Questions and Answers of Organization Development

Organize these data to present to Nancy. Notice demographic details such as grade level, interviewee role, and tenure.
Why did this intervention fail? What factors do you think lead to a successful intervention?
Was this team ready for change? Why or why not?
What do you think makes an effective coach?
What is the purpose of a coach?
What were the results of this intervention for this team? What did the team learn from this activity? Were the client’s goals met?
How would you respond to Tai’s question at the end?
What activities did Lori do to use the results of the instrument? Do you think these were effective? Why or why not?What would you have done differently, if anything?
How did Lori explain the instrument and its meaning? What do you think she did well, and what could have been improved in her explanation of the instrument?
What was the purpose of this individual assessment for this team? What should be the purpose of an individual instrument?
How do you define a successful team?
Do you think this team’s problems are common to many teams? What other common problems do teams experience?
Make a recommendation to the client about what could be done next based on the data included. Summarize your observations for Jim, offer possible interpretations, and suggest an approach for next
What problems exist in this organization? How do these problems differ based on the employees’ roles? Why do employees object to Jim’s proposed solution?
What practices made this organization design project a success?
What are some of the special challenges in large-scale changes like this one?
What intervention strategy and intervention activities would you recommend to Susan? How would you structure these activities? What roles would Susan, the management team, and the consultant play?
What has Susan done well in managing the change to this point? What could she have done differently?
How does the client feel about how the change has been managed at this point? How do you think the management team or employees feel?
How would you design an engagement that uses dialogic OD practices to assist this client?
What is the client looking to accomplish? What challenges exist for the client in accomplishing his objectives?
How would you summarize the current situation at the Crossroads Center?
What factors do you think make a merger succeed or fail?
How would you design an engagement that uses dialogic OD practices to assist this client?
What is the client looking to accomplish? What challenges exist for the client in accomplishing his objectives?
How would you summarize the current situation at the Crossroads Center?
When concluding an organization development engagement, what factors do you think it would be important to evaluate to assess the success of the effort?
What should we consider doing next time if we are faced with this problem again?
What would we have done differently?
What were the most challenging aspects?
What were the most successful aspects of the engagement?
To what extent has the client learned how to solve problems like these alone?
Would the client engage with the practitioner again?
What was the initial presenting problem, and did that change as we did further investigation?
What did we learn from the consultant–client relationship?
What did we learn about the OD process?
What intervention approach might you take in this case?
What are the different sources of conflict between the two groups?What role do national culture and organizational culture play in this conflict?
Can you think of additional ways that OD might make use of technology in an intervention?
The chapter reviews sustainability as one area where OD is increasingly playing an important role. Can you think of other opportunities for OD practitioners to apply the skills, values, and concepts
Do you agree with the characterization of Generation X and Millennials? Why or why not? What implications do you think these preferences for work have for the workplace? How do you prefer to be
Considering the cultural dimensions we have discussed, how might that intervention be used or adapted in one of the countries described in this chapter?
Choose an intervention described in Chapters 10 through
What are some of the ways that you have seen globalization at play, either in your personal life or in your workplace?
Reflect on a cross-cultural experience or interaction you have had. What challenges did you find in that experience? What could have made that interaction smoother?
Why should a practitioner end one engagement before beginning another? If the relationship continues anyway, what value is there to the ending process?
Imagine that an OD consultant was going to conduct an intervention in an organization you know well. What outcome or process variables (see Figures 14.1 and 14.2) would you use to evaluate the
In today’s organizations that must constantly change and adapt to remain agile enough to keep up with the competition, is there any value in the concept of sustaining change? What other methods to
What would you add to the conditions for success in the use of dialogic OD practices? Are there some organizations, problems, or situations where you think these practices would be more successful?
Think of an example of transorganization development with organizations familiar to you. How do you think some of the practices covered in this book (including contracting, data gathering, feedback,
How do you think that model of transitions might apply in a merger or acquisition? What ideas might you have about how to help employees manage the transition to a new company successfully?
Think back to the stages of transitions we learned about in Chapter
Reflect on the structure of an organization to which you belong. Which type of structure outlined in Chapter 12 best describes that organization? In your experience, what are the advantages and
Do you think that organizational culture can be changed? Why or why not?
Organizational culture can be an instructive but also an elusive concept. Think about an organization you know well: perhaps a university environment, or even this course as an organization. How
Have you ever experienced or witnessed intergroup conflict? How did it develop? What was done or could have been done about it? How might you have used one of the interventions described in this
What is most important to you when you join a new team? How would you structure a team start-up meeting to help a leader initiate a new team? How would you use the team start-up intervention for a
Name a few teams to which you have belonged. Would you consider them good experiences? What made them good experiences(or poor ones)? How did team members recognize and act on their interdependence?
Have you ever had a mentor or been a mentor yourself? What was the purpose and duration of the relationship? How did the mentor help you, or how did you help your mentee? What agreements did you make
The chapter reviewed a previously popular model of career development that now seems to be inapplicable to the current environment. Do you agree? Does the stage model accurately reflect your career
Think about the life transitions that you have experienced. What did the ending stage/neutral stage/new beginning stage feel like to you? What did you do to move between stages? How do you think your
Look back at the potential ethical issues with interventions. Which of these do you think would be the most commonly faced, in your view? What could a practitioner do to avoid these ethical concerns?
This chapter lists a number of considerations in choosing the right intervention strategy. In your view, how might you prioritize these? What do you think are the most important considerations in
Of the OD interventions you have participated in, which would you consider successful? What factors do you think contributed to the success of those interventions? Of those that were unsuccessful,
Look back at the forms of resistance mentioned in this chapter. Can you think of any others that you have felt or experienced?Choose one of the forms of resistance and formulate a response that you
Have you ever had to deliver difficult feedback to a friend, family member, or coworker? How did you do it? How was it received?What, if anything, would you do differently if you did it again? Based
Have you ever received difficult or painful feedback? How was it presented? How did the presentation of the feedback affect your understanding and internalization of it?
Can you think of other methods of data gathering that are not discussed in this chapter that might be useful in an OD engagement?
Have you ever been interviewed (for a job, school admission, scholarship)? How did it feel? Were you put at ease or did you feel uncomfortable? What are some lessons from your experience that might
Which of the five types of data gathering discussed in this chapter do you think is most effective? Which do you think is the most difficult to conduct? Why?
Think about the statement, “A practitioner is never finished contracting.” What do you think are some of the special challenges with recontracting when situations change? How might you respond to
In initial meetings during the entry stage, clients often want reassurance that the practitioner can address the problem, but as we discussed in the section on ethics in contracting, the practitioner
Read the opening vignette to the chapter again. Why did the client respond that “this is the strangest sales pitch I’ve ever heard”?What do you think the client was expecting?
If you were a manager hiring an organization development consultant, for what kinds of projects would you prefer an internal consultant? An external consultant? What skills would you look for?
Table 5.3 lists many recommended competencies for organization development consultants. Look back at that table and underline those where you feel that you have strong skills. Circle those where you
There are advantages and disadvantages to being an internal and external consultant. Many of these are listed in this chapter. Can you think of others? Based on your reading of the roles of an
Search the Internet for the websites of organization development and other management consultants. Try to find an explicit or implicit model of organization or organizational change that they
Considering these models, and your own knowledge of organizations, develop your own model that could inform an OD practitioner leading an organizational change. What does your model include or leave
The chapter lists a number of models for organization and approaches to organizational change. Which model or approach appeals to you most? For example, are you drawn to a systems theory or social
Think of an organization of which you have been a member. Did that organization model any of the values in this chapter well?How so?
Of the OD values listed in Chapter 3, are there any that you think should carry greater weight than others? Which ones? Why?
List four or five of your own personal values. How do these affect your actions? How do your values relate to the values of OD covered in this chapter?
Think about the motivators and hygiene factors discussed in Herzberg’s theory. Do the factors that motivate you reflect what Herzberg found? Has motivation changed since Herzberg’s research? If
Think about any past work experiences you have had and analyze your experiences with the theories described in this chapter, such as the management styles as described by Likert, Theory X and Theory
What are the differences between first-generation OD and second-generation OD? What are the major changes between these two generations of OD practice? What do you think have been the losses or gains
Have you ever participated in an organization development project or intervention? What was your experience?
Without looking back at the definitions in this chapter, how would you describe organization development to a friend, colleague, or potential client? Now compare your description to the definitions
Think of a job that you have held. It may be your current job, or it may be a job that you had in the past. Now take a few moments and write down several reasons why you found that job or work
SAP SuccessFactors is cloud-based software for human resource management. Watch the video on SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics solution at www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYYVncd_FmQ. What insights related
Watch the video “The Three Big Ethical Concerns With AI” at www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LyacmzB1 Og. Which of the concerns discussed have the largest implications for training and development
Watch the video “Meet the Robots at Amazon” at www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSA5Bq-1fU4. How have robots changed warehouse jobs at Amazon? How have skill requirements changed for those jobs?Provide a
Watch the video, “The digital future of work: What skills will be needed?” at www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV46n44jnoA. What are the skills that the video emphasizes will be needed as automatization
Valamis develops LXPs for other companies. Go to www.valamis.com/stories/amadeus. Watch the videos. How is the LXP helping Amadeus? What features does it provide that lead to more effective employee
What is digital literacy? Why is it necessary?
How does the use of a learning experience platform (LXP) better link training to business strategy and goals?
Explain how you could use lean thinking for developing online training.
Are robots going to displace all workers? Explain your answer.
How will the increased automation of work influence jobs and the skills employees need to perform those jobs?
What can companies do to ensure employees have digital literacy and close other skills gaps?
Watch the SHRM Foundation “Ernst & Young: Creating a Culture of Flexibility” online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9ixbBJ0YMA. What are the major challenges to creating a culture of flexibility? How

Showing 100 - 200 of 1189