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 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 1 - 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.
 * type="[]"}
 * Maybe not this one Description indicates a combination of an aggressive culture and a high pressure culture.  New product introductions and quality appear to come at the expense of employees as indicated by high turnover.  High turnover indicates that crushing the competition is valued over people and team oriented values.

{Company 2 + 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.
 * type="[]"}


 * Correct. Description indicates a combination of a people-oriented, team-oriented and innovative culture. Less than ideal profit growth could be alleviated by organization adopting some of the values contained in outcome-oriented cultures. Problem represented by slower profit growth (a strategic issue) in combination with people-oriented and team-oriented culture make this a good fit for BDAL.

{Company 3 - 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.
 * type="[]"}

Now that you understand which organizational cultures work best for BDAL, you can see how to select BDAL Participants
 * Not this one. Description indicates the organizational culture values stability, position, and control Cutting the training budget indicates the organization does not value training and is unlikely to see how a BDAL project would turn around sale and new product introduction trends. Note that a change in leadership that recognizes problems with the culture and seeks to change it may utilize the BDAL process to do so effectively if the level of commitment and sense of urgency is high.