What is Organizational Development

Organizational Development is a relatively new professional field, therefore its definitions and borders are still dynamic, as expressed by the variety of names used to describe it, such as the following: Organizational Development, Organizational Psychology, Organizational Consulting, Organizational Therapy, and Process Consulting.

In its own eyes, proponents of OD may perceive it as one method of external assistance in the management / organizational world that draws more from psychology and sociology, to be differentiated from a typical other approach that draws more from economics and industrial management. While OD professionals usually study organizational sociology or organizational psychology, management consultants usually study business administration or economics.

The traditional professional institution of OD is widely considered to have begun with a German-Jewish social psychologist named Kurt Lewin (1890-1947) who influenced researchers of the following decades at the Research Center for Group Dynamics of MIT in Boston and at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in London. Methods in OD typically come from either sociological quantitative methods, commonly referred to as assessment or evaluation, or from psychodynamic qualitative methods, commonly referred to as consulting or executive assistance.

The worldview at the foundations of OD as a school of thought and practice are humanistic, in the sense that the human value is seen as the essence of the organization, and the organization itself as a kind of organism. As such, it is inclined towards democratic management. This is opposed to the notion of the organization as a machine, producing numbers, and using people as mechanical functions of a system, with concentrated leadership. This has to do with Kurt Lewin himself, who was ideologically motivated to counter or prevent dangerous ideologies brainwashing societies, but also because his research demonstrated that it is more effective to involve the individuals of the group themselves in the processes of the organization.

Other self-definitions of OD may be that it considers the people and the system, that is to say, while other different styles of consulting approach only the individuals, such as coaching or therapy, or only focus on the system, such as economic business consultants. At the heart of OD is observation of processes and assisting constructive change, instead of pushing for more results in less time. In order to assist such processes, which could also be phrased as processes of change, the observer OD consultant is an agent of change. The work of the consultant is complex and includes openness and discernment to act in any way that would help the organization.

This is, in simple terms, the role of the observing listener and helper: one who is positioned outside of the routine weight and pressure of work and the intense emotions within a group. Equipped with high emotional intelligence, theories of organizational behavior and experience in groups, the OD professional observer listens, thinks, questions, suggests, and helps the people inside an organization to progress in a healthy sensible manner. An OD consultant might utilize questionnaires, group sessions, private talks, structure sketches, recommendation reports, educational items. Independent consultants might combine OD methods with any specialization, for example financial, therapeutic, or marketing.

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