OD

OD is a systematic process for applying behavioral science

principles and practices in organization to increase individual
organizational effectiveness
 ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT
• Od is a systematic application of behavioral science knowledge at various levels to bring a
planned change
• Systematic application-slight twisting of pure theory to practical situation
• Behavioral science-scientific study of human behavior(logical and rational could stand
thorough analysis
• Various level-disproportionate to the need(pay more or less attention on levels)
• Planned change-change must be well thought process
Definition-OD is process for teaching people how to solve problems ,take advantage of
opportunities and learn to do better over time
how people and organization function and how to get them to function better
OD is organization improvement strategy
It is long term planned ,sustained effort.
The leader identifies undesirable situation, seeks to change it, contacts the Od professional and
explore whether Od suits the task at hand. If yes they enlist the others in organization to
design and implement change program
 The participants develop overall game plan or strategy that includes a series of
activities each intended to achieve an outcome that moves the organization
towards its goal.
The 2 major goals are
to improve the functioning of individual, teams and total organization.
and to teach the organization members how to continuously improve their own
functioning
 Nature and objectives of OD

• Od is not a destination but continuous journey just like education for eg- PhD is learn
independly and vigorously
• Od act as facilitator rather than trainer .Changes don’t stop
Objectives of OD-
• Higher quality of work life
• Increased productivity
• Effectiveness
• Adaptability
• More humanly responsive
• Have more capability of self renewal

Od seeks to change attitude, beliefs, values,strategies,structure,practices

Beliefs is fact for person, value is belief good or bad, attitude is reaction
 WHY OD

• Phase of change is fast so organization becomes flexible for change. Od helps to

cope change(survive)
• Organization with dynamic interpersonal relationships holding them together so
changes are required for full group and organization
• Changing working envt to apply training knowledge

Od is a planned change. Change means new state of things different from old
state.The reasons are
Govt agencies(law or envt),competitors,new technique,customers,market
force,increase in quality
Classification of change:
Deliberate (planned) or accidental (unplanned)
Fast or slow
First order or second order
 Definition

• Od is an effort
a. Planned
b. Organizational wide
c. Managed from top
d. Increase organizational effectiveness and health through
e. Planned intervention in the organizational processes using behavioral science
knowledge
Definition:
Long term effort-takes several years .There is no quick fix. Improvement is never ending
(higher plateau of effectiveness)
Led and supported by top management states. Actively encourage the change effort, pain
and setback. Be committed until it finishes(lost commitment, distracted, ambivalent
By visioning process-creating picture of desired future and working
By learning process-interact, listen and self examine that helps ind,team and org learn(no
defensive threat)
Problem solving process-diagnosis situations solve problems, make decision, take action on
problem opp and challenge in the organization envt and its internal functioning
By ongoing collaborative management of organization culture ,prevailing attitudes, beliefs,
values, assumption, expectation, Interaction
By interactive work team and other configuration. Teams are central and basic building
block
Using the consultant –facilitator role-Third party intervention
By theory and technology of applied behavioural science.Applies knowledge and theory
Action research
 Organisation Change

• A change is a process that moves the client state from one equilibrium state to
another equilibrium state
State – The condition at particular instant
Equilibrium condition-doesn’t mean that no forces are acting on us .When equal
forces tend to move up and down clash, results in tug of war with no movement
or slightly move up or down or oscillate
• Forces prompting the change-external, Internal change forces
Forces emanates from outside the organization( organization doesn’t have control)
Forces are competitive envt, technological advancement, volatile change is social and
physical envt
Changes from the internal organization –They are methods, procedure, work
standards, machinery, equipment ,inter relationships
Response to change-Changes operate through attitude produce a response .This
response is condition by feeling towards change
• Individual change-individual view or interpret change according to their attitude.
The way people feel about change determines how they will respond to it.
• They are caused by the factors which cause these feelings
personal history-biological process, background, social experience etc
Work envt itself-workers are members of group and are influence by group code
,patterns and norms

• Types of change-change can be classified 3 ways

1. By target of change-who will be changed ,group or individual
2. By focus of change-what is planned to be change(structure or system)
3. By strategy of change-How are we going to proceed the change .What is the
method to be adapted
• The aim of OD are
• Enhancing congruence between org structure, process, strategy, people and culture
• Develop new and creative org solutions
• Develop organization self renewing capacity

• Characteristics of OD
1.Od focuses on culture and processes
2.It encourages collaboration between organization leaders and members in managing culture and
processes
3. Teams of all kinds are particularly important for accomplishing task and are targets for Od
activities
4. Od focuses on human and social side of the organization and in doing so also intervenes in the
technological and structural sides
5. Participation and involvement in problem solving and decision making by all level of the
organization and hallmark of OD
6.Od focuses on total system change and views organization as complex social systems
7. OD practitioners are facilitators, collaborators and co learners with the client system
8. OD relies on an action research model with extensive participation by client system members
9.Od takes a developmental view that seeks the betterment of both individual and the
organization(win win solution)
Od views org improvement as an ongoing process in the contest of constantly changing envt
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 behavioral
science knowledge[1] as well as organizational reflection, system improvement,
planning, and self-analysis.
Kurt Lewin (1898–1947) is widely recognized as the founding father of OD,
although he died before the concept became current in the mid-1950s. From Lewin
came the ideas of group dynamics, and action research which underpin the basic
OD process as well as providing its collaborative consultant/client ethos.
Institutionally, Lewin founded the "Research Center for Group Dynamics" at MIT,
which moved to Michigan after his death. RCGD colleagues were among those who
founded the National Training Laboratories (NTL), from which the T-group and
group-based OD emerged. In the UK, the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations
was important in developing systems theories. The joint TIHR journal Human
Relations was an early journal in the field. The Journal of Applied Behavioral
Sciences is now the leading journal in the field.
The term "Organization Development" is often used interchangeably with
Organizational effectiveness, especially when used as the name of a department
within an organization. Organization development is a growing field that is
responsive to many new approaches including Positive Adult Development.
At the core of OD is the concept of organization, defined as two or more people
working together toward one or more shared goal(s). Development in this context
is the notion that an organization may become more effective over time at
achieving its goals.
OD is a long range effort to improve organization's problem solving and renewal
processes, particularly through more effective and collaborative management of
organizational culture, often with the assistance of a change agent or catalyst
and the use of the theory and technology of applied behavioral science. Although
behavioral science has provided the basic foundation for the study and practice
of organizational development, new and emerging fields of study have made their
presence known. Experts in systems thinking, leadership studies, organizational
leadership, and organizational learning (to name a few) whose perspective is not
steeped in just the behavioral sciences, but a much more multi-disciplinary and
inter-disciplinary approach have emerged as OD catalysts. These emergent expert
perspectives see the organization as the holistic interplay of a number of
systems that impact the process and outputs of the entire organization. More
importantly, the term change agent or catalyst is synonymous with the notion of
a leader who is engaged in doing leadership, a transformative or effectiveness
process as opposed to management, a more incremental or efficiency based change
Organization development is a "contractual relationship between a change agent
and a sponsoring organization entered into for the purpose of using applied
behavioral science and or other organizational change perspectives in a systems
context to improve organizational performance and the capacity of the
organization to improve itself".[citation needed]
Organization development is an ongoing, systematic process to implement
effective change in an organization. Organization development is known as both a
field of applied behavioral science focused on understanding and managing
organizational change and as a field of scientific study and inquiry. It is
interdisciplinary in nature and draws on sociology, psychology, and theories of
motivation, learning, and personality.
Although neither the sponsoring organization nor the change agent can be sure at
the outset of the exact nature of the problem or problems to be dealt with or
how long the change agents' help will be needed, it is essential that some
tentative agreement on these matters be reached. The sponsoring organization
needs to know generally what the change agent's preliminary plan is, what its
own commitments are in relation to personal commitments and responsibility for
the program, and what the change agent's fee will be. The change agent must
assure himself that the organization's, and particularly the top executives',
commitment to change is strong enough to support the kind of self-analysis and
personal involvement requisite to success of the program. Recognizing the
uncertainties lying ahead on both sides, a termination agreement permitting
either side to withdraw at any time is usually included.[2]
• [edit] Change agent
A change agent in the sense used here is not a technical expert skilled in such
functional areas as accounting, production, or finance. He is a behavioral
scientist who knows how to get people in an organization involved in solving
their own problems. His main strength is a comprehensive knowledge of human
behavior, supported by a number of intervention techniques (to be discussed
later). The change agent can be either external or internal to the organization.
An internal change agent is usually a staff person who has expertise in the
behavioral sciences and in the intervention technology of OD. Beckhard reports
several cases in which line people have been trained in OD and have returned to
their organizations to engage in successful change assignments.[3] In the
natural evolution of change mechanisms in organizations, this would seem to
approach the ideal arrangement. Qualified change agents can be found on some
university faculties, or they may be private consultants associated with such
organizations as the National Training Laboratories Institute for Applied
Behavioral Science (Washington, D.C.) University Associates (San Diego,
California), the Human Systems Intervention graduate program in the Department
of Applied Human Sciences (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada), Navitus
(Pvt) Ltd (Pakistan), and similar organizations.
The change agent may be a staff or line member of the organization who is
schooled in OD theory and technique. In such a case, the "contractual
• [edit] Sponsoring organization
• The initiative for OD programs comes from an organization that has a problem.
• This means that top management or someone authorized by top management is
aware
• that a problem exists and has decided to seek help in solving it. There is a
• direct analogy here to the practice of psychotherapy: The client or patient must
• actively seek help in finding a solution to his problems. This indicates a
• willingness on the part of the client organization to accept help and assures
• the organization that management is actively concerned.[2]