Improving Organizational Effectiveness 
 

Organizations need to change in order to meet the challenges of these times, meeting new requirements created by global markets, changing economics, expectations for quality and customer satisfaction.  Top leaders, managers, and consultants are undertaking large-scale change efforts in order to position their organizations where they need to be for success now and into the future. 

Successful organizations struggle for ways to change business strategies, develop a mission or vision about where the company is headed in the next century, or foster a more interactive environment to maximize the potential from the workforce.

Failure of traditional re-engineering methods 
 

Over the last decade, many organizations have attempted to bring about the needed change by re-engineering efforts.  There is growing evidence of the failure of these efforts, Traditional re-engineering efforts, although well intended have not taken critical factors into account including the length of time needed for implementation.  Managers often complain of action being obsolete by the time that implementation is scheduled, but having to implement anyway in keeping with a plan that they knew was not going to work. 

Often the length of time required for re-engineering and a prime cause of failure is that top-down change creates a great deal of resistance in the workforce, even in those situations where a representative transition team has been created that is mandated to advocate for the change at their level in the organization.  Often the change stagnates or gets distorted, resulting in frustration and further resistance. 

The cost to the organization of failed change efforts is enormous financially, in productivity, and in the morale of the employees. 
 

Large group interventions for organizational and community change are methods for involving the whole system, internal and external, in the change process within a very short time frame.  This brings about right change in real time.  There are six significant methodologies for large group interventions, all of which have good records of success.  They are Open Space Technology, Future Search, Conference Model, Large Scale Interactive Process, Real Time Strategic Change, and Participative Work Redesign. 
 

Large Group Interventions have been used for change in strategic direction, acceptance and implementation of quality programs, changes in relationships with customers and suppliers, and changes in structures, policies, or procedures.  They have also been used to get through organizational logjams and thus are used in solving critical business issues. 

Large group interventions have been used in large and small corporations, not-for-profit and public sector organizations, and in assisting entire communities.  Large group interventions have also played a key role in mergers of hospitals, as they have become large health care corporations, and mergers of several municipalities into one corporate entity. 

When people commit to new ways of working, they are already starting to work in a different way. 

 

---