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Organisation Development
Organisation Development
Organizational Development
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Organizational Development
Introduction
According to Anderson (2011), organizational development refers to the process of
enhancing the effectiveness of an organization, facilitating organizational and personal
change by using interventions influenced by the knowledge of behavioral and social science.
The effectiveness of organizations relies on greater customer satisfaction, engagement of
members within the organization, and increased financial performance. Therefore,
organizational development achieves effectiveness through the use of knowledge in
behavioral and social sciences. Experienced organizational development practitioners are
professionals who understand the dynamics of human systems and hence, they have the skills
and the capability to intervene at the workplace and encourage a productive, engaging, and
healthy environment for employees. Conventional organizational development practices
emphasized interpersonal and group level issues, such as diversity awareness, team building,
and conflict management among other human processes.
However, the contemporary business world, has experienced changes in the way
organizations run and how businesses operate. The changes in the way organizations operate
and do business have been brought about as a result of economic pressures, globalization, and
the expectations of the modern workforce. The organizations struggle to cope with the
changing market conditions (Van de Ven & Sun, 2011). To adapt to the continual changes and
to compete effectively in the market, organizational managers are faced with threats of
transformation, downsizing, reengineering, flattening, and restructuring calls. The huge
amount of changes affects the managers and employees in organizations. Therefore,
organizational development is still relevant and effective in managing organizational change
in the contemporary world.
This paper presents an argumentative essay reflecting on the definitions, aims, and
nature of organizational development. It explores the various contributions of organizational
Organizational Development
Organizational Development
resource management, strategic, human process, and techno structural interventions to adapt
and cope with organizational change (Worley & Feyerherm, 2003).
The continual changes in the business world that modern organizations experience
affects their business strategies, organizational processes, and workforce within the
organization. This is evident in organizations when the changes affect employees, and they
respond by accepting or rejecting them (Mariana & Violeta, 2011). The organizational
change, therefore, affects organizational culture. The organizational culture is a very
important element in the success of an organization. Organizational development
methodologies and strategies can be used to positively influence organizational culture during
organizational change. Organizational development practitioners can develop interventions to
ensure that organizational change is positively developed and effectively integrated in the
functioning of an organization (Burke, 1997).
Organizational change leads to changes in customer demands, arrival of new
technologies, and augmented results from investors. The organizational changes demand new
operational strategies, organizational structures, economic structures, processes, and
technologies. Consequently, the organizational workforce, comprising of individual
employees, are obliged to change. The personnel will learn new skills to cope with the
changes, such as changing jobs or elimination of jobs. These organizational members are
required to adapt quickly and flexibly to the new direction (Bushe & Marshak, 2009).
Therefore, organizational development contributes towards organizational change by
developing efforts and measures aimed at enhancing the ability of an organization through
changing the renewal and problem-solving processes. The organizational development theory
helps in moving the organization to be more adaptive to the changes and attain the corporate
excellence via integrating the desires of the employees for growth and development with the
goals of the organization (Bushe & Marshak, 2009).
Organizational Development
Organizational Development
their perceptions of the realities introduced by the changes experienced in the organization,
eventually finding a common agreement to support and embrace the change. The
organizational development practitioners are, therefore, tasked with the responsibility of
establishing and maintaining appropriate conditions for the interaction of the workforce using
human knowledge to bring together the workforce to enhance organizational change (Bushe
& Marshak, 2009).
According to organizational development practitioners, organizations are socially
constructed systems and individuals in the organization can be organized to contribute
towards organizational change using the knowledge and skills of human dynamics. During
organizational change, human beings are also required to change, for example, their skills.
The employees may inhibit change by failing to live up to the expected changes.
Consequently, organizational development becomes important in transforming employees to
accept and support the goals and the aims of the organization in embracing change (Weshah,
2011). Organizational development practitioners may use interventions, such as workshops in
augmenting the engagement of the employees in the change process (Bushe & Marshak,
2009).
The Relevance of Organizational Development to Todays Organizations
In its traditional conception, organizational development was primarily focused on the
human process interventions. However, with the changing needs and demands of the business
processes, operations, and the customer demands, the organizational development has
evolved to cope with organizational change (Cho, et al., 2010). In the contemporary business
world, organizational development has changed into a more complex field as compared to the
traditional field. Because organizational change may involve mergers and alliances,
organizational development has evolved in its required skill sets and knowledge to enhance
effective change management in organizations. Therefore, to fit effectively in the present
Organizational Development
business world, organizational development practitioners have more developed self skills,
practice, and theoretical knowledge (Worley & Feyerherm, 2003).
Moreover, organizational development is important in the present world to develop
human potential in organizations, leading to more productive and efficient workforce. Work,
in organizations should be productive, and meaningful. Organizational development is
therefore essential in enhancing the productive value of work in organizations (Alkhaffaf,
2011). Organizational development is used to build the capability of clients, in a client
system, to help in managing organizational change effectively. Through developing human
potential in organizations, organizational development helps employees to be more functional
in future (Worley & Feyerherm, 2003).
Organizational development helps organizations attain their corporate excellence
through integrating the goals and objectives of the organization and the desires of the
workforce for growth and development. Subsequently, the effectiveness of the organizational
system and the development of the individual employee potential relies on organizational
development. This is accomplished through intervention activities established on the
knowledge of behavioral science in connection with the employees in the organization to
establish enhanced means of working together towards organizational and personal goals
(Goodstein & Butz, 1998).
Through organizational management change programs, both individuals within the
organization and outside the organization have the potential and grow and develop in line
with the present changes experienced in the business world. While contributing to the
organizational change, organizational development is significant and relevant in the
contemporary business world because it is responsible for maintaining astable identity and
business operations for the organizations to accomplish their fundamental goals (Goodstein &
Butz, 1998).
Organizational Development
Organizational Development
principles and aims of the classical organizational development are still in practice in the
changing organizational development realm. Like in the past years, the primary aim of
organizational development in present organizations is to increase effectiveness, productivity,
and financial returns using the knowledge of behavioral science Organizational development
has remained relevant and important to organizations in the current world. The increasing
changes in business environment and demands present organizations and their employees
with increasing pressure on how to handle the changes. As a result, organizational
development has been significant in establishing interventions, which effectively contribute
toward the change management processes to accomplish efficiently the corporate goals. The
earlier intervention strategies are still relevant but the organizational development
practitioners have incorporated recent advances to help in providing more effective services
and results in organizational change. As the organizations develop through the changes
implemented, individual employees also develop and become more productive and functional
for future changes.
Organizational Development
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References
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Science , 45 (3), 348-368.
Cho, K., Gill, S. B., Gitonga, K. W., Hong, S. W., Macias, R., Meyer, J. P., et al. (2010).
Human resource development, organization development, organizational learning, and
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Change. Academy of Management Perspectives , 25 (3), 58-74.
Weshah, H. A. (2011). Assessing The Status- Quo Of The Organizational Development
Efforts Of Jordanian Public And Private Secondary Schools From The Viewpoint Of
Its Principals. Education , 132 (2), 296-309.
Organizational Development
Worley, C. G., & Feyerherm, A. E. (2003). Reflections on the Future of Organization
Development. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science , 39 (1), 97-115.
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