Organization Development Intervention and Its Stages Essay

Organizational development is the direction of organizational consulting, which is a list of methods aimed at changing the existing situation in the field of corporate culture, psychological climate, and other degrees of satisfaction with work. Unlike organizational diagnostics, these events and projects not only assess the current situation in the organization but mainly aim at changing this situation. In addition, the given development interventions are conducted at four levels, such as physical, infrastructural, behavioural, and cultural, and they are assisted by coaching activities.

Moreover, the organizational development of an enterprise is a systematic, purposeful improvement of its organization by building more rational production and management structures and regulating the functions of individual units or divisions.

The given approach also affects workers and their interaction by streamlining labour, managing processes based on the optimal combination of production elements, and creating conditions for their smooth functioning and further development (Jha and Jain 4). In other words, the essence of the organizational development of an enterprise is in the constant improvement of the organization of labour, production, and management.

It is important to note that planned organizational intervention plays an essential role in providing a company with a clear and concise protocol to achieve the desired goal. It means that it is a program that allows a firm’s leaders to practically integrate the necessary change to improve the overall management (Torraco 441). With the rapidly increasing uncertainty of the external environment, organizational development is associated with the modernization of business processes and the formation of competitive advantages to successfully position itself in the market (Torraco 445).

The key condition for the adaptability of an enterprise is the analysis of its development stage, taking into account the accumulated potential and position in the market. However, in both foreign and domestic scientific literature, there are no studies related to the systemic transformation of the components of an organization following the concept of its life cycles (Jha and Jain 5). The adaptive organization is considered a complex structure that includes, in addition to the management object, strategy, structure, organizational culture, and personnel interacting with the external environment.

Furthermore, organizational development interventions possess various levels of implementation. These layers of change include cultural, behavioural, infrastructural, and physical alterations (Jha and Jain 3).

Physical interventions are the most effortless to integrate because they are manifested in the form of tools and structures. Mechanical growth as a way of organizational development implies constant capacity building, first of all, production. Often, the staff is hired exclusively to solve problems. The advantage of this approach is the minimum cost of organizational development. The disadvantage is the hope that the newly hired personnel will successfully address the emerging problems (Torraco 451). Mechanical growth leads to the fact that a numerically grown company becomes simply unmanageable.

Infrastructural changes are also short-term attempts to modify the current measurement systems of reward and regulation. The effectiveness of the application of expert methods for determining development directions largely depends on the qualifications of the experts involved (Torraco 439). In most cases, the experts of the company are their leading specialists, such as the financial director, chief accountant, production manager, and head of information services (Torraco 449). As a result, the direction of a company’s development is determined by the authority of one or another specialist. Thus, highly popular management methods and tools are implemented regardless of the objective conditions for the development of a particular company.

However, behavioural interventions are manifested in the changes in personnel’s approach to performing their tasks and responsibilities, and it can be considered a long-term alteration. This part of the function is carried out primarily by linear and partly functional personnel and can be called organizational activity (Jha and Jain 6). It is aimed at organizing the execution of management decisions and contributes to the stabilization of the production system. Cultural organization interventions are the most difficult to implement because it requires changing people’s beliefs, values, and cultural norms (Torraco 448).

The given component is specific and fully manifested in the design of enterprises, technological processes, and equipment design, at all subsequent stages of the enterprise’s life. It is true in various critical situations of its development, when fundamental organizational relationships and connections are needed, and also in the process of evolutionary development of enterprises (Jha and Jain 3).

This part of the function of the organization ensures the organizational development of the enterprise. In addition, the primary purpose of the coaching activity incorporating improvement is to eliminate communication barriers and predispositions to ease the transition period. It also educates personnel on the upcoming changes, which allows them to adapt at a substantially quicker pace.

In conclusion, it is critical to understand that organizational development is a set of outlined activities that lead to favourable changes in the organization to achieve the desired goal. Intervention programs provide a highly practical guideline to thoroughly implement these organizational modifications. The latter can be categorized into levels, which include physical, infrastructural, behavioural, and cultural. Coaching activities are designed to make the mentioned transitions easier by removing certain communication barriers.

Works Cited

Jha, Sumi, and Karuna Jain. “Organization Development Intervention: A Case of an Educational Institution.” Global Business Review, vol. 1, no. 1, 2018, pp. 2-9.

Torraco, Richard J. “Early History of the Fields of Practice of Training and Development and Organization Development.” Advances in Developing Human Resources, vol. 18, no. 4, 2016, pp. 439-453.