Approaches to Organizational Needs Assessment

At the heart of organizational development is “planned change,” or the systematic attempt to solve problems or improve functioning within organizations through the use of particular interventions. Most consultants will agree that the most important aspect of a successful organizational development effort is appropriately defining the nature of the problem. In fact, once the problems have been properly diagnosed, the interventions to be used to resolve those problems are readily determined. Thus, a carefully planned and systematically conducted needs assessment should be the first step in any organizational development plan.