During the 1980s and 1990s the focus shifted from OD as a behavioural science
concept to a number of other approaches. Some of these, such as organizational
transformation, are not entirely dissimilar to OD. Others, such as team building,
change management and culture change or management, are built on some of the
basic ideas developed by writers on organization development and OD practitioners.
Yet other approaches, such as total quality management, continuous improvement,
business process re-engineering and performance management, could be described
as holistic processes that attempt to improve overall organizational effectiveness from
a particular perspective. The tendency now is to rely more on specific interventions
such as performance management, team pay or total quality management, than on
all-embracing but somewhat nebulous OD programmes which were often owned by
the HR department and its consultants, and not by line management.
OD – the glory years
The later 1960s and the 1970s were the days when behavioural science reigned and OD was seen, at least by behavioural scientists, as the answer to the problem of improving organizational effectiveness. Comprehensive programmes using the various approaches described below were introduced in a number of American businesses such as General Motors and Corning Glass and a few UK companies such as ICI. US research quoted by French and Bell (1990) found that positive impacts were made in between 70 and 80 per cent of the cases studied.
OD in decline
Doubt about the validity of OD as a concept was first expressed in the 1970s. Kahn (1974) wrote that: ‘It is not a concept, at least not in the scientific sense of the word: it is not precisely defined; it is not reducible to specific, uniform, observable behaviour.’
A typical criticism of OD was made later by McLean (1981) who wrote that: ‘There seems to be a growing awareness of the inappropriateness of some of the fundamental values, stances, models and prescriptions inherited from the 1960s. Writers are facing up to the naivete of early beliefs and theories in what might be termed a climate of sobriety and new realism.’
OD – the glory years
The later 1960s and the 1970s were the days when behavioural science reigned and OD was seen, at least by behavioural scientists, as the answer to the problem of improving organizational effectiveness. Comprehensive programmes using the various approaches described below were introduced in a number of American businesses such as General Motors and Corning Glass and a few UK companies such as ICI. US research quoted by French and Bell (1990) found that positive impacts were made in between 70 and 80 per cent of the cases studied.
OD in decline
Doubt about the validity of OD as a concept was first expressed in the 1970s. Kahn (1974) wrote that: ‘It is not a concept, at least not in the scientific sense of the word: it is not precisely defined; it is not reducible to specific, uniform, observable behaviour.’
A typical criticism of OD was made later by McLean (1981) who wrote that: ‘There seems to be a growing awareness of the inappropriateness of some of the fundamental values, stances, models and prescriptions inherited from the 1960s. Writers are facing up to the naivete of early beliefs and theories in what might be termed a climate of sobriety and new realism.’
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