Organizational Change and Development

Context: Organization development (OD) is a strategic, organization-wide effort with the purpose of increasing organization effectiveness and health by means of planned interventions in the organization's processes. OD focuses on the social and human aspects of an organization as a way to improve the organization's ability to adapt and solve problems. OD is not a paint-by-the-numbers approach to problem solving. Rather, OD emphasizes fairness, openness, freedom from coercion, and individual autonomy to change an organization's culture.

In the previous assignments for this course, you explored various change models and examined how real-world companies have successfully implemented change.

The intent of these assignments was to present the components common to most change initiatives (e.g., leadership, motivation, resistance, communication). Additionally, the course readings presented numerous concepts, principles, and models of organization change. The purpose of the Change Initiative Paper is to provide an opportunity for the student to assemble and organize this knowledge into a final culminating project.

Directions: Identify an actual organization with which you are familiar. Identify a possible change that will increase this organization's effectiveness and/or health. Select an established change model to implement this change. Write a paper (1,500-1,800 words) that influences your reader to adopt a specific organization change initiative. The change model you select will determine the appropriate organization and specific content of the paper; however, your paper needs to address the following:

• The need for change (e.g. organizational culture shift, changing technologies, reorganization, customer demands, etc.).

• The change model.

• The role of the leader in the change initiative.

• Process of change.

• Overcoming barriers to change.

• Sustaining change.