JIOA Article: Securing the Ombuds Office Through Upward Feedback

A new article in the peer-reviewed Journal of the International Ombudsman Association looks at the role of Ombuds as they serve as change agents for their organization. The authors, Susan S. Raines and Tavia Harrison, developed their findings together at Kennesaw State University, where Raines is a& Professor of Conflict Management and Harrison is completing her Master of Science in Conflict Management. ;The full article, "Overcoming Groundhog Day: Changing Organizational Culture while Institutionalizing the Ombudsman Role," is now available online.

Here's the abstract:

Coaching individual visitors is an indispensable and foundational task of the organizational Ombudsman role. Yet many of the conflicts brought by visitors could be avoided through intentional efforts to change dysfunctional workplace cultures and behaviors at a deeper level. Low morale, disengagement, high turnover, workplace bullying, discrimination, sexual harassment, sabotage, and embezzlement are all symptoms of dysfunctional organizational cultures (Raines 2019). It is imperative that Ombudsman diagnose the health of their organization's culture and design appropriate interventions to prevent unproductive conflict. As a side benefit, many of the tasks related to culture change initiatives raise the profile and secure the institutionalization of the Ombudsman office, highlighting the unique set of processes, skills, and attributes unduplicated by other units in the organization. Without attention to the root causes of organizational conflict, many Ombudsmen experience the 'Groundhog Day Phenomenon,' meaning they encounter a never-ending repetition of similar problems and parties day after day.

(JIOA.)

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