Together, MSLD 630 and MSLD 631 provide an overview of Organizational Development (OD). The courses present an OD view of managing change and organizational transformation. In this final chapter of your textbook, Brown presents two opposing ideas: OD is viewed by some as a rapidly changing field keeping up with the times and by others as a fad that will become irrelevant. Given what you have learned over the past two courses, what do you see as the future of the OD discipline?
In my personal opinion, I believe that OD is en ever changing field that will continue to keep up with times. I believe that organizations especially in this day and age are looking for ways to incorporate change and restructure their departments, concentrate on technological advances and reconfigure the organizational structure. It is important for an organization to be flexible enough where it has the ability to roll with the punches and change not only on an annual basis but weekly, daily and sometimes even hourly. There is a constant need for organizations to improve organizational decision making and team based relationships in order to be successful during changing conditions. Therefore the need for long term strategies such as OD is a must for the future success of many organizations.
While OD has not been around for a long enough time to be considered necessary or substantial to some, the development and experimentation of OD applications “incorporates new and evolving methodologies and philosophies” (Brown) which ensure effective and efficient outcomes to new organizational approaches to innovation and renewal. Organizations are in a continous state of change and can therefore benefit from the flexibility of OD and its approach to improving effectiveness. However, management of organizations must bear in mind that while OD may be beneficial to its organization, it is absolutely necessary for OD to be evaluated to ensure that the outcome of their efforts are not taken in vain. Evaluation of efforts will assist with the determination on whether or not any modification, changes or discontinuations should be taking place.
The cultural norms of the organization must also be considered when initiating and implementing an OD program to ensure stability of the new changes that are taking place. New behaviors stemming from the placement of OD in an organization should become the norm of the organizations culture so that the desired behaviors will be continued and members can measure their progress in a productive manner. Feedback of information and productivity can also create awareness and commitment amongst organizations members. “Commitment to change emerges from open communications and management’s ability to reinforce new behaviors so that members can see how their contributions affect outcome.
Given what I have learned in this course, through my readings, my studies and the text. I think OD is here to stay. While it is argued that OD has only short term solutions, I believe that as the rate of change in organizations increase, so will the contributing technology of OD. OD is a major factor that has assisted organizations with developing change and seeking innovation from traditional methods of management. OD is a means for development and training and assisting organizations with aligning organizational goals and “revitalizing them in line with the needs of the individuals within the system and environmental constraints” (Brown). As stated in the text, because of the ever changing environment. It is imperative that managers are aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the techniques and strategies available to them through OD and how those strategies can and should be used to make a difference in human development and bottomline performance.
Cassandra R.
