ABSTRACT
The question of how one undertakes organizational development is a priority for the National Health Service (NHS) Trust in the UK for which I do most of my work. I will describe a scenario which illustrates some of the dilemmas involved and then go on to explore how I am currently making sense of the presenting issues compared to other writers who are discussing similar topics. The Trust in question had recently completed a merger which united, within a single organization, a number of previously separate mental health services. A director of human resources and organizational development had been appointed. She decided to call a meeting of those who she felt could take the organizational development agenda forward. The meeting was tense and difficult. Not many people knew each other and the director voiced her dissatisfaction, saying that we were ‘getting nowhere’. She wanted a direction and a plan of action. The meeting broke up in an acrimonious mood with people feeling confused and angry.
