Over the past 16 weeks, I have
learned a great deal about organizational development and high performance
teams. Now that we have finished our
book, a final discussion on whether or not OD is just as fad or a permanent
field has been brought up. I think beyond
a doubt organizational development is a discipline that is here to stay, and I’ll
tell you why.
First and foremost, companies are
becoming more and more complex as their structures become more and more flat
and dispersed. Given how complicated
managing these organizations can be, I would venture to say that few CEOs truly
understand all of the advantages and disadvantages of the various work groups
are. Additionally, considering how hard
it can be to drastically change organizations for the better, if I was a CEO I
would rather have an expert come in to execute the change rather than me attempt
to do it myself. One must also add in
the fact that the speed at which this change must has markedly increased since
the world has speed up its rate of change.
This is where the OD practitioner comes into play. As an expert in the field, he or she can
study the organization in question and make a recommendation of how the company
should restructure based on their education and experience, and then develop a
plan to get it done. Few executives in
major companies would have the time and resources to dedicate to studying and
creating a plan, so an OD practitioner is needed.
Secondly, the people working in
today’s organizations are far more complex and knowledgeable about the wants
and desires as a worker. Gone are the
days of the tyrannical leadership who treats his/her employees like
slaves. Understanding the complex social
and cultural interconnections within organizations is crucial for the success
of the organization and the change they might want to enact, and again, I doubt
that many CEOs have a firm grasp on developing the culture and social
structures within their companies to the fullest potential. Further, it is said that the only true way to
change an organization is through changing its culture – without fully
understanding it (culture), you might have a hard time changing it.
Thirdly, with the world becoming smaller
and the competition in markets becoming more cutthroat, companies are willing
to take drastic steps in order to get that last little bit of revenue that can
be saved by tweaking their organization.
Again, the OD practitioner should have the ability to look closely at a
company and determine where this can occur.
Finally,
I have come to realize through my study of OD in particular and leadership in
general that each is just practical applications of sociology and psychology. As each of these disciplines determine more
and more about how and why we think and interact in the manner in which we do,
so to can leadership and OD apply these lessons to organizations in order to
make them more effective/efficient.
After all, most of OD is arranging the company to maximize the human
potential. 100 years ago, the human
potential was drastically underestimated as a whole, and who is to say that we
are still not underestimating?
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