OD = Organisational Development

INTRODUCTION

What is Organisational Development?

Based on (1) a set of values,largely humanistic;(2) application of the behavioral

sciences;and(3)open systems theory,organization development is a systemwide process of
planned change aimed toward improving overall organization effectiveness by way of enhanced
congruence of such key organizational dimensions as external environment, mission, strategy,
leadership, culture, structure, information and reward systems,and work policies and
procedures.A definition comes from Burke and Bradford (2005):

MAINBODY

Benefits of Organizational Development

Increasing productivity and efficiency comes with many benefits. However, the best way to
encourage positive results is by using a well-thought-out organizational development structure.
Organizational development is used to equip an organization with the right tools so that it can
adapt and respond well to changes in the market. The benefits of organizational development
include:

i. Optimization of Operations

OD seeks to identify operations that require a change within an entity. This process helps the
decision-makers come up with a management plan. A plan to analyse individual needs and the
effects that the changes will yield. This plan also analyses the effects of the changes on the
workforce and the best way of rolling out the changes to the entire organisation. Increased
profitability is one of the outcomes of organizational development. Optimising operations raises
productivity and efficiency as a whole. And it also fosters innovation giving rise to increased
profitability. Underlying idea of this optimisation is to help in the formulation of viable solutions
to the problems that an entity faces. And do this through finding the most efficient and effective
way of solving them.

ii. Improved Efficiency

Organizational development enables a company to continually improve its processes and

offerings. By helping make strategic choices in all activities that the organisation does, OD helps
improve efficiency. This tends to produce better outputs with the same or reduced levels of
inputs.

iii. Improved Effectiveness

It is not just about increased efficiency. Doing those activities effectively is equally important as
well. Increased communication, interaction and feedback is one of the outcomes of OD. This
tends to bring out multi-faceted solutions the business’ needs. The process ensures that there is
thorough research on the available options, and the selection of the best option is a result of
careful consideration of its impact. Thus, there is always a high probability that the chosen option
will meet its objectives.
iv. Positioning for Future Expansion

The future expansion of an entity requires its leaders to have a vision of the nature of future
operations. Additionally, there is a need for communication of the future vision in a quest to get
buy in from others in achieving the vision. OD helps in communicating a future vision thus
pooling the required capability and potential necessary for the achievement of the vision.A
human resource professional that uses OD principles manages to identify business needs and
create roles that provide a solution to the needs. The move helps in the attraction and retention of
talents that align with a future vision of an entity. The professionals also identify any skill gap
and work towards bridging it.

v. Exploration of Market Opportunities

New market opportunities require the assessment of existing org structure. The move seeks to
analyse whether an entity has a structure flexible enough to suffice seizing the opportunities. It
takes OD to assess whether there is a need for unique or more resources.Sometimes new
opportunities can stress the existing business processes. OD helps in the identification of the
strength and weaknesses of processes. Through a portfolio review process, an entity can manage
to come up with stage-gate mechanisms that will help in the fortification of its processes to
accommodate new market opportunities.

vi. Capacity Building

Every entity faces industry and market changes that compel it to adopt OD processes. The move
arms employees with the expertise that enables them to meet new market requirements. Thus, an
entity has to enhance skills and competency and improve the work process through training its
employees.One of the goals of organizational development is to balance the strengths and
weaknesses of an entity. The goal helps in the restructuring of the employment of resources,
including human capital, that an entity holds making it possible for productive and efficient use
of the resources. Even though there are are other ways of achieving the goal, OD employs a
systematic and org-wide approach that improves the effectiveness of the applied strategy.

vii. Improved Operational Quality

The continuous improvement of operations through OD identifies errors and fixes them. The
result is fault-free operations that give rise to quality products and services.OD also gives rise to
innovation as one of the outcomes. An entity manages to enhance its products and services
through rewarding success and boosting the motivation and morale of its employees through
innovation. The employees feel empowered and valued making them work to the best of their
creativity level.

viii. Increased Value For Stakeholders

Every entity has its set of stakeholders, including suppliers, investors, and employees. OD gives
rise to increased productivity that requires more raw materials and components that are inputs to
the production process. The requirement benefits suppliers since it raises the production input
demand.Regarding investors, OD increases the profitability of an entity making it possible for
the entity to raise the return on investment. The process also empowers employees thus adding
their value through improving their skills. The employees achieve the increased potential for
thriving in their career paths.

ix. Cost Reduction

OD gives rise to employee satisfaction. The process helps to reduce absenteeism and employee
turnover thus reducing the costs related to recruitment and retention of employees. The outcome
depicts a culture shift that focuses on continuous improvement that results in increased
productivity with minimal operational costs.

x. Increased Competitiveness

An entity can manage to create a winning business after adopting OD. The process enables an
entity to employ unique competencies and resources that help it to stand out from the rest in a
market. The move equates to innovation that helps an entity to pioneer in capitalizing in an
opportunity enabling the entity to solidify its revenue before others come on board.OD connects
an entity with external realities. Through understanding the demands that emanate from the
dynamics of the external environment, an entity manages to formulate strategies that helps it
grab opportunities, navigate through risks, and stay afloat in the market.

xi. Improved Process Integration

An entity manages to analyse work processes after adopting OD. The move helps in assessing
the necessity, accuracy, and efficiency of the processes. The assessors can check for duplication
of processes and whether combining the processes can improve efficiency.

xii. Ease of Embracing Changes

OD stands as a proactive approach that helps an entity to embrace change. It also helps an entity
to leverage change for renewal. The change can either be internal or external.Given that
organizational development is an all-inclusive approach, it supports the active engagement of
employees and other stakeholders. This aspect makes it possible for the stakeholders to be wary
of forthcoming changes and understand the importance of those changes. Thus, the stakeholders
become prepared for what to do when the changes take place.

xiii. Enhanced Process Sustainability

An entity manages and plans growth using OD. An analysis of sales projections and market
demand helps an entity to forecast its growth. The analysis sometimes results in the identification
of a certain trend in the market that calls for the formulation of a strategy that makes the best out
of the trend. The change ensures that the operations of the entity remain relevant in the market,
and it sometimes calls for adjustment of the original business plan.The analysis also helps in
resource allocation. If an entity makes changes to the original business plan, then it should
allocate its resources in a manner that promotes and manages future growth. Planning does not
stop when an entity aligns with market trends. There is a need for the adoption of a proactive
approach that will result in the sustainability of the new operations through resource allocation.

xiv. Enhanced Business Continuity

Sometimes environmental challenges, such as economic disruptions(COVID-19), compel an

entity to react quickly to prevent or minimize interruptions to its operations. OD can help an
entity to make the move through a careful assessment of a challenge and adoption of a planned
intervention. Thus, an entity manages to employ effective solutions that are within its resource
potential.

xv. Creation Of Business Relationships

Collaboration at work is a vital component of OD. It seeks to form a team that supports the
vision of an entity. The move gives rise to bonding between stakeholders that commit to the
realization of the vision. The functions that make up OD call for constant communication of
business needs, and the means of attaining the same thus the need of a team.OD also fosters open
communication. It enhances a free flow of information between players that contribute towards
the achievement of a business vision. The opposite of the same entails closed communication
that features an top-bottom approach. The approach hampers an active engagement of
stakeholders thus limiting the achievement of effectiveness and efficiency of business operations.

CONCLUSION

As i conclude, every entity should know where to start when implementing organizational
development. The process starts with the development of leadership capabilities. The move helps
in empowering the leaders with behaviors that support productivity, motivation, and retention.
Thus, the leadership manages to offer a direction towards the achievement of the set business
objectives.

REFERENCES

1.Brown, D.R., and D.F. Harvey. An Experiential Approach to Organization Development. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004.

2.Cummings, T.G., and C.G. Worley. Organization Development and Change. 8th ed. Mason,
OH: Thomson/South-Western, 2005.

3.Weick, K. E. and Quinn, R. E. (1999) Organisational change and development. Annual Review
of Psychology, 50 p361-86.