MODULE 3

Action research or participatory action research – is a reflective process of progressive problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a "community of practice" to improve the way they address issues and solve problems. Action research is done simply by action, hence the name. Action research can also be undertaken by larger organizations or institutions, assisted or guided by professional researchers, with the aim of improving their strategies, practices, and knowledge of the environments within which they practice. As designers and stakeholders, researchers work with others to propose a new course of action to help their community improve its work practices. Kurt Lewin, then a professor at MIT, first coined the term “action research” in about 1944. In his 1946 paper “Action Research and Minority Problems” he described action research as “a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action” that uses “a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact-finding about the result of the action”.

Action research is an interactive inquiry process that balances problem solving actions

implemented in a collaborative context with data-driven collaborative analysis or research to

understand underlying causes enabling future predictions about personal and organizational

change (Reason & Bradbury, 2002). After six decades of action research development, many

methods have evolved that adjust the balance to focus more on the actions taken or more on the

research that results from the reflective understanding of the actions. This tension exists between

1. those who are more driven by the researcher’s agenda and those more driven by

participants;

2. those who are motivated primarily by instrumental goal attainment and those motivated

primarily by the aim of personal, organizational, or societal transformation; and

3. 1st-, to 2nd-, to 3rd-person research, that is, my research on my own action, aimed

primarily at personal change; our research on our group (family/team), aimed primarily at

improving the group; and ‘scholarly’ research aimed primarily at theoretical

generalization and/or large scale change.

Action research challenges traditional social science, by moving beyond reflective knowledge

created by outside experts sampling variables to an active moment-to-moment theorizing, data

collecting, and inquiry occurring in the midst of emergent structure. “Knowledge is always gained

through action and for action. From this starting point, to question the validity of social knowledge

is to question, not how to develop a reflective science about action, but how to develop genuinely

well-informed action — how to conduct an action science” (Torbert 2002). In short, performing

action research is the same as performing an experiment, thus it is an empirical process.

Chris Argyris' Action Science

Main article: Action Science

Chris Argyris' Action Science begins with the study of how human beings design their actions in

difficult situations. Humans design their actions to achieve intended consequences and are

governed by a set of environment variables. How those governing variables are treated in

designing actions are the key differences between single loop learning and double loop learning.

When actions are designed to achieve the intended consequences and to suppress conflict about

the governing variables, a single loop learning cycle usually ensues. On the other hand, when

actions are taken, not only to achieve the intended consequences, but also to openly inquire

about conflict and to possibly transform the governing variables, both single loop and double loop

learning cycles usually ensue. (Argyris applies single loop and double loop learning concepts not

only to personal behaviors but also to organizational behaviors in his models.) This is different

from experimental research in which environmental variables are controlled and researchers try

to find out cause and effect in an isolated environment.

[edit]John Heron and Peter Reason's Cooperative Inquiry

Main article: Cooperative Inquiry

Cooperative inquiry, also known as collaborative inquiry was first proposed by John Heron in

1971 and later expanded with Peter Reason and Demi Brown. The major idea of cooperative

inquiry is to “research ‘with’ rather than ‘on’ people.” It emphasizes that all active participants are

fully involved in research decisions as co-researchers. Cooperative inquiry creates a research

cycle among four different types of knowledge: propositional knowing (as in contemporary

science), practical knowing (the knowledge that comes with actually doing what you propose),

experiential knowing (the feedback we get in real time about our interaction with the larger world)

and presentational knowing (the artistic rehearsal process through which we craft new practices).

The research process includes these four stages at each cycle with deepening experience and

knowledge of the initial proposition, or of new propositions, at every cycle.

[edit]Paulo Freire's Participatory Action Research (PAR)

Main article: Participatory action research

Participatory action research has emerged in recent years as a significant methodology for

intervention, development and change within communities and groups. It is now promoted and

implemented by many international development agencies and university programs, as well as

countless local community organizations around the world. PAR builds on the critical pedagogy

put forward by Paulo Freire as a response to the traditional formal models of education where the

“teacher” stands at the front and “imparts” information to the “students” who are passive

recipients. This was further developed in "adult education" models throughout Latin America.

Orlando Fals-Borda (1925–2008) Colombian sociologist and political activist, was one of principal

promoters of "participatory action research" (IAP in Spanish) in Latin America. Published "double

history of the coast", book that compare the official "history" and the non official "story" of the

north coast of Colombia.

[edit]William Torbert’s Developmental Action Inquiry

The Developmental Action Inquiry is a “way of simultaneously conducting action and inquiry as a

disciplined leadership practice that increases the wider effectiveness of our actions. Such action

helps individuals, teams, organizations become more capable of self-transformation and thus

more creative, more aware, more just and more sustainable” (Torbert, 2004). Action Inquiry

challenges our attention to span four different territories of experience (at the personal, group, or

organizational scales) in the midst of actions. This practice promotes timeliness – learning with

moment to moment intentional awareness – among individuals and with regard to the outside

world of nature and human institutions. It studies the “pre-constituted internalized and

externalized universe in the present, both as it resonates with and departs from the past, and as it

resonates with and potentiates the future” (Torbert, 2001).

[edit]Jack Whitehead's Living Theory and Jean McNiff's Action Research approaches

In generating a living educational theory, most recently explained in Whitehead and McNiff

(2006), individuals generate explanations of their educational influences in their own learning, in

the learning of others and in the learning of social formations. They generate the explanations

from experiencing themselves as living contradictions in enquiries of the kind, 'How do I improve

what I am doing?' They use action reflection cycles of expressing concerns, (saying why you are

concerned in relation to values), imagining possibilities in developing action plans, acting and

gathering data, evaluating the influences of action, modifying concerns, ideas and action in the

light of the evaluations. The explanations include life-affirming, energy-flowing values as

explanatory principles.

[edit]Action research in organization development

Wendell L. French and Cecil Bell define organization development (OD) at one point as

"organization improvement through action research".[1] If one idea can be said to summarize OD's

underlying philosophy, it would be action research as it was conceptualized by Kurt Lewin and

later elaborated and expanded on by other behavioral scientists. Concerned with social change

and, more particularly, with effective, permanent social change, Lewin believed that the

motivation to change was strongly related to action: If people are active in decisions affecting

them, they are more likely to adopt new ways. "Rational social management", he said, "proceeds

in a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact-finding

about the result of action".[2]

Figure 1: Systems Model of Action-Research Process

Lewin's description of the process of change involves three steps:[2] Unfreezing: Faced with a

dilemma or disconfirmation, the individual or group becomes aware of a need to

change. Changing: The situation is diagnosed and new models of behavior are explored and

tested. Refreezing: Application of new behavior is evaluated, and if reinforcing, adopted.Figure

1 summarizes the steps and processes involved in planned change through action research.

Action research is depicted as a cyclical process of change. The cycle begins with a series of

planning actions initiated by the client and the change agent working together. The principal

elements of this stage include a preliminary diagnosis, data gathering, feedback of results, and

joint action planning. In the language of systems theory, this is the input phase, in which the client

system becomes aware of problems as yet unidentified, realizes it may need outside help to

effect changes, and shares with the consultant the process of problem diagnosis. The second

stage of action research is the action, or transformation, phase. This stage includes actions

relating to learning processes (perhaps in the form of role analysis) and to planning and executing

behavioral changes in the client organization. As shown in Figure 1, feedback at this stage would

move via Feedback Loop A and would have the effect of altering previous planning to bring the

learning activities of the client system into better alignment with change objectives. Included in

this stage is action-planning activity carried out jointly by the consultant and members of the client

system. Following the workshop or learning sessions, these action steps are carried out on the

job as part of the transformation stage.[3]The third stage of action research is the output, or

results, phase. This stage includes actual changes in behavior (if any) resulting from corrective

action steps taken following the second stage. Data are again gathered from the client system so

that progress can be determined and necessary adjustments in learning activities can be made.

Minor adjustments of this nature can be made in learning activities via Feedback Loop B

(see Figure 1). Major adjustments and reevaluations would return the OD project to the first, or

planning, stage for basic changes in the program. The action-research model shown in Figure

1 closely follows Lewin's repetitive cycle of planning, action, and measuring results. It also

illustrates other aspects of Lewin's general model of change. As indicated in the diagram, the

planning stage is a period of unfreezing, or problem awareness.[2] The action stage is a period of

changing, that is, trying out new forms of behavior in an effort to understand and cope with the

system's problems. (There is inevitable overlap between the stages, since the boundaries are not

clear-cut and cannot be in a continuous process). The results stage is a period of refreezing, in

which new behaviors are tried out on the job and, if successful and reinforcing, become a part of

the system's repertoire of problem-solving behavior. Action research is problem centered, client

centered, and action oriented. It involves the client system in a diagnostic, active-learning,

problem-finding, and problem-solving process. Data are not simply returned in the form of a

written report but instead are fed back in open joint sessions, and the client and the change agent

collaborate in identifying and ranking specific problems, in devising methods for finding their real

causes, and in developing plans for coping with them realistically and practically. Scientific

method in the form of data gathering, forming hypotheses, testing hypotheses, and measuring

results, although not pursued as rigorously as in the laboratory, is nevertheless an integral part of

the process. Action research also sets in motion a long-range, cyclical, self-correcting mechanism

for maintaining and enhancing the effectiveness of the client's system by leaving the system with

practical and useful tools for self-analysis and self-renewal.[

Determinants of organizational design

Initiate the discussion by asking participants how the external environment affects the working of their organizations. Obviously, no organization can exist in isolation from the external environment, which includes ecology, government policies, trade systems, technological environment and cultural beliefs. Changes in these could affect specific sub-units in the organization or may affect the organization as a whole.

Show EXHIBIT 1. Observe that the organization is composed of four interlocking systems. The first is the technical system which makes up the primary productive axis of the organization. The second is the social system, which refers to people in the organization and their activities. The third is the administrative system, referring to administrative policies, systems and procedures used in operating the organization. The fourth is the strategic system, which performs the steering function of the organization.

Ask participants to define organizational effectiveness and distinguish it from organizational efficiency. Effectiveness is the degree to which an organization achieves its goals. Efficiency relates to use of resources in achieving organizational goals. Organizational effectiveness is influenced by evaluation, adaptation, graduation and innovation (EXHIBIT 2).

What are the important attributes of an effective organization? Show EXHIBIT 3 and discuss each of these. The overall effect is to increase the effectiveness of the organization by incorporating changes in its structure.

The need for organizational development (OD) arises in the context of changes in technology, knowledge, product and services, and the social system. This involves changes in beliefs, attitudes, values and structure.

Now discuss different approaches to OD. Show EXHIBIT 4. Group dynamics is based on process consultation at small-group level, using group methods, sensitivity training and related approaches. The behaviour modification school rearranges rewards to reinforce selected target behaviour in employees. The systems approach considers the four interlocking components of the organization: the technical system, the social system, the administrative system and the strategic system. The socio-technical approach considers the environment, technical system and social system as determinants of organizational design, re-design or development. Finally the environment, which induces changes resulting in socio-technical arrangements in the organization.

OD involves various interventions to change the structure, processes, behaviour or values of individuals. This consists of eight elements. Show EXHIBIT 5 and briefly discuss these elements.

Briefly discuss the socio-technical system approach for organization re-design (EXHIBIT 6). Observe that while this creates a balance between the organization and its changing external environment, it is not the most appropriate approach when compared to traditional designs.

The techniques of OD can be traditional or modern. Show EXHIBIT 7. Traditional techniques consist of sensitivity training or a group approach, grid training and survey feedback. Sensitivity training induces sensitivity to group processes. Grid training is an instrumental approach to laboratory training and helps in group development as well as learning among group members. Grid training is completed in six stages (EXHIBIT 7). The survey feedback technique involves a study of the units of analysis or the organization as a whole. Using a questionnaire, it covers issues in leadership, organizational climate and satisfaction (EXHIBIT 7). There are four important modern organization development techniques. The process consultation approach attempts to help diagnose and solve important problems of organizations by taking into account the processes which take place within a group or between groups and consultants. The third-party approach is largely used to resolve inter-personal and inter-group conflicts. Team building aims at improving overall performance through task orientation. Observe that this will be discussed in detail in a subsequent session. Transactional analysis is used to analyse group dynamics and interpersonal communication.

Exhibit 1: Interlocking systems of an organization

TECHNICAL SYSTEM

SOCIAL SYSTEM

ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM

STRATEGIC SYSTEM

Exhibit 2: Processes towards organizational effectiveness

EVALUATION

ADAPTATION

GRADUATION

INNOVATION

Exhibit 3: Attributes of an effective organization

Change is an ongoing organizational process

Structural designs are temporary

Learning is built into the organization

Lateral relationships become increasingly more important

Linkages and close relationships are developed with elements in the external environment

Decision making depends on lateral relationships and mutually satisfactory arrangements

Management's role changes from control to leadership

People-management practices are involvement oriented rather than control oriented

Exhibit 4: Approaches to organizational development

GROUP DYNAMICS

BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION SCHOOL

SYSTEMS APPROACH

SOCIO-TECHNICAL APPROACH

ENVIRONMENT

Exhibit 5: Processes of organizational development

PROCESS ANALYSIS SKILL BUILDING DIAGNOSTIC COACHING OR COUNSELLING TEAM BUILDING INTRA-GROUP TECHNO-STRUCTURAL SYSTEM BUILDING OR SYSTEM RENEWAL

Exhibit 6: Socio-technical systems approach to organization re-design

Defining the scope of the system to be re-designed Determining the environmental demands Creating a vision statement Educating organizational members Creating the change structure Conducting socio-technical analysis Formulating re-design proposals Implementing recommended changes Evaluating changes

Exhibit 7: Techniques of organizational development

TRADITIONAL

GRID TRAINING

Laboratory-seminar training Team development Inter-group development

Organization goal setting Goal attainment Stabilization

SURVEY METHOD

LeadershipOrganizational climate Satisfaction

MODERN

PROCESS CONSULTATION METHOD

Initiate contact Define the relationship Select a setting and a method Gather data and make a diagnosis Intervene Reduce involvement and terminate

THIRD PARTY

TEAM BUILDING

TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS

Reading note: Organizational design and change

Organizational effectiveness and efficiencyOrganizational developmentThe OD processSocio-technical systems approach for organization re-designOD techniques

A research organization, like any other organization, has to function in consonance with its external environment, which includes other organizations, ecology, government policies, trade systems, technological environment, cultural beliefs and other factors. The effectiveness of the organization depends greatly on how well the social and technical systems are designed with respect to each other and also with respect to the demands of the external environment (Pasmore, 1988). There should be a 'fit' between various design elements and the external environment. If there is a change in the external environment, resources or technology, the organization has to respond through appropriate structural changes.

Organizational effectiveness and efficiency

The organization has to be both effective and efficient to be successful. Organizational effectiveness is a measure of the extent to which an organization realizes its goals. Organizational efficiency refers to the amount of resources an organization uses in order to produce a unit of output. Efficiency and effectiveness are highly dependent on the ability of the organization to adjust itself to rapid changes in its environment, resources or technology.

Processes

According to Albrecht (1983), there are four processes which may lead to organizational effectiveness:

evaluation, referring to a periodical and methodical process of scrutinizing the complete functioning of the organization;

adaptation, referring to a formal and disciplined planning process which facilitates policy decisions about OD;

graduation, which refers to the systematic process by which the organization identifies and develops its future leaders and latent management talents; and

innovation, referring to a policy which encourages the people in the organization to find better ways for accomplishing the goals assigned to them.

Considering the degree and type of differentiation and the integration mechanisms for coordination within and amongst departments, Lawrence and Lorsch (1967) observe that

organizational efficiency is increased when the complexity of the environment is matched by the complexity of structures.

Attributes

Significant attributes (Mohrman, 1989) which characterize an effective organization in today's environment include:

Change is a continuing organizational process and not something that is intermittent.

Designs are temporary.

Learning is built into the organization.

Lateral relationships become increasingly important, particularly in decision making, diluting the traditional focus on hierarchy. Decision making also depends on mutually satisfactory arrangements.

Organizations create many linkages and close relationships with customers, users, suppliers, community groups and competitors.

The function of management alters from one of control to that of leadership.

Management practices for people in the organization are oriented towards involvement rather than control.

Organizational development

Burke (1982) defined organizational development (OD) as "a planned process of change in an organization's culture through the utilization of behaviourial science, technology, research and theory." It refers to the management of change and the development of human resources. It is a response to change (Bennis, 1969). OD is a complex educational strategy intended to change the beliefs, attitudes, values and structure of the organization so that the organization can better adapt to new technologies, markets and challenges.

A variety of forces cause changes in the modern organization (Hellriegel, Slocum and Woodman, 1983). Some of these are:

technological change; the knowledge explosion; product and service obsolescence; and social change.

Environment, resources and technology perform a decisive role in determining organizational policies. If any one of these determinants changes, the policies need to be re-examined to determine if a different organizational design would be better suited.

Approaches to OD

The major schools of thought in OD are considered in the following paragraphs.

Group Dynamics

This is a historical and traditional method of OD based on the assumption that OD activities are process consultation (Albrecht, 1983). In this approach, an expert works at a small-group level, using group methods, sensitivity training and other related approaches.

The Behaviour Modification School

The 'be-mod' school of OD (based on the various works of Skinner) attempts to rearrange the reward system in the organization so as to strengthen selected 'target' behaviour on the part of employees.

The Systems Approach

This approach aims at enhancing the overall effectiveness of the organization. The system can be defined as having:

some components that comprise it; functions and processes performed by various components; relationship among the components that make them a system; and an organizational principle, which gives the system a purpose.

This approach is based on the assumption that an organization is composed of four interlocking systems (Albrecht, 1983), namely:

a technical system, referring to the elements, activities and relationships that make up the primary productive axis of the organization. It includes physical facilities, machinery, special equipment, work processes, work methods, work procedures, work-oriented information and various means of handling;

a social system, referring to the people in the organization and the activities in which they are engaged. It includes the intra-group roles and relationships, the form of power hierarchy, values and norms for behaviour in the organization, and the reward and punishment processes;

an administrative system, which refers to the policies, procedures, instructions, reports, etc., which are required to operate the organization. It also includes those who operate the technical and administrative systems; and

a strategic system, which is the steering function of the organization. Its components include the management team from the chief executive down to the lowest supervisor, the chain of command, reporting relationships, and the power values of the leaders of

the organization. It also includes plans, the planning process and the procedures used in governing the organization and adapting it to changing needs.

The systems approach has four sequential stages: assessment, problem solving, implementation and evaluation.

The Socio-Technical Approach

The socio-technical approach views an organization (Pasmore, 1988) as made up of people (a social system and a technical system) producing goods or services valued by customers (who are part of the external environment).

The social system uses tools, techniques, and knowledge. The technical system produces goods and services which are valued by customers in the external environment.

The Environment Approach

The environment is an agent of change. Environmental changes are the primary incitement and stimulus for organizational betterment. The socio-technical arrangements in the organization must change according to changes in the environment. The environment can change in both predictable and unpredictable ways. The external environment can be relatively stable or rapidly changing.

Thus, the environment, the technical system and the social system are three basic elements which play a crucial role in any organization's design, re-design or development. The efficiency and effectiveness of the organization depend upon the equilibrium between the needs of these determinant elements.

The OD process

The OD process entails various activities at different levels in the organization. Through these activities, interventions are made in the ongoing organization to change the structure, processes, behaviour or values of individuals and groups. Golembiewski, Prochl and Sink (1981) categorized these interventions under eight headings:

Process Analysis Activities, referring to applications of behaviourial science perspectives to fathom complete and dynamic situations;

Skill-building Activities, involving various designs for eliciting behaviours in congruence with OD values. This includes giving and receiving feedback, listening, and settling conflicts;

Diagnostic Activities, including process analysis to generate data through interviews, psychological instruments or opinion surveys;

Coaching or Counselling Activities to help in resolving conflicts through third-party consultation;

Team Building Activities, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of task groups;

Inter-group Activities, attempting to create effective and satisfying linkages between two or more task groups or departments in the organization;

Techno-Structural Activities, aiming at building need-fulfilling roles, jobs and structures; and

System-Building or System-Renewal Activities, seeking exhaustive changes in a large organization's climate and values using combinations of the various OD interventions listed above.

Socio-technical systems approach for organization re-design

Socio-technical systems design is better suited to meet the requirements of a changing external environment in comparison with traditional designs. It endeavours to re-design the organization's structure, processes and functions to create a balance between the organization and its changing external environment. It could involve the following steps (Foster, 1967; Cummings, 1976; Pasmore, 1988):

defining the scope of the system to be re-designed; defining the environmental demands; evolving a vision statement; enlightening organizational members; developing the change structure; conducting socio-technical analysis; preparing re-design proposals; implementing recommended changes; and evaluating the changes or re-design.

OD techniques

Techniques used for OD are considered below.

Sensitivity training

This has many applications and is still used widely, even though new techniques have emerged (Lewin, 1981). Sensitivity training (Benny, Bradford and Lippitt, 1964) basically aims at:

growth in effective membership; developing ability to learn; stimulating to give help; and developing insights to be sensitive to group processes.

These process variables - in a systems sense - interact and are interdependent.

Grid Training

Grid training is an outgrowth of the managerial grid approach to leadership (Blacke and Mouton, 1978). It is an instrumental approach to laboratory training. Sensitivity training is supplemented with self-administered instruments (Benny, Bradford and Lippitt, 1964). The analysis of these instruments helps in group development and in the learning of group members. This technique is widely used and has proved effective.

Grid training for OD is completed in six phases. They are:

laboratory-seminar training, which aims at acquainting participants with concepts and material used in grid training;

a team development phase, involving the coming together of members from the same department to chart out as to how they will attain a 9 x 9 position on the grid;

inter-group development aims at overall OD. During this phase, conflict situations between groups are identified and analysed;

organization goal setting is based on participative management, where participants contribute to and agree upon important goals for the organization;

goal attainment aims at achieving goals which were set during the phase of organizational goal setting; and

stabilization involves the evaluation of the overall programme and making suggestions for changes if appropriate.

Survey Feedback

Survey feedback is based on the study (survey) of the unit of analysis (such as work group, a department or a whole organization) by using questionnaires (Taylor and Bowers, 1972). The resulting data are then used to identify and analyse problems and propose a suitable action plan to overcome them. A typical survey questionnaire would generate information on leadership, organizational climate and satisfaction (Table 1).

Table 1. Typical factors covered in a survey research questionnaire

Leadership Managerial support

Managerial goal emphasis

Managerial work facilitation

Peer support

Peer goal emphasis

Peer work facilitation

Peer interaction facilitation

Organizational climate Communication within the organization

Motivation

Decision making

Control within the organization

Coordination between departments

General management

Satisfaction Satisfaction with the organization

Satisfaction with the supervisor

Satisfaction with the job

Satisfaction with pay

Satisfaction with the work group

Modern OD techniques

In addition to the traditional OD techniques like sensitivity training, grid training and survey feedback, there are four modern techniques which can be used at inter-personal and inter-group levels.

Process consultation approach

This attempts to efficiently help diagnose and solve important problems of organizations. It refers to the processes which take place within a group or between groups and the consultant. The consultant aims at helping the client to perceive, understand and act upon process events which occur in the client's environment. Schein (1969) has proposed six major steps to be followed by the consultant. They are:

Initiating contact The consultant is approached by the client to solve an organizational problem which could not be solved by normal procedures.

Defining the relationship This refers to clarifying the expectations of both client and consultant through a contract between them about services, time and fees.

Selecting a setting and a method This refers to the place and method of doing the exercise.

Gathering data and making a diagnosis This is implemented through using questionnaires, interviews, observations, etc.

Intervention This involves agenda setting, feedback, coaching and structural interventions, individually or in combination.

Reducing involvement and terminating This is the mutual agreement to cease the consultation.

Third Party

The third-party peace-making technique attempts to settle inter-personal and inter-group conflicts using modern concepts and methods of conflict management. This technique analyses the processes involved, discerns the problem on the basis of the analysis, and suitably manages the conflict situation.

Team building

Team building has been considered the most popular OD technique in recent years, so much so that it has replaced sensitivity training. It aims at improving overall performance, tends to be more task-oriented, and can be used with family groups (members from the same unit) as well as special groups (such as task forces, committees and inter-departmental groups).

There are five major elements involved in team building (French and Bell, 1978):

problem solving, decision making, role clarification and goal setting for accomplishing the assigned tasks;

building and maintaining effective inter-personal relationships;

understanding and managing group processes and culture;

role analysis techniques for role clarification and definition; and

role negotiation techniques.

Transactional Analysis

Transactional analysis is widely used by management practitioners to analyse group dynamics and inter-personal communications. It deals with aspects of identity, maturation, insight and awareness (Berne, 1964). As a tool for OD, it attempts to help people understand their egos - both their own and those of others - to allow them to interact in a more meaningful manner with one another (Huse, 1975). It attempts to identify peoples' dominant ego states and help people understand and analyse their transactions with others. It is quite effective if applied in the early stage of the diagnostic phase.

COMPONENTS OF ORGANIZATION DESIGN

Important Components of the Organizational Design

Almost no organization can exist without the internal rules for the organizational design. The creators of the organization have to design the basic principles and components of the organization.

The founders of the organization have to set the basic rules for the organization and its future organizational development. The rules are very important for the growth of the organization as the rules set the main logics behind the growth of the organization.

The rules are focused in the following main areas:

1. The creators have to decide about the span of control in the organization. It is very connected with the responsibilities of the individual members of the organization. When the span of control is wide, the responsibilities have to be wide as well and vice versa.

2. The authority of the individual members is the next rule to be decided just in the beginning. The creators can leave all their authority at their level and every decision about the growth and organizational development of the organization has to be made at the top level of the organization or they can delegate the authority and responsibilities to the lower levels of the organization. When the authority is not delegated, the people in the organization are just asked to make the orders, when the responsibility is fully delegated, the people can be fully responsible for the results.

3. The accountability is one the most important components of the organization. The accountability allows to people to feel their full involvement in the life and growth of the organization. The top level of the organization is focused just on the strategic issues and strategic decisions of the organization, all the rest is in the full responsibility of the individual members using the help of the management