Lesson Overview

In this week, we will study some of the important theories of planned change, which describe the activities necessary to modify strategies, structures, and processes to increase an organization’s effectiveness. For example, the action research model focuses on planned change as a cyclical process involving joint activities between organization members and OD practitioners. Planned change theories can be integrated into a general model. Four sets of activities—entering and contracting, diagnosing, planning and implementing, and evaluating and institutionalizing—can be used to describe how change is accomplished in organizations. The general model has broad applicability to planned change. It identifies the steps an organization typically moves through to implement change and specifies the OD activities needed to effect change.

We will also examine the role of the organization development practitioner. This term applies to three sets of people: individuals specializing in OD as a profession, people from related fields who have gained some competence in OD, and managers having the OD skills necessary to change and develop their organizations or departments. You are probably the third kind. The professional OD role can apply to internal consultants who belong to the organization undergoing change, to external consultants who are members of universities and consulting firms or are self-employed, and to members of internal–external consulting teams. Values have played a key role in OD and traditional values promoting trust, collaboration, and openness have been supplemented recently with concerns for improving organizational effectiveness and productivity. As a profession, OD always has shown a concern for the ethical conduct of its practitioners, and several ethical codes for OD practice have been developed by various professional associations.

Lesson Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

• Describe and compare three major perspectives on changing organizations.
• Introduce a general model of planned change that will be used to organize the material presented in the book.
• Describe how planned change can be adopted to fit different kinds of conditions.
• Understand the essential character of OD practitioners.
• Understand the necessary competencies required of an effective OD practitioner.
• Understand the roles and ethical conflicts that face OD practitioners.

Lesson Readings & Activities

By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in the Lesson 2 Course Schedule.