Remember the old saying: “the only thing constant in this word is change”? We might have heard or will hear this over and over in our life time but despite this we still never get to stick it in our head. And this has been supported by the topics that have been discussed in class.
Change occurs and will ALWAYS occur in ANY organization. And no matter the severity and nature of the change, there will always be those who will resist it. They resist change without really knowing that the faster you adapt or accept change the faster you will develop as a person and as an organization because by restraining it you are also holding yourself from development.
Taking up the subject really helped me individually. In my opinion, a successful organizational change is rooted on the change that occurs to the individual members. And in the class, we did not only learn how to handle change or even push for change in an organization; but it also encouraged each one of us to start the change within us. I am sure that all the lessons that I have learned in this subject will help me function better in my future organizations.
Over all, the subject was pretty knowledge and experience based. And it really gave me a lot of insights and newly gained knowledge. But I think that the subject would be more effective it was a more hands on process. The learning would have been deeper if the students were able to experience the process or at least to get a taste and feel of it.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Learning Organization by John Frederick P. Cruz
Every organization may look daunting because of the various functions and requirements for it to survive. Organizations function with every member playing a specific role, every role is interdependent. Aside from this, an organization is also required to adapt to the environment where it is embedded. And the best way to be able to adapt if by knowing what is occurring and all the trends in the environment. In other words, an organization needs to LEARN.
Peter Senge exhibited this concept with his idea of a learning organization. The learning organization revolves around the concept of evolution to be able to survive. The old parts of an organization, if used in a different and more effective way, will form a new part essential for the organization’s survival.
The learning organization is basically focused on learning and awareness. It shows that organizations organization performance is dependent on how individuals learn and perform. It also exhibits the formula: Learning + Adapting = Change.
There are basically 5 elements in a learning organization, shown in the figure bellow.
Systems Thinking
It is the corner stone of the learning organization because it bonds the other 4 other elements to function together to be able to achieve the learning organization. Systems thinking basically require an individual or organization to think outside the box; you must not only settle for what is most convenient to you or the organization.
Personal Mastery
As I’ve said earlier, the organization is fully dependent on its parts, the members. The learning and direction of the organization is dependent on how members learn and apply their learning in their tasks. It encourages members of the organization to always learn and develop to be able to become better.
Mental Model
Often times we act in certain ways that we wouldn’t even notice because it comes from our mind. And these actions or ideas affect how we see things that face us as an individual. Mental models are basically the assumptions we make that affect our actions.
Share Vision
There are sayings that unity is the only key to success, and this is also applicable in the learning organization. By having a shared vision; members of the organization work together to be able to achieve the goal of the organization. A vision crafted by the member of the organization is always better that the vision made by top management because this type of vision is the desire of the members which give them extra motivation to work harder and work together to be able to achieve the vision. The shared vision also propels the learning process in the organization because of the desire to achieve the vision crafted by the members of the organization.
Team Learning
In team learning, members of the organization are encouraged to forget their personal assumptions to be able to arrive at an agreement with the other members. By doing so, members are able to think effectively with regard to what they want for the organization. This process encourages as well the discovery of goals that are only attainable by working with other people. All in all, leaning together makes the growth of the organization faster and more attainable.
Reference:
Learning Organization Presentation
Lecture by Ms. Marissa Fernando
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/senge.htm
http://www.albany.edu/sph/Hoff_learning/hpm_tim_learnorg.htm
Peter Senge exhibited this concept with his idea of a learning organization. The learning organization revolves around the concept of evolution to be able to survive. The old parts of an organization, if used in a different and more effective way, will form a new part essential for the organization’s survival.
The learning organization is basically focused on learning and awareness. It shows that organizations organization performance is dependent on how individuals learn and perform. It also exhibits the formula: Learning + Adapting = Change.
There are basically 5 elements in a learning organization, shown in the figure bellow.
Systems Thinking
It is the corner stone of the learning organization because it bonds the other 4 other elements to function together to be able to achieve the learning organization. Systems thinking basically require an individual or organization to think outside the box; you must not only settle for what is most convenient to you or the organization.
Personal Mastery
As I’ve said earlier, the organization is fully dependent on its parts, the members. The learning and direction of the organization is dependent on how members learn and apply their learning in their tasks. It encourages members of the organization to always learn and develop to be able to become better.
Mental Model
Often times we act in certain ways that we wouldn’t even notice because it comes from our mind. And these actions or ideas affect how we see things that face us as an individual. Mental models are basically the assumptions we make that affect our actions.
Share Vision
There are sayings that unity is the only key to success, and this is also applicable in the learning organization. By having a shared vision; members of the organization work together to be able to achieve the goal of the organization. A vision crafted by the member of the organization is always better that the vision made by top management because this type of vision is the desire of the members which give them extra motivation to work harder and work together to be able to achieve the vision. The shared vision also propels the learning process in the organization because of the desire to achieve the vision crafted by the members of the organization.
Team Learning
In team learning, members of the organization are encouraged to forget their personal assumptions to be able to arrive at an agreement with the other members. By doing so, members are able to think effectively with regard to what they want for the organization. This process encourages as well the discovery of goals that are only attainable by working with other people. All in all, leaning together makes the growth of the organization faster and more attainable.
Reference:
Learning Organization Presentation
Lecture by Ms. Marissa Fernando
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/senge.htm
http://www.albany.edu/sph/Hoff_learning/hpm_tim_learnorg.htm
Whole Scale Change by John Frederick P. Cruz
If an organization intends to achieve this ideal organization, they need to restructure it self. One way of doing so is by using the “Whole Scale Change” method. The whole scale change method was developed by Tom Tolchinsky and Kathie Dannemiller. It aims to guide or help organizations to function better and to survive in a rapidly changing environment by encouraging the involvement of every member in the undertakings of the organization. By doing so, members are encouraged to be committed in what they do in the organization, thus resulting in better performance. The core concepts of this method are interaction among the members and the creation of a new culture that promotes the ideals in the organization; the new culture then becomes a guide to what the organization wants to become.
The primary purpose of the whole scale change method is for an organization to remain intact and stable as it faces the changing environment; so basically, it helps organizations survive. It also aligns the perspectives of the members to be able to have a common vision for the organization. And it also intends to create a new culture that leads or guides the members to their shared vision.
The whole scale change method is consisted by series of events that promotes an action learning approach. It teaches the members of the organization through experience. There are also 3 models under the whole scale change method; mainly, converge/diverge model, action learning model, and DVF formula. First, the converge/diverge model exhibits a connection of the members of the organization, as well as its functions. It incorporates together the various groups in the organization to be able to gain knowledge or to gather more information. The various realities of the members are also then combined to garner a better scope of knowledge. After doing so, the organization explores various possibilities and then implements a decision that would affect the whole organization.
Second, the action learning model assures the organization that it will be intact as it goes through every step in the whole scale change method. This model resembles a check list because it constantly re-assesses the results of every step to insure that the change will be that of expected from the method. It encourages members of the organization to freely share their opinions for the organization to achieve its goals. Last, the DVF formula is basically what an organization need to posses for change to occur; and these are dissatisfaction, vision-yearnings, and first steps or what people could do. This formula is simple mathematics that shows if one is missing, change would be impossible to be attained.
The participants of the whole scale change method ranges from 10 to 10,000 people who belong to the microcosms of the whole system. And the method lasts for almost 7 weeks: 2-4 days for the preparation, 2-3 days for the event itself, and 4-6 weeks of intervention through task team work. After conducting the whole scale change method, organizations are also required to conduct follow-ups which range from 1 month to a year.
The whole scale change method is suitable for organizations that intend to invite all the members of the organization in their undertakings. It is most importantly suitable for organizations that are embedded in rapidly changing environments. And it is not suitable for organizations that provide information that are not inline with their goals.
Using the whole scale change method does not always assure the success in times of change; for it to be successful organizations need to fully implement a convergent and divergent way of thinking. The top management must have faith in the opinions of the members of the organization. The organization must also make sure that information is freely flowing among the members; this also encourages the interaction among the members.
Once an organization achieves its success in change, the next step is to maintain it. Like in the process itself, the organization must remain intact for it to maintain its new status. It is also important that everyone remains involved in the organization. And most of all, the desire for change or development must remain in the every member of the organization.
Reference:
Whole Scale Change Presentation
http://dannemillertyson.com/library/WholeScale_change.pdf
http://www.change-management-toolbook.com/mod/book/view.php?id=74&chapterid=138
Gemba Kaizen by John Frederick P. Cruz
Inside the organization, change is always bound to happen. Often times, they are initiated by LGI’s or Large Group Interventions; and one of the many LGI’s is the Gemba Kaizen that was developed by Edward Deming. The name came from its origin, Gemba Japan, and the two Japanese words: “kai” for change and “zen” for the good.
Gemba Kaizen is a process by which organizations changes in a day to day basis that in turn will result to long-term change for the organization implementing it. This long-term change is achieved because in the course of the implementation members of the organization slowly creates and adapts a culture that is geared to the success of the organization. And in this new culture, which they would be creating and adapting, puts an emphasis on maintenance and improvement. Through this new organization culture, organizations can become more efficient in their tasks.
Aside from the creation of a new proactive culture, using Gemba Kaizen also gives an organization elbow room in their marketing and advertising efforts because this LGI focuses on the internal parts of the organizations. It focuses on the outputs, process, and the people who are involved in the process. By doing so, the quality of their products increase that will in turn mark an effect on the consumer’s/environment’s preferences, which would be favorable to the organization.
Gemba Kaizen has basically 4 procedures: plan, execute, check, and act; and it lasts from the preparation up to the evaluation. First, organizations should be able to identify what they want to achieve at the end or even during the process; after doing so, they must point out methods by which they want it to be achieved. Second, after gathering the information and understanding the objectives and processes by which they will be achieved; you then execute properly the plan that you have created. Third, after executing the plan you check the results and you compare them to the objectives you have identified; and ask the questions such as: “were we able to achieve it?”, “what were the things we did right/wrong?”, “what are the things that went right/wrong?”, and “how can we improve on them?”. Last, after figuring out what has occurred in the change process you then attempt to fix them.
The process of Gemba Kaizen has 5 S’s; mainly, Sort, Straighten, Scrub, Systemize, and Standardize. First, you simply sort out the different elements in the organization. In other words you simply have to organize. Second, you straighten everything for it to function more effectively. You simply improve what is already working. Third, you scrub the organization of the elements that hinder it from fully achieving the organizational goals. Fourth, you assign tasks to each element for it also to function more effectively. An example of this would be a standard procedure for every employee in the organization. Last, you have to be able to standardize everything by embedding it in the new culture that will be adapted by the organization members.
The process of Gemba Kaizen cannot be applied to any organization and expect positive results. Gemba Kaizen must only be used in organizations that are ineffective or inefficient. The process is not suitable for organizations that define problems vaugly, and possesses a complex system. And for it to be successful, top management should be committed in the process and basically almost everyone is promoting the process. Proper appointment and training also play a significant role in the success. And most importantly, the process should be established and followed accordingly.
Reference:
Gemba Kaizen Presentation
http://practicethis.com/2008/11/14/gemba-kaizen-three-step-approach-for-kick-5-ss-management/
http://www.gemba.com/tool-kit.cfm
Participative Design Workshop by John Frederick Cruz
Organizations do not simply stick with a structure for almost in its whole existence; they need to adapt to changes that occur within and outside the organization. Restructuring an organization may seem like a negative action, but in reality restructuring often times spell the success of an organization. By restructuring an organization you are able to discover new capabilities or even fully developing those that you have already discovered and have been using. But you must also take into consideration that a proper restructuring is important for the success of the organization.
One way of restructuring an organization is via the participative design workshop which was created by Fred Emery. It is defined as the redesigning of the organizational structure that gives the main role to the employees. By giving the employees the power to restructure the organization, they are able to align the structure with their work flow resulting to a more self-managed organization.
The purpose of the participative design workshop is basically to create an organizational system that encourages the participation of every member, thus making it a democratic system. By doing so, organization members achieve a higher level of assumptions that in turn affects their actions positively. Every member is given a responsibility and a role that he/she is entitled to fulfill; and creates a trust and bond between the interdependent members of the organization.
The participative design workshop has 3 basic steps that each organization, that are using this method, must fulfill. First, organization must be able to analyze its system or structure. It begins with the top management being introduced to the mechanics, and after doing so a facilitator discusses the 6 requirements for motivating work.
(1) Autonomy – Members should be able to be given the feeling that they have power over their selves as well as their work. They should be pushed to make decisions that they can fully stand by with and to be able to defend it.
(2) Learning – Most organization members learn from experience. The members should be given the proper environment for learning because their gained knowledge would eventually lead to the success of the organization.
(3) Variety – Members should be given the flexibility to be able to work at their own pace that will also increase their productivity. The members of the organization must be enthusiastic in what they do.
(4) Mutual Support and Respect – A common bond must tie every member of the organization together. They must be able to realize that by working together, they can achieve goals faster.
(5) Meaningfulness – The members of the organization must know their role in the organization so that they would be able to identify how their works attributed to the success of the organization. In other words, the organization must show the members their value.
(6) Desirable Future – Being able to identify what you want to achieve helps everyone focus on a specific path that would lead them to their desired destination.
After they have been introduced to the 6 requirements, top management scrutinizes the purpose of the organization. They are also presented a matrix that would map the various team skills. Second, the democratic redesigning process is introduced by the facilitator and encourages the participation of every vital member. After familiarizing themselves with the important aspects of the workshop, they are then allowed to redesign the organization. To kick things off, they must create a diagram that shows the current structure and work flow. After this, they must design a new structure that would best fit everyone. With the different designs at hand, groups are required to present what they have designed to everyone via a plenary session; here, feedback and suggestions are encouraged to further develop the design. Last, groups must be able to draft what they expect and their goals for the new organization structure. One of their goals must be a proper negotiation with middle management; this ensures that the design would still be inline with the organization’s mission and vision.
The participants of the workshop range from 15 to 200 people; which include every member of the department or team that is being redesigned. The workshop may last for 17 days from the preparation, 2 weeks, to the event itself, 1-3 days. After the workshop, the process must be sustained during the duration of the design.
The participative design workshop is recommended only for organizations who wish to increase the productivity of ever member and also of the whole organization. And most importantly everyone must have agreed to participate in the workshop.
After the event, it must be sustained through a learning organization which promotes the learning of every member of the organization and emphasizes on the role of each individual. A new culture must also be established that is aligned to the desires of the members that are also reflected in the new design. Aside from this, a proper communication system must also be established to have good flow of information.
Reference:
Participative Design Workshop Presentation
http://www.vaughanconsulting.com/pdw.html
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/34479329/Participative-Design-Workshop
Thursday, August 26, 2010
I've been running around
I as an Individual; We as a group
Tim Hjersted said in his article that it is time to reject our culture's slide into narcissism. We should stop being selfish and think of what's happening in the larger scale. We should be cynics, in my opinion, because the world belongs equally to everyone. That we should function as a collective unit so that we could do magic, collective magic.I think everyone is always part of an organization. We are members. We are leaders and agents of change. Seeing or believing that personal development is the same as equality is false. We must look beyond what we know now to really see what is happening.
Indeed, through this course on organizational change and development, you could grasp the concepts and topics on how organizations work and apply them in real time or life.
What I loved the most
All the topics covered we very helpful but what I liked the most was the topic on self-awareness.
Maslow said, we tend to be afraid of any knowledge that would cause us to despise ourselves or to make us feel inferior, weak, worthless, evil, shameful. We protect ourselves and our ideal image of ourselves by repression and similar defenses, which are essentially techniques by which we avoid becoming conscious of unpleasantness or dangerous truths.
All the topics covered we very helpful but what I liked the most was the topic on self-awareness.
Maslow said, we tend to be afraid of any knowledge that would cause us to despise ourselves or to make us feel inferior, weak, worthless, evil, shameful. We protect ourselves and our ideal image of ourselves by repression and similar defenses, which are essentially techniques by which we avoid becoming conscious of unpleasantness or dangerous truths.
This statement is very true. Being self-aware is very important. The more we know about ourselves, the more we contribute to society; to any organization. We are aware of our strengths so we cultivate them. We are aware of our weaknesses so we could change them and become our advantages. Through this, we use our potentials to improve or develop the organization we are part of.
Moreover!
In class, we even discussed topics on the different kinds of interventions. These techniques were evidence of people's capacity for creativity and innovation. Personally, I would keep my notes and use them today or in the future.
Our professor, Ms. Fernando, has a good grasp of the subject and could provide the class with real life situations about organizations. Her sense of humor bursts at the right time and you could really see that she knows what she's talking about. That's a very big plus.
I am an active member and officer of an organization and I could say that OCHANGE clarified my ideas of how organizations should be developed.
Suma Total: A blog on my OCHANGE experience and OD values (Aerianne Mendoza)
As promised, my folks blogged about other topics and LGIs I have not discussed in my entries. There is more to come but for the mean time, let us take a break. Let us talk about my source of inspiration for coming up with blogs.
Besides from wanting to help many organizations change for the better (in case any member of an organization that wants to change has had the chance to read Kilay ng Bakla Blogs), my inspiration in writing comes from my Ochange class.
Ochange had been very helpful to me. For one, it helped me become analytical yet creative. Analytical because there were a lot of diagrams and matrices presented in class that I had to interpret to understand concepts. Because of the diagrams I had a good grasp of: McKinsey's 7 s framework, leadership styles, and creative tension in Learning Organizations. With diagrams, I easily saw how concepts relate to each other and how a concept can be in the works. For one, creative tension in Learning Organizations manifests itself when a person goes out of his comfort zones to reach a desired state. Creative tension is like a situation wherein a person is pulled by 2 rubberbands - the rubberband of the past or his habits and the rubberband of the future or the path to greater heights also known as success. As a person veers closer toward the rubberband of the future, that means he gets nearer his desired state. In terms of creativity, I learned to be creative in inerpreting ideas so I can make the most out of them. As I said, there had been a lot of diagrams in class. These diagrams can be interpreted in a lot of ways and I learned just how to do so. For example in the diagram for creative tension, there can be 2 meanings for it. The first one I presented already and the second one is this: in the process of change, one can experience a pull towards being traditional and when he gives in to it, he can never usher into his desired state. So we see that with one diagram, there is a challenge or inspiration to reach one's desired state and a caveat that speaks of the negative pull traditions have on a changing person, more so on a changing organization. In imbibing the creative tension, I chose to go by just the first explanation of how creative tension manifests. Creative tension is a surmountable challenge, something that liberates us from bonds of tradition (complacency, commitment, and other conceptual blocks). If we just adequately pull ourselves away from the rubberband of the past, that rubberband will break and we'll be free to embrace our ideal future as reality.
Aside from helping me become more analytical and creative, Ochange helped me to discover new things and their application in real life settings. I learned of different LGIs and knew where they can be used. LGIs can be used to help organizations restructure, aid organizations to have higher play and performance, and facilitate a city in pushing for radical and beneficial change. Let us just take Preferred Futuring. Through this LGI, a city in Midwest America became a business center even when it was one of the lousiest cities in the States before the LGI. Made me realize that learning LGIs is practical; convinced me that I can actualize improvements I envision from time to time.
And then, Ochange improved my grasp on or understanding of organizational values. I have studied values for a lot of times already and yet before Ochange, I haven't had a full grasp of what it is. Sure I have personal values that I use as a standard whenever I want to check if my decisions are right or wrong. Sure I value Fear of the Lord , justice, and objectivity among other things. But in terms of work, I really can't say what values to uphold since organizational values has been too broad a topic to explain in detail. Thank God for Ochange. It explained that when one works in an organization (especially in an organization specializing in Organizational Development Interventions), one must uphold human development, social justice, and participation. Organizational development should be achored on enhancing organizational effectiveness and ensuring quality life for organizational members.
To top it off, Ochange empowered me. It inspired me and made me understand that I can always do something to evolve from being not so good to good, good to better, and better to best. I enjoyed the class, though I could have been happier if LGIs like the World Cafe and SimuReal were done in class so I can experience and apply them in my future work.
Reference for OD values:
Lecture on the OD Practitioner and Values
Besides from wanting to help many organizations change for the better (in case any member of an organization that wants to change has had the chance to read Kilay ng Bakla Blogs), my inspiration in writing comes from my Ochange class.
Ochange had been very helpful to me. For one, it helped me become analytical yet creative. Analytical because there were a lot of diagrams and matrices presented in class that I had to interpret to understand concepts. Because of the diagrams I had a good grasp of: McKinsey's 7 s framework, leadership styles, and creative tension in Learning Organizations. With diagrams, I easily saw how concepts relate to each other and how a concept can be in the works. For one, creative tension in Learning Organizations manifests itself when a person goes out of his comfort zones to reach a desired state. Creative tension is like a situation wherein a person is pulled by 2 rubberbands - the rubberband of the past or his habits and the rubberband of the future or the path to greater heights also known as success. As a person veers closer toward the rubberband of the future, that means he gets nearer his desired state. In terms of creativity, I learned to be creative in inerpreting ideas so I can make the most out of them. As I said, there had been a lot of diagrams in class. These diagrams can be interpreted in a lot of ways and I learned just how to do so. For example in the diagram for creative tension, there can be 2 meanings for it. The first one I presented already and the second one is this: in the process of change, one can experience a pull towards being traditional and when he gives in to it, he can never usher into his desired state. So we see that with one diagram, there is a challenge or inspiration to reach one's desired state and a caveat that speaks of the negative pull traditions have on a changing person, more so on a changing organization. In imbibing the creative tension, I chose to go by just the first explanation of how creative tension manifests. Creative tension is a surmountable challenge, something that liberates us from bonds of tradition (complacency, commitment, and other conceptual blocks). If we just adequately pull ourselves away from the rubberband of the past, that rubberband will break and we'll be free to embrace our ideal future as reality.
Aside from helping me become more analytical and creative, Ochange helped me to discover new things and their application in real life settings. I learned of different LGIs and knew where they can be used. LGIs can be used to help organizations restructure, aid organizations to have higher play and performance, and facilitate a city in pushing for radical and beneficial change. Let us just take Preferred Futuring. Through this LGI, a city in Midwest America became a business center even when it was one of the lousiest cities in the States before the LGI. Made me realize that learning LGIs is practical; convinced me that I can actualize improvements I envision from time to time.
And then, Ochange improved my grasp on or understanding of organizational values. I have studied values for a lot of times already and yet before Ochange, I haven't had a full grasp of what it is. Sure I have personal values that I use as a standard whenever I want to check if my decisions are right or wrong. Sure I value Fear of the Lord , justice, and objectivity among other things. But in terms of work, I really can't say what values to uphold since organizational values has been too broad a topic to explain in detail. Thank God for Ochange. It explained that when one works in an organization (especially in an organization specializing in Organizational Development Interventions), one must uphold human development, social justice, and participation. Organizational development should be achored on enhancing organizational effectiveness and ensuring quality life for organizational members.
To top it off, Ochange empowered me. It inspired me and made me understand that I can always do something to evolve from being not so good to good, good to better, and better to best. I enjoyed the class, though I could have been happier if LGIs like the World Cafe and SimuReal were done in class so I can experience and apply them in my future work.
Reference for OD values:
Lecture on the OD Practitioner and Values
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