Change is a necessary part of doing business and affects all companies regardless of their size, the product they offer or their geographic location.
An Introduction to Organizational Development
Organizations evolve through various life cycles just as people progress through different stages of their lives. Without this evolution, organizations would be unable to develop and grow. This growth often means the company must undergo momentous change at various points in their development. The impact of this change can be significant on both the employees and the organization. Often this transformation can be at cross purposes between the employees and the firm such as the decision to close a segment of the business. While this decision may be in the best interest of the long term goals of the company, the consequences can be devastating to the employees who may be faced with unemployment. The effect that changes have on both the individuals working at the company and the company itself, along with alternatives to dealing with these changes will be addressed.
Organizational Change
Organization development is a process that involves planning, implementing, and controlling the results of change in an organization. The field of organizational development (OD) specializes in evaluating specific change techniques and the impact these changes will have on all of those involved in the organization. Organizational change should not be conducted just for the sake of change as the efforts should focus on improving the performance of the organization and/or the people in those organizations. Organizational change should be a planned process based on a systematic approach.
A Systems Approach to Change
There are many tools available to help guide successful change in an organization. Systems theory or systems thinking is the idea that an organization is made up of many different resources. Each resource whether it is a person, a group of people, a function, a product or a service is one part of the entire system. If one element of the system is changed, the nature and makeup of the entire system is also changed. The systems or subsystems that make up an organization are integrated to accomplish the overall goals of the company. System thinking allows the individuals who are making the decisions for the company to view the effect changes will have on the company from a broad perspective. This will help ensure that the decisions that are being made consider the overall structure of the organization rather than seeing only isolated specific events. Taking a broad view of the impact of change on the organization can help the organization identify the real causes and issues and address them quickly. Approaching change in a holistic, systematic manner does not guarantee the change will be without negative consequences, but recognizing the major organizational parts and their relationships will help the organization integrate the goals of the change throughout the organization.
