Values, Assumptions and Beliefs in OD

A Belief A belief is a proposition about how the world works that the individual accepts as true: it is a cognitive fact for the person.

Values They are also beliefs and are defined as: “Beliefs about what is desirable or good and what is undesirable or bad”

Assumptions Assumptions are beliefs that are regarded as so valuable and obviously correct that they are taken for granted and rarely examined or questioned.

Three types of OD Values Humanistic Optimistic Democratic

Humanistic values They proclaim the importance of the individual. Respect the whole person. Treat people with respect and dignity. Assume that every one has intrinsic worth. View all people as having the potential for growth and development.

Optimistic values They post that people are basically good. Progress is possible and desirable. Rationality, reason, and goodwill are the tools for making progress.

Democratic values They assert the sanctity of the individual. The right of people to be free from misuse of power. Use of fair and equitable treatment for all. Need for justice through rule of law.

Early statements of OD values Warren Bennis 1969 Richard Beckhard 1969 Robert Tannenbaum 1969

Warren Bennis Improvement in interpersonal competence. Shift in values so that human factors and feelings come to be considered legitimate. Development of increased understanding between and within working groups in order to reduce tensions.

Development of more effective “team management” Development of better methods of conflict resolution. Development of organic rather than mechanical systems.

Mechanical V/S Organic systems Authority-obedience relations v/s mutual confidence and trust. Strict division of labour and hierarchical super vision v/s multi-group membership and responsibility. Centralized decision making v/s wide sharing of responsibility and control.

Richard Beckhard The basic building blocks of an organization are groups, therefore the basic units of change are groups, not individuals. Goal is the reduction of competition between parts of the organization and the development of a more collaborative condition.

Decision making in a healthy organization is located where the information sources are, rather than in a particular role or level of hierarchy. Organizations, subunits of organizations and individuals continuously manage their affairs against goals. Controls are interim measurements, not the basis of managerial strategy.

One goal of a healthy organization is to develop generally open communication, mutual trust, and confidence between and across levels. “people support what they create”. People affected by a change must be allowed active participation and a sense of ownership in the planning and conduct of the change.

Robert Tannenbaum’s ‘values in transition’ People as essentially bad to basically good. Avoidance of negative evaluation of individuals to confirming them as human beings. Individuals as fixed to seeing them as being in process. Resisting and fearing individual differences to accepting and utilizing them.

Utilizing an individual primarily with reference to his job to viewing an individual as a whole person. Walling off the expression of feelings to appropriate expression and effective use. Maskmanship and game playing to authentic behaviour.

Use of status for maintaining power and personal prestige to use of status for organizationally relevant purposes. From distrusting people to trusting them. From avoidance to confrontation. Avoidance of risk taking to willingness to risk.

View of process work as unproductive to seeing it as essential to effective task accomplishment. From primary emphasis on competition to greater emphasis on collaboration.

Implication of OD values Implications for dealing with individuals. Implications for dealing with groups. Implications for designing and running organizations.

Individuals Most individuals are naturally driven towards personal growth and development if provided with environment. Most people desire and are capable of making greater contribution towards attaining organization goals. Ask-listen-support-challenge-encourage risk taking-permit failure-remove obstacles-give autonomy and responsibility-set high standards-reward success.

Groups What occurs at the formal and informal levels, greatly influences feelings of satisfaction and competence. People wish to be accepted and interact co-operatively at least with one reference group. People are capable of making great contributions to a groups effectiveness. Let teams flourish-leaders should invest in groups-adopt a team leadership style.

Designing and running organizations Developmental outlook and opportunities in which people can experience personal and professional growth. Create organizations that on one hand are humane, developmental, and empowering and on the other hand are high performing in terms of productivity, quality of out-put and profitability. Putting people first.

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