2. EMERGING CONCEPT: ORGANIZATION
TRANSFORMATION (OT)
Over the years, the practice of OD has evolved and matured, clarify in its
values, theories, methods, and interventions, as well as adding new valued
theories and go forth. These paradigm-shifting changes were referred to an
"organization transformation" or "Organizational Transformation." some authors
believe OT is an extension of OD; others believe OT represents and discipline in its
own right. It is too early to categorise organisation transformation; from now, we
see it as an extension of OD. Some forces leading lo the emergence of OT can be
identified.
3. Organization Transformations can occur response to or in anticipation of major
changes in the organisation's environment or technology. In addition, these
changes are often associated with significant alterations in the firm's business
strategy, which in turn, may require modifying corporate culture as well as
internal structures and processes to support die new direction.
5. Systematic organization development activities have a recent history and,
to use the analogy of a mangrove tree, have at least four important trunk stems.
One trunk stem consists of innovations in applying laboratory training insights to
complex organisations.
A second major stem is survey research and feedback methodology. Both
stems are intertwined with a third, the emergence of action research. The fourth
stem is the emergence of the (Tavistock) sociotechnical and socioclinical
approaches. The key actors in these stems interact with, each other and are
influenced by experiences and concepts from many fields.
6. The Laboratory Training
The laboratory training essentially unstructured small group situations in
which participate learn their their own actions. It began to develop about 1946 from
various experiments in using discussion groups to achieve changes in behaviour in
back home situations. In particular, an intergroup relations workshop held at State
Teachers College in New Britain, Connecticut, in the summer of 1946 influenced the
emergence of laboratory training
7. Survey Research and Feedback
Survey research and feedback, a specialised form of action research
constitutes the second major stem in history of organisation development. It
revolves around the techniques and approach developed over a period of years by
staff members at the Survey Research Centre (SRC) of University of Michigan.
8. Action Research
Participant action research is used with most frequency in organisation
development. The laboratory training system in the history of organisation development
has a heavy component of action research; the survey feedback system is the history of a
specialised form of action, research
Sociotechnical and Socioclinical approach
A fourth stem in the history of organisation development is the evolution of
sociotechnical and socioclinical approaches for helping groups and organisations. The clinic
was founded in 1920 as an outpatient facility to provide psychotherapy and insights from
the treatment of battle neurosis in. A group focus emerged early in the work of Tavistock in
the contest of family therapy in which child and parent received treatment simultaneously.
The action research mode also emerged at Tavistock in attempt to give practical help to
families, organisations and communities.
9. Second Generation Organization Development
Practitioners and researchers are giving considerable attention to emerging
concepts, interventions, and areas of application that might be called secondgeneration organisation development each, to some extent, overlaps with some or
all of the others. Second generation organisation development, in particular, has
focus on organisational transformation.
