Organizational Development

Daniela Vaschi-MA in Organizational Psychology

Student
Agenda
Organizational Development (OD)
Definitions
Process
Values
Interventions
Process Consultations
Consultants roles
The future
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What is OD?
Urban myths about OD:
Organizing documents
Cleaning organizations
Touchy-feely useless training
Team drinking

Organizational Development (OD) is a field of Research,
Theory, and Practice dedicated to expanding the
knowledge and effectiveness of people to accomplish
more successful organizational change and performance.



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OD Definition
Planned
activity
Effects
all levels of
an
organization
Aims to
improve
Organizational
Effectiveness
and Health
Goals flow
from
planned
Interventions
Using
Behavioural
Science
knowledge
Managed
from the top
Adapted from Richard Beckhard (1969)
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OD Process
Transferring Knowledge and Skills to organizations to
improve their capacity for solving problems and managing
future change::
continuous diagnosis
action planning
implementation and evaluation

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OD Values
Respect and Inclusion equitably values the perspective and opinions of
everyone.

Collaboration builds collaborative relationships between the practitioner and the
client while encouraging collaboration throughout the client system.

Authenticity strives for authenticity and congruence and encourages these
qualities in their clients

Self-awareness commits to developing self-awareness and interpersonal skills.
OD practitioners engage in personal and professional development through
lifelong learning.

Empowerment focuses efforts on helping everyone in the client organization or
community increase their autonomy and empowerment to levels that make the
workplace and/or community satisfying and productive.



Organization Development Network http://www.odnetwork.org/
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What we do?
If you want people to do a good job, give them
a good job to do Herzberg (1959)

Bringing Behavioural
Science in Organizations
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OD Interventions
Strategic

Mergers and
acquisitions
Strategy changes
Developing alliances
Technostructural
Structure and
design
Employee
involvement
Work design
Human
resources
management
interventions
Attracting good
people,
Setting goals
Sppraising
rewarding
performance
Human process
interventions
Conflict resolution
team building
Communication
Leadership.
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Process Consultation
Everything you do is an intervention
A set of activities on the part of the
consultant which help the client to
perceive, understand, and act upon
process events which occur in the
clients environment. (Schein, 1969)
Ten Principles:

1. Always try to be careful.
2. Always stay in touch with the current
reality.
3. Access your ignorance.
4. Everything you do is an intervention.
5. It is the client who owns the problem
and the solution.
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6. Go with the flow.
7. Timing is crucial.
8. Be constructively opportunistic with
9. Everything is a source of data; errors
are inevitable-learn from them.
10. When in doubt share the problem
The Multiple roles of a Consultant
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The future of OD
Dialogic OD ( instead of Diagnostic OD)
Social-constructivist
Post Modernist Perspective
The Generic Model of
Dialogic OD
Bushe (2014)


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References
Beckhard, R. (1969 )Organization Development: Strategies and
Models. MA: Addison-Wesley
Bushe, G.R. & Marshak, R.L. (2014) Dialogic organization developme
nt. In Jones, B.B. & Brazzel, M. (eds.) The NTL Handbook of Organiz
ation Development and Change, 2nd Ed. ( pp.193211). San Francis
co, CA: Wiley
Herzberg, Frederick; Mausner, Bernard; Snyderman, Barbara B.
(1959). The Motivation to Work (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley
Lippitt, G. and Lippitt, R. (1978), The consulting process in action,
University Associates, San Diego, CA
Organization Development Network, Retrieved on 13
th
of April,
2014 from http://www.odnetwork.org/
Schein, E.H., (1969)Process consultation: Its role in organization
development. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley,

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