Module 1 Background Required Reading: A Good Place To Start

Module 1 Backgroundrequired Readinga Good Place To Start Is This Int

Review the background materials on organizational development and action research, focusing on the main steps involved in action research and organizational development. Then, analyze four specific organizational scenarios to identify which key step of the standard action research process was missing in each case. For each scenario, explain which step was omitted and how this omission likely contributed to the organization's failure to achieve its goals. Make sure to include references to at least one of the required readings for each scenario and cite all three required sources in your paper.

Paper For Above instruction

Organizational development (OD) and action research are structured methodologies designed to facilitate effective change within organizations. According to Weiher (2014), OD involves systematic steps aimed at diagnosing problems, planning change, and implementing solutions through participatory processes. Similarly, Lurey and Griffin (2013) outline seven steps in action research, including entry, contracting, diagnosis, action planning, implementation, evaluation, and disengagement. Haneberg (2005) and McLean (2006) further elaborate on the importance of following these steps to ensure thorough understanding and sustainable change. Analyzing organizational scenarios illuminates the common pitfalls that occur when organizations neglect essential steps in these processes. The following discussion critically examines four distinct cases, identifying the specific missing step and exploring how its absence led to suboptimal outcomes.

Scenario 1: Declining Sales at XYZ Widget Corporation

The primary issue in this scenario appears to be a failure to conduct comprehensive diagnosis and analysis of the underlying causes of declining sales. The consultant and CEO hastily agreed to a limited scope focusing solely on identifying immediate factors and proposing a quick fix: a salary increase for the sales staff. This shortcut neglects the crucial diagnosis step, which would involve a broad assessment of organizational, market, and internal factors influencing sales (Weiher, 2014; McLean, 2006).

By skipping thorough data gathering, such as customer feedback, competitor analysis, and internal process evaluation, the organization missed out on understanding the actual root causes—be they product issues, market shifts, or internal communication problems. According to Lurey and Griffin (2013), neglecting diagnosis impairs the foundation for effective action planning and implementation. Consequently, the proposed pay increase was based on previous success stories without considering the unique context of XYZ, resulting in persistent low sales. This scenario underscores that ignoring diagnosis leads to superficial solutions that fail to address core issues, thereby rendering subsequent actions ineffective (Haneberg, 2005).

Scenario 2: Inventory and Accounting Processes at Allmart Corporation

In this case, the missing step is the failure to engage in direct observation of the actual work processes. The consultant relied exclusively on interviews and surveys, which only provide subjective insights. Although interviews can reveal perceptions and beliefs, they often overlook the actual workflow and operational inefficiencies present in day-to-day activities. As McLean (2006) emphasizes, observation is a vital component of diagnosis, offering tangible evidence of process issues that may not surface through self-reports alone.

By omitting this step, the client lacked an objective understanding of the departmental procedures, leading them to reject the consultant’s recommendation for new software. Direct observation might have uncovered manual workarounds, redundant steps, or bottlenecks that the survey data did not reveal. Without this concrete insight, the organization's decision to ignore the software upgrade was short-sighted, and the failure to follow the diagnosis step contributed to missed opportunities for meaningful improvement (Weiher, 2014; Haneberg, 2005). This highlights that comprehensive diagnosis—including observation—is essential to tailor solutions accurately and gain stakeholder buy-in.

Scenario 3: Merger Between Kooltrendy and Hardwrk

The main missing step here is the failure to engage wider stakeholder involvement and facilitate organizational learning during the intervention. Kooltrendy’s approach depended solely on survey and interview data to implement a cultural change initiative—“Fun Fridays”—without sufficient engagement or understanding of the deeper cultural dynamics (Lurey & Griffin, 2013). They assumed that changing superficial cultural artifacts would align cultures without addressing underlying values, norms, and employee perceptions.

This shortcoming reflects an omission of the diagnosis and action planning stages that emphasize participatory assessment and comprehensive understanding of organizational culture. The implementation of “Fun Fridays” overlooked the importance of active involvement, leading to unintended consequences: increased employee turnover at Hardwrk. As Weiher (2014) notes, change initiatives must involve employees at multiple levels and address core cultural elements to be sustainable. This scenario demonstrates that neglecting the diagnostic and participatory steps can cause superficial solutions to backfire, highlighting the necessity of thorough assessment and engagement.

Scenario 4: Development of a Hybrid Vehicle at HN Motors

The critical missing step in this case is the lack of follow-up and engagement during implementation. The management enthusiastically accepted the consultant’s recommendation to create a new “Hybrid Department,” but subsequently disengaged and did not maintain ongoing dialogue or support throughout the process. As a result, resistance persisted, and the project stalled after initial plans were set in motion (Lurey & Griffin, 2013; McLean, 2006).

By ceasing active involvement and failing to monitor and evaluate progress, the organization missed an opportunity to address emerging issues, such as interdepartmental conflicts or unclear reporting structures. This indicates a failure to implement the evaluation and disengagement phases effectively, which are vital for sustaining change (Weiher, 2014). Continuous engagement, feedback, and adjustment are essential components of successful OD initiatives. The scenario illustrates that neglecting these post-implementation steps can lead to project derailment despite sound initial planning, emphasizing the importance of ongoing involvement and evaluation.

Conclusion

In organizational development and action research, each step—diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation, and disengagement—is critical for success. The examined scenarios reveal that omission of key steps such as thorough diagnosis, observation, participatory engagement, and follow-up often results in ineffective or counterproductive change efforts. Understanding and adhering to these structured processes enhances the likelihood of achieving sustainable organizational improvement. As Weiher (2014), Lurey and Griffin (2013), Haneberg (2005), and McLean (2006) collectively emphasize, rigorous and comprehensive approaches grounded in these steps are indispensable for navigating complex organizational change.

References

• Haneberg, L. (2005). Chapter 3: The action research approach to change. Organization Development Basics. Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training & Development.
• Lurey, J., & Griffin, M. (2013). Section 2: Chapter 4: Action research: The anchor of OD practice. In J. Vogelsang (Ed.), Handbook for Strategic HR: Best Practices in Organization Development from the OD Network (pp. 46-52). AMACOM Books.
• McLean, G. N. (2006). Chapter 1: What is organization development? In Organization Development: Principles, Processes, Performance. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
• Weiher, A. (2014). Artifact: Organization Development.
• Additional scholarly sources can include peer-reviewed journal articles and authoritative texts on OD and action research.