The Changing Practice of Organisation Development

Eynde, Donald F. Van; Bledsoe, Julie A.

doi:10.1108/01437739010135529

Cited by 24 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Action research has been accepted as a valid research method in other applied fields such as organization development and education. (e.g., Carr and Kemmis 1986;Elden and Chisholm 1993;Van Eynde and Bledsoe 1990). It has been described as "the touchstone of most good organizational development practice" and "remains the primary methodology for the practice of organizational development" (Van Eynde and Bledsoe 1990, p. 27).…”

Section: Why Action Research and Information Systems?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Special Issue on Action Research in Information Systems: Making IS Research Relevant to Practice: Foreword

Baskerville¹,

Myers²

2004

MIS Quarterly

480

326

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Section: Why Action Research and Information Systems?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Special Issue on Action Research in Information Systems: Making IS Research Relevant to Practice: Foreword

Baskerville¹,

Myers²

2004

MIS Quarterly

480

326

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“…Given that it concentrated on consultancy organizations, this would suggest that the Worren et al (1999) research was based on an entirely different group from in this study and is based on the US model of the profession. One of the few other articles found on the practice of OD related to practice in the USA and is from some time ago (Van Eynde and Bledsoe, 1990). In that study, since the sample research group was 89 per cent external consultant, this alone suggests the nature of the practitioner role in the USA is different from UK HR professional practitioner roles (Pickard, 2006).…”

Section: Od Practice Within the Hr Professionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Does OD practice within the HR profession in the UK reflect the academic rhetoric?

Gillon

2011

Leadership &Amp; Organization Development Journal

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to critically examine whether organizational development (OD), as described in academic writing on the topic, is reflected in practice in the Human Resources (HR) profession in the UK. This research aims to compare the results of an exploratory investigation to establish the main elements of OD practice in this professional group with academic definitions.Design/methodology/approachThe approach applied in this paper comprises a review of the academic literature on OD combined with an exploratory study by way of content analysis of job advertisements for OD professionals within the UK HR profession. Comparison between what the literature suggests companies should seek in the way of OD practice within the HR profession and the operationalisation of what they are actually requiring (deduced through the content of job advertisements) forms the basis of the methodology.FindingsWhile there are features of the academic definitions which do appear prominently in practice (in particular “change management”), there are also significant differences. In particular OD roles in practice in the HR profession appear to be much less likely to be of a consultancy orientation. Also striking is the apparent lack of emphasis on culture and behavioural issues. Within the UK HR profession, the lack of clarity in contemporary definition of OD may underpin the disparate use of terminology.Research limitations/implicationsThe data collected in the preliminary research are from a small‐scale investigatory study; therefore this limits the opportunity to draw robust generalised conclusions.Originality/valueDespite the increasing use of “OD” in the UK HR profession, there is no widely recognised description of what it encompasses within that community, while much of the “theorising” on OD to date has been descriptive/prescriptive. In this paper, a contrast between the academic rhetoric on OD and the reality of the practice within the HR profession has been presented, through comparing the literature with the findings from the preliminary research.

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“…Therefore, the consultants together with the representatives of the organization perform the process of diagnosis. Diagnosis is a complex process where the root cause of the problem is identified (Van Eynde & Bledsoe, 2007). The word diagnosis originates from a Greek words that mean 'to recognize' and 'disease' i.e.…”

Section: Reasons For Integration and Transformation Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration and Transformation for Viability Jamila Khato

Warsi¹,

Shah²,

Naeem³

2011

JEBS

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Viability is a challenge that all the organizations face these days. As a result of this they need to introduce changes at various levels, through a change process. The halfhearted decisions regarding change result in confusion at all the levels. Services of experts as external consultants are hired for such an organizational development need. These consultants are responsible to communicate openly and discuss the reasons and consequences of the planned actions. Changing environment should be kept in view while implementing the change. Similarly, the capacity of the team should be improved and the consultants should refrain from imposing actions. Viability is an internal need of an organization; therefore, the decision to change should be made and enforced internally. The support from field specialist, external consultant, as a facilitator should be used to remain on track and have whistle blowers around in case of problems.

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The Changing Practice of Organisation Development

Cited by 24 publications

References 0 publications

Special Issue on Action Research in Information Systems: Making IS Research Relevant to Practice: Foreword

Special Issue on Action Research in Information Systems: Making IS Research Relevant to Practice: Foreword

Does OD practice within the HR profession in the UK reflect the academic rhetoric?

Integration and Transformation for Viability Jamila Khato

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