„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

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ALTERNATIVE DATA-FEEDBACK DESIGNS FOR
ORGANIZATIONAL INTERVENTION
David A. Nadler
The observation has been made that organization development (OD) has two basic roots
associated with two specific technologies (French & Bell, 1973). One root is that of
group dynamics, associated with the T-group and related laboratory methods used to
facilitate organizational learning and change. Another root is that of action research,
seen in the use of surveys and other data-collection devices as part of data-based
organizational-change technologies. While the group-dynamics root has been heavily
researched, discussed, and considered, the action-research or data-feedback root has
received considerably less attention. At the same time, action-research and datafeedback
tools have continued in general use by practitioners of organizational change,
and their use has increased during recent years.
Over the past few years, however, work that gives serious and systematic attention
to the question of how to use data for purposes of organizational change (see, for
example, Bowers & Franklin, 1977; Nadler, 1977) has begun to emerge. The research on
data-based organizational change and the development of theories about how
information affects behavior in organizations have extended our knowledge of how data
can be effectively used to initiate, facilitate, and monitor change. The use of data
involves several discrete but interrelated steps (see Figure 1), including preparation for
data collection, data analysis, data feedback, and follow-up. Of these, clearly data
feedback stands out as the most critical stage in this cycle of events. Research and
experience indicate that the way in which the feedback process is structured and
implemented can have a major effect on the ultimate usefulness of that activity. Over
time, different approaches to structuring the feedback experience—different feedback
designs—have been developed and used in organizations. As such designs have
proliferated, the change practitioner is faced with the question of which designs to use
under what conditions.
This article is an attempt to identify the range of different data-feedback designs. It
also tries to provide criteria for choosing among alternative designs by specifying the
conditions under which different designs will be most effective. The first section is
concerned with the role of the feedback meeting within the change process and the
factors that affect the success of a feedback meeting. The second section identifies a
number of feedback designs, some commonly used and some relatively new, and
discusses the various characteristics of the designs and implications for their use.
1 Originally published in The 1979 Annual Handbook for Group Facilitators by John E. Jones and J. William Pfeiffer (Eds.), San Diego,
CA: Pfeiffer & Company.
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer ❚❘ 195