the Bingham House in Bethel, Maine, a few hundred feet from the Founders House of the NTL Institute. It seems like an appropriate setting since our own experience, and that of most if not all, of the contributing authors of this volume has been deeply influenced by the founders and pioneers of what began as the National Training Laboratory in Group Development in 1946. This early name actually has a great deal of meaning, and the chapters of this book consistently mirror the underlying concerns, values, and dreams of those who led the way for NTL to become a major force in the field of organization development.

National is the word that seems to represent the tentative or conservative nature of the original group and a reluctance to assert that the methods and practices might somehow reach around the globe. There had always been broad interest in the work of international colleagues, even though the membership and programs focused in the main on domestic audiences. Training, by contrast, was a strong word that came from the work of Ronald Lippitt in his counterinsurgency training in Indochina during World War II. It was descriptive of the positive outcome of the process of learning by doing through skill exercises that involved feedback and reflection. Laboratory captured the essence of the work of Kurt Lewin, Lee Bradford, Ron Lippitt, and Ken Benne, the four founders of NTL, who articulated the need for action research through experiential learning.

Groups, however, was the one thing the founders were sure about. Small group process was the major focus in the early years of NTL: group dynamics, group development, and group research. Basic skill training groups (the name was soon shortened to T-groups) were viewed as the center of the learning laboratory. Learning objectives focused on the link between individual contributions in the dynamics of the group and the processes of the larger community; groups became the building blocks in applying democratic principles of participation in decision making and the world of action. Groups were seen as having the same critical elements for members working in a variety of settings: communities, industry, education, and voluntary organizations. Specifically, distributed power, influence, and leadership were key elements in managing groups and organizations in the aftermath of World War II.

All of the key words in the original name find their way into the chapters of this book and represent the base from which our particular branch of organization development has evolved.

The role of the founders of NTL was critical in grounding all of these ideas and skills in an action research format. They outlined and evolved a process of reflective learning that changed adult education in general and constituted the base for the future of training and organization development. They brought their experience in role playing, simulations, and skill practice in cross-cultural scenarios together with the creative techniques for wide participation in the precursors of Future Search and Whole System Change. They combined the educational philosophy of John Dewey with a concern for ethics and democratic values, which was a compass that is still used to assess the values and ethics of planned change. The wide participation of all levels and functions in organization change led to the evolution of organizational culture change methodologies.

Democratic process was the key to all of these pioneers who conceived of the early programs in Bethel. This place was chosen because it met the requirements of Lewin for a cultural island: an island devoted to research and laboratory training; an island that looked and felt a lot like Brigadoon; an island hard to get to and even harder to leave; an island where people could explore new ideas for changing their own behavior and their visions of change outside of the constraints of their everyday environments.

As NTL members working with group development began to realize that groups were microcosms of organizations, they began to realize that the work being focused in improving the functioning of groups could be expanded to include the improved processes of organizations. Thus, in the 1960s, NTL added organization development to its programs and research studies; changed its name to the NTL Institute; and became a separate organization, leaving the protective umbrella of the Adult Education Division of the National Education Association. A new era had begun, in which organization development would blossom and flourish and gradually distinguish itself from the focus on individual and group development.

We were fortunate to be early second-generation members of NTL. Edie arrived in Bethel in 1950 and Charlie showed up in 1957 as a research assistant. We met when Charlie participated in a T-group where Edie was cotraining, and our relationship with each other and Bethel has continued to this day. Our combined hundred-plus summers in Bethel and twenty-five years as faculty with the American University/NTL Master’s Program in OD have spanned much of the history of the field of organization development as we know it. Our exposure to many of the pioneers in the field has given us a perspective that we want to share on the occasion of publication of this notable and important book connecting group development, participative leadership, experiential learning, and organization development.

Six decades ago, seeds were planted here in Bethel that became significant roots for the field of organization development. Those roots included not only well-known theorists and practitioners but also those people who have extended leadership to the organizations that embraced, expanded, and shaped the current state of the field of organization development. Among them are the Organization Development Network (ODN); the Organization Development Institute (ODI); and significant divisions of many other professional organizations: the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), the Academy of Management (AOM), and the many universities that developed OD master’s and doctoral programs.

The taproot of OD that influenced the formation of NTL, and virtually all of the chapters in this book, goes back to Kurt Lewin. His work charted the way for much of what is widely shared by the many practitioners of our field. It also laid the groundwork for the differences and some of the uniqueness that characterize each scholar-practitioner’s approach to our work. Philosophically and pragmatically, Lewin and his colleagues contributed the conception of individuals and their social relationships existing within a field of forces rather than the Aristotelian and Newtonian conceptions of simple cause and effect. This was an adaptation that Lewin made from field theory in physics. It served to open up the possibilities of action research and intervention in creating planned social change at all levels of systems. Lewin’s basic formula of B = f [P,E] was shorthand for “behavior is a function of personal characteristics and the environment.” This highlighted the importance of understanding how creating changes in the environment of a relationship, a group, or an organization could be an extremely powerful force in determining an individual’s behavior, the outcome of group processes, and larger systems dynamics.

As a pioneer social psychologist, Lewin came to the United States in reaction to Hitler’s persecution of Jews. His work was at the heart of the interdisciplinary movement in the pursuit of meaningful social change. World War II also heightened the deep hunger for structures and processes that would give hope to the idea of world peace. Shortly after the armistice, Lewin’s Research Center for Group Dynamics was established at MIT and then moved to the University of Michigan following his death in early 1947. Rensis Likert brought leadership to the Survey Research Center and the umbrella organization, called the Institute for Social Research. Meanwhile, in other developments on the group process front, sociodrama and sociometry were flourishing under Jacob and Zerka Moreno, and the Tavistock Institute in London was exploring the relevance of psychoanalytic theory to group process and social change. Revolutionary ideas were simultaneously being explored in the fields of adult education, leadership, psychiatry, management, and community development.

Experiential learning was in the spirit of many of these innovations, as was the use of systematic data gathering as part of action research and the field of strategic planning. Social scientists who had been active in the war effort in both the military and the civilian sectors were fired up with the opportunity to reinvent democracy, put a new take on social justice, and experiment with applying scientific methods to human affairs, especially individual development and social relationships that form the backbone for exercising leadership in small groups, organizations, and communities. The concept of feedback, informed by the work of Norbert Weiner and colleagues in the field of cybernetics, became an integral part of the exercise of leadership and the processes of the management of change. The implications of new technology were additional challenges to the understanding of process management in successful task achievement. The foundations of sociotechnical systems work flowed out of the wartime experiences of Bion and others in the Tavistock Institute in London. All of this work is still relevant to the issues that have arisen in the approaches to improved efficiency and effectiveness promised in change management strategies.

The critical values underlying that work still inform the world of organization development. It is the expression of those values that you see in the chapters of this book. First and foremost is the idea that people have a right to participate in the processes that control their lives. Active participation, meaningful involvement, and an opportunity to make one’s voice heard can unleash the creative forces and collaborative activity that help groups and organizations thrive and flourish. Functional leadership, the flexibility in structures and process that reduce dependency and oppressive hierarchical control of one set of persons by another, challenged the prevailing models of autocratic position-based exercise of power. Sound and current data that could be assembled, analyzed, and put to use in open and transparent processes could amount to the basis for high trust and collaboration at all levels of organization. Feedback and the free flow of information and communication among individuals, groups, and larger units of organization became the focus of interventions and change processes. Most important, social justice and the appreciation of differences and diversity could be integrated into the goals and visions of organizations to build a foundation for sustainable change.

These values had a high degree of resonance with those who chose to see the importance of managing change at all levels of society. The core assumptions about effective leadership were challenged and reassessed. The search was on for more effective processes and procedures for managing conflict, engaging the full potential of all members of groups and organizations, and looking at leadership in radically different ways. The tradition of power being associated with the position of the leader began to give way to wide distribution of leader functions among group members. There were powerful implications for the development of high individual involvement, commitment, satisfaction, and competence as parallel outcomes to effective task management in achieving organization goals and visions. The conception of change management and the managing of change were related to the idea of continuous learning and growth and lead to the current interest areas of organization learning and planned change in organization culture.

Doug McGregor, one of the early shapers of organization development, gave us a simple language to explore the impact of individual processes on people and organizations. Doug’s classic The Human Side of Enterprise spoke to the belief systems we have around process and people. Theory X and Theory Y symbolized the beliefs we hold in working with people. This theory was one of the key underpinnings of “OD = People, Process, and Organization.” He focused on the powerful connection between one’s beliefs about human nature and the effects of the self-fulfilling prophecy. If leaders using Theory X conceived of people as lazy, avoiding work, and reluctant to work together without coercion, they were likely to generate exactly that behavior on the part of the worker. If, on the other hand, leaders operated out of Theory Y beliefs, they would see individuals as creative and eager to join in challenging tasks for achieving group goals. That would then be the behavior more likely to be elicited in the interaction of leaders and group members.

At the time that Edie encountered Doug, she was a student at Antioch College and he was the college’s newly appointed president. In his inaugural speech, he expounded on the concept of process and the role it played in all of our activities. It was an astonishing eye-opener to those who had always concentrated on task, never acknowledging that no task could be accomplished without an accompanying process and that the process often molded the shape of the task. That principle, once in focus, became essential to the practice of organization development.

Our field is based on an appreciation and understanding of process at all levels of social systems. Process underlies everything that is going on—individually, interpersonally, in and among groups. As Bob Blake and Jane Mouton demonstrated in the Managerial Grid process, process could be integrated with the focus of attention that had historically been on task. The profound realization that process could be observed and refined to enhance use of self, development of highly productive relationships and procedures, and creation of powerful organization cultures has been articulated in the work of Ed Schein, a colleague heavily influenced by his association with McGregor at MIT.

NTL’s concern and understanding for the dynamics of groups became an international phenomenon. In the early 1960s, many European countries sent teams of group researchers to NTL to take part in building processes and structures that would help foster peaceful resolution for conflictual situations. These European teams returned to their countries and started institutes similar to NTL, many of which are still active today, in Austria, Germany, Holland, Denmark, the Scandinavian countries, Hungary, and England. Many of these institutes are also moving their research and consulting from group development to organization development. Following right along with Europe came India, China, South America, and Asia, all of which started their own action and research training and consulting programs designed to focus on change projects in their cultures. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, as the civil rights and women’s movements emerged as major forces in the United States, NTL reorganized by deliberate design from an organization whose members and leaders were predominantly white male to a diverse organization. At that time, the leadership and membership of NTL became much more balanced in the proportions of women and people of color. Inclusion and diversity became powerful forces in the practice of organization development. This included the founding of firms specializing in diversity, such as Kaleel Jamison Associates and Elsie Y. Cross Associates. Diversity also became a strong program emphasis of individual OD consultants.

As the field of organization development matured, it moved more and more heavily into a focusing on work flow, organization models and structures, and use of increasingly sophisticated technology, all of which have the potential to squeeze out the values-based concern of the early years. Recently, these values are being slowly reintroduced into organizations through leadership and management training programs, and increasingly the demand for executive coaching for leaders and managers. Now the shift in the field of OD is more than ever on how executives use themselves to affect the organization and set the tone for a productive organization culture.

The focus on leadership continues to swing between the charismatic leader at the pinnacle of the organization and development of leadership competencies throughout the organization, empowering more distributive decision-making capacity and building a culture of accountability. It is here that the values of organization development become a foundation for advocacy, challenge, and constructive engagement so as to maintain the “human side of enterprise.” Corporate organizations are driven to produce profit margins that ensure survival and satisfy customers and shareholders. Nonprofits and governmental organizations are challenged to demonstrate their worth. All organizations share the challenges and opportunities of integrating values when balancing the underlying importance of people with the achievement of their goals.

Challenges that lie ahead for the field of OD and NTL’s continued involvement are to continue its foundation of action research and concern for social justice in a diverse, international world that increasingly needs peaceful approaches to resolving conflict over major cultural differences. The underlying values that NTL and OD have brought to groups and organizations need to find a voice in the increasing complexity of today’s virtual groups and global organizations.

The array of authors and editors in this book reads like a diagonal slice through the generations of OD over the last fifty years. Brenda Jones and Michael Brazzel have brought the wisdom and experience of the third generation. They have both been at the forefront of organization development and change as well as the diversity and inclusion movements as an integral part of NTL. Brenda moved from graduate student at Johns Hopkins University to part of the faculty in the American University/NTL Institute Master’s Program in OD and at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, as well as chair of the ODN board of directors. Michael was a student in the first class of the AU/NTL program, has been on the OD faculty there, and is a cofounder and codeveloper of the NTL Diversity Certificate Program. Both have been active practitioners over the past twenty-five years. Brenda and Michael have carefully selected authors to bring a fresh eye, a new perspective, and imaginative thinking on the current state of organization development to produce this creatively designed book.

The book takes its place alongside the state-of-the-art publications of the NTL Institute. Together with the other major professional organizations in our field, NTL has regularly amounted to a reference point or compass heading for our practice world. Together with the ODN, the NTL Institute has served as an incubator and major support system to generate a large and diverse assembly of scholar-practitioners. This volume is a direct outcome of the sustained energy, trust, and cohesion characteristic of a strong, healthy, collaborative group of colleagues along with the inclusion of significant differences that ensure the vitality and growth of new ideas and practices.

We believe this book can make a significant contribution to the evolution of our field through integrating new practices and challenging opportunities while continuing to articulate those underlying values of social justice, individual respect, and high internal collaboration. As the next decade unfolds, the discipline that we have known as organization development may change in form, or even in name. However, it is the consistent spotlight on human values that has given the field of OD as we know it the definition that will continue to shape our discipline. These values will always be our signature.

Edith Whitfield Seashore and Charles Seashore

Bethel, Maine, and Columbia, Maryland

February 2006

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is our pleasure to acknowledge and thank the many people who helped to make this book possible. The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change is a testament to NTL being a major resource for and supporter of the field of OD. We appreciate the many current, former, and late NTL members who are architects of the field of organization development—those who are well known and less known in the field, including Dick Beckhard, W. Warner Burke, Bob Chin, Elsie Cross, Kathleen D. Dannemiller, Darya Funches, Kaleel Jamison, Ron Lippitt, W. Brendan Reddy, Herb Shepard, Robert Tannenbaum, Marv Weisbord, Leroy Wells Jr., and those who have been constant supporters of the emerging field and of current and future generations. They include as well many of the authors who have contributed chapters to this book.

We want to express our thanks to a number of NTL colleagues who supported this book in various ways, those who served as a sounding board to us at all times of the day and night, those who considered writing a chapter for the book, those whose chapters were omitted because the book was too big, and those who encouraged us in our project. They are Clay Alderfer, Frances Baldwin, Earl Braxton, Nancy Brown-Jamison, John D. Carter, Jack Gant, Pauline Frederick Hicks, Evangelina Holvino, Mary Ann Huckabay, Lennox Joseph, Judith H. Katz, Frederick A. Miller, Jane Moosbruker, Mikki Ritvo, Arty Trost, Morley Segal, and Judy Vogel.

We thank the thirty-eight contributors in this book who for the past three years believed in its publication. It has been our privilege to work with John D. Adams, Billie T. Alban, Rebecca Chan Allen, Barbara Benedict Bunker, Anthony J. DiBella, Katherine Farquhar, Arthur M. Freedman, Seán Gaffney, Susan M. Gallant, William Gellermann, Jonno Hanafin, Stanley R. Hinckley Jr., Bailey W. Jackson, David Jamieson, Frances Johnston, Mark Leach, Roland E. Livingston, Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer, Robert J. Marshak, Rick Maurer, Ed Mayhew, Anne McCloskey, Annie McKee, Matt Minahan, Edwin C. Nevis, Julie A. C. Noolan, Edwin E. Olson, Daisy Ríos, Cathy L. Royal, Edgar H. Schein, Charles Seashore, Edith Whitfield Seashore, Juliann Spoth, Daniel Stone, Tojo Thatchenkery, Mary Ann Rainey Tolbert, Ted Tschudy, and Chistopher G. Worley. We appreciate their time and effort.

Thank you to all at Pfeiffer who have been so affirming of The NTL Handbook and have done the important work of making its publication possible: Kathleen Dolan Davies, Matt Davis, Thomas Finnegan, Andrea Flint, Susan Rachmeler, Jeanenne Ray, Laura Reizman, and Nina Kreiden. We want to thank the incredible reviewers of the book: Alan S. Davenport, Nancy M. Haus, and Peter F. Norlin; and thanks to Marilyn E. Blair, editor-in-chief of the OD Practitioner.

We especially would like to thank the past president of the NTL Institute, Diane Porter, and its current president, Margaret Tyndall. Their interest and general support for the book enabled us to work on this project and create a book for practitioners in the field of OD. Our special thanks to Irene V. Jackson-Brown, who worked tirelessly at the beginning of this project to obtain a publisher who would bring momentum and excitement for this book. We owe a large debt to Mary Blum Rusk, who joined us as our administrative support partner on the project. Her dedication to our partnership, providing insights and perspectives about the work and administrative support for the book, has been enjoyable and invaluable.

Final Thoughts

From Michael: Thank you to Susan Carton Brazzel, my love, my partner in life, and my friend. You have supported and encouraged me to follow my passion with this book . . . and reminded me gently whenever it began having too large a presence in our lives. I am blessed that you are in my life.

From Brenda: I am very grateful to my family for their continuous encouragement and enthusiasm for my work and this book; I want to thank Bill, Brian, and Robyn, who—with their wonderful hearts—respect and care about the things that matter to me and offer inspiration and hope.

February 2006

BBJ

MB

INTRODUCTION: GETTING THE MOST FROM THIS BOOK

The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change began life as an idea that we, the editors, had from working together for NTL Institute’s introductory workshop with its OD certificate program. We partnered, off and on, for twenty years in numerous projects and as faculty for the workshop. Over time, we wanted a more comprehensive, current resource to support workshops as well as certificate and degree programs. We stated this idea, with the offer to edit the book, to the then-president of NTL, Diane Porter, who gave her enthusiastic support and encouragement to the project. The current president, Margaret Tyndall, has continued the support and encouragement through to publication. Several years have passed and this book is the result of our partnership based in years of working together as colleagues and as friends. It is a contribution and celebration of the passion we feel for organization development as our profession and as a field of practice.

Purpose

The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change is created to reflect views regarding the current state of the field, the complexity of organizations and the world, and the need to support development of OD practitioners and consultants. Chapters are written from an OD practitioner’s perspective, fostering breadth of information about the field of organization development, working models of OD, and OD applications, describing what OD is, how to do it, and the competencies required. This perspective includes themes of having a multiple-levels-of-systems viewpoint, a social justice and diversity stance, and an international and world context. These themes are integrated in chapters throughout the book. Individually, they highlight aspects of OD that are useful and beneficial to a practitioner’s work in organizations. Together, they promote layers of thinking, principles, and practices that create a broad capability for addressing organizational issues and dilemmas.

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