Definition(s) of OD
Organization Development is an effort (1) planned, (2)
organization-wide, and
(3) managed
from top, to
(4) increase
organization effectiveness and health
through (5) planned interventions in
organization’s “processes”, using behavioral-science knowledge.
…Beckhard, 1969
Organization Development is a process of
planned change – change of an organization’s culture from one which avoids an
examination of social processes (especially decision making, planning and
communication) to one which institutionalizes and legitimizes this
examination. …Burke
& Hornstein, 1972
Organization Development is a systematic
application of behavioral science knowledge to the planned development and
reinforcement of organizational strategies, structures, and processes for
improving an organization’s effectiveness. …Cummings & Worley, 1993
Organization
development is a planned process of change in an organization’s culture through
the utilization of behavioral science technologies, research, and theory. …Burke,
1994
Historical development of OD
(1) T-Group (Laboratory Training) – participants
learn from their own actions and the
group’s evolving dynamics
(2)
Developing reliable questionnaires, collecting data from personnel, analyzing
it for trends, and feeding the results back to everyone for action planning
(3) Diagnosing, taking action, re-diagnosing and
taking new action
(4) Integrate social requirements of employees
with technical requirements needed to do work in provided environment.
Sociotechnical approach
All organizations comprised of two
interdependent systems:
1.
Social system
2.
Technical system
To achieve high productivity and employee
satisfaction, organizations must optimize both systems.
Changes in one system affect the other
system.