Weisbord's 6 box model

Weisbord identifies six critical areas where things must go right if organization is to be successful. According to him, the consultant must attend to both formal and informal aspects of each box. This model is still widely used by OD practitioners.

                   

The six-box model mainly details:

• The purposes of an organization are the organization’s mission and goals
• Weisbord refers to structure as the way in which the organization is organized; this may be by

                     By function – where specialists work together
                     By product, program, or project – where multi-skilled teams work together

• Ways in which people and units interact is termed relationships
• Rewards are the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards people associate with their work.
• The leadership box refers to typical leadership tasks, including the balance between the other boxes.
• Finally, the helping mechanisms are the planning, controlling, budgeting, and information systems that serve to meet organizational goals.
• The external environment is also depicted in Weisbord’s model, although it is not represented as a “box”
• Weisbord identifies as inputs the money, people, ideas, and machinery which are used to fulfill the organization’s mission. The outputs are products and services.
• Two premises which are not apparent in Weisbord’s model are crucial to understanding the boxes in the model:

                       The first premise refers to formal versus informal systems.
                       The second premise concerns the fit between the organization and the environment