Summary Organization Development

Samenvatting Organisation Development

H1 Organization Development and Reinventing the
Organization
Change is the challenge for organizations
Organizations will need to adapt to changing market conditions and at the same
time cope with the need for a renewing rather than reactive workforce.

Global competition and economic downturns exposed weakness in American
organizations overstaffed, slow and inefficient. To increase productivity,
enhance competitiveness, contain costscontinue change. Organizations are
never completely static and do not exist in isolation of other entities. There is
interaction with external forces (competitors, customers, suppliers etc. (zie
figuur 1 blz. 2). The society within which an organization operates influences
the modes, values and norms that are developed within the organization. The
type and degree of external forces vary from one organization to another, but all
organizations face the need to adapt to these forces. Organizations are using OD
techniques to increase their effectiveness and their adaptability to changing
conditions.

What is organization development?
The key to survival and success lies not in rational, quantitative approaches but
rather in a commitment to irrational, difficult-to- measure things like people,
quality, customer service, developing the flexibility to meet changing conditions.
Employee involvement and commitment are the true keys to successful change.
Organization development (OD) comprises the long-range efforts and
programs aimed at improving an organization’s ability to survive by changing its
problem-solving and renewal processes. OD involves moving toward an adaptive
organization and achieving corporate excellence by integrating the desires of
individuals for growth and development with organizational goals. OD efforts are
planned, systematic approaches to change. Purpose is to increase the
effectiveness of the system and to develop the potential of all the individual
members. It includes a series of planned behavioral science intervention
activities carried out in collaboration with organization members to help find
improved ways of working together toward individual and organizational goals.

OD is not:
- A micro approach to change it is focused on the macro goal of
developing an organization-wide improvement in managerial style.
- Any single techniqueit uses different techniques, like TQM or job
enrichment
- Include random or ad hoc changesit is based on a systematic appraisal
and diagnosis of problems, leading to planned and specific types of change
efforts.
- Exclusively aimed at raising morale or attitudes it is aimed at overall
organizational health and effectiveness.

Barnard and Argyris: A truly effective organization is one in which both the
organization and the individual can grow and develop.  healthy organization.
Goal of OD is to make organizations more healthy and effective.

,BUT: change for the sake of change is not necessarily effective; it may be
dysfunctional.

, The characteristics of OD
Basic characteristics ( see Table 1, blz 3)
 Change: change effort aims at specific objectives and is based on a
diagnosis of problem areas.  planned by managers to achieve goals
 Collaborative approach: includes the involvement and participation of the
organization members most affected by changes.
 Performance orientation: emphasis on ways to improve and enhance
performance
 Humanistic orientation: OD relies on a set of humanistic values about
people and organizations that aims at making organizations more effective
by opening up new opportunities for increased use of human potential
emphasis upon increased opportunity and use of human potential.
 Systems approach: concerned with the interrelationship of divisions,
departments, groups, and individuals as interdependent subsystems of the
total organization relationship amon elements and excellence.
 Scientific method: to increase organization effectiveness scientific
approaches supplement practical experience.

OD practitioner: person in an organization responsible for changing existing
patterns to obtain more effective organizational performance.

The objectives of OD are to work from an overall organization perspective, thus
increasing the ability of the ‘whole’ to respond to a changing environment.

Why organization development?
Organizations are designed to accomplish some purpose or function and to
continue doing so for as long as possible not necessarily intended to change.
Typical factors for an organization to initiate a large-scale change program
include a very high level of competition, concern for survivability and declining
performance. Goals for change include changing the corporate culture, becoming
more adaptive, and increasing competitiveness. Change in the external
environment will occur so rapidly that organizations will need OD techniques just
to keep pace with the accelerating rate of innovation.

The emergence of OD
Three factors as underlying the emergence of OD
1. The need for new organizational forms: organizations tend to adopt forms
appropriate to a particular time; current rate of change requires more
adaptive forms.
2. The focus on cultural change: every organization has its own culture, only
way to change is to alter the culture.
3. The increase in social awareness: because of the changing social climate,
employees will no longer accept an autocratic style of management:
therefore, greater social awareness is required in the organization.