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Organisation Development Notes Unit-1
Organisation Development Notes Unit-1
DEFINITION:
Organization development (OD) is a planned, organization-wide effort to increase
an organization's effectiveness and viability. ...
Organization development (OD) is a planned, organization-wide effort to
increase an organization's effectiveness and viability. Warren Bennis has referred to OD
as a response to change, a complex educational strategy intended to change the beliefs,
attitudes, values, and structure of organization so that they can better adapt to new
technologies, marketing and challenges, and the dizzying rate of change itself. OD is
neither "anything done to better an organization" nor is it "the training function of the
organization"; it is a particular kind of change process designed to bring about a
particular kind of end result. OD can involve interventions in the organization's
"processes," using behavioural science knowledge[1] as well as organizational reflection,
system improvement, planning, and self-analysis.
What is OD?
OD assumptions include:
• People react to how they are treated. (Better treatment results in better productivity.)
• Work must meet the individual’s needs and the organization’s needs.
• Most people are motivated by challenging and meaningful work; not controls, threats and
punishment.
• Basic building blocks of the organization are groups—therefore the units of change are
groups.
• Organizations suppress feelings, but this also suppresses commitment.
• Groups that learn to work using open and constructive feedback become better able to
be productive.
• People work best in supportive and trusting environments.
• Change is best implemented when people are part of the change process.