There are several obvious questions that need to be considered;
In OD there are two different types of problems which must be distinguished. The first is a Manifest problem, which is articulated by someone close to the problem within the organization, and something that your client or their colleagues have direct experience of. Latent problems can be likened to an obvious ailment that the organization is suffering from. A manifest problem is more difficult to diagnosis because the problems being experience are the symptoms of the real problem. The role of the OD practitioner in the diagnostic phase is to gain an understanding of the holistic framework of the organization in order to distinguish between causes of problems and the effects that problems cause.
To distinguish between a Latent or a Manifest problem the following questions may be useful;
(Taken from )
Following on from gathering the answers to these questions, you will have discovered whether you have enough information to diagnose the problem, or whether more information is needed. The greater the level of inquiry you make, the greater level of knowledge and skill is required in dealing with organizational behavioural issues which give rise to manifest problems. One of the biggest difficulties in diagnosing organizational development areas is the assumption that the manifest problems are the cause of the difficulties which the organization is experiencing. In reality latent problems often are exposed through a systematic approaching to digging around for the facts. The true purpose of organizational diagnostics is to understand if firstly there is really a problem, to define what that problem is and why it exists and to establish a clear framework of cause and effect within the system.
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