Organizational Development (OD) is a deliberately planned, organization-wide effort to increase efficiency and effectiveness in order to better achieve strategic goals. In the past 50-60 years we have seen a dramatic and exponential growth in technology, communication, and the need for speedy decision-making ability. Some could argue that the rate of change has surpassed the ability to keep up for large, traditional organizations. OD has been proven to be an effective solution bridging the gap between forward progress and stagnation.
In an ever changing world we can all agree that organizations, large and small, need to embrace change and evolve with the environment in which they exist. Moving towards a more efficient and effective state of being can be a costly, time consuming, and daunting task with layers upon layers of development and improvement... but necessary to remain competitive. Change is never an easy undertaking, but with the right help from an OD practitioner and a solid game plan it can be manageable.
OD and OD consultation has also grown as an industry. In economic terms OD fills a need, or demand by supplying organizational skills, techniques, and practices that can be implemented over a period of time to streamline processes, mitigate waste, and improve efficiency. Brown offers two trains of thought to this supply and demand scenario of OD in the last chapter of his book An Experiential Approach to Organization Development... OD is a rapidly changing field keeping up with the times and OD as a fad that will become irrelevant.
From what I now know of OD I lean towards the "rapidly changing field keeping up with the times" for several reasons. First and foremost, I can see the very real and necessary need for change in America's Organizations, infrastructure, and political system. All three of these tie in together to some degree, and all three are in need to "keep up with the times".
Let's talk about our Nation's organizations. There are some that get it - the need to evolve and find solutions to cope with change in a positive way. Google, Facebook (social media as whole for that matter), Amazon, Costco... these companies have made significant changes within their organizations to improve the way business is conducted. It is not a coincidence that these are relatively newer corporations that were born into a technological age. They understand the marketplace on a global scale and have shown the ability to recognize the need to be fluid and adaptive. While these organizations represent the tip of the iceberg in corporate innovation how many other corporate organizations are too large, or too steeped in tradition to break the chains of "our way of doing business", vertical organizational structures, and wasteful spending of both time and money? Again, change is not easy and OD requires that everyone involved participate and buy into the OD changes for these efforts to take hold and grow. Sure, you could spend billions in upgrading technology and automation, but you need the operators, partners, suppliers, and customers to believe in the changes for them to work in favor of efficiency and effectiveness.
Take a look at our infrastructure. In December 2012 I spent a well deserved port visit in Dubai while serving on the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower. My first visit in a far-away land. I witnessed architectural feats I didn't even know were possible, clean city streets lined with glistening taxi cabs on 6 and 7 lane superhighways, and growth in progress. There were light-rail trains floating on air and man-made islands. I got to see the view from the world's tallest building. The sense of awe stirred the very nature of my national pride because I was standing in the midst of a culture that thrived on new ideas, possibilities, and forward thinking. That same year I drove from Virginia to Martha's Vineyard, passing through New York, with my family. My children had never seen the Big Apple and I was excited to share this experience with them, but as we approached the Big City I noticed something that stuck out like a sore thumb... the city was crumbling. Trash piled up on the highway medians. Buildings looked decrepit and old. We passed an old Amtrak Train that looked like it was on its last leg stranded on an overpass waiting for its turn to cross a bridge. With the image of Dubai still fresh in my mind this sight of our beloved and most recognized city in America hurt my heart. There is no other industry in our great country that needs to accept change than our infrastructure, and we could use a good dose of OD to get started.
Finally, without getting too political, our political system itself is in need of change. We have been promised change. Campaigns have been run and won on this idea of change. However, there is still so much waste and stagnation in how we manage our country. Our government is huge, and to the average person looking in it is understandable why apathy has replaced encouragement. But to the OD practitioner... here lies the greatest opportunity in disguise!
Changes comes no matter what we do to prevent it. We are either proactive about change or reactive... which seems to be more the case. The idea and concepts of organizational development is real and meaningful. The idea that all processes can be improved upon is ancient, but the practicality of changing for the better is in the hands of the organization. There is help and with help there is hope. OD may change its face, or adapt to whatever terminology defines it, but the concept of continuous improvement is ever-present. We can either embrace change and make it a part of our daily lives, or we can choose to ignore it and get passed by. Either way... something is going to change.
JP
In an ever changing world we can all agree that organizations, large and small, need to embrace change and evolve with the environment in which they exist. Moving towards a more efficient and effective state of being can be a costly, time consuming, and daunting task with layers upon layers of development and improvement... but necessary to remain competitive. Change is never an easy undertaking, but with the right help from an OD practitioner and a solid game plan it can be manageable.
OD and OD consultation has also grown as an industry. In economic terms OD fills a need, or demand by supplying organizational skills, techniques, and practices that can be implemented over a period of time to streamline processes, mitigate waste, and improve efficiency. Brown offers two trains of thought to this supply and demand scenario of OD in the last chapter of his book An Experiential Approach to Organization Development... OD is a rapidly changing field keeping up with the times and OD as a fad that will become irrelevant.
From what I now know of OD I lean towards the "rapidly changing field keeping up with the times" for several reasons. First and foremost, I can see the very real and necessary need for change in America's Organizations, infrastructure, and political system. All three of these tie in together to some degree, and all three are in need to "keep up with the times".
Let's talk about our Nation's organizations. There are some that get it - the need to evolve and find solutions to cope with change in a positive way. Google, Facebook (social media as whole for that matter), Amazon, Costco... these companies have made significant changes within their organizations to improve the way business is conducted. It is not a coincidence that these are relatively newer corporations that were born into a technological age. They understand the marketplace on a global scale and have shown the ability to recognize the need to be fluid and adaptive. While these organizations represent the tip of the iceberg in corporate innovation how many other corporate organizations are too large, or too steeped in tradition to break the chains of "our way of doing business", vertical organizational structures, and wasteful spending of both time and money? Again, change is not easy and OD requires that everyone involved participate and buy into the OD changes for these efforts to take hold and grow. Sure, you could spend billions in upgrading technology and automation, but you need the operators, partners, suppliers, and customers to believe in the changes for them to work in favor of efficiency and effectiveness.
Take a look at our infrastructure. In December 2012 I spent a well deserved port visit in Dubai while serving on the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower. My first visit in a far-away land. I witnessed architectural feats I didn't even know were possible, clean city streets lined with glistening taxi cabs on 6 and 7 lane superhighways, and growth in progress. There were light-rail trains floating on air and man-made islands. I got to see the view from the world's tallest building. The sense of awe stirred the very nature of my national pride because I was standing in the midst of a culture that thrived on new ideas, possibilities, and forward thinking. That same year I drove from Virginia to Martha's Vineyard, passing through New York, with my family. My children had never seen the Big Apple and I was excited to share this experience with them, but as we approached the Big City I noticed something that stuck out like a sore thumb... the city was crumbling. Trash piled up on the highway medians. Buildings looked decrepit and old. We passed an old Amtrak Train that looked like it was on its last leg stranded on an overpass waiting for its turn to cross a bridge. With the image of Dubai still fresh in my mind this sight of our beloved and most recognized city in America hurt my heart. There is no other industry in our great country that needs to accept change than our infrastructure, and we could use a good dose of OD to get started.
Finally, without getting too political, our political system itself is in need of change. We have been promised change. Campaigns have been run and won on this idea of change. However, there is still so much waste and stagnation in how we manage our country. Our government is huge, and to the average person looking in it is understandable why apathy has replaced encouragement. But to the OD practitioner... here lies the greatest opportunity in disguise!
Changes comes no matter what we do to prevent it. We are either proactive about change or reactive... which seems to be more the case. The idea and concepts of organizational development is real and meaningful. The idea that all processes can be improved upon is ancient, but the practicality of changing for the better is in the hands of the organization. There is help and with help there is hope. OD may change its face, or adapt to whatever terminology defines it, but the concept of continuous improvement is ever-present. We can either embrace change and make it a part of our daily lives, or we can choose to ignore it and get passed by. Either way... something is going to change.
JP
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