August 26, 2013
Ernesto Flores
Organizational Development 661
Richard Stackman
The Past, present and future of organization development: Taking the long view

‘Find your voice in OD’ was the one quote I took away from my first graduate course in my program. I had never considered having a voice in OD before until then. Prior to reading this course my understanding of organization development (OD) derived from a few quick Google, Wikipedia searches to water cooler conversations with a current colleague/MSOD student. As I delved into the different readings I noted one specific passage that resonated with me due to the nature of my profession. ‘Changing Higher Education Institutions and Nonprofit Organizations’ spoke constant change in both the nonprofit and higher education sectors (Burke P. 18). As I highlighted and starred this section I knew that’s where I wanted begin the search for my voice in OD.

Throughout this reading time relevance was a constant bookmark for me in understanding the thought process of the current state of OD in which ideas were being presented. I found myself jotting down the years where change occurred and what insight it brought to OD. After I noted the year I made a reference to historical events happening during that era to really get a sense of the national or even global perspective of where OD evolved.

* 1939 the emergence of OD practices lay its foundation * 1940’s the birth of T-Groups to learn about human behavior * 1950’s, OD was an “intellectual crusade” and reached its peak * 1980’s OD focused on profitability and not people, saw its decline * Today is more academia focused and endless possibilities (Burnes & Cooke )

The actualization of OD for me was the emergence of T-groups. The concept of individual development and growth to bring about true change speaks to the social understanding of an individual’s purpose and belonging. Working in higher education speaks directly to my personal ‘why.’ My personal truth is tightly associated with that of service. The belief that the service I provide in both my personal and professional life tries to be of noble nature. The reason I believe in higher education is because I’m a product of education and has empowered me with the confidence to be, having been raised under very different circumstances. Education helps foster the perfect environment for change to translate into action.

The constant ever changing climate in higher education brings many issues to the forefront that question the traditional institutional structure like that of distance learning (Burke P. 18). After attending a professional development training this summer in Chicago, regarding enrollment management, we discussed the common ground of hybrid online with traditional courses that many universities have adapted due to the constant technological advances our students integrate into their lives. The T-groups fundamentals speak to the social human behavior that allows us to understand and reflect on the ‘here and now’ and improve interpersonal skills to bring about change (Burnes & Cooke P.4). Our environments are in constant transformation and so we can’t remain stagnant as individuals, just as OD did not stand still from its emergence (Burnes & Cooke P. 6).

I found myself questioning the rational of where OD was headed during the 1980’s. The consensus of the industry was that OD was losing sight of its humanistic foundation in order to capitalize on results focused in value for money products (Burnes & Cooke). The academic reigns of OD were now being driven by larger systematic approaches that didn’t address the humanistic fundamental of OD, which services the individual to bring about change. When the fundamentals are compromised so are the fruits of its labor. The end result will change as the variables in the equation change.

Being the optimist that I am, I find that the future of OD is open to the complexity amongst academic and practioners (Burnes and Cooke). I believe that Lewin’s core fundamentals, for what is now OD, are deeply rooted in the social justice by trying to create a more humane and sustainable world. The fact that he lost many of his family members in the Holocaust conveys his personal truth in why he pursued to resolve social conflict and study human behavior (Brunes and Cooke P. 23). He did so by promoting democracy amongst organizational leaders to maximize their resources to their greatest ability, thus bringing about change.

Upon reading this article my understanding was that there was a fundamental shift in the way we bring about change and development in an organization. That shift began with the contributions to OD founder Kurt Lewin in the 1930’s and the growth of T-groups (training groups) which carried out the tools and approaches to what later would become OD (Burnes & Cooke). The reflection that Lewin had to resolve social conflict resonates with me because of my core value to serve others. It’s the faint voice I search to realize as an individual within OD.