Literature Review-OD:

Organizational development (OD) is viewed as a systematic, integrated and planned approach to improve the effectiveness of people and groups in an enterprise. OD is a long-range effort to improve an organization's problem solving and renewal processes, particularly through a more effective and collaborative management of organization culture of formal work teams, with the assistance of a change agent or catalyst, and the use of the theory and technology of applied behavioral science, including action research.

In the above definition, problem-solving process refers to the organization's methods of dealing with the threats and opportunities in its environment, e.g. managers might choose to solve the organizational problems on their own, or they might participate with subordinates in problem solving and decision making.

Through a renewal process, the organization's managers can adopt their problem solving style and goals to suit the changing demands of the organization's environment. Thus one aim of OD is to improve an organization's self renewal process so that managers can more quickly adopt management style that will be appropriate for the new problems they face.

Collaborative management means through subordinate participation and power sharing rather than through the hierarchical imposition of authority. Organizational culture refers to the prevalent patterns of activities, interactions, norms, values, attitudes and feelings. Culture includes the informal aspects of organizational life as well as the formal aspect.

Organizational development's main direction is toward improving interaction processes among groups and individuals, by using a resource person called consultant or a change agent, to facilitate change. The background of OD was that it joined two basic movements: research and theory in the behavioral sciences and laboratory training (sensitivity training). The result of this merger was an action oriented effort that is humanistically inclined toward bettering the organizational climate.

Employees expect more from an organization's climate today than they did a generation ago and there is little doubt that the next generation will make even greater demands than does the present one. Organizations must respond to these demands not only for the good of the employees but also for their own sakes. The viability of an organization depends on how well its managers cope with change.

The repressiveness of traditional organization is no longer justifiable. The truly responsive organization maximises individual freedom and responsibility, thus fulfilling rising employee expectations.

Organizational development (OD) is an attempt to change the total system and restructure it in relation to the individuals within the system. Its objective is to seek to alter the nature of the organization itself. OD methods look at the organization as a whole. It tries to find out what can be done to make the organization operate more effectively and efficiently and how the major organizational units can be integrated more effectively. OD focuses on organization and its relationship with other organizations in the environment e.g. an organization may need to improve its relationship with its dealers or suppliers in order to become more effective or efficient or an organization needs to deal better with shareholders, government agencies or major customers. Here, OD efforts should be focused on bringing about the change to improve this relationship.

Organizational development practitioners typically emphasize that the endeavour for planned change efforts includes the total system and is managed from the top. The OD approach is based on humanistic values and its thrust is to improve both the organization's competence and the quality of people's work life.

The assumptions of the basic OD concept is the conscious desire on the part of managers to integrate the goals of individuals and the organization's objectives so as to provide a mutually reinforcing relationship and a recognition that organizations have objectives: making profits, surviving, growing in their fields etc. It is also assumed that individuals have a desire to achieve, have unsatisfied needs and can find at least some satisfaction of their needs in organizations. OD also accepts the idea that organizations as well as individuals can be changed so that the desires and aspirations of each can be fulfilled. It is also assumed that personal growth and accomplishment of organizational goals are better attained by shifting the emphasis of a conflict resolution from smoothing to open confrontation and that the many so-called personality clashes result from problems of incorrect organizational design.

OD programs are directed also toward both the health and growth of the organization and the head and growth of the individual workers.

A way to conceptualise the general orientation of OD researchers is to use Theory X and Theory Y models proposed by Douglas McGregor placed in an organizational climate they will behave in a particular manner, based either on the assumptions of Theory X or those of Theory Y.