Individual or Group Interventions
In modern times, all organizations strive to cope up with the development demands. The key to meet such challenges lies in active organizational development. However, success for the development is determined by how well interventions are put in by an organization. The following essay discusses the two types of interventions in organizations, as well as what these efforts aim. It also compares and contrasts the interventions used by corporations in the provided articles.
Types of Interventions Used
The two types of interventions utilized by corporations are the individual and group interventions. Individual interventions are those that focus on increasing organizational performance through the development of specific skills in an individual.Thus, they are very personalized (Achterbergh & Vriens, 2019). Group interventions contribute to organizational development by improving the content, structure, and process of the group. The content relates to what the group works on, structure to recurring methods used to reach tasks and handle external issues, and process to the group’s internal operations.
Issues Addressed By the Interventions
Individual interventions address issues such as learning and development, career development, and assessment, while group interventions address problem-solving and decision making, conflict management, and group or team process development. In addressing learning and development, individual interventions seek employees an organization with the skills, knowledge, and abilities for them to work effectively (Sutton, 2018). Interventions involved include training, reflective practice, and action learning. For career development, individual interventions induce long-term outcomes on career plans in individuals. Here interventions, include enhancing occupational awareness as well as reefing job-seeking skills. Concerning, assessment aspects individual aspects are evaluated to determine if individuals are underperforming so they could improve. The assessment usually utilizes coaching intervention. Regarding problem-solving and decision-making, group interventions solve an organization’s problems and make decisions to facilitate innovation and continuous improvement. Critical interventions for addressing this issue are total quality management and the use of problem-solving models. Group interventions solve the conflict between individuals and groups. Often, the battles are a result of business concerns and the worker’s relationships. Thus, interventions such as the use of third parties, and conflict resolution strategies are applied (Bierema, 2020). While addressing a group or team process development, group interventions aim at getting the team or group to work towards the realization of the common goals. Activities used include team building and dialogue.
Similarities of Interventions Used By Organization in the Articles
Both organizations utilized assessment and team life cycle interventions. In David’s organization, all the team members took a DiSC (dominant, influential, steady, and conscientious) assessment, a type of assessment that evaluates the behavioral tendencies of employees. Lindsey’s organization also employed assessment, whereby she scored highly in her performance evaluations. Concerning the team life cycle, both organizations went through the stages of forming, storming, norming, and performing during team development. For instance, in David’s corporation, a new team was created for the launch; then, the group began experiencing challenges, but later it developed its working relations leading to success. Similarly, Lindsey joined a national team, established relationships with the team members such as Jo who mentored her career development leading to her being recruited in a different company for a higher position
Differences of Interventions Used By Organization in the Articles
While there are training and career development interventions in Lindsey’s organization, employees in David’s organization master things on their own, and they lack career development plans. When Lindsey arrived at the organization, she was taken through a training program that enhanced her skills, oriented her, and familiarized her with the company’s technology platforms (Bierema, 2020). In contrast, David, too, was new in his organization, but he was never offered any training because the company was chronically late for the project. The direct supervisor at Lindsey’s organization helped her to create her career plans enabling her to get a better job elsewhere later. David is not offered with opportunities to develop his career; thus, he remains in the same organization.
References
Achterbergh, J., & Vriens, D. (2019). Understanding organizations as social systems. Organizational Development, 23–45. doi: 10.4324/9781315695228-2
Bierema, L. (2020). An introduction to organizational development (2nd ed). Bridge point Education
Sutton, A. (2018). Learning and Development. People, Management, and Organizations, 222–247. doi: 10.1057/978-1-137-60505-4_10