What is Organizational

development?
 One classic definition of organization development comes from Richard
Beckhard's 1969 Organization Development: Strategies
and Models :
 Organization Development is an effort that is:
✔ Planned
✔ Organization-wide
✔ Managed from the top
✔ Increase organization effectiveness and health
✔ Through planned interventions in the organization's "processes,”
using behavioral-science knowledge.
 Similarly OD is also defined as a systematic process for applying
behavioral science principles and practices in organizations to increase
individual and organizational effectiveness (French, 2008).
 So OD is improvement of the organization by developing its human
resource through planned change efforts/interventions at all levels
using human behavior approach.
 The tools and techniques of OD can improve an organization's problem-
solving ability, increase its ability to adapt to rapid societal change, and
provide managers an updated set of concepts and methods for managing
their organizations.
 It also includes formal organizational restructuring which is frequently
initiated, facilitated and reinforced by the normative and behavioral
changes.
 The three sub objectives of OD are “changing attitudes or values,
modifying behavior, and inducing change in structure and policy.”
 THE EVOLUTION OF ORGANIZATION
DEVELOPMENT
 In the late 1940s and early 1950s laboratory training methods were
developed and applied by groups of behavioural scientists at Bethel,
Maine.
 Douglas McGregor (Theory X and Theory Y), working with Richard
Backhard, began applying laboratory training methods to industry at
General Mills in 1956 and at Union Carbide in 1957.
 At Union Carbide, McGragor and Johan Paul Jones (an
internal consultant) formed the first internal OD consulting group.
1. Survey Feedback: Information is
collected through survey method. This is the
most popular and widely used method of
data collection. The managers use this
information collected through survey for
making decisions. The wide range of data is
collected regarding working conditions,
quality of work, working hours, wages and
salaries, attitude of employees relating to
above.
2. Team Building: Team Building is another
method of organisation development. This
method is specifically designed to make
improvement in the ability of employees and
motivating them to work together. It is the
organisation development technique which
emphasizes on team building or forming work
groups in order to improve organisational
effectiveness.
3. Sensitivity Training: It is quite
popular OD intervention. It is also
known as laboratory training. Under
this technique the employees in groups
are asked to interact. The aim of
sensitivity training is to help people
understand each other and gain insight
so that they feel free and become
fearless.
4. Managerial Grid: This technique is
developed by industrial psychologists duo
Robert Blake and Jane Mouton. The
concept of managerial grid identifies two
major dimensions of management
behaviour. They are people oriented and
production oriented behaviours. Attempts
are made to pay increased attention to both
the variables.
5. Management by Objectives (MBO):
MBO is a technique of management
development which was put forward for the first
time by Peter Drucker in 1954. It is a method of
achieving organisational objectives and a
technique of evaluation and review of
performance. Under this method objectives of the
organisation are fixed and responsibility to
achieve them lie on the managers and results are
expected from them.
 5. Management by Objectives (MBO):

 Achievement of organisational objectives is considered as the

joint and individual responsibility of all managers. It also
provides a perfect appraisal system. Performance of the
managers is measured against the specific objectives. It is
result oriented technique.
 George Odiorne observed that MBO is, “a system wherein
superior and subordinate managers of an organisation jointly
identify its common
aims, define each individual’s major areas of responsibility in
terms of the results expected of him and use these measures
as guides for
operating the unit, assessing the contribution benefits of its
members.”
6. Brain Storming: It is a technique where a
group of five to eight managers come
together and find a solution to a problem. As
the name suggests it involves storming of the
brain to develop creativity in thinking. It
gives rise to new ideas. The principle
involves in it is that any idea, thought or plan
put forward in a meeting must be critically
evaluated. The participants are asked to come
forward with novel ideas generated in their
mind. It works on a premise that everyone
has a creative mind and capability to
generate new ideas.
 7. Process Consultation: The technique of process
consultation is an improvement over the method of
sensitivity training or T Group in the sense that both
are based on the similar premise of improving
organisational effectiveness through dealing with
interpersonal problems but process consultation is
more tasks oriented than sensitivity training.
 In process consultation the consultant or expert
provides the trainee feedback and tell him what is
going around him as pointed out by E H Schein that
the consultant, “gives the client ‘insight’ into what is
going on around him, within him, and between him
and other people.”
8. Quality Circles: Under this system a group of
5 to 12 come together at their own free will
during working hours once in a week and discuss
out the problems and suggests solution to the
management for implementation. The
supervisors remain present during the meeting.
Quality Circles have their origin in Japan in
nineteen sixties which improved the quality,
reduced cost and heightened the morale of the
workers. The success was due to workers’
participation. Total quality management or TQM
is the recent development. This concept was
adopted by the USA in 1980.
9. Transactional Analysis: Transactional
analysis helps people to understand each other
better. It is a useful tool for organisational
development but it has diverse applications in
training, counselling, interpersonal
communication and making analysis of group
dynamics. Nowadays, it is widely used as OD
technique. It helps in developing more adult
ego states among people of the organisation. It
is also used in process consultation and team
building.