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DIAGNOSIS AND FEEDBACK AT ADHIKAR*

A dhikart is a human rights-based, non- governmental organization (NGO). Head- quartered in Jharkhand, India, it was founded in 1985 to empower society's

poor and marginalized populations. It has worked from within socially marginalized com- munities to organize against the unjust distribu- tion of wealth, resources, or power. Rajan Mishra founded the organization and demon- strated the importance of self-determination by organizing people into unions and other col- lectives. organization has grown from a handful of people inspired by Mishra's vision during its early days to over 200 employees.

Adhikar's scope of work and involvement are outlined in Figure 1. Under the umbrella of the Adivasi Sangathan unit, Adhikar organizes regional laborers into unions. Adhikar also works in the area of budgetary analysis and expenditure monitoring of the state govern- ment through its financial education unit called Arthik Siksha. In addition, Adhikar administers a scholarship program that seeks to fund and train local level leaders and an emergency response program that delivers relief services in times of natural disasters.

INITIATING A CHANGE PROCESS- ENTRY AND CONTRACTING

The Adhikar engagement began with contact between Ms. Pia Mishra, an Adhikar regional coordinator and an OD practitioner with whom she had worked previously, to discuss the possibility of an intervention. The organiza- tion had grown substantially, and its founder had ~-~--... , joined the central government, necessitating his withdrawal from day-to-day management. A second meeting was arranged to explain the nature of the intended engage- ment and seek formal permission to enter the organization, gather information, and report

*This case was abridged and adapted from N. Nair and N. Vohra, "The case of OD in an NGO in India," Journal of Management Development, 30 (2011): 148-59.

tThe names of the organization, its location, and the various individuals have been disguised to maintain confidentiality.

back on the analysis and recommendations for action.

Together, Pia and the OD practitioners agreed to one- to two-hour interviews with each coordinator concerning their views of the organization, its culture, and any concerns or suggestions. All the respondents were to be assured of the confidentiality of their responses. In addition, the OD practitioner would visit a field location in Ghatsila to interact with the workers and interview the regional coordinator, Mr. Dubey. During this visit, she would sit in on one of the regional meetings and interview the field workers in small groups of four or five. This was done to understand the organization from the view of the fieldworkers and insight into its issues through their lens.

Finally, the OD practitioner would make systematic observations of nonverbal beha- viors, patterns of interaction, and descriptions of the relationships among members during interviews, focus groups, and the meetings she attended. This would provide indications of the organization's climate.

Following the data collection, a session would be held with all the coordinators to pres- ent the findings. This would serve as both a mirroring (feedback) activity as well as a forum for initiating dialogue and communica- tion across the various units and members of the organization.

Prior to the interviews, the OD practitioner familiarized herself with Adhikar and its activi- ties through a study of various reports and pub- lications, including annual reports, budget analysis reports of Arthik Siksha, newspaper clippings, and other documents relating to the organization. The OD practitioner then met each of the coordinators of Adhikar, starting with Pia, who served as the point of contact throughout. Most of the issues and concerns described below surfaced through these ses- sions. She observed that while most coordina- tors opened up freely to discuss their concerns, others, like Ms. Devi (the Chaibasa Regional Coordinator), were less open and did

Adhikar's Scope of Work

Adivasi Sangha than

Forest Laborers

Mine Workers

Construction Laborers

Village-level Groups

Adhikar

Arthik Siksha

Budget Analysis

Governance

Budget Communications

Training

Scholarship Program

Emergency Relief

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not share much about their views on Adhikar and its functioning.

Most coordinators had been with the organiza- tion since its inception. All of them echoed a strong sense of organizational identification and commit- ment. There was high regard for the founder, Mr. Mishra. However, Pia has had to prove herself in the organization, although she is professionally qualified and has been actively working in the field. Interestingly, during meetings with Pia, she never mentioned that she was the daughter of the founder. The OD practitioner came to know this only during the course of her later interviews.

DIAGNOSTIC DATA

The data from the interviews were categorized using Weisbord's six-box model (Figure 2) and are described below.

Issues Related to Purpose

There was considerable agreement on the organi- zation's objective: facilitating social change through rights-based mobilization and advocacy. However, some coordinators believed that the organization needed to work more towards the capacity build- ing development of the tribal/regional unions and not just their formation. The vision and future

direction of Adhikar as either rights-based or devel- opmental or a combination of both did not have a consensus among all the coordinators. The view posed by some was that it was time for Adhikar to move into developmental work, given that much of the rights-based work had been success- ful and the future lay in the area of capacity building.

Issues Related to Structure

There appeared to be a lack of clarity regarding Adhikar's structure. As the organization had grown, its structure had evolved. Adhikar was cur- rently structured along both geographic and pro- gram dimensions (Figure 3). The various unions and programs were managed by different coordina- tors that all reported directly to the Managing Trustee, Mr. Mishra. In addition, location coordina- tors in Chaibasa, Ghatsila, and Saraikela worked to see that .. the programs were implemented locally and also reported to the Managing Trustee.

The structural confusion existed primarily because of considerable overlap in reporting rela- tionships and responsibilities between programs and regions. Interviewees cited instances when this caused conflict regarding reporting relation- ships or precedence of command.

Weisbord's Six-Box Model

Leadership

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Adhikar Reporting Structure

Governing Body

Managing Trustee (Mr. Mishra)

Regional Coordinators Program Coordinators

Ghatsila (Pia Mishra)

Coordinator (Mr. Dubey)

Chaibasa (Ms. Devi)

Saraikela

Adivasi Sangathan

Arthik Siksha

Scholarship Program

Construction Union

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Coordinators r,ad considerable aJtonorny. '-iow- ever, some 7e1t that the sense of '.'esoors\bili:Y and accountabil;ty 1~at co:110s wlth empowerrrient was lacking h Ach,'<ar Varous coocdi~ating mechan- isms, such as periodic :neeti::gs arnong coordinators to make decen-::ralizatlon effective, we:e abse:1t. !n such a scenano, the differerit vr.its seerred to be operatrng in silos wrf:1 11u;e coordination arid a to!al absence of centralizatia~ at any leveL

Issues Related to Relationships

The rnost comrrion theme ir the inte'Views was tf'e concem over a lack of coord;natlor. Most of the prograr1 coordinators thought that there sho~ld be niore ir.:egratiof'. arr1ong_ them, Each uriit of AdhiKar was performi;;g we!!, bu tnere vvas Huie sf'arlng of informa:i:lon. Although there was a high degree o.: decentralizat;o:1 and autonomy at the coordinator level, tne coo,.dinatirg mechanisms were absen~. Tnere had been a notlceab!e decline, over tirr:e, ir. the number o7 neetirgs wllen all the coordinatois met and many cited this as a reason fo:· the disco'!- noct they felt with Adhika' as a whole.

In talking with 0 1d versus new coord:c,ators. the data supported the condusion t(lat tPere was iittle trust betvveen the two groups, The new coor- dinators felt their pr:,fessicnal growth and orogrnm hitiatives were stym 1ed by tr,e o:d guard who appeared to be protectic,g their turf. New coord na- tcrs d:d r1ot feel welcomed by the more serior coordinators. On the ot!ie 1• rana, 1he oloer mem- bers in the organization believed :hat tl:e new coor- dinators were over-ambitious and got right into the field without rnsking an effort to urdersta1d the organization. This concern was voiced by a few but not all coordinatcrs, but the OD practitioner believed it had 1fie potential to grow and create conflict if not properiy add,esse::1.

A ~elated theme was that new eritrants did not go tr-,rough a:1y formal soc:a)ization process, which also manifestea in a :'eellng of not beirg we1comed into the orgar:ization. The interviewees provided exanples where new en 'ra1ts had '.o seek 'nfo,- mation and figure things out for thernselv_es, whlc~ further created a feeling of isolation,

Issues Related to Rewards

Adhikar begar as a rigf"r~s-based organization ar~d rrost of the older employees chose to work there

because of their ded1catlor to the orlglnal cause. Tl--1e :-iewer employees {some berter qualified pro- less,onally) were getting pa;d hig~e, wages, which was perceived to be discrir:1ir.atory and was a source of_ discont.:ent among be older members.

As a NGO that ciependec on exter~al funding, the issue of job security was also a matter o7 con- cern. VV!th fv1:. Mlshra's deci!ning i:1vo,vernent, there was a palpable fear that Adn:kar ~ight close its ooors in ti"'e not too distant ·future. The ;r,tervlewees suggested that some form of assur- ance irom the 1eadership of Adhikar might ease the sense of ir,secu·'ity.

Issues Related to Helpful Mechanisms

Some coordinators were concerned about tr.e ir'agularity of repo"ting. WhHe some coordinators rnsde progress reoorts on time, others were con- sistently tardy ar.d tn:s was poirited out as an exa.-r,plc cf inconsistency in ieadership and autoo·- ity. Most coordinators in the past hod reported ver-- bally on a regular basis to Mr. Mishra, who was able to fill In gaos of ;nformation wr,enever required for other ccordinatcrs. Thus. the formal sys1erri of SLbmlttirg and readlrg o-:.hers' repo'."ts had never ceer: ernphasized.

Issues Related to Leadership

Aah1kar's founder arad leader was co'lsidered dyramic and charismat!c--a r:umber of peop1e had been atl'acteo to t~e organizatior, by 11:s per- sonality. At the time o"' the interviews, ML Mishra he.ct taker a position in lrd:a's cencral govea1ment and was mov,ng away from dav-to-day rnanage- :-nent. :"r'is behavior was interpreted as an aopro- oriate response to keep political alignments ~rensparent. However, it did create a !ea::lershio vacuuri.

Perhaps because of his absence, many in the orga:iizatJon w0re worried about a dearth of second-level leaders in the organization. Even in ois absence, M 0 • M1srra sttll appeared to be the de facto leader. The ocgan zation seemed to be +ac- ing a crisis in terms of a :eader who cou:d corn- rna~d the sanoe :evel of respect and tollow,ng.

Two vvomen, Ms. Devi and Pia, were :i1ost often cited as potential future leaders of Adhikar. The Chaibasa coordinate', Ms. DevL had been

with the organization since its founding and was supported by the people in her region. In the eyes of some others, however, Ms. Devi was a shadow of Mr. Mishra and a surrogate leader for Pia. Ms. Devi was viewed consistently as a good worker, but lacked the vision needed to lead a highly motivated team. Ms. Devi had not been very forthcoming in the interview.

In the absence of her father, Pia appeared to be the chief decision maker. She had been with the organization for five years as the Program Director of Ghatsila, and operated from the head- quarters while Ms. Devi preferred to work from her Chaibasa location.

Both women, independently, echoed reserva- tions as potential next leaders and mentioned their gender as one of the reasons. They felt that the other male coordinators and the community they served might not be ready for a female leader. In discussions with most of the other coordinators,

however, the OD practitioner got the sense that they were open to having a woman leader. Some of the coordination issues were expected to be addressed if a new leader was appointed.

Questions

1. Based on the data provided in the case, what's your analysis of the situation at Adhikar? Is the organization in trouble? If so, how big is the problem? Is the organization "doing fine?" That is, are all the data presented just symp- toms of an organization that is young and growing?

2. Design the feedback meeting. What's the purpose of the meeting, what's the agenda, how will you present the data?

3. What activities do you believe the Adhikar organization should take? What problems do you think these actions would solve?