Applying the Organizational Development Strategies

Organizational Development Every organization yearns to undergo what is commonly referred to as organizational development, however, not many organizations are in full comprehension of what organizational development (OD) really means and how it can be achieved in an organization. According to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2016) the OD is an area of research, theory and practice which aims solely at expanding the effectiveness as well as knowledge of people to be able to achieve higher performance as well as successfully execute organizational change.

OD is said to be continuous diagnosis of the organization, action planning, implementation of plans and evaluation all with the aim of equipping the organization with the requisite skills and knowledge to increase their capacity for problem solving as well as effectively handling future changes within the organization. Organizational development (OD) principles are very important tools that the organizations need for both sustainability and effectiveness.

Organization development in itself is a broader term that does not have a clear definition but in simple terms it can be defined as the planned systemic change effort through the use of knowledge and skills among other equally important tools to help improve or sustain a unit within the organization or the organization as a whole (Gary N McLean, 2005).

OD as a discipline was effectively developed in the 1930s from continued human relations studies when psychologists came to a conclusion that the organizational processes and the accompanying organizational structures had an influence over the motivation and subsequently the behavior of the employees. Lewin in his research and writings of 1940s and 1950s opined that feedback within the organization was instrumental in handling of the social processes.

However, due to the changing trends and global forces, the recent approaches to OD strive to include the alignment of the organizational structures and processes with the fast changing and complex environments through knowledge management, organizational learning and the seamless transfer of the organizational norms and values. Organizational Development stages There are various stages or steps that organizations often go through in order to effectively handle and go through change towards the development or enhancement of the organization.

These are classified as; Anticipation of need for change- this is the stage where the consultant or practitioner will collect data concerning the performance and the possible causes of the performance that may need to be changed. Observations and interviews can be instrumental in determining the areas that require change within the organization. It is important at this stage to point out a specific aspect or specific aspects that need change since this will be important in guiding the practitioner in determining the possible changes required.

Develop the practitioner-client relationship -- this can easily be created through ensuring a continuous feedback system is initiated between the client and the practitioner. This will enable the practitioner to better understand the intricacies of the problems that the organization faces and also the organizational structures and processes therein. The relationship could be problem oriented or general depending on the nature of the organization the practitioner is handling. Diagnostic process -- this helps the organization know the issues that may be hampering its effectiveness.

Often, this can be done more effectively by an independent specialist like the consultants who will objectively look into the cause of the drawbacks within the organization. Action plans, strategies and techniques -- once the practitioner has been able to freely interact with the organizational management and established the cause of the barriers to effectiveness, the consulting team will then in conjunction with the management come up with a workable plan to solve the challenge, formulate the approaches and use the appropriate techniques in solving the problem.

The plans and strategies in this case do not entirely rely on the practitioner, but on the collective acceptance and collaboration of the members of the organization from the management to the employees at the lower levels. They all help in coming up with workable.