EHRD 625 - Organizational Development & Performance In HRD
EHRD 625 - Organizational Development & Performance In HRD
EHRD 625 focused on organizational diagnosis, systems-level intervention design, and performance improvement through evidence-based organizational development practices. The course emphasized data-driven analysis, stakeholder collaboration, and structured change implementation using established OD frameworks. Through a semester-long consulting engagement, I applied OD theory directly within a real organizational setting.
Organizational Consulting Project
Ameritex Machine & Fab, LLC – Safety Culture Intervention
Scope & Methodology:
This consulting engagement included:
Development of a formal consulting agreement and confidentiality protocol
Organizational diagnosis through surveys and structured interviews
Qualitative and quantitative data analysis
Application of Kotter’s Change Model
Design of a structured evaluation plan
Executive-level presentation of findings and recommendations
Intervention Design – SafetyFirst Initiative:
As part of a graduate-level consulting team, I served as the primary liaison between our client, Ameritex Machine & Fab, LLC, and the university consulting group. The purpose of this engagement was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Safety Department’s training, compliance systems, and reporting culture during a period of rapid organizational growth.
The project included organizational diagnosis through employee surveys, leadership interviews, internal document review, and benchmarking against OSHA and regulatory standards. Using Kotter’s Eight-Step Change Model as the guiding framework, our team developed a comprehensive intervention plan designed to improve safety compliance, strengthen transparency, and establish a sustainable safety culture.
Key Findings:
Major themes identified included:
Inconsistent PPE compliance
Fear-based reporting culture due to the bonus structure
Lack of psychological safety in incident reporting
Perceived disconnect between frontline workers and leadership
These findings highlighted the need for cultural intervention rather than simply procedural enforcement.
The proposed SafetyFirst Initiative included:
A company-wide Safety Forum to establish urgency
Formation of a SafetyFirst Team to serve as change champions
Revised incentive structures to encourage reporting transparency
Targeted retraining and coaching
Short-term milestone celebrations
Long-term cultural integration strategies
Evaluation Plan:
The intervention included a structured evaluation plan with:
Quantitative tracking of safety violations
Training completion metrics
Anonymous employee surveys
Focus group analysis
Annual cultural reassessment
Success indicators included measurable reductions in violations, increased reporting transparency, and improved employee perception of psychological safety.
Professional Reflection
EHRD 625 fundamentally changed how I view organizational problems. Prior to this course, I often saw performance challenges as isolated behavioral issues. Through structured diagnosis and systems analysis, I learned that most organizational problems are systemic, rooted in incentives, culture, leadership behavior, and communication patterns.
Serving as the primary liaison for this consulting engagement strengthened my ability to:
Navigate stakeholder relationships
Balance confidentiality with transparency
Design structured interventions
Apply OD theory in real time
Think beyond short-term fixes toward sustainable cultural change
This experience reinforced my belief that organizational development requires both analytical rigor and emotional intelligence. Sustainable change must address systems and human dynamics simultaneously.