Introduction
Defining the most beneficial activities that could aid in tackling the presented issue is a crucial element of the Organization Development (OD) approach. When appropriate instruments are used, it becomes possible to productively address the given complication, ensuring that the necessary changes are introduced effectively and will remain in place for a significant amount of time (Smither et al., 2016). In the City Center Hospital case study, the difficulty with maintaining a high level of morale among the clinical workers could be resolved using the OD strategy. As such, the OD consultant must perform the planning, execution, and evaluation stages to conduct a preliminary diagnosis and choose the intervention methods appropriate for the organizational setting (Bierema, 2020). The current paper outlines the planning, coaching, and summative evaluation activities as the most suitable strategy for improving City Center Hospital’s productivity, increasing the staff’s motivational levels and improving conflict resolution efficacy in the workplace.
The Planning Phase: Preliminary Analysis of the Issue
The first step towards conducting an OD intervention lies in a careful assessment of the organizational environment. To clearly understand the emerging problematic patterns and highlight the options that would be most efficient in the current setting, it is imperative to comprehensively define the observed difficulty (Bierema, 2020). As suggested by City Center Hospital’s leadership team, the core challenges faced by the corporation are connected with the nurses’ engagement levels and the overall quality of the employees’ interpersonal relationships. However, the OD consultant might also inquire how the leaders outlined this problem and whether any interventions have been conducted to address it (Wiggins & Smallwood, 2018). In addition, it would be advantageous to gain the executives’ insights regarding the factors contributing to the development of the issue (Wiggins & Smallwood, 2018). This information is vital for preliminary diagnosis and could determine the approach chosen during the following phases.
After the core characteristics of the complication and the organizational setting have been determined, the OD professional may begin gathering the relevant data. The action research method of OD is based on the utilization of evidence-based knowledge, and this stage is vital for securing the information that will be used to devise the intervention (Coghlan, 2017). During the data collection, the OD consultant gains a deeper understanding of the issue and the factors that might be causing it, as well as assesses the working environment and the overall readiness for change (Coghlan, 2017). On the basis of the attained information, the professional will be able to create a suitable intervention that corresponds to the primary aspects of the issue and the organizational setting.
Executing the OD Intervention in City Center Hospital
The City Center Hospital’s leadership team stated that a one-time workshop should be conducted to address the emerging complication. This requirement corresponds to the intervention activity, which occurs only once during the OD process and is expected to result in the necessary outcomes (Bierema, 2020). However, it is also essential to clarify which type of intervention activity could be beneficial for City Center Hospital’s employees, choosing a method appropriate for the company setting and the desired goals. Considering that the organization faces an issue in the workers’ interpersonal relationships and demands that visible outcomes are achieved in 12 months, a confrontive coaching intervention activity could be performed (Smither et al., 2016). The confrontive nature of this method allows for collecting and implementing the organizational data. At the same time, the coaching approach could aid the clinical professionals in resolving morale concerns and improving communication.
Although this type of intervention is usually considered a high-risk activity, it will most likely yield the expected results in the City Center Hospital’s case. In comparison with coaching, the agenda-managed strategy might be too broad, as it addresses group functioning rather than directly impacting interpersonal interaction (Alabdali, 2020). Another alternative method, feedback provision, could be inappropriately implemented by the client and may not produce the expected outcomes in the given time (Alabdali, 2020). Following these considerations, the coaching intervention activity might be the most appropriate choice for City Center Hospital’s employees.
Another critical aspect to consider is the intervention’s level, which differs significantly based on the issue’s characteristics. For City Center Hospital, the group-level intervention is an excellent fit that directly engages the employees and addresses the problem according to the client’s demands. As stated by City Center Hospital’s leadership team, the quality of interpersonal relationships is a considerable challenge that might be contributing to the nursing personnel’s lack of morale. Furthermore, each employee group reports having significant concerns regarding the behavior and productivity of other teams. Both of these complications demonstrate that teamwork and collaboration processes are dysfunctional (Coghlan, 2017). Therefore, a group-level intervention is necessary to properly address the diminishing quality of interpersonal relationships and morale.
Evaluating the Intervention Outcomes
The final stage of the OD process that follows the intervention focuses on analyzing the changes. Examining the conducted action research process is vital not only for recording the adjustments but also for reflecting on the efficacy of the chosen intervention method and its potential long-term impacts (Wiggins & Smallwood, 2018). Given that City Center Hospital requested only one workshop that is expected to influence the company’s productivity in the upcoming year, a proper evaluation is especially necessary for this case. As such, the benchmarking process could be highly beneficial for assessing the effects of the intervention and establishing whether the required results were obtained after the 12 months have passed. This approach is defined as a summative evaluation, and its results could also be useful for further analysis if the suggested intervention does not yield the desired outcomes (Bierema, 2020). In this regard, the relevant data must be collected before, shortly after, and 12 months after the coaching activity.
Conclusion
To conclude, the City Center Hospital’s case was discussed in detail in this paper, outlining the planning, coaching, and summative evaluation activities as the core endeavors to be completed for properly addressing the company’s issue. City Center Hospital’s organizational problem involves low nurse morale and declining quality of relationships between the factors, unit managers, and the nursing personnel, complications typically tackled using a group-level intervention. Improving the enterprise’s productivity would require extensive data collection, analysis, and the implementation of a confrontive coaching strategy in order to yield the expected results. After a one-day intervention, the staff would be provided with the knowledge necessary for maintaining a higher level of engagement and resolving interpersonal conflicts in the workplace. As the levels of morale and interpersonal relationships’ quality will be evaluated before, shortly after, and 12 months after the intervention, City Center Hospital will be able to analyze the success of the OD process.
References
Alabdali, M. (2020). Activate the learning and development agenda using coaching culture. European Journal of Human Resource Management Studies, 3(2), 134–139. Web.
Bierema, L. L. (2020). Organization development: An action research approach (2nd ed.). Bridgepoint Education.
Coghlan, D. (2017). Retrieving Action Research as research in OD. Organization Development Journal, 35(2), 11–15.
Smither, R., Houston, J., & McIntire, S. (2016). Organization development: Strategies for changing environments (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Wiggins, L., & Smallwood, J. (2018). An OD approach to leadership development: Questions and consequences. Journal of Management Development, 37(8), 613–623. Web.