ABSTRACT
The motivation for writing this chapter has come from two key sources; my experiences of working with and developing practitioners, and my own beliefs about Organisation Development (OD). In particular, this can be characterised by:
Noticing that senior leaders in organisations rarely refer to ‘Organisation Development’ or the abbreviation ‘OD’.
That describing ourselves as ‘OD consultants’ often required further explanation to clients.
Seeing an increasing number of OD roles and departments emerging in many organisations in the UK. 1
Noticing an anxiety amongst many HR professionals about the need to know about, and be able to ‘do OD’.
Our personal beliefs that there has rarely been a time that organisations have a greater need to get the benefits of what we understand to be OD.
These experiences have led me to write this first chapter to help students, practitioners and managers create a clearer understanding of the history, thinking and research behind the field of OD, in order that practice can be improved, and ultimately more organisations are able to become better places to work and more effective.