Chapter 7
OD Intervention
Strategies
TEST QUESTIONS
True/False Questions
1. After problem areas are diagnosed, a strategy for change can be determined.
2. Intervention strategies involve the planning for specific means by which change
goals can be attained.
3. Three basic approaches to organization change are behavioral, structural, and
functional.
4. The structural approach to change places emphasis on the human assets. The
approach is toward accomplishing organization goals so that people’s talents are
being more fully used.
5. A technical approach to change involves the framework that relates elements of the
organization to one another.
6. OD practitioners historically favored a balance between technical, structural, and
behavioral interventions.
7. The process used to carry out the change strategy, and not the specific intervention,
determines if the strategy is an OD one.
8. According to one leading OD practitioner, OD is not the technology of what is
done but it is a philosophy of how the change is brought about.
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9. As organizations are made up of subsystems, an OD practitioner can consider
independently the subelements of the organization.
10. The consideration of primarily overt and not covert elements is essential in any
successful change program.
11. Second-order consequences is a term applied when the client and the OD
practitioner make a change in their initial intervention strategy.
12. Stream analysis is a method that can be used in planning the implementation and
analysis of behavioral, structural, and technical changes.
13. The major document used in stream analysis is an employee questionnaire.
14. Stream analysis uses timing, interrelationships, and interventions to plan the
implementation of interventions.
15. Stream analysis is primarily useful as a method to negotiate a contract between the
client and the practitioner.
16. It is common for practitioners to rely upon one intervention technique in an OD
program. This helps prevent the organization’s members from being confused with
multiple intervention techniques.
17. One way to categorize intervention techniques is in terms of the system to be
changed.
18. Though OD is a dynamic discipline, the boundaries between what is and what is
not an OD intervention are clear to OD practitioners.
Multiple-Choice Questions
19. The diagnostic phase in an OD program leads to _____.
a. a change in technology
b. survey feedback
c. a change in people and structure
d. intervention strategies
e. questionnaires and surveys
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20. Strategies for structural change are designed to _____.
a. motivate employees through team building
b. redefine the way jobs are designed to enable jobs to accommodate new
machinery
c. review and improve interpersonal relationships between organization
members
d. improve the framework that relates elements of the organization to one
another
e. answers a and c
21. Structural change strategies _____.
a. introduce new machinery and automation to the job
b. modify elements such as authority and span of control of the
organization
c. are normally highly successful as they improve the morale and
motivation of members
d. attempt to improve the level of morale, motivation, and commitment of
members
e. all of the above
22. The technical approach to change _____.
a. is human behavior oriented since new equipment is installed making it
easier and faster for employees to do their work
b. planning oriented
c. behavioral oriented
d. usually used to implement behavioral changes
e. is associated with helping employees do their work through
improvements in machinery
23. The strategy which places emphasis on employees and better uses their talents is a
_____.
a. behavioral strategy
b. technical strategy
c. structural strategy
d. diagnostic strategy
e. sociotechnical strategy
24. The factor to determine if a change strategy is an OD strategy is _____.
a. the credentials of the practitioner
b. the process used to carry out the strategy
c. if the strategy was developed after the diagnostic stage
d. if structural, technical, and behavioral strategies are all equally used
e. answers c and d
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25. OD in the past has most often been associated with _____ change strategies;
however, there are some who believe OD is more effective when the change
strategies are balanced.
a. technical
b. structural
c. survey feedback
d. behavioral
e. none of the above
26. Increasingly, OD practitioners _____.
a. use technological change strategies as they lead to increases in
productivity
b. find several intervention strategies that they are more successful and
comfortable with
c. place emphasis upon behavioral change strategies
d. practice primarily behavioral and structural including managerial
change strategies
e. take an integrated approach to change
27. In addition to analyzing the organization’s formal structure, the practitioner must
_____.
a. study the overt activity and disregard covert activities
b. interview each of the organization’s members
c. consider the interdependence between subsystems
d. disregard overt and covert subsystems as they are usually incidental to
structure
e. none of the above
28. The “iceberg” analogy of change proposes that _____.
a. intervention strategies should address both visible and hidden aspects
of an organization
b. some members have behaviors and ideas that are frozen or
unchangeable
c. the observable elements of an organization can be changed
d. the hidden elements of an organization cannot be changed as they are
too deeply rooted in the organization’s culture
e. answers c and d
29. Often the most effective approach in selecting an appropriate strategy is _____.
a. choosing the one that will optimize profits
b. the educational level of employees
c. the integrative use of several strategies
d. disregarding second-order consequences
e. select one specific strategy and stay with it until the change has been
accomplished.
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30. Indirect or deferred consequences that result from immediate change actions are
_____.
a. not predictable and should be eliminated
b. the same thing as overt organization components
c. second-order consequences that need to be considered in the selection
of a change strategy
d. not predictable and should be ignored as there is not much that can be
done to control them
e. none of the above
31. Stream analysis considers the number and complexities of which variable?
a. time to begin and end the intervention
b. the type of intervention
c. the interrelationships of the interventions
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
32. Stream analysis begins with _____.
a. computerizing a system to attain as much relevant information as
possible
b. surveys and feedback sessions
c. the practitioner planning an intervention strategy for the client system
d. the client and the practitioner identifying key behavioral, structural,
and technical interventions that need to be implemented
e. all of the above
33. Stream analysis can be useful in a change program as it _____.
a. helps keep track of progress once the change program is underway
b. uses PERT and Gantt charts which already exist in most organizations
c. presents a time schedule that is easy to get upper management’s
approval for
d. relies on the data gathering stage of an OD program
e. all of the above
34. Stream analysis is useful from the perspective of helping to _____.
a. keep the organization operating as effectively as possible during the
change
b. design the change program and to schedule time appropriately
c. show the consequences of changes on other interventions
d. keep track of the change program by top management
e. all of the above
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35. Intervention strategies can best be described as _____.
a. implementing techniques that have been shown to best bring about
change
b. implementing methods that organization questionnaires have shown to
be requested by members
c. formulating surveys and questionnaires to determine the extent of
problems
d. planned and directed means to improve the functioning of the client
system
e. successful when they have considered behavioral consequences
36. In selecting an appropriate intervention, the practitioner and client should consider
if _____.
a. the costs outweigh the benefits
b. the techniques will be acceptable to the client system
c. there are any potential negative consequences
d. all of the above
e. answers b and c
37. The selection of any given technique _____.
a. is usually a trade-off between advantages and disadvantages
b. requires that the technique be oriented from all of the following change
strategies: behavioral, structural, and technical
c. involves considerations such as the results and the acceptance of the
technique
d. all of the above
e. answers b and c
38. Classifications of OD interventions include _____.
a. organization and team
b. society
c. individual and intergroup
d. all of the above
e. answers a and c
39. In considering the specific intervention to use in a change program, it is best to
direct attention to _____.
a. the total organizational system as it is composed of many subelements
b. team or group
c. intergroup
d. individual or interpersonal
e. all of the above
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40. OD intervention techniques can be categorized by focusing on organizational levels
such as _____.
a. practitioner
b. group and intergroup
c. subunits
d. overt elements within lower levels of an organization
e. answers b and c
Essay Questions
41. What is meant by a balanced or integrative approach to organization change?
For OD strategies to be successful, the practitioner must consider the
interdependencies that exist among the various subelements of the organization. A
change in one subsystem will have some impact upon other elements of the system.
This means a practitioner will need to consider technical and structural variables as
well as behavioral variables of the system. It is essential in any change program to
consider all possible problem areas, both overt and covert, if the strategy is to be
successful.
42. Explain how stream analysis can be used in planning the implementation of change
strategies.
Stream analysis is one method used in planning the implementation and analysis of
behavioral, structural, and technical changes. It begins with the practitioner and the
client identifying behavioral, technical, and structural interventions for them to
implement as part of the OD program. Through the planning process, they schedule
interventions to begin and end at specific times and determine interrelationships
between the interventions. Because of the number and complexities of variables
(interventions, times, and interrelationships), a chart is built to better visualize the
OD strategy. The chart is the major document used in stream analysis change
strategy. It shows the interventions plotted over time with arrows showing the
relationship of interventions to one another.
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43. Name several major factors to consider in the selection of an OD intervention.
Three broad aspects are of concern to the OD practitioner in selecting the appropriate
intervention:
a. The potential results of the technique. Will it solve the basic problems? Does it
have any additional positive outcomes?
b. The potential implementation of the technique. Can the proposed technique
actually work in a practical application? What are the actual dollar and human costs
of this technique and the impact of costs upon the client system? How do the
estimated costs of the technique compare with the expected results (costs versus
benefit)?
c. The potential acceptance of the technique. Is the technique acceptable to the client
system? Is the technique adequately developed and tested? Has the technique been
adequately explained and communicated to members of the client system?