Critical events during an intensive survey feedback program in an
underground mining company created widely varying perceptions
of success among organization members. Case analysis centered
around (1) themes of power, trust and the dynamics of their
interaction, (2) appropriateness of traditional OD interventions for
seemingly healthy systems, (3) a reexamination of the level or depth
of survey feedback efforts, and (4) assessments of success from the
vantage points of different organization members and consultants.
Research data collected for an investigation of the feedback process
allowed yet another perspective of this intervention and contributed
to our understanding of such core survey feedback concerns as the
relation of survey data to feedback processes, favorability of meeting
processes as judged by participants and facilitators, and problem-
solving involvements in initial and follow-up feedback sessions.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Argyris, C. (1970). Intervention theory and method. Reading MA: Addison-Wesley.
2.
Argyris C., & Schon, D.A. (1974). Theory in practice. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass. (1978).
3.
Argyris, C., & Schon, D.A. (1978). Organizational learning: A Theory of action perspective . Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
4.
Bales, R.F. (1958). Task roles and social roles in problem-solving groups. In E. Maccoby, T. M. Newcomb, & E. L. Hartley (Eds.), Readings in social psychology (3rd ed.,p. 437-447). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
5.
Beer, M. (1980). Organization change and development. Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear.
6.
Bem, D.J. (1970). Beliefs, attitudes and human affairs. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
7.
Bowers, D.G. (1973). OD techniques and their results in 23 organizations: The Michigan ICL study. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science , 9, 21-43.
French, J.R.P., Jr., & Raven, B. (1968). The bases of social power . In D. Cartwright & A. Zander (Eds.), Group dynamics (p. 259-269). New York: Harper and Row.
10.
French, W.L., (1969). Organization development: Objectives, assumptions, and strategies. California Management Review, 12, 23-34.
11.
French, W.L., & Bell. C.H., Jr. (1978). Organization development (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall.
12.
Gavin, J.F. (1982). Observations from a long-term survey-based OD intervention (Technical Report, Centre for Human Relations and Community StudiesMontreal: Author.
13.
Gavin, J.F., & Esser, R.E. (1977). Attitudes count!Fort Collins, CO: Office of Printing and Publications.
14.
Gavin, J.F., &Krois, P. (in press). Contents and processes of survey feedback sessions and their relation to survey responses: An initial study. Group and Organization Studies.
15.
Gavin, J.F., & McPhail, S.M. (1978). Intervention and evaluation: A proactive team approach to OD. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 14, 175-194.
16.
Gavin, J.F., & Montgomery, J.C. (1982). Explorations of the survey feedback session: A replication and extension (Technical Report, Centre for Human Relations and Community StudiesMontreal: Author.
17.
Gibb, J.R. (1978). Trust: A new view of personal and organizational development. Los Angeles: The Guild of Tutors Press.
18.
Harrison, R. (1970). Choosing the depth of organizational intervention . Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 6, 181-202.
19.
Hautaluoma, J.E., & Gavin, J.R. (1975). Effects of organizational diagnosis and intervention on the blue-collar blues. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science , 11, 475-496.
20.
Huse, E.F. (1980). Organization development and change (2nd ed.). St. Paul, MN: West Publishing.
21.
Klein, S.M., Kraut, A.I., & Wolfson, A. (1971). Employee reactions to attitude survey feedback: A study of structure and process. Administrative Science Quarterly , 16(4), 497-513.
22.
Lewin, K. (1951). Field Theory in Social Science. New York: Harper.
23.
Lippitt, R., Watson, J., & Westley, B. (1958). Dynamics of planned change. New York: Harcourt and Brace.
24.
Maier, N.R.F. (1963). Problem solving discussions and conferences. New York: McGraw-Hill.
25.
Mann, F.C. (1957). Studying and creating change: A means to understand social organizations. In C. M. Arsenberg et al., (Eds.), Research in industrial human relations (p. 157-167). New York: Harper.
26.
Maslow, A.H. (1965). Eupsychian management: A journal. Homewood, IL: Irwin-Dorsey.
27.
Miles, M.B., Hornstein, H.A., Callahan, D.M., Calder, P.H., & Schiavo, R.S. (1969). The consequences of survey feedback: Theory and evaluation. In W. Bennis, K. D. Benne, & R. Chin (Eds.), The planning of change (p. 457-468). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
28.
Nadler, D.A. (1977). Feedback and organization development: Using data-based methods. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley .
29.
Revelle, W. (1978). ICLUST: a cluster analytic approach to exploratory and confirmatory scale construction. Behavior Research Methods and Instrumentation, 10(5), 739-742.
30.
Weisbord, M.R. (1973). The organization development contract. OD Practioner, 5(2), 1-4.
