The effects of organizational dynamics on the 'Be Proactive' program and its evaluation

As economic recession looms in the United States, organizations are evaluating their training and organizational development programs and requiring documented returns on their investments. This phenomenon has fueled the social science of program evaluation. Although a program evaluation assesses a program's vitality and effectiveness, there are diverse theoretical and methodological approaches to it. This dissertation examines how on-going organizational dynamics influenced the design and implementation of the fictitiously named Be Proactive program and the organization's response to its evaluation. Central to this approach are four elements of embedded intergoup relations theory: (1) the influence of the boundary conditions of the program and the organization; (2) the significance of authority relations; (3) the role of identity and organizational group memberships, and (4) the impact of unconscious parallel processes. The application of embedded intergroup relations theory to the Be Proactive program evaluation findings shows that the program and the response to the evaluation was influenced by the organization in which it was embedded. When using embedded intergroup relations theory in program evaluation, the consultants can increase the organization's awareness of the dynamics affecting it and its various human resource initiatives.