Here is an outline to help you work through the Week 3 Assignment.
Review the case studies and select one to examine and apply the theoretical concepts and methods used during an OD intervention. You can start by identifying the type of change you might expect to see (pp 59-61 of the textbook) and perhaps mention something related to the Models for Change from Chapter 2.
Develop the action research process.
1. Planning (the discovery phase)
- Diagnose the issue. The first step is to analyze the organization as it exists. You already have information on the organization’s structure, who reports to whom. What about the organization’s current culture? How would you describe it? Toxic? Supportive? Familial? Etc… Describe management. Is it accessible? Is morale high or low? What drives employee action, mission, customers, ambition? What is the vision? Where does the organization want to be in terms of customer service, profits, employee morale, and other actors?
- How would you gather more data on the issues? What methods might you use (section 4.3-4.5)? Why?
- Who and how would you suggest analyzing the data gathered (section 4.6)?
- When, with whom, and how would you share feedback from the analysis, with the client (section 4.7)?
- Who would you involve and how would you go about planning actions to address the issues?
2. Doing (the action phase) Classify the intervention type (section 5.2) and define how you will implement the intervention
- Learning related to the issue
- Changing related to the issue
3. Checking (the evaluative phase) Validate the change outcome.
- How would you assess changes as a result of the intervention? (Hint – look back at how you diagnosed and analyzed the problem (sections 6.2-6.3)?
Action Research Case Study
[WLOs: 1, 3] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 5]
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read Chapters 4, 5, and 6 in your course textbook.
Keep in mind, the research and development for this assignment is the foundation for the consulting proposal that you will develop during the Week 5 paper. Review the following case studies and select one to examine and apply the theoretical concepts and methods used during an OD intervention.
Review Case Study 1 and Case Study 2 below using the tabs.
Case Studies
Case Study 1: Blaze Mining Case Study
Organizational Problem:
Blaze Mining is a mid-size, family-owned oil and mining company located in Louisiana. Over the past 10 years, leadership of the company has fractured and become antagonistic. Non-collaborative internal teams have caused great damage to the management and operation of critical functions within the organization. Recently, a new CEO joined the organization and was stunned by the discord within the leadership team and its effect on the bottom line.
Organizational Design:
Blaze Mining is family-owned and managed. There are multiple divisions and departments pertinent to the type of operation occurring: Mining, Oil, Off Shore, Human Resources (HR), Finance, Education, and Safety. Each section is led by a family member and a personally selected team. The CEO is the overseer of the company.
Challenge and Request Criteria:
For the company to survive, the problems within the leadership team must be identified and addressed in a professional manner. The CEO of Blaze Mining is requesting an OD intervention to interact with the leadership group and develop a cohesive team focused on the success of the organization. The intervention is to include
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- three workshop sessions, once a month, for three months;
- specialized intervention with each division/department; and a wrap-up session with all stakeholders
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The paper must be four to five pages in length, and include level headings to lead the reader through the specific areas of content. Level headings also provide the reader with an outline to ensure all areas of the project are covered. You may refer to the Introduction to APA (Links to an external site.) webpage, and read the information under “Level Headings†for assistance on level headings. The paper must include the course textbook as a reference, as well as four additional scholarly, peer-reviewed, and/or credible sources to support the content of the paper.
The Action Research Case Study paper
- Must be four to five double-spaced in length (not including title and references) and formatted according to APA Style (Links to an external site.) as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA Formatting for Microsoft Word (Links to an external site.).
- Must include a separate title page with the following:
- Title of paper
- Student’s name
- University of Arizona Global Campus
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Date submitted
- Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
- Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
- For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Writing Center resources.
- Must use at least four scholarly, peer-reviewed, or credible sources in addition to the course text.
- The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
- To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view this University of Arizona Global Campus Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which introduces the University Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.
- Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.).
- Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center. See the APA: Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Writing Center for specifications.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
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