Organization Development - How to Make Use of Observations

Observations are an essential part of any OD diagnosis, helping us - together with interviews, surveys and unobtrusive measures - to develop a clear and comprehensive understanding of any organization.

Before we can design a more effective organization, we have to understand the current one. Observations are a more direct way of collecting data. Clearly the advantages of observations are that they are free of biased inherent in self-report data. As an OD practitioner you will be put in direct touch with the behaviors in question, without having to rely on others' perceptions. Observations provide us with real time data, describing behavior occurring in the present rather than the past. Finally observations are adaptive in that you can modify what you chose to observe depending on the circumstances.

This course provides you with various examples enabling you to develop better understanding of how observations can be done, so you will be ready to do observations yourself, as well as modify the presented examples.

This course will first provide you with general information on observations.

The focus in section 2 is on organizational values, and how you can develop understanding of mental models, underlying values by doing observations through a culture walk. And activity using the enclosed guideline will help you putting your new knowledge into action. 

Section 3 focuses doing observations in meetings to gain an understanding of how effective meetings are held in an organization and allowing you to draw conclusions on management styles applied in the organization. Again an activity with enclosed guideline and observation spreadsheet will enable you to put your knowledge straight into action.

In Section 4 the focus lies on time allocation of first line managers. Considering the fact that members of this management level are the ones spending most of their time directing and controlling, training, inspiring and encourage employees, it is paramount to gain an understanding of their behaviors. This section will provide you with the knowledge in how you can do that. The enclosed guideline and observation spreadsheet again will enable to you to go out and do it right away.

Section 5 the focuses on labor utilization and effective time utilization. Structured observations will help you to gain a thorough understanding of the efficiency levels in chosen areas within an organization. And more detailed observations will also allow you to understand the effectiveness of allocated times. Enclosed guidelines and observations spreadsheets again will help you to try out the learning immediately.