Mivtach — The Application of an Organization Development Approach to the Kibbutz Reality / גישת פיתוח הארגון האנושי ויישומה למציאות של קיבוץ

• Published in: מגמות 1974-04, Vol.כ (2), p.155-172
• Main Authors: בנימין, אברהם, ניב, אמיתי, Benjamin, Avraham, Niv, Ammitai
• Format: Article
• Language: Hebrew
• ISSN: 0025-8679

Some time ago a project was undertaken in an Israeli kibbutz, utilizing the Organization Development (O.D.) approach which has evolved over the past decades in the United States and Europe and which is directed to the purpose of effecting desirable change in social systems and organizations. The primary assumption underlying this approach is that it is possible to improve the functioning of any social system. The following were the main issues that the project dealt with: 1. Diagnosis: Should the organizational setup be diagnosed by external consultants only or is it preferable that it be diagnosed in cooperation with the client in the course of the project? 2. Motivation: What is the necessary degree of motivation required for the initiation of such a project and what incentive does the client reveal in the course of a project designed to encourage cooperation and effect relevant change? 3. Potential: What is the potential of the client to internalize the approach and to use it effectively? 4. Point of entry: Is it advisable to tackle the total system or is it preferable to begin with a subsystem or subsystems and, if so, which? 5. Goal-setting: What are the goals of the project? Which goals is it worthwhile to stress and which may have to be deferred or even sacrificed, considering the time factor, motivation and client potential? 6. Differentiation between process and content: How can improvements in the communication process be encouraged without interfering directly with the ideological content of the kibbutz framework? 7. Sociotechnical factor: How can technological and organizational improvements be coordinated with parallel improvements in interpersonal communication? Once decisions relating to the above points of reference were formulated, a number of activities were undertaken at the kibbutz, taking into consideration its special characteristics such as size, comprehensiveness, environmental factors, ideology, etc. The activities were carried out within several subgroups and subsystems. In the course of the project various communication-facilitating skills were demonstrated and the client was enabled to utilize these in defining a number of short and long-term goals. Inasmuch as the project was limited in both time and scope, its main significance lies in that it enables us to draw conclusions (if only tentative ones) about a meaningful adaptation of the Organization Development (O.D.) approach to the kibbutz, principally as regards the coordinat