bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Total Push and the Open Total Institution: The Factory-Hospital
Authors: Query Joy M. N.
Published: March 2006

The total institutional experience has been looked upon, not as one which prepares a patient or inmate for roles in outside society, but rather as one which actually precludes that possibility. In fact, however, intensive, total-push therapy in an "Open Total Institution" that approximates the open society as much as possible and deliberately breaks down the constraints of the more conventional total institution can sometimes reverse this institutional process. Research with chronically hospitalized schizophrenics illustrates that even the "hopeless" case may be able to reenter the "real world."
Notes Marriages in the Counter Culture
Authors: Kafka John S. , Ryder Robert G.
Published: March 2006

Impressionistic studies of "counter-culture" couples suggest (a) several varieties of a "return of the conventional," (b) a reduced role of sexuality, in the sense of its "demystification," (c) an attitude of approach to emotional tension, and (d) dependence on a psychology of plenty. Possible connections among these four kinds of phenomena are suggested.
Trust, Effectiveness, and Organizational Development: A Field Study in R & D
Authors: Kegan Daniel L. , Rubenstein Albert H.
Published: March 2006

Trust and organizational development in research and development laboratories were studied, using a multiple time-series, natural quasi-experimental research design. Nine focal groups from three organizations, each with five to 10 members, participated in the project. Most individuals completed two batteries of questionnaires several months apart. Two hypotheses were supported. First, the more an individual trusts his workgroup and the more he generally trusts others with whom he interacts during his work, the greater will be his self-actualization. Second, a "proper" organizational development program will increase an individual's feelings of trust toward his own group and toward others, while maintaining awareness of the demands of his tasks. A third hypothesis received mixed support: the more the members of a group trust that group, and the more they generally trust others with whom they interact during their work, the more effective the group will be in its goal accomplishment. From this mixed support, it appears likely that the organizations in this study had conflicts between the norms of self-reliance and obedience.
Organizations as Social Inventions: Rethinking Assumptions About Change
Authors: Greenfield T. Barr
Published: March 2006

Can we improve organizations by shaping their structure and processes? Common sense and much of organization theory support the view that it is organization itself which oppresses people and prevents them from realizing their best intentions. Acting on this view, critics and change agents have tried either to abolish structure or to design it to serve humane ends. Upon examination, however, abstract notions of organization resolve into goals and values held by individuals; putative universal organizational forms reduce to cultural artifacts. In searching for a concept of organization which recognizes its base in human action rather than in objective structure, the author draws upon a European tradition stemming from the works of Max Weber. This tradition, combined with examples of organizational life in schools, serves to identify implications for those who attempt-often with little success-to design better organizational forms. These implications suggest that our problems with schools will not yield to our manipulating the external trappings of organization-their familiar but spurious "structures." Rather, we must deal with the often conflicting views and values of those acting within these structures. The task of changing organizations depends, first, upon the varieties of reality which individuals see in existing organizations, and second, upon their acceptance of new ideas of what can or should be achieved through social action. We know little about either, but it is clear we should understand the first before we attempt to direct the second.
Changing the Social Milieus of Psychiatric Treatment Settings
Authors: Moos Rudolf H.
Published: March 2006

The article presents a concrete paradigm which may be useful in the facilitation and evaluation of social change, particularly in relatively small groups with moderate to high amounts of interaction among their members. The methodology includes (1) the systematic assessment of the social environment, (2) individualized feedback to participating members, (3) concrete planning of specific methods by which change might occur, and (4) reassessment of the social environment in order to monitor the results of the change process. Preliminary applications of the method have been made on psychiatric wards, small correctional units or cottages for young juvenile offenders, university residence halls, and high school classrooms. Examples of the use of the methodology in studies of a psychiatric ward and an adolescent residential center are presented.
Some Observations on Encounter Group Casualties
Authors: Posthuma Allan B. , Posthuma Barbara W.
Published: March 2006

The negative impact of encounter groups on participants has been subject to more speculation than good research. The necessity of stringent research designs and the use of behavioral indices of change are stressed by this paper, and specific criticisms are offered of some recent research on encounter group casualties. A research project using behavioral indices and comparing the impact of encounter groups with changes noted in a "placebo control" group and a control group is described. The results indicate that the group differences immediately after the group experience dissipated by the time of the six-month follow-up and that the negative indices were undifferentiated among the three groups.
Participative Decision Making: An Experimental Study in a Hospital
Authors: Bragg J. E. , Andrews I. R.
Published: March 2006

Participative decision making was introduced into a hospital subsystem where several situational factors favored the success of such a program. Over the 18-month period of the study, attitudes improved, absence rates declined, and productivity increased. Absence and productivity rates in the comparison groups did not change during the study period. Performance differences between the experimental and comparison groups were significant practically as well as statistically.
Social Intervention in Curacao: A Case Study
Authors: Berlew David E. , LeClere William E.
Published: March 2006

This article describes an effort to apply behavioral science technologies to facilitate the social and economic development of the Caribbean Island of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. A period of rising tensions, culminating in a labor dispute which erupted into a night of rioting, burning, and looting, preceded the intervention.

The project had two major elements: (1) motivation training, designed to encourage residents to view themselves as "origins" rather than "pawns" and enable them to set life and career goals and plan effectively to achieve them; and (2) an "outlet program," which involved the Island's leaders in creating new educational and job opportunities for individuals whose aspiration levels were raised by the motivation training. The intervention is evaluated, and several problems and issues relevant beyond the Curacao case are discussed.
Empirical Guidelines for Group Therapy: Pretraining, Cohesion, and Modeling
Authors: Bednar Richard L. , Weet Connie , Evensen Paul , Lanier David , Melnick Joseph
Published: March 2006

Group therapy has traditionally been viewed as more an art than a science. This paper suggests that the field is reaching a level of empirical sophistication which permits the development of clinical models from empirical data. Pretherapy -training, cohesion, and modeling are suggested as significant parameters of effective group treatment. The evidence defining the properties and effects of those variables is reviewed and their theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Educational Reform and Social Change
Authors: Levin Henry M.
Published: March 2006

Most contemporary societies view the educational system as a powerful tool of social change. This paper argues, however, that the schools will always be used to reproduce society rather than to modify it. It contends that educational reform can never be used as an independent force for changing social, economic, and political relationships and that attempts at reform have always failed when they violated the tenets of the policy.
The Church: An Agent of Social Change
Authors: Hinsberg Rev. Thomas F.
Published: March 2006

Aided by its hierarchical organizational structure and highly developed communications network, the Church demonstrates its concern with State policies when a controversial moral issue is at stake.
Interorganizational Information Sharing: A Successful Intervention that Failed
Authors: Brown L. Dave , Aram John D. , Bachner David J.
Published: March 2006

Behavioral science intervention at the interfaces of organizations is likely to become increasingly important in the near future. This paper examines an interorganizational intervention for evidence of intervention effects and for clues to the complexities of the thirdparty role. Although the data supported the hypothesis that the intervention would increase the amount and accuracy of the information shared by participant organizations, the expected increases in organizational consensus and decreases in interorganizational problems of coordination failed to materialize. Some implications of these findings are discussed, and some hypotheses about the role of third parties in interorganizational interventions are generated.
Utilization and Methodology of Applied Social Research: Four Complementary Models
Authors: van de Vall Mark
Published: March 2006

In applied social research, variations in the utilization of results are more closely interrelated with methodological variations than in the so-called "pure" social sciences. In the following typology, three functions of applied social research are analyzed and related to differences in methodology. In a fourth model, variations in the organizational context of applied social research projects are compared for their impact upon organizational decision making. Together, the four models of feedback, change, control, and context constitute a comprehensive typology of the utilization and methodology of applied social research.
Decision-Support System: A Case Study in Evaluative Research
Authors: Chatterjee Pranab
Published: March 2006

ALICE: Please, can you tell me, what kind of research I should do?

THE CAT: That depends on your funding source.

ALICE: I don't much care.

THE CAT: Then it doesn't really matter what kind of research you do.
"Some Effects of Trainers on Their T Groups" Reconsidered
Authors: Hurley John R.
Published: March 2006

The identity of T-Group trainer effectiveness indicators in Bolman's studies (1971a & 1973) was pursued through comprehensive analyses of intermeasure correlations. Labeled the Acceptance versus Rejection of Others (ARO), a powerful undergirding dimension was found more potent than the Congruence-empathy indicator stressed by Bolman. ARO closely resembles the Love/Hostility dimension salient in much independent research, including the Caring factor found important to the encounter group leader's effectiveness by Lieberman, Yalom, and Miles (1973) and the Consideration factor of the Ohio State leadership scales. Perhaps due to limitations of his measures, Bolman's data yielded surprisingly weak traces of the second principal interpersonal dimension, Dominance/Submission. It seemed well represented by Meaning Attribution in Lieberman et al.'s research and by Initiating Structure in the Ohio State work.
The Politics of Evaluation Research: The Peace Corps
Authors: Meyers William R.
Published: March 2006

This paper analyzes the major political problems evaluation research must solve if it is to be effective in an innovative agency. Peace Corps annals supply the illustrations. In solving these problems, the role of the "inside" researcher is detailed. He is both consultative (promotes collaboration between researcher and line people who will use the results) and entrepreneurial (integrative of diverse resources); he must bridge the cross-cultural gaps within the agency and with respect to the client the agency serves, the author explains. In the next section he deals with the role of the "outside" researcher and the relative merits and demerits of contracts and grants for evaluation. There are also political problems inherent in the organization's response to evaluation, especially where "unacceptable findings" and "unintended consequences" result. Finally, the author stresses the constructive impact careful research can have on an innovative agency's program and mission.
How Effective Is Data Survey and Feedback as a Technique of Organization Development? An Experiment
Authors: Hand Herbert H. , Estafen Bernard D. , Sims Henry P.
Published: March 2006

The specific purpose of this experiment was to test the effectiveness of the Data Survey and Feedback method of Organization Development. A pre-post experimental design was utilized with an experimental group which received the Organization Development treatment, and a control group which did not receive the treatment. Both individual satisfaction and team performance in a complex management simulation game were measured prior to and subsequent to the treatment. Although no differences were found between the control group performance and the experimental group performance, the experimental group was found to be more satisfied than the control group, subsequent to the treatment.
Matching Problems, Precursors, and Interventions in OD: A Systemic Approach
Authors: Bowers David G. , Franklin Jerome L. , Pecorella Patricia A.
Published: March 2006

A framework for systematic organizational development including a model for matching interventions with problem causes is developed, using concepts from social systems theory and medical science pathology. At the foundation of the framework are three basic principles of change applicable both to physical and social systems. These principles suggest that 1) interventions designed to change leadership behavior must be selected to fit properties of the system, 2) certain areas or aspects of systems are predisposed to successful change, and 3) change occurs indirectly through a series of cause/effect successions.

Potential interventions are classified in accordance with a scheme identifying each intervention according to one of three basic problem causes or "precursors." The precursors include (a) level of information, (b) level of skill, and (c) aspects of situations in which behavior occurs. Systematic organizational development is presented as a process of identifying and matching problem behavior, precursors, and appropriate interventions. Implications for practitioners are presented, along with illustrations suggesting the advantages of this approach.
A Failure of Job Enrichment: The Case of the Change That Wasn't
Authors: Frank Linda L. , Hackman J. Richard
Published: March 2006

The authors detail a change to semiautonomous workgroups undertaken in the stock transfer department of a metropolitan bank. Ultimately, the goals of increased job satisfaction, higher motivation, and greater productivity were not met, predominantly because the job enrichment planned for was not carried out. Believing that "through failure we often learn the most about the strengths and weaknesses of behavioral science techniques," the authors analyze the circumstances in the environment that compromised the success of the job enrichment project, admit lack of attention to workgroup theory, and prescribe four basic guides for the successful implementation of organizational change techniques that involve the redesign of work.
Using the Organizational Rewards System as an OD Lever: Case Study of a Data-Based Intervention
Authors: Patten Thomas H. , Fraser Karen L.
Published: March 2006

OD theorists and practitioners often mention the need to cope with organizational rewards systems when making interventions for planned change. Yet few field studies of interventions in rewards systems per se exist. This study reports a rewards system intervention as part of a multifaceted OD effort made in a large nonmanufacturing organization. Top management was confronted with data drawn from a stratified random sample of 386 top and middle management employees, 90 per cent of whom returned a specially developed rewards system survey instrument. Top management was asked to consider in depth the whole operation of rewards in a system and then to specify behavioral changes for all managerial and professional employees in line with reevaluated company objectives. With the aid of the consultant top management also authorized nonbehavioral changes in the technical systems and processes of personnel administration within the company in order to clarify employee concepts about the role of rewards in relation to company goals. The findings of the study suggest that rewards system interventions can be fruitful, that the greatest rewards are often perceived by managerial and professional employees as inherent in the work itself, and that improvements in the tools (such as the Likert Profile) for studying the functions and dysfunctions of rewards systems are needed.
Bureaucratic Encounters— An Evaluation of Government Services
Authors: Kahn Robert L. , Katz Daniel , Gutek Barbara
Published: March 2006

The authors have evaluated government services in terms of bureaucratic encounters-the service-seeking transactions reported by 1,431 American adults. Reactions to such transactions are discussed as a joint product of the characteristics of the client and those of the agency. The implications of these client reactions for more general social and political questions are explored. Because so much of individual well-being depends upon serviceseeking transactions, the authors propose that their quality and satisfactoriness should be regarded as social indicators, and included among the measures of the quality of contemporary life.
Patterns in the Development of Self-Analytic Groups
Authors: Farrell Michael P.
Published: March 2006

This study first presents convergences and controversies in current theories and empirical findings on the phases of development of self-study groups. Hypotheses about sequence of phases are derived and tested by contentanalyzing interaction in three groups that met over four-month periods. The findings show that the groups went through similar phases of development. The data are interpreted as indicating that the groups begin in a state of anomie. Through testing, conflict, and negotiation they develop a relatively cohesive workgroup with consensus on values, goals, and norms. The affirmation and articulation of the groups' emergent culture is followed by a period of stable work until interrupted by pressure of separation and disintegration of the group.
The Military Psychologist During Wartime: A Model Based on Action Research and Crisis Intervention
Authors: Greenbaum Charles W. , Rogovsky Itamar , Shalit Benjamin
Published: March 2006

This paper presents a model for the application of organization development, action research, and group-oriented crisis intervention by field psychologists with army units during wartime. It is suggested that military social psychology must utilize all three approaches to gain maximum effectiveness. The model is based on experience gained by the Military Psychology Unit of the Israel Defence Forces before, during, and after the Yom Kippur War of 1973. The basic assumptions underlying the model suggest that the following factors improve the functioning of the unit being served and promote the well-being of the individual soldiers in it: reliable feedback on the state of the unit to its officers; problem-related crisis intervention by psychologists with soldiers and officers related to experiences in stress situations; and instruction to officers on handling of problems concerning morale, anxiety, and interpersonal relations.
Who Are the Real Prisoners? A Case of Win-Lose Conflict in a State Correctional Institution
Authors: Sebring Robert H. , Duffee David
Published: March 2006

This article discusses the authors' attempts to intervene in a win-lose conflict situation that developed among prison staff at a state correctional institution and between the prison staff and an outside educational organization funding the vocational education program. The authors present the symptoms of organizational paranoia that develop, discuss the organizational antecedents peculiar to a corrections system and a state bureaucracy, and then outline the OD approach used to address the conflict, as well as its abrupt termination. The relative merits of consultant consensus and dissensus (power-coercive) approaches are discussed; and some radical theorybuilding is presented for consultants working with clients in highly political state human-service systems. Certainly the administrators and staff are losers in such a conflict situation, the authors conclude; but it is the taxpayers and prisoners who are the "real losers. "
A Methodology for Process-Oriented Organizational Diagnosis
Authors: Bartee Edwin M. , Cheyunski Fred
Published: March 2006

The intent of this paper is to present a specific methodology for organizational diagnosis, which in order to be successful, requires that an interventionist as a third-party facilitator attend to many very specific (though sometimes subtle) process aspects. The traditional techniques used for organizational diagnosis-questionnaires, interviews, and participant observationare criticized as being content-influential. The process-oriented methodology presented involves the interventionist with the client in designing groups that represent four different constituencies of a particular organization unit. The initial diagnosis and the initial intervention is achieved by conducting a problem diagnosis workshop. Pragmatic aspects concerning an effective diagnostic intervention have been learned through extensive research experience, some of which the authors report.
Application of Social Judgment Theory in Policy Formulation: An Example
Authors: Steinmann Derick O. , Smith Thomas H. , Jurdem Linda G. , Hammond Kenneth R.
Published: March 2006

Disagreement and protracted argument often frustrate boards and committees charged with developing and implementing public policy. This study describes an effort to minimize irrelevant dispute within a municipal committee charged with acquisition of land to be used for "open space." Social Judgment Theory and interactive computer graphics procedures were used to identify cognitive sources of disagreement among members of the committee with regard to the acquisition of land for open space purposes. Making overt the differences in the relative importance of the factors underlying individual policies resulted in a reduction of the disagreement. Conflict was thus avoided in attaining a compromise policy, the concrete consequences of which were formally adopted by the committee. Strengths and weaknesses of this approach to policy formulation were revealed through a follow-up evaluation, and specific suggestions are given for enhancing the impact of the method in future applications.
Planned Organizational Change: Toward Grounded Theory
Authors: Dunn William N. , Swierczek Fredric W.
Published: March 2006

Distinctions between "logico-deductive" and "grounded" theory capture a range of critical problems facing students and practitioners of planned organizational change. The development and application of grounded theories is likely to improve the quality of findings obtained from given change efforts. Among available research strategies retrospective case analysis-together with procedures for the continuous coding and comparison of case materials -appears to have considerable potential as a method for generating grounded theories of planned change.

In this paper retrospective case analysis is applied to a sample of 67 successful and unsuccessful change efforts. Results of bivariate analysis suggest that only three out of eleven leading hypotheses about the conditions of successful change efforts (viz., those involving collaborative modes of intervention, participative change-agent orientations, and strategies emphasizing high levels of participation) are weakly to moderately supported by available evidence. While findings must be approached cautiously, the further development and application of retrospective case analysis is likely to contribute to grounded theory and, thus, to the alleviation of present gaps between theory and practice.
Can "Haves" and "Have-Nots" Cooperate? Two Efforts To Bridge a Social Gap
Authors: Brown L. Dave
Published: March 2006

This paper examines two workshops that brought together chief executive officers of large organizations and activists from community groups to promote better intergroup communications and long-term cooperation for social projects. The workshops are described as attempts to create cooperation between noninterdependent and unequally powerful groups. The events of the workshops—one a success and one a failure—are analyzed in terms of the evolution of boundaries and the development of power relations. The roles of third parties as influencers of boundary development and power asymmetries are discussed.
The Many Faces of Don Quixote At a Social Science Convention
Authors: Zurcher Louis A.
Published: March 2006

The presenters of papers on social problems issues at meetings of social science associations can readily become less motivated to deliver a statement on a social problems topic because of its inherent importance to society than because of an array of other situationally salient reasons for appearing before an audience. The convention roles and rituals enacted by the presenters often contribute to that means-end reversal. This paper satirizes the social science convention setting in which the means-end reversal can occur, and caricatures those individuals who become caught up in the reversal. A set of 16 "ideal types" of presenters are described: Poets, Penitents, Protesters, Prophets, Proposalists, Proceduralists, Paradigmists, Pundits, Pathologists, Pedagogues, Publishers, Popgroupers, Patricians, Plebes, Partiers, and Pragmatists.
Using Integrators To Manage Conflict in a Research Organization
Authors: Stumpf Stephen A.
Published: March 2006

A government research organization was experiencing dysfunctional conflict within and between divisions. In an attempt to reduce conflict and improve performance, a change strategy was implemented. Four work units were restructured so that one person in each unit performed an integrative role for that unit. Each unit's performance before and after introduction of the integrator was analyzed. The productivity of the integrated units improved during the 2-year observation period and was significantly higher than that of comparison groups.
Quality Standards for "Ready-To-Use" Training and Development Programs
Authors: Bass Bernard M.
Published: March 2006

Standardized training and development programs offer consultants and training staffs an alternative to "custom-made" efforts. However, such "ready-to-use" programs vary greatly in costs and benefits. Agreement on minimum requirements would improve the quality of these programs and help prospective users to assess and select them.

Seven standards are proposed: (1) preliminary review of research literature about the behavioral changes involved in the program; (2) effective identification of the dimensions of behavioral change; (3) rapid and meaningful feedback processes; (4) reliable, valid, and relevant measures of change; (5) stable outcomes according to follow-ups; (6) analyses of the relations among the dimensions of change and their relation to external data; and (7) normative results on selected populations.

As examples, six programs-PROFILE, the COMMUNICA TION AUDIT, PROCESS, PROSPECTS, PROSPER, and PROFAIR are examined and assessed on the basis of these standards.
Dimensions of Participant Goals, Expectations, and Perceptions in Small Group Experiences
Authors: Fisher McCanne Lynn P.
Published: March 2006

Seventy-nine members of several kinds of groups reported their goals, expectations, and perceptions of the group experience on five questionnaires. The questionnaires were administered near the beginning and again at the end of university counseling center therapy groups, group process class laboratories, and a sensitivity training microlaboratory (posttest N = 69). Factor analyses of the responses to the respective questionnaires identified interpretable dimensions of personal goals, group leadership, norms, methods, and atmosphere. Further analyses yielded differences among the several types of groups on all scales and made it possible to characterize the therapy groups (considered together), each of the two process laboratories, and the microlaboratory. The study provided evidence that participants do begin group experiences with expectations and that it is possible to identify empirically both the dimensions of their expectations and ways in which their group experiences differ.
Inconsistencies in the Argyris Intervention Theory
Authors: Van De Vliert Evert
Published: March 2006

In his Intervention Theory and Method, Argyris postulated that an interventionist has three primary tasks: to generate valid information, to foster free choice, and to achieve internal commitment. There appear to be logical and empirical inconsistencies, however, between these primary tasks and (a) the proposition that change is not a primary task, (b) the method of validation, (c) the existence of both incompatible choices and prohibited choices, (d) the proposition that an effective system achieves its objectives and maintains viability, and (e) the demonstrable identification of Argyris with top management. In the present article, these inconsistencies are analyzed, and some of their theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Changing the Management Culture in a Public School System
Authors: Cohen Allan R. , Gadon Herman
Published: March 2006

Change in school systems often withers from lack of administrative support. The intervention described led to the creation of a new management structure for a public school system, with different decision-making processes, greater administrator involvement, and increased commitment to the total system. On the basis of this consulting experience, a number of propositions for change agents have been formulated, which are applicable to and can be tested in other settings.
The Influence of Employee Participation in Job Redesign
Authors: Seeborg Irmtraud Streker
Published: March 2006

Three questions were investigated: (1) Will supervisors and employees focus on the same aspects of job redesign if they are given the same background information? (2) Do employees show the same affective reactions to jobs designed by the supervisor and jobs they design themselves? (3) How does the mode of implementation affect the impact of job changes if identical changes are made? A 212-day simulation of an organization was conducted. Five groups of participants worked with identical job designs on the first day, had their jobs redesigned either by the supervisor, or through employee participation, or by the plant manager, then worked one day in the new jobs. Job changes and affective responses were measured using the Job Diagnostic Survey. Supervisors focused more on vertically loading the jobs, employees were more concerned with social aspects. Satisfaction measures increased more under the participative method. Identical changes were perceived to be "better" by employees who participated in their design.
Reconciling "Incompatible" Positions
Authors: Eiseman Jeffrey W.
Published: March 2006

A recent paper (Eiseman, 1977) gave the author's overview of an approach to the problem of helping parties trapped in deteriorating patterns of interaction change to self-enhancing patterns. One step in that process, Integrative Framework Construction (IFC), consists of constructing an integrative conceptual framework which builds upon each party's "theories-in-use," demonstrates that everyone's desires are compatible, and provides a way of thinking about the conflict which all parties can support. This paper examines this process more thoroughly, surfacing the values underlying the author's advocacy of IFC, outlining its theoretical basis, describing some operational principles, and giving illustrative applications.
Evaluation Methodology in Organization Development: An Analysis and Critique
Authors: Porras Jerry I. , Berg Per Olaf
Published: March 2006

The purpose of this analysis is to present a detailed overview of the current state of evaluation methodology in organization development. A detailed search procedure yielded 35 empirical studies in the OD field for the period 1959 to mid-1975. Each study was analyzed according to (a) research design, (b) data collection procedures, (c) subject characteristics, (d) treatment dimensions, and (e) data analysis approaches. Findings show that the overall quality of OD research methodology was spotty. Research designs were relatively strong with a large percentage of investigators using quasi-experimental designs. An excessive reliance on questionnaires as the sole data collection approach exists. Only a small percentage of studies report using other quantified approaches. Most studies were conducted in one organization or in situations where the N's for units of analysis larger than the individual were small (< 10). The heavy use of laboratory training intervention techniques was noted, although a strong shift from process to task orientation has occurred in recent years. Over 75% of the studies reported the use of statistical tests of significance. Although data analysis procedures are becoming more sophisticated, the vast majority of studies used very simple analytical techniques. Based on this analysis, a series of suggestions for improvement of methodological approaches to OD research is presented.
The Effects of Leader Absence on a Confrontation Team-Building Design
Authors: Boss R. Wayne
Published: March 2006

Leader absence in a confrontation team-building session illustrates the critical role the Chief Executive Officer plays in a successful OD effort. In this study, six natural teams (family groups) and one cousin group participated in a 6-day confrontation team-building session. Five of the six natural teams, however, met without the Chief Executive Officer of their respective organizations. Although each team experienced the same design and environmental constraints, only the team with the leader present evidenced growth during the 6-day session, as measured by the Likert Profile of Organization and Performance Characteristics and the Group Behavior Inventory. The remaining six teams either retrogressed or remained unchanged.
Assessing Organizational Planning and Teamwork: An Action Research Methodology
Authors: Moore Michael L.
Published: March 2006

Organizations often undertake planned change or OD interventions such as Management By Objectives (MBO) or team building without clearly identifying the current state of teamwork and planning among their own personnel. To overcome that deficiency, this article illustrates an approach for providing both quantitative and qualitative data regarding teamwork and planning. Utilization of such data concurrently with a "white paper" and OD survey feedback methodology is described. A case history of an actual intervention and sample data are provided. This approach is assessed using the theory bases of role perception accuracy and role compliance. The use of data from the methodology for providing feedback to individuals, dyads, and management teams as well as a baseline for considering planning or team-building approaches to OD is stressed. Methodological limitations are also considered.
Trainers' Liking, Bion's Emotional Modalities, and T-Group Effect
Authors: Babad Elisha Y. , Amir Liora
Published: March 2006

The relationships between trainers' differential liking for group members (actual and perceived), members' behaviors in the group reflecting Bion's emotional modalities, and T-group outcomes were investigated in three unstructured T groups of female students. Members' perceptions of trainers' liking were found to fit quite accurately the trainers' actual ratings, and group effect was a function of both actual and perceived trainers' liking. Member-rated outcomes were unrelated to their behaviors in the group reflecting Bion's modalities, while trainer-rated outcomes were differentially related to the different modalities. The modalities Work and Fight were both liked by the trainers and positively related to trainer-rated success; Flight and Counter-dependency were not liked by the trainers and unrelated to trainer-rated success; Dependency was not liked by the trainers but positively related to trainer-rated success; and Pairing was liked by the trainers and related to global, but not analytic, trainerrated success. The implications of those findings to Bion's theory and to group training were discussed.
On the Quality and Acceptance of Plans Drawn by a Consortium
Authors: Nutt Paul Charles
Published: March 2006

Laws and current practices often dictate participation by different organizations in one planning process. Plan sponsors form a "consortium" to represent different viewpoints on a planning group. In this study, consortium groups were made up of people drawn from several organizations and/or people with conflicting points of view. For comparison, members of "conventional" planning groups were drawn from the plan sponsors' immediate staff to ensure similarity of views. To gain insights into the effectiveness of the consortium as a vehicle for planning, the merits of plans drawn by consortium planning groups and by conventional planning groups were compared. To generalize the findings, several planning topics were addressed and several organizations participated. Consortia representing several distinct organizations were found to make plans of superior "quality" and "acceptance" (p < .05). Neither plan quality nor acceptance was enhanced when the consortium represented staff within an organization that had conflicting roles. In both cases, the co-optative benefits of a consortium seem overstated. Consortium planning groups promoted conflict, not endorsement via participation (p .05). Some guides for cooperative planning are drawn from these findings.
Decentralized Applied Research: Factors Affecting the Use of Audience Research by Arts Organizations
Authors: Dimaggio Paul , Useem Michael
Published: March 2006

Little empirical work has estimated the actual importance of factors said to affect the extent to which applied social research is utilized by client organizations. To identify the salience of various factors in facilitating or inhibiting the use of applied research, we have examined the application of one form of research in one decentralized setting-the utilization of audience studies by arts organizations. Drawing on the findings of 25 intensive case studies of diverse audience research, we specify the critical factors affecting utilization of audience studies in arts-organization policy making. Studies were most likely to have powerful effects (a) when their findings confirmed the predilections of arts managers, (b) when an influential person actively sought implementation, and (c) when researchers were involved on a sustained basis in staff deliberations. Studies were not utilized (a) under conditions of high staff tumover, (b) when organizations lacked the resources to use their findings, and (c) when influential individuals were hostile or indifferent. Contrary to the conventional model of research utilization, the technical quality of a study had no effect on the likelihood that it would be used.
Developing a Community-Based Program for Reducing the Social Impact of a Plant Closing
Authors: Taber Thomas D. , Walsh Jeffrey T. , Cooke Robert A.
Published: March 2006

On January 16, 1975, MN Industries announced their decision to phase out operations at their Great River, Michigan plant. The announcement triggered a course of events that culminated in an innovative social experiment, the impact of which cannot be fully known. The experiment melded management, union, university, and community representatives into a temporary interorganizational system. This voluntary coalition assumed responsibility for organizing available human services into a coordinated attack on the complex and intense problems expected to result from sudden widespread unemployment. Since the coalition was unique, it required equally unique combinations of organizational theory and intervention to facilitate its development. This paper describes critical phases in the development of the system, action steps taken to facilitate passage through each phase, and organizational theory useful for understanding and evaluating the processes that took place.
The Search Conference In Active Adaptive Planning
Authors: Williams T. A
Published: March 2006

The search conference is an experiential learning setting designed to stimulate active adaptation to turbulent environments. It has been used in a wide variety of contexts. Two critical dimensions are the structuring of the search conference task and the social organization of the participants. The general strategy is to explore issues in the future of the organization or larger social system being planned for in the context of trends in the wider society, to generate shared images of desirable futures which can guide choices between strategies. Search conferences usually produce proposals which must be negotiated with larger stakeholder groups and participants often develop networks which support their own ongoing activity. Several factors external and internal to the search conference may influence the outcomes.
Problems with Reactive Instruments in Field Research
Authors: Koch James L. , Rhodes Susan R.
Published: March 2006

This study sought to examine problems in assessing field experiments with conventional survey-based data gathering methods. Two phenomena are examined: (a) increases in reactiveness, and (b) the recalibration of survey scales. The theoretical dimensions of such changes are discussed, including such processes as consistency, saliency, priming, and raised expectations. Methods of identifying these sources of contamination within two-group experimental designs are presented and illustrated with data from a recent field experiment involving 78 female sewing machine operators. In this instance, survey-data gathering processes increased "reactiveness," suggesting a general increase in the salience of experimental variables to subjects; and, scale recalibration appears to have occurred with respect to a primanV intervention variable. Methods of reducing or accommodating these possible sources of contamination are discussed, together with their implications for the protection of human subjects.
Process Minefields in Intergroup Conflict Resolution: The Sdot Yam Workshop
Authors: Benjamin A J. , Levi A M.
Published: March 2006

The case study describes a 2-day workshop in which young Israeli Arabs and Jews succeeded in reaching agreement on a peace plan for the Middle East. Our analysis focuses on a number of problems in coordinating the task and process requirements of intergroup conflict resolution. We conclude that while the task model which we tested and developed in the workshop sewved important functions, it needed to be balanced by appropriate sensitivity to as yet unpredictable process contingencies. We suggest that such a balance is accomplished by dividing task and process responsibility between two consultants.
Equal Employment Opportunity Regulation and Change in Compensation Practices
Authors: Stumpf Stephen A. , Greller Martin M. , Freedman Richard D.
Published: March 2006

The effects of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) regulation on the compensation practices of one organization were examined over 3 years. EEO regulation and top management policy directives had little impact in reducing salary inequities of female and minority employees who were employed at the time of the policy change; newcomers experienced moderate benefit. The response of the organization suggests concerns about the effectiveness of regulatory intervention designed to alter intra-organizational processes.
Developing a Feedback System for Work Units: A Field Experiment in Structural Change
Authors: Nadler David A. , Cammann Cortlandt , Mirvis Philip H.
Published: March 2006

This study examines the effects of introducing an ongoing feedback system into 10 branches of a Midwestern bank. The feedback system was designed to facilitate collaborative control and problem solving in the branches and was hypothesized to raise the level of participation in the branches and increase their effectiveness.

The effects of the new feedback system were evaluated by observing its use and by comparing questionnaire and archival information from the experimental branches with similar data collected from 10 branches where the feedback system was not implemented.

The results of the study indicated that the new feedback system produced functional consequences in some of the work groups in the experimental branches, but not in others. It appeared that in some cases the consequences were due to an increase in participative control processes, while in others, they were due to an increase in directive management. It is concluded that the effects of different feedback system designs are probably contingent on contextual factors such as the problem-solving skills and orientations of organization members, the nature of the reward systems existing in the organization, and task and individual differences among work units.
The T-Group Trainer: Group Facilitator or Prisoner of Circumstance?
Authors: Smith Peter B.
Published: March 2006

In this study of 31 English T Groups, trainers were reported to be more influential, more trusted and more likely to create tension than were members. An index of group outcome was found to correlate significantly with high trainer influence and high trust in the trainer. However, effective trainer behavior also showed substantial variation between different types of T Group. In low tension groups, trainers whose behavior made others tense were more effective, whereas in high tension groups the reverse was true. Seven trainers within the sample conducted more than one group. When these groups were compared, there was no evidence that particular trainers tend to create in their groups a climate of a consistent type. It was concluded that the culture of a group depended primarily on the group's composition. Some trainer behaviors, such as supportive ones, were effective across a wide range of group types. Others, such as confronting behavior, were effective only where the trainer correctly diagnosed its appropriateness to the group culture.