Impact Of Od Interventions On Employee Engagement Management Essay

Impact Of Od Interventions On Employee Engagement Management Essay Organizations are now experiencing profound and wide reaching change. In the context of globalization, the need to respond to the numerous challenges emerging from the dynamic and ever-changing business environment is a daunting task. Indeed the changes that organizations are facing are more multifaceted than ever. Engaging workforce to a clearly articulated strategy by means of the change management process is therefore a real challenge for local and international organizations. In todays economy, motivated and committed employees is fundamental key to the success of an organization. Organizing and routing employee competencies and energy is not only an essential requirement for successfully achieving corporate success and enabling change, it is also directly linked with employee satisfaction. Thus, the need to align and integrate Culture, processes, systems, Technology, strategy should with peoples KSAs to energize their talents in the pursuit of their own self-interest and making the quality of work more satisfying. This paper is based on action research. The focus is on evaluating whether OD interventions is a reality and applied science in the Mauritian organization and the end result of OD interventions in the Mauritian context and and to assess the extent to which it has affected commitment of employees. Research Objectives and questions Since the main objective is to evaluate the impact of OD interventions on employee engagement, to obtain appropriate results various objectives can be set. To further be able to reach the objectives, some questions can be set appropriately. The objectives and questions are: To highlight if company X promotes OD. Is there any OD consultant at the company? What are his duties and competencies? What were the discomforts felt by the company, which brought about the practice of OD? To determine the OD interventions used at Company X. What are the different diagnosis tools of OD, which have been used at the company? What is the basis of using these specific tools? What is the role of top management in the implementation? To investigate how the interventions affected employee engagement. What have been the drivers of engagement at the company? What are the variables of measurement of engagement at company X? To evaluate effectiveness of the interventions. Are there any past data for comparison purpose? What are the findings and outcomes of the intervention on engagement? What can be proposed from the analysis? Conceptual background Organization development is a process of planned change for the purpose of enhancing individual development and improving organizational performance. It is a long term effort led and supported by top management , to improve an organizations visioning, empowerment learning, and problem solving processes, through an on-going, collaborative management of organizational structure-with special emphasis of the culture of intact work and teams and other team configurations-using the consultant-facilitator role and the theory and technology of applied behavioral science , including action research. (Wendell L.French et al.1999) The definition provided above implies a number of elements which are considered essential for the practical application of the science in the organization. Characteristics of OD OD emphases on culture and processes Specifically, OD encourages collaboration between organization leaders and members in the managing culture and processes. Teams are all kinds are particularly important for accomplishing tasks and are targets for OD activities. Participation and involvement in problem solving and decision making by all levels of the organizations are hallmarks of OD. OD recognizes the importance of top management commitment, support and involvement. It also affirms a bottom approach when the culture of the organizations supports such efforts to improve an organization. The key emphasis of OD is on the total system and its inter-reliant parts. OD practionners are facilitators, collaborators and co-learners with client system. It is a development-based program aimed to develop values, attitudes, norms and management practices that would result in a healthy organization.. It involves planned interventions and improvements in an organizations processes and structures which rely on action research. OD takes a developmental view that seeks the betterment of both individuals and the organization. Attempting to create win-win solutions is standard practice in OD programs. OD Interventions OD interventions address a wide range of specific problems and opportunities. The intervention strategy integrates the problem or opportunity to be addressed, the desired outcomes and the sequencing and timing of various interventions. As such, OD interventions are sets of structures activities in which selected organizational units (targets groups or individuals) engage in a task or a sequence of tasks with the goals of organizational improvement and individual development. The classification of OD interventions is quite extensive; Burk and Horstein (1972) listed only six categories: Team building Managing conflict Survey Feedback Techno-structural Training All purpose miscellaneous French and Bell (1999) developed the typology of OD target groups and designed interventions to improve effectiveness. The target group comprises of individuals, Dyads, teams and groups, intergroup relations and the overall organization. Significance of OD interventions In Mauritius as in other countries, the significance of Organizational Development has been of such importance to respond to the internal and external changes occurring in our business environment as a result of globalization. Anderson and Anderson (2001a, p.1) note that in todays market place, change is a requirement for continued success, and competent change leadership is the most coveted executive skills. The underlying principle for change will be the transformation of the organization for the benefit of all. OD interventions enable the optimization of the system by ensuring that systems elements are harmonious and congruent. Employee Engagement In todays World, Key elements to business success are engaged employees who are aligned with organizational culture and goals. The commitment and the involvement of the workforce is crucial due to the emergence of human capital as a competitive advantage. The main characteristics of an engaged employees are as follows: Believes in the organization Is positive about the job and the organization Works actively to make things better Treats others with respect, and help colleagues to perform more effectively Can be relied upon and goes beyond the requirements of the job Identifies with the organization Keep up to date with developments in his/her field Sees the bigger picture even at personal cost OD and Employee Engagement The practical tool of an OD practionners a possess high-engagement change process in consideration with collaboration flow and effective problem solving under the employee involvement. Konrad (2006) supports the notion that employee involvement is key to employee involvement by stating employees who conceive design and implement workforce and process changes are engaged employees The increasing of employee engagement is a difficult process as it is rather a psychological contract than a physical one. Saks (2006) also stresses the point that engagement is a broad organizational and cultural strategy that involves all levels of the organization. Employee engagement as such is considered as a primary requirement to implement organizational change thus contributing to bring about organizational development. Methodology For the purpose of the study, both qualitative and quantitative research will be done. As mentioned in the previous section, the aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of employee engagement by indentifying the variables that would enable to identify the correlation and impact of OD interventions. Collection of data For collecting data, different sources are envisaged, mainly: Primary data Secondary data Primary data Both qualitative and quantitative research will be used to gather an in-depth understanding of the application of interventions and eventually study how these interventions impact on employee engagement defined in the objectives. This approach will explore the how and why of interventions and not just the what, where and when relating to the behavioral aspect of workforce engagement. A survey using questionnaire will be implemented complemented with interviews to capture both qualitative and quantitative intent of the study. Secondary data To achieve the aim of the study fully, the availability of past data records of previous years for comparison, in the published or non-published form can be useful. This secondary data is for interpretation purposes so as to be able to compare values and relate the effectiveness of OD interventions on employee engagement. Survey Unstructured and Structured questions will be asked to top management and employees to record their feedback and opinions. Questionnnaire The use of the questionnaire is to provide in-depth explanation to the questions. To begin with, to be able to respond to the first two Objectives, a preliminary questionnaire will be addressed to OD consultant or HR of the company to set the study into the context of the company and to gather background and fundamental data. Afterwards, a second questionnaire will be addressed to the employees addressing their engagement that is to evaluate their involvement and attachment to the company, but also to define the determinants of employee at the company. Population of relevance The population of relevance shall be the employees of the company, and top management

The Definitions of Multi-Cultural Education

The purpose of this research paper is to discuss the increasing need for multi-cultural education incorporation into the classroom. And to investigate the teaching techniques of elementary school teachers and adaptations that can and should be made in order to increase the knowledge level of diversity among the students in the classroom. There are many definitions of multi-cultural education. The one most used and most relevant, I believe to this topic and today†s educational society is: â€Å"An education free of inherited biases, with freedom to explore other perspectives and cultures, inspired by the goal of making children sensitive to the purity of the ways of life, different modes of analyzing experiences and ideas, and ways of looking at history found throughout the world.†(Gay, 25 May 1994) This definition is the most descriptive one found because it mentions the goal of sensitizing children to understanding diversity and the other children around them. Young children need to be exposed to the teachings about cultures other than their own. Many kids only know about their own cultures and it is imperative to their futures that they are educated about the other students around them. Children need to grow up in a world without having any prejudice towards others. From the day a child is born, they are raised into the cultures of their parents. A child is taught their native language and about their cultural beliefs. Different cultures eat different foods, have their own way of dressing and speaking, and possess many other distinct cultural aspects. Children grow up questioning and understanding many aspects of their background and many times aren†t subjected to other cultures. It is up to a child†s parents to be the first teachers of multi-cultural education. Many times parents are bias to their own culture and way of life. There is a lot of discrimination in the world and many parents teach their children to discriminate against others. Part of the job as a parent is to teach their children right from wrong and this includes learning about and accepting people for who they are, regardless of their color or race. â€Å"Studies by Glock and others have shown that the more children understand about stereotyping, the less negativism they will have toward other groups† (Ramsey, 1998, p.62). This is common sense to most educators and parents. The increase in diversity among the student population is one of the greatest challenges facing teachers in the 90s. Teachers have to not only teach their students about diversity and other cultures, but they also have to adapt their own views. Teachers can†t be bias to their own or other cultures. Teachers must treat every student equally. And most importantly, teachers may have to adapt their teaching styles and methods to adhere to the diversity among their students in the classroom. To adequately attend to cultural diversity in the classroom, teachers must look first at their own cultural background and understand how their biases affect their interactions with students. Then, teachers can examine the backgrounds and needs of the student population and understand their students' cultural biases as well. Many educators are bias to their own or other cultures and many are prejudice toward some cultures. This is a serious issue that teachers need to recognize and change before they can possibly begin teaching their students about diversity. If a teacher is bias, it will show in his or her teaching. Students may feel neglected or treated unequally. It may be difficult to treat every student equally, but it is important in order to maintain balance in the classroom. Teachers must recognize each student in the classroom as being just as capable as every other student is. Teachers cannot always call on the same students; they must give each and every student the benefit of the doubt. They must be aware of the variation and diversity in their classroom in order to adapt their teaching methods. Another important piece of knowledge that teachers should be aware of is recognizing the parents. Effective teachers engage parent involvement and demonstrate interest in and respect for the family†s culture when interacting with parents. Teachers should find out as much as they can from parents about each child†s experiences and family situations. This can help them to understand and meet the child†s needs. It is extremely important that teachers evaluate their teaching methods in order to incorporate multi-cultural learning into the classroom environment. Teachers need to be aware of the different ways that students learn and express themselves. Some students are better auditory learners, and some learn better with the use of visual aids. It is up to the teacher to notice these differences and adapt their teaching methods. There are so many ways to incorporate diversity into everyday lesson plans. Using children†s names from different cultures, in word problems for example, is a simple way. Literature is also an extremely easy way to teach students about diversity. Having the students read about different cultures in reading groups or even reading aloud to them helps greatly. There are also very many holidays throughout the school year that recognize different cultures. Connecting lessons with examples from the real world is a great way to incorporate diverse learning into class curriculum. Another important aspect regarding multi-cultural incorporation is making sure that students get to know one another. Group work is very effective. Heterogeneous grouping and grouping students with different ethnicities together is an excellent way for students to feel more comfortable around each other. Students will learn more about a person and understand that they may be different but are still just like them. â€Å"Research Findings that verify the conceptual claims about the effects of multicultural education are rather sparse. This relative lack of research is due largely to the nature and relative youth of the field. During the 25 or so years of multicultural education†s existence, most research and scholarship have been devoted to defining the conceptual parameters of the field, documenting cultural characteristics, and developing sample curricula and instructional strategies for classroom practice.†(Hanson, 1998, March).

Older Adult Interview

I had the privilege of interviewing a 60 year old gentlemen who I will identify as Mr. E to protect his privacy for this assignment. The goal of my interview was to gain insight on aging from an older adult. I interviewed Mr. E in his home on a weekday evening. He expressed appreciation and was surprised that he was the focus of an interview in which his life story and thoughts would be recorded. Mr. E was born in a ranch in Guadalajara, Mexico. He is the youngest son of nine children. His father passed away when he was 1 – year old. He was privileged to attend elementary school from the 1st grade to the 4th grade.Mr. E had the responsibility of helping support the family as there were only two male children in the family and the remaining siblings were female. At 13 years of age he went to the neighboring state of Tepic, Nayarit to work in agriculture. He was 15- years old when he immigrated to the United States by himself. Mr. E lived with friends who helped him find a job 3 weeks after he moved to the United States. He worked as a busboy at a restaurant for 3 months. He left that job to work in the garment industry making jeans, shirts and blouses for 3 years. I was the only man working there at that time† (E. Privacy, personal communication, October 10, 2012). Mr. E observed that years later he saw more males seeking employment in the garment factories because word spread that any undocumented individual could work making clothing regardless of gender. He financially supported   two infant children on those wages. He then worked in a fabric for 7 years making electrical parts for cars. After that he worked as a gardener and left the business to his son when he retired. He was married at the age of 18 and had his first child at the age of 21.Two years later he had a daughter. He became a U. S. Citizen and has helped many family members also obtain their citizenships in the past decades. He is a grandfather of 5 and looks forward to seeing grea t grandchildren in the future. I asked Mr. E (2012) what he best enjoyed about being an older adult. You are a person that sees things for what they are. As if you walked a path and see what you could of done but didn’t. How could you have lived and not lived. You see your errors. Like when you are on a cliff looking down or on the clouds and looking down.When asked about challenges to getting older (2012) Mr. E felt that accepting the challenges and just living the best you can is all you can do. Try to live in peace and love what is on earth. When you think of death you have to accept it. Why fight it you are going in that direction. You have to make a decision. He told me a story of a friend he had who had cancer and she made the choice to stop the chemotherapy. Her arms had scabs and she decided enough was enough. She knew she wasn’t going to get better. She talked about death as if she were going to a party.He described how she appeared to be at peace because she lived a fulfilling life. Mr. E felt that she encouraged and motivated him more than he to her. Mr. E felt that the greatest joys of getting older were family and seeing it grow. He also felt that being loved and having others think highly of you were great achievements. Looking back on his life Mr. E felt that the only thing he could have done differently was to be more patient, smarter, more humane and not make as many mistakes. â€Å"You look back and think that you were not able to see things that are obvious† (E.Privacy, personal communication, October 10, 2012). When asked about fears of getting older Mr. E stated that living with diseases and not being able to pay for medications and hospitalizations was a concern for him. Although, he has insurance he stated it is very expensive and he is worried he might not always be able to pay the high amount. He stated that he worried about leaving family members behind that may not be emotionally and financially stable. ?The fina l thoughts Mr. E left me with were some positive things that he anticipate as getting older. Seeing the world as a paradise, enjoying spending time with horses and seeing family grow older and expand†(E. Privacy, personal communication, October 10, 2012). ?Throughout the interview themes such as family and time arose over and over again. His emphasis on missed opportunities with family has taught me that if I am not careful I will also have the same concerns when I am an older adult. He didn’t mention business as a regret even though when he talked about his personal history the majority of that conversation was on job history.During the interview I was on the edge of my seat because he had a lot of wisdom to share and I knew that I was lucky to get advice from somebody who has lived longer than I have. My perceptions of older adults has not changed as I have always felt that they have bigger wealth of information greater than Google. My new perceptions of aging are tha t healthcare is one of the biggest concerns for older adults. I need to hurry up and start planning for my own health care as I have not really given it priority in my life. This interview has confirmed my desire to work with older adults.

Slaughterhouse-Five Vonnegut - 1418 Words

Throughout Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut chooses to use special literary techniques that better explain his own encounters in war as well as help his readers bare the horridness of war. Vonnegut adds black humor in his text to benefit readers as well as â€Å"an author-as-character† perspective to set barriers and help protect his own memories in the war. Without adding these two specific devices, Vonnegut could possibly have lost reader’s interests in the book or lost his own interest in writing the book. Vonnegut includes himself in scenes within Slaughterhouse-Five to portray an â€Å"author-as-character† unique style. It is in the tenth chapter when Vonnegut switches points of view to reveal himself as one of the soldiers alongside Billy.†¦show more content†¦Another literary device Vonnegut uses within his Slaughterhouse-Five is black humor. This is found in the book so readers are able to feel more lighthearted when remembering the war. There are t hough, critics who believe by adding black humor, Vonnegut is degrading the tragedy of war. I believe Vonnegut uses black humor in his attempt to console readers (as well as himself), in hopes of making the horrific, painful, unthinkable events of the war more bearable to read about. Just in the first chapter readers see Mary O’Hare’s frustration towards Vonnegut for even wanting to write a book about the war in the first place. â€Å"You were just babies in the war- like the ones upstairs! // â€Å"†¦You’ll pretend you were men instead of babies, and you’ll be played in the movies by Frank Sinatra and John Wayne or some of those other glamorous, war-loving, dirty old men. And war will look just wonderful, so we’ll have a lot more of them. And they’ll be fought by babies like the babies upstairs.† Mary does not even know what Vonnegut is going to write about the war and here she is yelling at Vonnegut, showing her feelings of the pain caused by the war. 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