Instructional design/BADL/Organizational Culture

Organizational Culture

BDAL in practice involves the use of both Active Learning and Organizational Development principles and practices. From an organizational culture perspective, the shared values between action learning and OD can be summarized as trust, respect for the individual, legitimacy of feelings, open communication, decentralized decision-making, active participation by organization members, collaboration and co-operation, appropriate use of power and authentic interpersonal relations (Edmonstone, 2011, p. 94).
Edmonstone, J. (2011). Action learning and organisation development: Overlapping fields of practice. Action Learning: Research and Practice, 8(2), 93-102. doi:10.1080/14767333.2011.581017

Additionally, BDAL requires the active involvement of senior leaders in the roles of sponsor, and coach.

Sponsors share their problem and vision on an issue that is critical to the future of the organization.
Sponsors demonstrate commitment by providing resources, giving encouragement, and engaging with the participants when needed.
Coaches engage with participants when there is a need to clarify a problem, see a threat to group processes, or see a need to ask questions for the good of the group.
Coaches should demonstrate a high degree of emotional intelligence especially during periods of reflection and inquiry.

Organizational Cultural Attributes for BDAL

Organizational Cultural Attributes
Appropriate	Inappropriate
Organizations and leaders behave in ways that demonstrate they value individual, team, and organizational learning	Command and control leadership reflected in a hierarchical organizational structure
Asking good questions is rewarded and encouraged	Employees compete against each other for positions
Organizations and leaders encourage reflection as a form of learning	Policies and procedures take power away from employees
Communication flows freely regardless of position or organizational unit	Employees are punished for mistakes and missing targets
Conflict is allowed to surface and is dealt with respectively and timely	Communication is one-way, top-down
Organizational leaders commit time and resources necessary to resolve issues	Employees are encouraged to avoid risk
Organizational leaders empower their employees to make decisions and learn from mistakes	Information is controlled
Performance expectations and feedback are clearly defined and given	Conflict is suppressed

Examples of Organizational Cultures for BDAL

Culture Description	Collaborative and emphasize cooperation among employees, open to new ideas
Appropriate for BDAL?	Yes.
Why?	Involves multiple stakeholders and processes that interact together No right solution Could have impact on larger business initiatives

Challenge:	Predictable, rule-oriented, and bureaucratic. Resist quick action and have centralized decision-making
Appropriate for BDAL?	No.
Why?	Could be solved with regular problem-solving techniques Low degree of uncertainty Can be objectively evaluated

Organizational Culture Quiz

Before continuing, let's verify that you understand what types of organizational cultures are best for BDAL. Examine the 3 cultures below and choose the 1 culture that ia most appropriate for BDAL. Check your answers with the feedback given.

Company is a leader in its industry based on sales. It has been involved in a series of lawsuits with its competitors over the last 3 years. The turnover is above industry averages. New product introductions lead the market. It is has won numerous product quality awards in its history.

Company has been recognized as one of the best places to work by a number of business magazines due to its innovative personnel policies. Company has the highest customer satisfaction rating in its industry. Corporate profits have not kept pace with sales growth.

Company has experienced flat sales for the last three years. The rate of new product introductions has declined over the last five years. Organization is hierarchical with very detailed processes and procedures. As a result of flat sales, corporate policy has reduced the training program budget by 20% year over year for the last 2 years.

Now that you understand which organizational cultures work best for BDAL, you can see how to select BDAL Participants

Welcome to BDAL

Introduction to BDAL

Challenges

Organizational Culture

BDAL Participants

Design Situation Analysis