Lab Training

Group 2 Mugdha (1) Pooja (23) Aditya (25) Hemlata (27) Nishita (30) Dimple (50)

Organization Development • Organization development is a process by which behavioral science knowledge and practices are used to help organizations achieve greater effectiveness, including improved quality of work life and increased productivity Cummings & Huse, 1989. • OD is the systematic application of behavioral science knowledge at various levels (group, intergroup, and total organization) to bring about planned change Newstrom & Davis, 1993.

Emergence According to one theory, OD emerged from four major backgrounds: Laboratory Training Survey Research Feedback Action Research Productivity and Quality-of-Work-Life (QWL)

T - group It is a powerful experiential learning others, and understanding.

method of about self, interactional

Laboratory Training The discovery of the potential of the T-group was an accident. In 1946. When Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist conducted a workshop to examine the use of small group discussions to address social problems of the day. The participants were social scientists, public officials, and educators. The groups were observed by several of Lewin’s graduate students, who met in the evenings to discuss the group dynamics they had observed during the day. One evening, a few of the participants were allowed to sit in on the staff meeting. One of the participants noted that the staff’s interpretation of her behavior was not correct. The next night, all of the participants attended the staff meeting and frequently disagreed with the staff’s interpretations of their behavior. Lewin grasped the significance of that discussion: The participants themselves were good observers of their behavior and processes. A group can benefit enormously by taking time out to discuss its group processes without discussing particular task-related problems. With this discovery, the first formal program in T-group training was conducted during the summer of 1947. Since that, the development of sensitivity training had been rapid till the 1980s.

Features The distinguishing feature of this training is not the subject matter it teaches but the methods it employs in the training process. The training often takes place on a “cultural island,” usually a resort hotel, and trainees are put in a room and sit around a table. They are encouraged to observe the behavior of the other group members, as well as their own behavior, and to share their feelings about what is happening in the group. The group that sits around the table is called a “T-group” (“T” refers to training). The training that the group receives also is called “laboratory training” because the T-group is a laboratory in a variety of senses. The T-group experience is aimed at creating a miniature society where group members can inquire, explore, and experiment behavior in a psychological safe group “laboratory.” In many circumstances, therefore, people use the two terms interchangeably when they address this kind of training.

Goals The T-group is oriented toward developing a psychologically safe atmosphere that helps its members to learn. Group discussion is focused on the “here and now”—what is happening in the group at the present time rather than on the experiences that happened to group members in the past. Seven major goals of most T-groups:

a.

b. c. d. e. f. g.

increased understanding about one’s own behavior and its impact on others; increased sensitivity about the behavior of other people; improved understanding of group and intergroup processes, both those processes that facilitate and those that inhibit group functioning; better diagnostic skills in interpersonal and group situations; increased ability to transform learning into action; greater ability to analyze their interpersonal behavior, as well as to learn how to help themselves and others to achieve more satisfying and rewarding interpersonal relationships; understanding group processes as applied to organizations.

Types of T-Groups T-groups can exist in a number of ways, such as  “stranger” groups of people who have not previously known each other,  “cousin” groups whose members may be part of the same organization but who do not work together,  “family” groups whose members belong to the same work group,  “structured” groups, and  “unstructured” groups- one of the most typical Tgroup is unstructured “stranger” groups.

Introduction by trainer

Purpose Role in training The “don’ts”

Dilemma of participants For direction and agenda

The climate changes Perception of trainer as incompetent and helpless

Awkwardness and anxiety

Looking forward to Trainer

Confrontation b/n group and trainer results in group cohesiveness

Common Goal Is reached

Leaders surface

Aggressive participants take actions

Trainer’s intervention Only if participants violate rules

Understand the happenings, feelings and behaviors of self and group

Group members understand and help each other

Solidarity Emerges

Trainer helps

Participants listen to themselves on tape

Listening

National Training Laboratory The conditions a successful T-group need to meet: Presentation of self–until individuals have an opportunity to reveal the way they see and do things, they have little basis for improvement and change; Feedback–individuals learn from clear and accurate feedback about the relevancy and effectiveness of their behavior; Atmosphere–an atmosphere of trust, openness, and non-defensiveness is necessary for people to be willing to expose their behavior and purposes and to receive feedback; Cognitive map–knowledge from theory and research is important, but normally, information is most effective when it follows experience and feedback; Experimentation–unless there is opportunity to try out new patterns of thought and behavior, efforts relevant change is difficult to make; Practice–practicing new approaches is important for individuals to gain security in being different; Application–unless learning and change can be applied to back-home situations, they are not likely to be effective or lasting, and, therefore, attention needs to be given to helping individuals plan application; and Relearning how to learn frequently is a need to learn from presentationfeedback- experimentation rather than rely on learning from authorities as implied by our academic experience.

learning's of trainees  The T-group is not oriented toward subject matter, which is typical previous educational experiences, but toward the processes and ways that people learn.  T-group participants have to realize that they can learn from themselves and their peers and not just from an authority figure.  Previous learning experiences often lead people to devalue the worth of their peers in their learning processes, but in a Tgroup, people come to understand that their peers are real teachers in their learning.  For most T-group participants, this is the first time that they have understood the meaning of trust, openness, and collaborative interpersonal relationships through the experience of a T-group.

The flip side Despite the significant impacts of T-groups, they are one of the most controversial topics in group and organizational development. There are two major issues concerning T-groups: The first is related to the ethical issue—a concern for the individual and the possible damage to the participants; the second issue concerns the effectiveness of T-group training, or the impact of training on both the individual and the organization.

The T-group is a powerful form of experiential learning about self, other, and interactional understanding. The experience involves emotional confrontations and an unusual way to reconsider personal behavioral patterns. It is possible that some participants, due to their vulnerability to such intense emotionality and confrontations, will suffer mental damage. A participant in T-groups may break down under intense personal criticism and analysis. A big company in Midwest United States stopped all T-groups training after a vice president suffered a mental damage during a session and had to enter a mental hospital. Since openness and trust are essential part of T-group activities, pressures requiring disclosure of self can be threatening. If the degree of pressures becomes very intense, a real invasion of privacy can occur.

Conclusion With regard to the documented effects of Tgroup training, the studies generally support that T-groups do bring about change in individuals. The mostly cited changes include more open communication, more awareness and receptivity, increased flexibility in role behavior, better listening skills, and less dependence on others .