Chapter 12
Organizational
Development
After reading this chapter, you
should be able to:



Understand organizational
development.
Understand the process of
organizational development.
List the various approaches to
organizational development.
After reading this chapter, you
should be able to (contd.):
Explain organizational development
interventions.
 Explain the benefits of organizational
development interventions.

Organizational development
Organizational development is a
deliberate and systematic process
adopted to enhance the ability of an
organization to identify, understand
and accept changes and to benefit
from such changes.
Objectives of organizational
development
To improve the ability of the
organization to plan and manage
changes.
 To identify and allocate the precious
resources of the organization in the
most productive manner.

Objectives of organizational
development (contd.)
To improve the organizational and
individual efficiency for effective
accomplishment of organizational
goals.
 To achieve improved efficiency in the
team-building process.

Objectives of organizational
development (contd.)
To develop efficient leadership styles and
better decision-making processes.
 To obtain the employees’ trust,
cooperation and commitment.
 To restructure the organizational
missions, objectives and tasks in a
judicious and well-timed manner
continuously.

Objectives of organizational
development (contd.)
To identify and resolve the potential
conflicts among individuals.
 To ensure the long-term growth and
health of the organization.

Organizational development
process
Organizational development
process (contd.)
Need identification
 Environment evaluation
 Action plans based on evaluation
 Actual intervention
 Performance analysis
 Stabilization and disengagement

Need identification
First step in the OD process is the
identification of the relevant problems
caused by changes in the external
environment.
 Usually the presence of a problem is
an important trigger for undertaking
OD.

Need identification (contd.)
Organizations usually nominate
internal or external change agents to
carry out the OD process.
 These change agents assess the
situation and then design and conduct
the necessary OD intervention
programmes.

Environment evaluation
At this stage, all the necessary
information required by the change
agents regarding the problem and the
existing situation is collected and
provided to them.
 The information required is usually
collected through interviews,
observation, investigation, task groups
or any other committee constituted
specifically for this purpose.

Action plans based on
evaluation

At this stage, the change agents
analyse the information available and
also consult the stakeholders like the
management, employees and trade
unions, before framing the actual
intervention programme known as
action plan.
Action plans based on
evaluation (contd.)

The action plan may include, among
others, orientation programmes, teambuilding, career planning, change
management, training and development,
e-learning, coaching, leadership
development and talent management.
Actual intervention
At this stage, the intervention
programmes are implemented
carefully, usually in a phased manner.
 Throughout the implementation
process, the change agents
continually gather all relevant
information about the different aspects
of the intervention programme.

Performance analysis
A complete performance review is done
by the change agents at the end of the
intervention programmes to assess the
action plan’s effectiveness.
Stabilization and disengagement
At this stage, the change agents gradually
disengage themselves from the process
and permit the organization and the
system to continue with the rest of the
activities.
Approaches to the study of
organizational development
The approaches to OD are
 Data-driven approach
 System design approach
 Contingency approach
Data-driven approach
In this method, the data collected about
the environment largely drive the OD
process.
The four general forms of data used in
this approach are
 Interview data
 Focus group data
 Organizational survey data
 Multiple survey feedback
System design approach
In this approach, the entire
organization is viewed as a complex
system composed of inter-related and
interdependent sub-systems.
 These sub-systems are unified by
appropriate designs to achieve the
organizational goals or objectives.

Contingency approach
In an uncertain situation, the
contingency approach attempts to
study the different possible scenarios
in the environment and assess their
implications for the organization.
 It identifies the “if–then” relationship
and proposes changes in the goals,
strategies and direction of the
organization, if necessary.

Contingency approach (contd.)

It helps the organizations in
developing plans and counter-plans
continually on the basis of their
understanding of the emerging
situation.
Types of OD intervention
programmes
Team-building
 Survey feedback
 Training and development
 Leadership development
 Process consultation interventions

Types of OD intervention
programmes (contd.)
Force-field analysis
 Third-party peacemaking
 Human resource management
 Total quality management

Types of OD intervention
programmes (contd.)
Benefits of OD intervention
programmes
Better interaction among the members
of the organization.
 Employees’ skills enhancement in the
changing environment.
 Systematization of the change
management process.
 Employee evaluation and feedback.
 Prevention rather than correction.
