Houston Baptist University - Essay Example

Management Organizational Development refers to the deliberate and systematic processes that are undertaken within organizations with the aim of enhancing viability, stability, growth, and other positive outcomes (Anderson, 2012). Organizational development entails multiple people-centered processes, which involve the redesigning of attitudes, approaches, ethics, and processes within the organization. The long-term goals of Organizational Development are the streamlining and harmonizing of the different sectors of the organization in order to increase their adaptability to external changes and unpredictable market shocks.

The concept of organizational development is informed by the awareness of the impact of macro-economic forces on the performance, stability, and sustainability of the organization’s core processes (Anderson, 2012). The phenomena of globalization and the liberalization of the market economies have increased the necessity of organizations to undertake measures necessary to shield their internal systems and core processes from the disruptive nature of unregulated markets and adverse global economic forces.

Organizational development is controlled by a range of factors that include the changing of the structures of the organization and the adoption of applications that effectively shield the organization from the negative consequences of the external environment (Kondalkar, 2009). In essence, it is possible to understand organizational development from the perspective of strategy and planning. The awareness of external threats requires the engaging of multiple strategies that minimize the impact of such forces on the stability and performance of the organization.

Comparative analyses have shown that firms that embrace the concept of organizational development are more resilient in the wake of external challenges as compared to those that are less focused on the same (Kondalkar, 2009). Changes in technology have made it necessary for corporations and businesses to adopt policies of organizational development in order for them to prevail against the various forms of pressure and challenges emanating from the fluid nature of the markets. Executives use organizational development as a tool for harnessing the synergies within the work force and for establishing suitable environments for nurturing positive corporate values (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011).

Usually, the approaches used in organizational development are consistent with various theories of organizational improvement such as total quality management. This includes the inculcation of positive attitudes and quality work ethics that often translate into increased output and stability of the organization. The awareness of the centrality of the human capital to the performance and stability of organization informs the processes of training and skill development, which forms part of organizational development (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011).

Executives are driven by the need to train and retain skilled workers in order to avoid high staff turnover, which is usually costly and disruptive for any organization. Organizational development offers organizations the necessary competitive advantage that defines the companies’ corporate profiles and brand image in the corporate world. Executives could employ the skills of positive adult development to put in place processes of organizational development (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011). This skill is borrowed from the concept of adult development that provides strategies of motivation and character change in adults.

The enlisting of such a skill would make it possible for organizations to improve the attitudes of the work force in a way that is consistent with both the long-term and short-term goals of the organization. In essence, it becomes necessary to consider change within the framework developed by experts of behavioral sciences, which advocate for consistent training, motivation, rewards, and promotion of personnel as a way of achieving organizational development.ReferencesAnderson, D. L. (2012). Organization development: The process of leading organizational change.

Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.Cheung-Judge, M.-Y., & Holbeche, L. (2011). Organization development: A practitioners guide for OD and HR. London: Kogan Page.Kondalkar, V., G. (2009). Organization Development. New York: New Age International.