ABSTRACT
Organisation development (OD) reinforces the dominant discourse in organisational life and so acts as a particular type of facilitation of power. Many in the field begin to become bedazzled with the ways in which power might be used as a resource by which to advance the notionally progressive agenda of OD, thereby disregarding the ways in which OD is intrinsic to a more nuanced notion of power, particularly in the workplace. Some conflate the notion of power with that of organisational politics, offering sets of rules for conduct for OD in workplace context, all of which leave the power at play in the space in which they are working unspoken and hence unchallenged. Recognising and highlighting power in its context is surely an excellent starting point for an OD practice that transcends expectations in corporate life. In terms of developing meaning, productive linkages have been made between existentialism and K. E. Weick’s work on sense-making.
