Organization Development Journal

Applying Continuous Improvement Techniques to Instructional Design Technology (Idt) for Greater Organizational Effectiveness

Organizations embracing the philosophy of continuous improvement require the use of every available avenue to perform consistently at higher levels. Annually, more organizations throughout the world utilize continuous improvement tools to become more effective and efficient in their production methods. Yet, year after year, companies spend billions of dollars on training programs, many of which fall short of their intended goals, creating both practical and legal issues for the business. With...

Letter From the Editor

Multiple Faces of Coaching: Manager-As-Coach, Executive Coaching, and Formal Mentoring

For the purpose of management and employee development, the use of coaching has been increasing over the last decade. This article investigates the theoretical background of manager-ascoach, executive coaching, and formal mentoring. Based on the extant literature, it also examines the definitions, purposes, practices and research of those three interpersonal relationships. Then, the similarities and differences among these issues are compared. Finally, implications and recommendations for fut...

Strategic Repositioning of the Service Supply Chain

This study uses archival data, observations, and focus groups to better understand strategic repositioning in the service supply chain. The strategic management theory, resource based view theory and social exchange theory are used to develop a conceptual framework. The study attempts to answer three research questions concerning Blockbuster, Inc.: What is the role of technology innovation? How does strategic repositioning apply? What is the role of strategic alliances? A discussion and impli...

The World Café in South Africa: A Case Study On Improving Performance and Commitment

We present a case study based on a body of methodologies within a field referred to as whole system collaboration and change, large-group methods or interventions, and large-scale change. The World Café conversational process was utilized as part of an intervention designed to improve employee commitment and ensure continued effort in a service improvement program at an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) company. We describe the process for evaluating the impact of interventions;...

Transformational Crisis Management in Organizational Development: A Focus On the Case of Barnes & Noble Vs. Amazon

This article presents an analysis of the fundamental aspects of transformational crisis management, focusing on the evolving conditions regarding the competitive positions of the Barnes & Noble and Amazon organizations -- two of the leading retail distributors of books in the US. Transformational crisis management refers to the degree to which a crisis situation is viewed as an opportunity, but requiring major changes in the operational paradigm of an organization -- in this particular ca...

Two Roads to the Bottom Line: Hr and Od

At the risk of some simplification, the purpose of this article is to show that HR split into two significantly different functions (administration and development) and that pressure for bottom line results has effectively strangled the ability of either human resources departments (HR) and organization development departments (OD) to focus on humanizing the workplace or attending to conditions amenable to employee self -actualization. At the same time, the article highlights the irony that m...