Human Resource Management and Interventions

An intervention is something an organization undertakes when it needs to improve its performance and effectiveness. “OD interventions vary from standardized programs that have been developed and used in many organizations to relatively unique programs tailored to a specific organization or department” (Cummings, 2015). Interventions rely on four major types of planned change: human process interventions, technostructural interventions, human resource management interventions, and strategic change interventions.

Human process issues have to do with improving interpersonal, intragroup and intergroup relations. Social processes such as communication, decision making, leadership, and group dynamics are some of the issues involved. It aims to improve individual performance and interpersonal relations while aiming to assist individuals develop skills and for group members to assess and resolve problems. Some of the interventions are: process consultation, third party intervention, team building, organization confrontation meeting, intergroup relations, and large-group interventions.

Process consultation involves building relationships. It focuses on interpersonal relations and social dynamics occurring in work groups with the aim of helping build skills and understanding (Cummings, 2015). Third party intervention is aimed at healing dysfunctional interpersonal relations that cause conflict within an organization. Conflicts can involve work methods, or interpersonal issues. Team building allows for more creative ideas to flourish, increases understanding, increases effectiveness, and improves the ability to devise solutions. Organizational confrontation meeting, intergroup relations, and large-group interventions are “more system wide processes that focus on the total organization or an entire department, as well as on relations between groups” (Cummings, 2015).

Technostructural interventions are designed to make products or services more efficiently. Technostructural intervention “focuses on an organizations technology (for example, task methods and job design) and structure (for example, division of labor and hierarchy)” (Cummings, 2015). Technostructural interventions include: structural design, downsizing, and reengineering.

Structural design is concerned about how the organizations labor is divided and aims to “move from traditional ways of dividing the organizations work (such as functional, self-contained unit, and matrix structures) to more integrative forms (such as process-based, customer-centric, and network-based structures)” (Cummings, 2015). Downsizing is aimed at reducing the size of the organizations labor costs through layoffs, organization redesign, and outsourcing. Reengineering is where an organizations core work processes are radically redesigned. “Reengineering is often accomplished with new technology that permits employees to control and coordinate work processes more efficiently” (Cummings, 2015).

Human resources management interventions focus on integrated human resource practices and how they can be used to integrate the employees of both organizations. “Human resources management interventions are rooted in labor relations and in the applied practices of compensation and benefits, employee selection and placement, performance appraisal and career development” (Cummings, 2015). Aspects include goal setting, performance appraisal, and reward systems.

Goal setting should be directly aligned with the goals from the strategic and business plans of the organization. By establishing a better fit between personal and organizational goals organizational effectiveness will improve. Performance appraisal “is a systematic process of jointly assigning work-related achievements, strengths, and weaknesses” (Cummings, 2015). It is the link between goal setting and reward systems. A reward system involves pay, promotions, and other fringe benefits as rewards for performance. Other interventions to develop talent include coaching and mentoring, career planning and development, and management and leadership. Supporting organization member interventions include managing workforce diversity and employee stress and wellness programs.

Strategic change interventions transform the way organizations relate to their environment, how it operates, and how it uses strategies to support continuous change. These changes transform the organization and “bring about a fit between business strategy, structure, culture and the larger environment” (Cummings, 2015). They involve integrated strategic change, organization design, culture change, mergers and acquisitions, alliances, networks, self-designing organizations, organization learning and knowledge management, and interventions built to change organizations.

The success of interventions lies in four organizational factors: readiness for change, capability to change, cultural context, and the capabilities of the change agent. “Effective interventions are designed to fit the needs of the organization, are based on casual knowledge of intended outcomes, and transfer competence to manage change to organization members” (Cummings, 2015).

References
Cummings, T. G. (2015). Organization development and change (10th ed.). Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.