Organization Development Case Study: Introduction
For any organization to be successful in its field and progress to profitability, it is important that managers and employees in its leadership embrace organizational development. According to Cummings and Worley, “Organizational Development (OD) is a planned long-term effort led and supported through the top management to improve an organization’s ability in a bid to solve its own problems by continuously working together and managing the culture using behavioral skills” (2005, p. 1).
The paper uses the Tedtec Company Limited, which is a fictional organization. The company chosen for this case study is respected in the country of origin. It is among the pioneers of organizational development in the country. Tedtec Company Limited that is located in India has been in operation for the last 70 years dealing with machinery, engineering, production, and construction works.
According to the results of the performance index of India’s companies, Tedtec Company Limited “is also adjudged India’s best managed and most respected company on various attributes of customer delight and shareholder value” (Roy, 2006, p. 25). The case study on organizational development was based on this company because of its significant history in this field in India.
Company profile
Tedtec Company Limited is among the most respected of India’s private sector companies that deal with technology, construction, engineering, and manufacturing. The company has been in existence for about seven decades with a strong international presence including offices in the China as well as her Gulf neighbors.
A wide marketing and distribution network and decades of strong customer focused approach has ensured that the company is the leader in its field. The company also “believes that progress must be achieved in harmony with environment” (Roy, 2006, p. 25). This claim has informed its commitment to protection of the environment and participation in community welfare.
Some of the achievements that the company has made include the record for having made the largest coal gasifier in India that it exports to China.
It is the largest FCC regenerator for a refinery, which is the longest coal conveyer in the world besides being Asia’s highest viaduct and the world’s largest EO reactor for a protochemical complex in the Gulf. The company also took part in the construction of India’s first nuclear powered submarine. It has won a number of local and international awards and recognitions.
The company is also one of the most profitable construction companies in the region with thousands of employees being employed directly or indirectly by the company. A policy of giving back to the society has ensured that the company establishes good relations with workers and the communities in which it is involved, with only the issue of pollution being the major challenge.
Tedtec Company Limited has however managed to remain viable and important within the manufacturing and construction sector even with the financial crisis experienced over the years in this part of the world and elsewhere in the world.
Diagnostic methods
The methods used for diagnosis in this particular organization included interviews and questionnaires, which were addressed to the employees in the organization. Initially, the company had experienced faults in its existing appraisal system at some point in its history. This challenge necessitated a professional correction of the system.
The company elicited help from some of experts in this field with eminent professors being invited to carry out a study and assessment of the appraisal process in the company (Wilson, 2003, p. 13). Walter Jay and Engineer Schwartz Raymond were the professors that were consulted in the evaluation process for the company.
In their study of the appraisal process in the company, they began by interviewing departmental heads and their subordinates. To accomplish the interview, they used diagnosis or action research with the results being recorded and analyzed against a background of other results they had gotten elsewhere and against the existing case studies.
Analysis and feedback methods
Feedback
From the diagnostic methods used in the company, a number of feedbacks were obtained. In the analysis of information provided by the subordinates in the various departments, there was apparent communication breakdown in the administrative hierarchy with junior workers not getting information and feedback on their performance in the company.
This case was despite their expressed a desire to get the feedback, which was not forthcoming. Another interpretation of the results of the feedback included the fact that the managerial staff members were responsible for a large number of employees thus making an appraisal of their subordinates difficult.
However, one shortcoming was that the appraisal form used was too lengthy meaning that the number of employees participating was reduced due to time constraint.
The results of the feedback were presented by the two professors to the top management of the company for consideration and formulation of suggestions and recommendations on the possible solutions to the actual problem.
According to Cummings and Worley, an appraisal system is important in any organization as it helps the company’s employees to understand their strengths and weaknesses and the progress they are making in the job performance (2005, p. 15).
It also enables them to understand the options available for growth in the company. Cummings and Worley claim that the process should “address the issues of appraisal, potential, counseling, career development, and training all in one” (2005, p. 15).
SWOT analysis
As in the case of IKEA that was discussed as a case study, Tedtec Company Limited used SWOT analysis in the achievement of objectives and planning of its strategic achievements.
As discussed in the essay and in the literature on planning strategies in organizations, this form of analysis investigates the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that an organization establishes in its course of operations and development (Cummings, & Worley, 2005, p. 15).
According to Cummings and Worley, threats are external to an organization, and are outside the control of the company with the best examples being economic performance of the country, the levels of technology at the time, social changes, and the environmental conditions (2005, p. 24).
On the other hand, strengths and weaknesses are internal to an organization thus serving to counter the threats that are outside the organization’s control (Cummings, & Worley, 2005, p. 25).
As an opportunity, Tedtec Company Limited has over the years invested in manufacturing and construction industry. It boasts of creating a respected brand in India. The company has been in existence since 1938 when it started as a manufacturer of daily equipment.
Therefore, it has a well-established organizational culture and management policies that stand the test of time. The company also has vast investments in technology, investing heavily in the latest technology available in the industry. This opportunity has created a competitive edge over her competitors.
As strength, the organizational culture in the organization has been described as a goal-oriented one with the employees largely reporting career satisfaction when working with the company.
The company has invested in a number of international brands mainly in the region thus ensuring relevance and competitiveness in the industry. With diversification of its operations, the organization is now able to produce different products besides offering a range of services in the region.
A significant weakness that the organization has established in its operations is the pollution that has been created in the production method in the process of rectification following the ambitious investment in environmental conservation and social responsibility.
The company also faces a threat in operations in the form of the financial crisis that, as demonstrated in the last one, has the ability to paralyze its operations. The threat is however countered by the cautious financial investment in other market coupled with strict financial auditing and consultations.
OD intervention options and general risk and value scenarios
The assessment of risks in an organization is important as it enables the management to formulate the desired change and effect on it. This assessment is quite crucial for any company since it makes it aware and ready for any particular risk that it might incur.
Many companies have experienced an untimely closure following the occurrence of risks that it did not expect or rather risks that were not planned for in the event of their occurrence.
For Tedtec Company Limited, the specific interventions that were necessary included diversification of products and expansion into other markets to counter the decline in demand in the home country in a bid to create new opportunities to secure industrial relevance.
In the analysis of vales, one of the relevant values to the company is customer service. The company has established a number of methods of ensuring the customers are loyal to it. Customer loyalty is recognized as one of the factors leading to the success of many organizations and that the company is no exception (Cummings, & Worley, 2005, p. 25).
To guarantee exceptional customer service, organizations need to have an effective indicator in place (Cummings, & Worley, 2005, p. 21). For Tedtec Company Limited, customer loyalty rating is the key indicator. The organization has commissioned a number of surveys to find out the satisfaction of its clients on its products and services.
According to Cummings and Worley, this strategy is an effective way of doing it (2005, p. 21). The results have then been used to gauge performance and or inform decision-making.
The expected benefits include improved service provision and customer satisfaction as well as profitability. The company also utilizes feedback from clients especially complaints that are provided as feedback to change its operations.
Since Tedtec Company Limited carries out many civil projects that are funded by the Indian government and other governments, the quality of work is also evaluated by government contractors as well as other state agencies concerned with quality control (Cummings, & Worley, 2005, p. 25).
This ensures a subjective review of products and services provided thus ensuring that there is quality in the future projects. The strategy has enabled the company to win a number of tenders based on previous projects that were evaluated as being professionally carried out.
Evaluation methods
According to Cummings and Worley, post change evaluation in an organization is important since it presents the executives with a picture of the effects of the change (2005, p. 17) made by the change agent “in consultation with the management of the organization” (Wilson, 2003, p. 23). Wilson also states, “The evaluation sets initial agreed aims and objectives against the current, post-change situation” (2003, p. 23).
In the analysis made of Tedtec Company Limited, the attitude and satisfaction of workers as well as the financial outlook and performance ratings were made thus being some of the most common areas of evaluations in an organization development analysis.
The results of the evaluation were then presented to the management. The summary consisted of areas where the effected change was successful, recommendation for improvement, areas that were unsuccessful and not in line with the company objectives, areas that required constant monitoring, and the suggested rolling evaluation program.
For Tedtec Company Limited, the results showed success in areas of change such as improved organizational performance since the entry of the firm in to the international market.
The change in organizational culture, which was made mainly involving the diversification of the employee base, was also reported to influence the company in a positive manner with the employees reporting improved satisfaction from the working conditions.
The employees also reported a breakdown in communication and ineffective management mainly due to the large size of the personnel department, which was created by expansion. This exposition meant that the employees were getting inadequate attention from their bosses.
Recommendations
One of the recommendations is that the company should consider splitting or bifurcation of the personnel department in the company to ensure that fewer employees are under the supervision of managers in the various departments. It is said that the smaller the number of subordinates that each manager is responsible for, the better the output of the employees (Wilson, 2003, p. 21).
The company should also consider increasing the number of managerial staff especially those in the human resource department in an attempt to improve the contact between the administration and subordinates (Wilson, 2003, p. 18). Another recommendation is that the organization should monitor the human resource department and the marketing department to enhance customer loyalty.
OD Case Study: Conclusion
In conclusion, organizational development is an important aspect in the success of companies. Organizations that wish to perform well have a well established organizational development plan that stipulates the issues that they need to do or rather the issues that they need to be aware of so that they remain not only in track but also ready for any unexpected emergency.
The paper has used the Tedtec Company Limited as a fictional company in an attempt to address this key issue of organizational development. Thus, its evaluation should be carried out in a formal manner. Tedtec Company Limited is considered to have made significant organizational changes since its inception. The changes have affected its operations in a number of ways.
An evaluation of its organizational development established a number of threats, weaknesses, and strengths, as well as the effects of the organizational change. These elements were then evaluated with recommendations and suggestions being made to the development specialists and business executives of the organization.
Reference List
Cummings, T., & Worley, G. (2005). Organization development and change. Mason, Ohio: Thomson/South-Western.
Roy, S. (2006-2005). Made in India: a study of emerging competitiveness. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Pub. Co.
Wilson, D. (2003). Promoting institutional & organizational development. London: Dept. for International Development.