Human resource management practice I also available by michael armstrong

Part 

2

  People and Organizations

164

Conclusions on organization 

development

Organization  development  is  no  longer  solely  the 

preserve of external process consultants with beha-

vioural science backgrounds. Instead it is a territory 

frequently  inhabited  by  business-oriented  people 

based  in  the  organization  and  acting,  in  effect,  as 

internal consultants. They include HR specialists who 

are there not just because they know about HRM 

but because they are familiar with how businesses 

operate and where people management fits in.

The  organization  development  processes  with 

which  internal  specialists  and  their  colleagues  are 

concerned  will  be  determined  by  the  outcome  of 

diagnostic  reviews.  Because  these  outcomes  will 

always be different, organizational development pro-

grammes will always be different. There is no such 

thing as a standard ‘OD’ approach, as was formerly 

the case. A number of approaches are available, but 

which to use and how to use is a matter of choice 

depending on the facts of the situation. This is why 

the initial analysis and diagnosis is so important. An 

analytical  toolkit  for  organization  development  is 

provided in Chapter 63.

Organization development defined

Organization development in its traditional form  

as ‘OD’ was defined by Rowlandson (1984: 90) as  

‘an intervention strategy that uses group processes 

to focus on the whole culture of an organization in 

order to bring about planned change’. The CIPD 

(2010: 1) defined organization development as  

a ‘planned and systematic approach to enabling 

sustained organization performance through the 

involvement of its people’.

Strategic nature of organization 

development

The strategic nature of organization development  

as an integral part of HRM arises because it can play 

a significant role in the implementation of business 

strategy.

Assumptions and values of OD

The assumptions and values of OD as originally 

conceived were that:

 

●

Most individuals are driven by the need for 

personal growth and development as long as their 

environment is both supportive and challenging.

 

●

The work team, especially at the informal level, 

has great significance for feelings of satisfaction 

Key learning points: Organization development

and the dynamics of such teams have a powerful 

effect on the behaviour of their members.

 

●

OD programmes aim to improve the quality  

of working life of all members of the  

organization.

 

●

Organizations can be more effective if they  

learn to diagnose their own strengths and 

weaknesses.

 

●

Managers often do not know what is wrong  

and need special help in diagnosing problems, 

although the outside ‘process consultant’  

ensures that decision-making remains in the 

hands of the client.

OD interventions

OD interventions include process consultation, 

change management, action research, survey 

feedback, group dynamics and personal 

interventions.

Criticisms of OD

The main criticisms of OD, as noted by Marsh et al 

(2010: 143), were that it was ‘Oriented to process and 

tools rather than results... where techniques are 

considered to be ends in themselves rather than  

a means to deliver organizational performance.’

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