Inform Yourself

As we mentioned in our prior post, Organizational Development (OD) is a strategy implemented by an organization as means to inducing a specific desired end result. This end result may be beliefs, attitudes, values, or perhaps organizational structure in order to meet the dizzying array of challenges facing organizations today so they are more effective in achieving business objectives.

Organizational Development is typically a long range effort in an organizations problem solving, collaborative management, or renewal processes through the use of a change agent and the application of theory while applying behavioral sciences. Here, change agent means a leader who is engaged in the application of the holistic transformative process as opposed to managing an incremental or efficiency based change methodology. That said, there is a particular structure Organizational Development (OD) typically takes within and organization. Here are the main players and the key structure an organization needs in order to start Organizational Development (OD) strategy.

Change Agent: A change agent is not a technical expert in a particular area such as accounting, information technology, finance, or production etc. Here a change agent is a behavioral scientist who knows how to engage people within an organization so they are involved in solving their own problems. Their main strength lies in understanding human behavior and then applying various intervention techniques in order to engage individuals within the organization in the Organizational Development (OD) strategy. The change agent may be external or internal to the organization. IN either case, a "contractual relationship" should be clearly defined. A “contractual relationship” is an agreement that should probably be explicit with respect to all of the conditions involved except the fee.

Sponsoring Organization: The sponsoring Organization is the organization that has the problem. This means that top management or an individual assigned by top management recognizes an issue exists and is committed to taking appropriate action to resolve the issue. It is implied here that the organization MUST be actively involved in solving its own issues!

Contractual Relationship: A document defining the relationship between the sponsoring organization and the change agent regardless if the change agent is internal or external to the organization. Although neither the sponsoring organization nor the change agent can be sure of the exact nature of the problem or problems to be dealt with (if not previously define) or how long the change agents' help will be needed, it is essential that some agreement be reached. The sponsoring organization needs to know generally what the change agent's preliminary plan will be, 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 (particularly the top executives) commitment to change is strong enough to support the kind of self-analysis and personal involvement required for success of the strategy. A termination agreement permitting either side to withdraw at any time is usually included especially if there are a large number or unknowns involved.

This structure is essential to forming a firm foundation for the Organizational Development (OD) strategy. Both the change agent and the sponsoring organization must have a high comfort level of trust with the other party’s commitment to the process and the terms under which both parties will operate. Additionally, this structure provides the clarity for the initiative itself. Is the initiative to determine the nature of the problem or problems to be dealt with or is it the strategy in eliminating the problems being dealt with by the organization? In either case it is essential to form the solid foundation on which the Organizational Development strategy is built upon. To fail to do so will lead to almost assuredly lead to failure!

Next, we cover systems context, organizational self renewal, and improved organizational performance. Until then, we wish all of our readers a GREAT day!