„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

intergroup conflict, including questions of intergroup perceptions, coordination
problems, active conflict, communication problems between groups, and so forth. The
design allows for direct exchange of feedback between groups across organizational
boundaries, with an external consultant present to help groups to hear feedback and
work constructively with it. As with the peer-group/intergroup model, it is inherently
dependent on an external third party who is trusted by both groups, is perceived as
neutral, and has process skills that can be used to aid the groups in sharing their
feedback and working constructively with the data.
Collateral Problem-Solving Groups
The argument has been made that the family group is not the most effective place for
receiving feedback and working on problems because the family group, with its
supervisor, is part of the hierarchy of the organization; and frequently the problems that
the feedback deals with are caused by the nature of the organization’s structure and how
it solves problems. Based on this observation, a number of feedback designs have been
developed that involve the creation of new structures outside the existing hierarchy as
special feedback, problem-solving, and decision-making groups. Probably the bestdeveloped
example of this is the collateral problem-solving group design developed for
use in educational settings (Coughlan & Cooke, 1974; Mohrman, Mohrman, Cooke, &
Duncan, 1977). The groups include representatives of the organization (in this case, the
individual school members), with similar groups created at other levels of the
organization (for example, at the level of the school district). These groups have
overlapping memberships so that communication across levels of the new hierarchy is
relatively easy and so that groups at the school level can refer broader problems and
receive support from groups at a higher (district) level. In each group, at least one
member receives intensive training on problem-solving and survey-feedback methods
from outside consultants. This member subsequently serves as the process consultant
and group leader. The group then coordinates the collection of data, and the feedback is
directed to this group. The group works to solve problems, make decisions, and
implement solutions with the help of other groups at different levels. Thus, feedback is
used as an initiator. The groups are permanent structures that become involved in other
kinds of change and frequently resort to other kinds of data-collection activities and
interventions. The design combines feedback with the creation of a new organizational
structure to build a permanent mechanism in the organization for identifying and solving
problems, this mechanism being outside the basic formal organizational structure. As a
permanent structure, it has the advantage of continuing change activities long after the
first survey and feedback sessions.
The collateral problem-solving group design makes use of new organizational units
and specifically moves control of the feedback data and process out of the existing
hierarchy. As the group represents different levels of the hierarchy, and this group
receives the data first, feedback is basically simultaneous with regard to level, although
limited to selected members of the organization. The design is intended to make use of
208 ❘❚
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer