A Perspective on the Field of Organization Development and Change

Abstract

Essentially, and perhaps arguably, there has been no innovation in the social technology of organization development (OD) since appreciative inquiry originated in 1987. It is as if the creative work of OD is done. Moreover, it is as if the mission of OD-to loosen tightly coupled systems, think large bureaucracies-has largely been achieved. Decentralization, involvement, and autonomy on the job are commonplace in many organizations. There is a paradox, however. The need for expertise in organization change has never been greater, and OD has so much to contribute, yet the failure rate for organization change efforts is around 70%, and for mergers and acquisitions the failure rate is even larger. The premise of this article is that there is much work yet to be done. We who identify ourselves with the field of OD have unfinished business. As research on the Zeigarnik effect showed, we tend to remember things undone more than we remember things that have been completed. A purpose of this article is to create a Zeigarnik effect. Four domains of unfinished business in the field are identified and explored. There are no doubt many other domains, but these four definitely need attention. We need to know much more than we now know about how to (a) work with loosely coupled systems, (b) change the culture of an organization, (c) identify and deal with perceived resistance to change more effectively, and (d) get leadership development right-it is not about training.

Práticas de gestão da mudança: Impacto nas atitudes e nos resultados percebidos

“…É possível detectar na literatura dois tipos principais de transformações organizacionais com resultados diferenciados: as contínuas e/ou cumulativas, que envolvem pequenos ajustes ao longo do tempo, e as episódicas, que resultam em desequilíbrio organizacional (Weick & Quinn, 1999). A partir dessa diferenciação, Burke (2011) propõe conteúdos que distinguem os resultados da mudança transacional (contínua) e da transformacional (episódica). A mudança transformacional tem grande escopo, envolve ruptura de padrões anteriores, altera identidade, valores ou missão.…”

“…Assim, a mudança não acontece por acaso, ela é interativa por natureza (Castel & Friedberg, 2009;Woodman, 2014). No entanto, a literatura sempre levanta a possibilidade de controle e monitoramento por parte dos gestores (Balogun, 2006;Balogun & Hailey, 2004;Burke, 2011;Cinite, Duxbury, & Higgins, 2009;Woodman, 2014). Desse modo, o termo gestão da mudança remete à possibilidade de planejamento, controle e monitoramento da ação humana e das reações dos empregados nesse processo (Hayes, 2007;Maurer, 2001;Rao, 2015).…”

“…Mudança não é apenas dinâmica, emergente e não linear (Woodman, 2014), é também frustrante e desanimadora, uma vez que cerca de 70% dos programas de mudança falham (Balogun, 2006;Balogun & Hailey, 2004;Burke, 2011;Cinite et al, 2009). Pode-se sugerir que essa fraca taxa de êxito (Balogun, 2006;Balogun & Hailey, 2004;Burke, 2011;Cinite et al, 2009) indique a falta de um quadro teórico válido de como implementar e gerenciar a mudança, pois o que está atualmente disponível para acadêmicos e profissionais é uma grande gama de teorias e abordagens contraditórias e confusas (Burnes, 2004).…”

Identifying Promising Approaches to U.S. Army Institutional Change: A Review of the Literature on Organizational Culture and Climate

“…Including that seminal event capitalizes on the possibility that culture change was more extensive and/or more rapid at that point and generated reporting on culture and/or climate change efforts. Given that we also included recent literature reviews of general climate and culture as well as change in that context (Burke, 2011;, we achieved reasonable coverage overall. We do not cover the larger literature on organizational change and development, as that would have been beyond the scope of our present study.…”

Empirical evidence of frequency of change and job burnout

“…Kanter et al (1992) defined OC as the process of analyzing the past to elicit the present actions required for the future. Burke (2011) believed that OC showed a diversity of the organization in its environment, and the interaction of the technical and human activities that had interrelated dimensions in the organization.…”