Monday, January 17, 2011

Organizational Diagnosis – Theories upon Theories

I felt a bit lost this week as I muddled through more ‘foundational’ reading as well as focused articles concerning appreciative inquiry, double-loop learning, T-Groups, and various other tools for organizational diagnosis and development. To be honest, much of the theories seem straight-forward and easy to understand, but perhaps more difficult to put into practice. I also had a recurring hunch that much of O.D. could be applied to student learning, and perhaps the reflective inquiries developed and promoted by theorists such as Lewin and Argyris should be expanded more within classroom development (http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-lewin.htm & http://www.infed.org/thinkers/argyris.htm).

Bushe summarized:
     "Socio-rationalists argue that the theories we hold, our beliefs about social systems, have a powerful effect on the nature of social "reality". Not only do we see what we believe, but the very act of believing it creates it. From this point of view, the creation of new and evocative theories of groups, organizations, and societies, are a powerful way to aid in their change and development" (http://www.gervasebushe.ca/aiodj.htm).
Bushe’s assertion made me realize the value of evaluating theories to note which components remain relevant while dismissing those which may be outdated in today’s organizational systems. When I think about the structure of my work environment and how it contrasts with my school cohort environment, I realize that I do have different beliefs about the structures and “shared meanings” of each group. I definitely see the important role individual perceptions play within the whole group ‘reality’.

My colleagues and I have a planning meeting at the start of each semester. This meeting gives us a chance to reflect on where we’ve been, where we are presently, and where we’d like to go next. I believe my supervisor embodies humanistic/democratic values, which contribute to “trusting, authentic relationships [that]…develop among people and…result in increased interpersonal competence, intergroup cooperation, flexibility, and the like and should result in increases in organizational effectiveness. (Argyris, http://accel-team.com/human_relations/hrels_06i_argyris.html).

As a classroom teacher I felt that I existed on my own boat floating in an ocean of a school. Sometimes my boat would drift up to other boats (intentionally, out of necessity, or by choice), we would sail together in the same direction for awhile, perhaps landing at the same port for a shared learning experience, and sometimes we would bring back imported goods for students such as a new reading-across-the-curriculum program… The majority of the time, however, my boat drifted somewhat aimlessly.

In contrast, I feel that being in a different type of organization has afforded me perspective on O.D., and how O.D. can (and should) be applied within different educational organizations. I appreciate our “planning meetings” and am thinking of how I will build the agenda for this week such that we ask “powerful questions” of ourselves. One website I visited articulated what constitutes a powerful question:
    * Is simple and clear
    * Is thought provoking
    * Generates energy
    * Focuses inquiry
    * Surfaces assumptions
    * Opens new possibilities
    * Invites deeper reflection
    * Seeks what is useful
(http://www.theworldcafe.com/know-how.htm#context)
Asking these types of questions will (hopefully) foster continued growth and development within my organization.

As I ponder getting into the field to observe another organization, I see the ways in which “Adding hypercompetitive economic pressures to impatience, the lure of simplicity, fear, lack of skills, and a silo mentality, slams the door on any chance for Deep Organizational Diagnosis” (http://www.hrconsultant.com/aw/aw_ter_long_term_success.html). I wonder how for-profit organizations can find a way to productivity and profit through balanced O.D. and appreciative inquiry. I sense that a positive approach is always key to building on “what’s right” as opposed to the negativity with which many organizations are criticized. I look forward to taking the observer perspective and to comparing/contrasting how a different organization responds to inquiry processes.

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