Organization development (OD) is the study of successful organizational change and performance. OD emerged from human relations studies in the 1930s, during which psychologists realized that organizational structures and processes influence worker behavior and motivation.
2. Introduction:
Organizational development is a collection of change method that try to improve
organizational effectiveness and employee well – being.
Organization development encompasses a collection of planned - changed interventions
built on humanistic democratic value that seek to improve organizational effectiveness and
employee well-being
3. Features of Organizational Development
Planned change - Organizational development (OD) is an educational strategy for bringing about planned
change. Planned change concept makes it different from other approaches for change in organizations.
Long – range change - OD is a long term process. It may take months or years to implement it. OD is
never intended to be a stopgap arrangement or measure.
Emphasis on Actions Research - OD emphasizes on problem solving rather than just theoretical discussion
of the problems. The focus on real, ongoing problems rather than the theoretical or artificial ones is called
actions research
Group Process - In OD, an effort is made to improve interpersonal relations, open communication
channels, build trust and encourage responsiveness to others. For this OD relies on group processes like
group discussions, inter group conflicts, confrontations and procedures for co-operations.
Feedback - In OD, feedback is given to all the participants about themselves, which provides them a basis
for their next activities. They generally base their decisions on this concrete data. With the help of feedback
of information, employees will be encouraged to understand a situation and take self corrective action
before somebody else tells them what to do.
4. Role Of Organizational Development
To increase the level of trust among members
To increase level of enthusiasm at all levels
To increase the level of self & group responsibility in planning
To place emphasis on humanistic values
5. Problems in Organizational Development
Discrepancy between ideal and real situation
Lack of open system concept
Resistance to change
Lack of motivation among members
Costly programs
6. Process of Organizational Development
Evaluation
Intervening in the system
Planning strategy for change
Problem identification & diagnosis
7. Three Basic Components of Organization
Development
Diagnosis Continuous collection of data about total
system, its subunits, its processes, and its
culture
Action All activities and interventions designed to
improve the organization’s functioning
Program Management All activities designed to ensure success of the
program
9. Sensitivity Training
Sensitivity Training is a form of training that claims to make people more aware of their own
prejudices, and more sensitive to others. According to its critics, it involves the use of psychological
techniques with groups.
10. Team Building
High interaction among team members to increase trust and openness.
Team building uses high interaction group activities to increase trust & openness among team
members, improve coordinative efforts, and increase team performance.
11. Survey Feedback
The use of questionnaires to identify discrepancies (differences) among member’s perceptions,
discussion follows, & remedies are suggested.
12. Summary
Organization Development Effort:
Is a planned change
Is designed to improve organizational effectiveness
Relies primarily on experiential learning
Is in terms of intervention at the task or structure or technology or people level
