Organizational Developmnet

Organizational Development

Rupert Baumgartner (2009) reveals that, "Corporations can and have to play an important role in the development of sustainable societies...and organizations have to be changed - the organizational culture has to be developed towards sustainability" (p. 102). As organizations attempt to remain competitive in today's perpetually changing marketplace, they must welcome development and change to match the societal demands of the present. This paper illustrates the process of organizational development, identifies the theories associated with organizational development, and describes the conditions necessary for successful organizational change and development.

Process

According to Jex and Britt (2008), "Organizational development is a set of behavioral science-based theories, values, strategies, and technologies aimed at planned change of the organizational work setting for the purpose of enhancing individual development and improving organizational performance, through the alteration of members' on-the-job behaviors" (p. 1). This definition shows that changing the behaviors of employees is the answer to organizational change. Studies have shown that trends in organizational development are moving away from episodic change that is created, planned, and managed. Instead, change is incessant with the possibility of being self-organizing. The emphasis focuses on changing the mindsets of employees and how they think (Marshak & Grant, 2009). Many factors contribute to why organizational development is used including survival, poor organizational performance, strategic reasons, responding to pressures in the external environment, and self-improvement reasons. These interventions can happen at the individual, group, or organization-wide level.

Theoretical Foundations

Some theories of organizational development focus on the phenomenon of organizational change, and others function as a basis for more explicit interventions. Lewin's Three-Step Model is the oldest theory of organizational-change process and divides the process into three stages: a) unfreezing, b) transformation, and c) refreezing. This is a simple process for organizations to understand and provides guidance. However, most organizations are not this simple now with the effects of globalization experienced throughout most industries. Lewin also devised the action research model where change is compared to a cyclical research process (Jex & Britt, 2008). Another theory is the general systems theory. This theory focuses on how organizations respond to stimuli from their external environment. Burke's theory of organizational change is general enough to apply a successful change process to a diverse amount of organizations and highlights the importance of mission, leadership, and culture.