A Group Process Approach to Organizational Change

Abstract

The key issue in Problem Study 2—the design of a Citizens’ Service Department—is the achievement of consensus and coordination among the individuals in the organization taking part. A group process method called LENS is proposed for developing a plan and implementing it. Using this method the participants conduct a week long planning conference in which they formulate goals, identify the obstacles to achieving the goals, propose programs for removing the obstacles, develop tactics for carrying out the programs, and finally define actions to implement the tactics. The method requires that representatives of all groups, both inside and outside the organizations affected, be involved in the planning activity. During the planning conference the participants divide into teams, report back to the total group, then go back to working in teams, and so on. A plan developed using the LENS method is much more likely to be implemented since the people who will have to carry it out were also involved in formulating it.

The paper is divided into five parts. The first part contains some theoretical notes on different kinds of models. In the second part Problem Study 2 is analyzed and redefined. In the third part the LENS process is described. In the fourth part the process is applied to creating the Citizens’ Service Department. In the final part the questions posed in the study guide are answered.