Appreciating Organization Development: A Comparative Essay on Divergent Perspectives

• Published date: 01 June 2014
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21186
• Author: Thomas G. Cummings,Chailin Cummings
• Date: 01 June 2014

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, vol. 25, no. 2, Summer 2014 © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.21186 141

INVITED FEATURE ARTICLE

Appreciating Organization

Development: A Comparative

Essay on Divergent Perspectives

Thomas G. Cummings, Chailin Cummings

Organization development (OD) applies social science knowledge to help

organizations change and improve themselves. From its beginnings over 70

years ago in group dynamics, action research, and humanistic psychology,

the fi eld has expanded enormously to include a diversity of theories and

practices aimed at developing organizations at different levels, from jobs,

teams, and organizations to interorganization alliances and societal

change. Along with this expansive evolution, however, has come increasing

confusion and disagreement in defi ning the fi eld’s conceptual boundaries,

change interventions, and underlying values. This raises fundamental

questions about the nature and consequences of OD, which can impede

the fi eld’s further progress conceptually, empirically, and practically. We

clarify some of the major ambiguities and differences in the fi eld today and

suggest solutions for moving forward by comparing four pairs of divergent

perspectives: (a) development versus change, (b) episodic versus continuous

change, (c) planned versus emergent change, and (d) diagnostic versus

dialogic OD.

Key Words: organization development, organization change, episodic change,

continuous change, planned change, emergent change, organization diagnosis,

dialogic organization development

Organization development (OD) applies social-science knowledge and prac-

tice to help organizations change themselves to achieve greater effectiveness.

It draws on concepts and methods from a variety of fi elds, such as social psy-

chology, human resource management, organization theory, corporate strat-

egy, and systems theory. It uses that knowledge and expertise for improving

organizations at different levels, such as job, group, and organization. OD

is a social practice, in which managers, staff experts, and consultants apply