Organization Development and Change - Essay Example

Identify and evaluate the two key issues in OD evaluation. How might the OD intervention be impacted if these issues are not addressed? The two key issues in OD evaluation are measurement and research design. (Cummings, T. & Worley, C., 2008, p. 189) Measurement in this sense refers to the selection of the correct variables that fit the theory or conceptual model used in the intervention and the designing good measures; that is, ways to evaluate the collected data that will influence the choice of intervention.

On the other hand, research design is all about creating standards in order to make correct appraisals of the effect of the intervention. It is important to address these two key issues because they directly influence the success or failure of the intervention. More importantly, the wrong intervention may have repercussions in the organization that cannot be resolved. OD practitioners must always think about the impact of the intervention on the organization. How would you as an OD practitioner rule out alternative explanations?

What must you understand in order to do this?To avoid alternative explanations as an OD practitioner, I have to understand the “before and after” of evaluating an intervention. For example, I should understand that the variables and measures involved to properly evaluate the intervention should be considered well. They should be reliable, valid and not just be based on one method. This is the “before” stage of evaluation. The “after” stage involves understanding that there are internal and external checks on the validity of the research design or “the setting up of the conditions for making valid assessments of an intervention’s effects.

” (Cummings, T. & Worley, C., 2008, p. 210) I need to understand that the assessment should show if the intervention produced the expected results and if it the intervention would work the same way in other situations. Reference:Cummings, T. & Worley, C. (2008). Organization Development and Change. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.