Introduction to Organizational Behavior

Chapter Summary

Organization development (OD) is one of the most significant developments in the field of organizational behavior in recent years. OD began to evolve as a distinct field of study in the 1940s when behavioral scientists in the US and Britain made efforts to resolve problems facing modern organizations. OD has been defined in different ways by different behavioral scientists and applies the knowledge and practice of behavioral science to improve the effectiveness of organizations. OD has four prominent approaches: laboratory training, survey research and feedback, action research, and Tavistock socioclinical and sociotechnical approaches.

According to French and Bell, the nature of OD can be explained on the basis of foundations of OD and by understanding the OD process and its components. The various characteristics of OD which comprise its foundations are that it is an ongoing process, a form of applied behavioral science, and constitutes a normative-re-educative strategy for change. It uses a systems approach towards understanding organizations, is a data-based problem-solving model, and an experience-based learning model. Finally, it emphasizes goal setting and planning and involves intact work teams.

The components of an OD process are the diagnostic component, action or intervention component and the process-maintenance component. The diagnostic component tries to find out about the original state of the system and how the remedial action plans could affect them. The action or intervention component refers to the various OD interventions which try to improve the effectiveness of the organizational functioning. The process-maintenance component helps in keeping the process of OD relevant and manageable.

In order for an OD program to succeed, various issues in the client-consultant relationship have to be addressed. These include establishing the initial contract, identifying the actual client, establishing trust, clarifying the role of the consultant, determining the appropriate depth of intervention, examining the effect of the consultant being influenced by the client organization's culture, the ability of the consultant to act as a model, viewing the consultant teams as a microcosm, applying action research to the process of OD, reducing dependency on the consultant and terminating the relationship, ethical dilemmas in OD practice, and implications of OD for the client.

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