Answer
Organizational development ("OD") is defined as a process that helps "organizations build their capacity
to change and achieve greater effectiveness by developing, improving, and reinforcing strategies,
structures, and processes." (Vulpen 2019). Vulpen notes that there are several elements of
organizational development: critical and science-based process; building capacity to change and achieve
greater effectiveness; and developing, improving, and reinforcing strategies, structures, and processes.
Ibid. I find that the need to have recursively developed processes is important, because no
organizational development process is static - all such development must be able to adapt to changing
environmental conditions, different contexts, different inputs, and different market conditions.
Reinforcing strategies, structures, and processes is necessary because without strong tools like
strategies and structures, it would be difficult to create lasting organizational development. Without this
component of the definition, any OD would be a process that would not create lasting solutions, nor
would it be one that adapts to different problems posed to organizations.
The OD process consists of seven steps: entering and contracting; diagnostics; data collection & analysis;
feedback; designing interventions; leading & managing change; and evaluation & institutionalization of
change. Ibid. This is similar to the software development lifecycle (Clark 2022). The first step is to find
opportunities for improvement and scoping out problems (Vulpen 2019). Diagnostics requires
understanding the current functionality of the system. The third step, data collection and analysis,
requires collecting data to understand how the system actually functions. The fourth step, feedback,
requires the OD consultant to provide information to the client about how the current system is
functioning. The fifth step, designing interventions, requires creating solutions that fit the needs of the
organization in order to improve efficiencies and other problems revealed by the data. The sixth step,
leading and managing change, has to do with implementing and executing the proposed change, which
can be achieved through a variety of different techniques (Palmer & Al, 2009). Finally, the seventh step,
institutionalizing change, ensures that the change propels itself and is managed by the organization
itself.
Two OD interventions I have experienced are team building and performance management. At my law
firm, the firm spends a significant amount of time building teams, which involves creating an
environment where employees are willing and able to coexist and collaborate effortlessly. Team building
interventions include retreats, events at the firm where we have discussions on pressing issues, and
celebrations of various employees. I find this general solution to be useful as a first-step in developing a
warm and welcoming environment, especially in a profession where individuals are highly opinionated
and the environment is generally cutthroat. I find that other companies often pass on team building as
too easy or obvious a solution, despite its obvious value in developing more coherence and
collaboration. Additionally, performance management at my law firm includes measuring the number of
hours billed, the quality of the work, and the contributions made to the firm outside the advice and
work done for clients. Performance management has its pros and cons. It can improve learning
outcomes and motivation for employees if done right. However, performance management that
measures the wrong things can create the wrong incentives. For example, the billable hours
requirement at my firm and many other law firms makes sense from a profitability perspective, but
incentivizes employees to work more slowly and less efficiently, therefore rewarding employees who
don't get their work faster or are worse at managing their time. That said, performance management
can also create positive efficiencies, like creating feedback cycles that identify strengths and weaknesses
in an employees' work and deliver that feedback to them, either through qualitative feedback, or
rewards such as bonuses.
References:
 Clark, H. (2022, May 20). 6 Stages Of The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). The Product
Manager. https://theproductmanager.com/topics/software-development-life-cycle/
 Griffin, R. W., & Moorhead, G. (2013). Organizational behavior: managing people and
organizations. Cengage Learning.
 Palmer, I., & Al, E. (2009). Managing organizational change. McGraw-Hill.
 Vulpen, E. V. (2019, December 2). What Is organizational development? A complete guide. AIHR.
https://www.aihr.com/blog/organizational-development/