Guidelines and Format for Writing-up Your OD Change Proposal

Background

The OD Change Proposal (OCP) is developed directly from your field observations and journaling. In your field observation you are using Bolman & Deal's assumptions for the four frames (structural, human resources, political and symbolic) to analyze your organization or a unit within your organization. From those observations your are journaling whether the assumptions are "operative" in your organization and if so recording a couple of examples. The field observation and journaling is also designed to give you perspective, understanding and insight into the organization that goes beyond limited or technical problem solving to an adaptive organizational change strategy.

Step One

Select one or two issues (these may be problems or other dysfunctional behaviors and actions in a variety of areas -planning, decision-making, communication, leadership, etc., as well, as opportunities or need for adaptive change - responding to client/customer/community needs, improving and developing new programs, etc.) and follow these through the four perspectives.

We will discuss these issues in our telephone consultations.

Step Two

You will use your observation and analysis formulated during the course and posted on the Student Dialogue Forum to develop recommendations, and design interventions to address these issuesusing one assumption from each of the four frames.

Step Three

Write-up your recommendations and design intervention that reflects your application of the four frames and the understanding and rationale for the change. Here you also want to connect any underlying resistance to change and what needs to happen to move the project forward.

So you are looking at:

1) A presenting issue(s), problem or opportunity in your organization;

2) How does one of the assumptions from each of the four frames relate to that issue? The assumption drives the rationale for the change.

3) Your recommendations and designfor what you feel will make an effective proposal for change.

4) What is the potential resistance and/or obstacles you see in implementing this change?

Format and other important information about the Paper

• Please use a standard font, 12-point size and 1 ½ line space. One page of text in this format is approximately 275 words.
• This paper does not require outside sources. It does require a solid understanding and application of the texts we use in the course to your professional experience.
• To insure confidentiality, your paper should use pseudonyms for the organization and any people mentioned. We sometimes refer to that as scrubbing the document meaning you are removing identifying information.
• Upload your OD Change Proposal Wednesday, December 14th.The Upload is open until 12 midnight PDT.