Organisational development is an entire subject in itself and one that could take days together to explain! So let me tell you what it encompasses in short. It simply talks about facilitating change within an organisation. It can be change of an organisation’s values, mission, beliefs, culture, policies, technology, leadership, structure or anything that enables it to manage the current organisational challenges and handle the dynamic environment to move to the next level.
As they say, change is the only constant. And is necessary too. We need to keep changing to keep up with the rapidly changing environment around. Managing change can however, be tough. As it has the potential to create discomfort and unrest at times. And hence, must be implemented very carefully.
Objectives of Organisational Development
So that was about the need for organisational development. Let’s now talk about what is its objective. What exactly does it help with? Well, according to me, there are three objectives of an organisational development intervention. Let us look at them one by one.
Adapting to Change
Change is difficult, and we normally tend to struggle with it. For the people of an organisation to adapt to internal and external change with least resistance, it needs to be facilitated in an appropriate way. And organisational development does that job really well.
Improves Capability
It does this by helping people get self-sufficient when it comes to solving challenges that they may face due to changes that may occur in the future. This results in improved organisation capability and performance.
Focuses on the Organisation as a Team
It therefore works on improving the personal and interpersonal behaviours of the people within the organisation. This fosters a better and healthier work environment and one that believes in teamwork. It also helps in improving trust levels and communication amongst team members. Which eventually takes the organisation to the next level.