Organization development is an effort

1. planned,
2. organization-wide and
3. managed from the top, to
4. increase organization development and health through
5. planned interventions in the organization's "process", using behavioral science knowledge.

Beckhard, R. Organization Development: Strategies and Models (1969)

Interesting recursion in that definition, no? At any rate, organization development or just OD is the term used to describe a wide range of techniques, or interventions, designed to improve individual development and organizational effectiveness. These techniques include:

• changing the structure
  • job rotation, vertical loading/empowerment, job enrichment
• process consultation
  • using an external consultant to give insight
• survey feedback
• team-building
• inter-group development
• role negotiation
• sensitivity training

Criticism of OD includes the charges that its methods are too vague and its effects too long-term and difficult to measure. The traditional activity-centered OD paradigm has recently been challenged by the result-centered approach, which sets out to correct these by setting significant, measurable, short-term improvements using the OD techniques.

back to organizational behavior

References

Buchanan, David and Andrzej Huczynski. Organizational Behaviour, 3rd ed.