7: Strategic Organization Design (SOD) Action Research Project

The strategic organization design (SOD) action research project was both the first and last official project completed during this study. The SOD AR project included two phases with three AR cycles. Phase 1 included an AR cycle that comprised my initial assessment of the department using Jamieson’s (2020) SOD model. The SOD categories included the environment, mission/strategy, talent/leadership, structure, culture, systems/processes, and vision/behavior. Using the SOD categories allowed me to begin analyzing the department from both a traditional diagnostic and a dialogical OD perspective. Phase 2 comprised two AR cycles that incorporated unit leader assessments of the department using the SOD model, the development of a department mission, and the creation of the first departmental strategic priorities in department history. Throughout the SOD project, we incorporated a wide range of OD principles and strategies including UoS, open systems OD diagnostic assessment of the organization using the SOD model, and dialogical OD analysis generated from the stories that emerged during the SOD process. Additionally, I engaged Schein’s (1988, 2016) PC and HC principles.