What is Organization Development & Why is it Important?
What is od?
Put simply, organization development (OD) is about helping people in organizations move from an undesirable condition to an improved, healthy, and more functional state of being. Environments where a foundation of communication and collaboration exists have probably had some sort of OD intervention. OD is intended to be a cooperative effort among levels of the system, namely: leaders, teams/groups, individual members, and an OD practitioner. The outcome of this type of work is improved humanistic health and effectiveness.
Research
Interventions based on Action Research processes (Kurt Lewin, 1944) provide a way to address organizational issues that promote clients' ownership of its outcomes. Among a number of definitions of OD, Richard Beckhard offers a classic here:
Organization development is an effort that is: (1) planned, (2) organization-wide, and (3) managed from the top to (4) increase organization effectiveness and health, through (5) planned interventions in the organization’s processes using behavioral science knowledge (Beckhard, 1969).
A recent gathering of OD Professionals defines it this way: OD is an interdisciplinary field of scholars and practitioners who work collaboratively with organizations and communities to develop their system-wide capacity for effectiveness and vitality. (Smendzuik-O’Brien & Gilpin-Jackson).
What follows are typical interventions in an Action Research process.
BEGIN WITH:
The client's needs analysis
Research and data collection
Analyze data and provide feedback
Gauge the impact of feedback for the next steps
CONTINUE WITH:
Planning and implementing
Collaborate with client to plan intervention(s)
Implement the plan and employ Action Research technologies
END WITH:
Evaluation and exit
Measure progress
Advise on next steps and make plans for accountability
Celebrate success
A Few Outcomes of OD
Examples of OD outcomes:
* Increased employee engagement, trust and cooperation
* Move from (just) functioning to excelling teams
* More effective communication (messaging, processes, interpersonal, etc.)
* Expanded capacity to approach and manage (destructive) conflict
* Rejuvenated and refocused workforce and organic accountability
* Improved relationships to include increased trust and raised morale
Every engagement is unique. We customize each intervention to help you move through the process and resolve issues within and among all levels of the system.