organizational development essay example

Organizational Development Paper Essay

Organizational development (OD) as a technique helps to effect change in a company to improve its effectiveness. It contributes to a change process, and establishes long-term activities, including operation of self-managed or autonomous teams as well as problem solving opportunities (Anderson, 2011, p.2).

OD applies to scientific knowledge on behavioral development that embraces a number of concepts, including work design, leadership skills, team building and international design. The system is a flexible scheme that entails implementation of changes. Furthermore, it should adapt quickly to changes and, when the new data is introduced or experienced, it should be ready to process it (Cummings and Worley, 2008, p. 50).

Indeed, it involves a long range of efforts that will improve problem-solving strategies, as well as its ability to face various challenges within an organization (Cummings and Worley, 2008, p. 2). Organizational development considers change a process that involves a set of such activities as planning, diagnosing, assessing, and implementing (Jex and Britt, 2008, p. 477).

The organizational development process assures the establishment of favorable relationship within a work environment and outside it and provides groups with the possibility to initiate and manage change. Further, organizational development is considered a set of core values, such as respect and commitment, genuineness and cooperation, self-awareness and improvement, democracy and feeling of justice. The process is made up of the four main activities.

These are introducing, analyzing, planning, and implementing (Anderson, 2011, p. 42). The process involves an action research scheme which allows to define the problem and analyze the reasons for introducing changes. Further, it is purposeful to plan an intervention, evaluate and implement it.

The next step will involve collecting information to assess the intervention and define whether progress has been reached or whether further interventions are needed. Furthermore, it begins when a leader envisions relevant approaches and strives to enhance organizational performance (Jex and Britt, 2008, p. 473).

Organization development relies on open systems methods and schemes so as to get a better idea of organization’s goals. Therefore, a shift occurred to one department of an organization cannot be supported without introducing shifts to other departments (Cummings and Worley, 2008, p. 50).

Organization development stems basically from three psychological theories for an organization to understand and motivate its employees. They include need theory, job analysis model, and expectancy theory that provide a deep insight into personal differences among the team members, as well as different kinds of organizational aspects that influence behavior (Jex and Britt, 2008, p. 478).

Need theory as a strategy considers motivation as a means to meet people’s needs and concerns. Need theory is strongly associated with organizational development because it is based Maslow’s theory introducing a hierarchy of needs (Jex, Britt, 2008, p. 480). It starts from the bottom with physical needs, as the basic concerns, and followed up by needs of self-esteem and actualization (McLean, 2005, p.32). Job characteristic model analyzes the way the personnel work.

It also demonstrates how an employed environment influences employees’ motivation with regard to three psychological states (Jex and Britt, 2008, p. 483). Expectancy theory focuses on motivation with regard to decisions that members make concerning the effort they will take to perform organizational tasks.

It suggests that choices about work effort are premised on particular beliefs or values that members uphold. The model is used to introduce effective techniques for an organization to enhance employee incentives, which is also possible through introducing reward systems (Jex and Britt, 2008, p. 486).

The factors that introduce organizational change and development include performance challenges, competition, organizational challenges, and technological advances. Many change strategies are more effective in reducing restraining forces and, therefore, will allow the driving conditions to provide change and decrease resistance (Jex and Britt, 2008, p. 497).

Participative management entails involving members directly in realizing the need for shifts, developing corresponding changes, and putting those into practice. It is also imperative to analyze the need for change and make significant external stakeholders believe that these changes are urgent (Anderson, 2011, p. 100).

A vision will present future perspectives allowing an organization to communicate effective ideas to their employees and provide a healthy work environment. Course of action strategy needs to be developed as well to implement change. This will act as the algorithm for an organization offering directions to present an appropriate final state while defining challenges (Jex and Britt, 2008, p. 499).

Leaders should be able to provide sufficient internal support and create a solid platform for introducing changes. In such a way, they can reduce resistance for employees to take an active part in the process of organizational change. By ensuring full commitment to an organization, leaders will play a crucial role in increasing organizational performance (Anderson, 2011, p. 150).

However, lack of effective leadership skills heightens the challenges for public institutions. In this respect, organization should be provided with sufficient resources to manage change effectively. At this point, introducing planned organizational change can foster a rational distribution of resources within an organization. In addition, the public provides a stronger force for altering their interest in products (Jex, Britt, 2008, p. 501).

In conclusion, in order to effect organization change, there is the need to resort to such stages as change identification, implementation planning, implementation, evaluation of the results, and seeking feedback. It is also important for a leader to understand the potential of the organization with regard to employees’ experience and motivation.

Anderson, L. D. (2011). Organization Development: The Process of Leading Organizational Change. California : SAGE.

Cummings, G. T., & Worley, G. C. (2008). Organization development & change . Vancouver: Cengage Learning.

Jex, M. S., & Britt, W. T. (2008). Organizational psychology: A scientist – practitioner approach. New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons.

McLean, N. G. (2005). Organization development: Principles, processes, performance. California: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

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118 Organization Development Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Organization development is a crucial aspect of any business or company, as it focuses on improving the overall effectiveness and efficiency of an organization. It involves various strategies and techniques that aim to enhance the organization's performance, productivity, and overall success.

One key aspect of organization development is the ability to identify and address various issues and challenges within the organization. This can range from improving communication and teamwork among employees to implementing new technologies and processes to streamline operations.

To help guide organizations in their development efforts, it is important to have a clear understanding of the key topics and ideas that can be explored. Below are 118 organization development essay topic ideas and examples that can serve as inspiration for further research and discussion.

• The importance of organization development in today's fast-paced business environment
• Strategies for developing a strong organizational culture
• The role of leadership in driving organization development
• Implementing change management initiatives in an organization
• The impact of technology on organization development
• Building effective teams within an organization
• Developing a diverse and inclusive workplace
• Strategies for managing conflict in the workplace
• The importance of employee engagement in organization development
• Implementing performance management systems in an organization
• The role of coaching and mentoring in organization development
• Creating a positive work environment for employees
• The impact of globalization on organization development
• Implementing strategic planning initiatives in an organization
• The role of HR in organization development
• Developing a learning organization
• Implementing continuous improvement processes in an organization
• The impact of organizational structure on organization development
• Implementing knowledge management systems in an organization
• The role of emotional intelligence in organization development
• Developing effective communication strategies within an organization
• Implementing leadership development programs in an organization
• The impact of organizational politics on organization development
• Strategies for managing organizational change
• The role of ethics in organization development
• Implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives in an organization
• The impact of mergers and acquisitions on organization development
• Developing a talent management strategy within an organization
• Implementing performance appraisal systems in an organization
• The role of teamwork in organization development
• Strategies for managing organizational conflict
• The impact of organizational culture on organization development
• Implementing employee engagement initiatives in an organization
• Developing a strategic planning process within an organization
• The role of organizational development consultants
• Implementing organizational learning initiatives in an organization

In conclusion, organization development is a complex and multifaceted process that requires careful consideration of various factors and strategies. By exploring the above essay topic ideas and examples, organizations can gain a better understanding of the key principles and practices that can help drive their development efforts and ultimately achieve long-term success.

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Organizational Development: An Easy Introduction

Organizational Development is a planned effort to change the culture, behaviors, ways of working and other “people” factors of an organization to enable it to effectively meet its strategic objectives. Summary by The World of Work Project

Organizational Development

Organizational development, often referred to as “OD”, is a broad phrase that captures many things. Fundamentally though, organizational development can be thought of as intentional work designed to change and improve an organization so that it is better at what it does.

Most of the time this work focuses on the human factors at play in an organization. After all, organizations are complicated systems of intertwined processes and streams of work. And at their cores lie people.

In many instances the social systems, ways of working, cultures, methods of communication, relationships, human knowledge and behaviors within organizations determine how effective and competitive they are. They also determine what those organizations are like to work for and how fulfilling and rewarding the individuals who work for them find them to be.

The fundamental premise of organizational development, which derives many of its roots from organizational psychology, sociology and change management, is that by designing and delivering “interventions” that change the social systems, ways of working and cultures within organizations, it’s possible to both improve their competitiveness, and make them better places for people to work.

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In 2024, we have a cohort on Wednesday 3.30pm UK time and Thursdays 9am UK time from April 17/18. It comprises 10 online live workshops with two great facilitators and access to a bank of support materials. Learn more about the programme by clicking below.

A Brief History of Organizational Development

Organizational development evolved in roughly the 1930s, primarily from the world of Psychology.

The founding father of Organizational Development is considered to be Kurt Lewin, an MIT professor who worked across a wide range of areas including organizational psychology and change as well as group dynamics. In fact, he set up MIT’s Research Center for Group Dynamics in 1944, shortly before his death in 1947. Kurt Lewin contributed hugely to the world of business and merits further research if you have time, we certainly regularly reference him and his work throughout what we do.

While Kurt is considered the founding father of Organizational Development, he never actually used that phrase himself. Instead, the phrase was formed by another giant of the profession, Richard Beckhard, who coined the term in the 1950s while working at Bell Labs. He later published a seminal work on the subject, “Organization Development: Strategies and Models”. He too was a professor at MIT.

From the 1960s on-wards, Organizational Development really started to take off, though perhaps not by that name. Management sciences became more professional and important as organizations searched for increasing competitive advantages and focused more on the engagement and productivity of their employees. In this period things like employee surveys were introduced and organizations started to deliver specific interventions designed to increase engagement. This ability to quantify and evidence changes in in employee opinion or engagement helped move these practices into the mainstream.

The Rise of the Term “OD”

While Organizational Development has grown significantly in recent decades, the term has only really become popular in the near past.

Prior to this, various areas of HR delivered Organizational Development initiatives under different names, wrapped up in learning and development, personnel, organizational change and performance and engagement teams.

Why Organizational Development Matters

Focusing on the people within an organization is an effective way to increase competitiveness.

Creating great places to work is important for improving competitiveness in all industries, but it’s particularly important in industries that require people to be creative, innovative, solve problems, manage complexity or otherwise perform more complex mental tasks. In these industries, being a great organization to work for really is a significant competitive advantage.

Organizational Development is one of the few fields of work in which it is really possible to create great outcomes for both individuals and organizations. To create lasting change though, organizations need to ensure that the benefits of organizational development programs are shared with employees, not simply captured as cost savings for the organization.

Learning More

Organizational development is a form of organizational change . These programs are often focused on changing a culture , improving employee engagement or changing the employee experience . Many successful organizational development programs have similarities.

As with much change, co-creation is helpful in OD programs and we should consider the emotional impacts of change on people. It might also be worth using Force Field Analysis to assess how likely it is for an OD program will succeed.

You can listen to a podcast we’ve recorded on the role of story-telling in organizational change and development:

The World of Work Project View

In our view, organizational development is one of the most important things that leaders can do.

We don’t really care about the name OD, or the fact that it changes a lot. But we do care about the conscious effort to understand and improve how people feel and work together in an organization.

We genuinely believe that improving the human aspect of work leads to better outcomes for organizations and individuals involved, and think this is important and powerful.

In our view, all leaders should have an understanding of organizational development.

Our Podcast . 

Our Podcast is a great way to learn more about hundreds of fascinating topics from around the world of work.

In this instance we’re talking about a field of work and not a theory. Given this, we think a good starting point for reading might be Richard Beckhard’s book. Beckhard, R. (1969). Organization development: strategies and models. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley.  

The World of Work Project: Organizational Development: An Easy Introduction

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Patterns of Organization and Methods of Development

Patterns of organization can help your readers follow the ideas within your essay and your paragraphs, but they can also work as methods of development to help you recognize and further develop ideas and relationships in your writing. Here are some strategies that can help you with both organization and development in your essays.

Major Patterns of Organization

Read the following sentences:

• Now take the pie out of the oven and let it cool on the stovetop.
• Mix the dry ingredients with the liquid ingredients.
• Set the pie crust aside while you make the filling.

How did it feel to read the above list? A bit confusing, I would guess. That’s because the steps for making a pie were not well organized, and the steps don’t include enough detail for us to know exactly what we should do. (Like what are the dry and liquid ingredients?) We all know that starting instructions from the beginning and giving each detailed step in the order it should happen is vital to having a good outcome, in this case a yummy pie! But it’s not always so simple to know how to organize or develop ideas, and sometimes there’s more than one way, which complicates things even further.

First, let’s take a look at a couple of ways to think about organization.

General to Specific or Specific to General

It might be useful to think about organizing your topic like a triangle:

The first triangle represents starting with the most general, big picture information first, moving then to more detailed and often more personal information later in the paper. The second triangle represents an organizational structure that starts with the specific, small scale information first and then moves to the more global, big picture stuff.

For example, if your topic is air pollution in Portland, Oregon, an essay that uses the general-to-specific organizational structure might begin this way:

Many people consider Portland, Oregon, to be an environmentally friendly, pollution-free place to live. They would be shocked to know how many pollutants are in the air causing a multitude of health problems in Portland’s citizens.

An essay that uses the specific-to-general structure might start like this:

When Nancy moved to Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two kids, she expected to find a clean, pollution-free city. She was shocked and angered when her daughter was diagnosed with asthma caused by air pollution.

What’s the difference between these two introductions? And how might they appeal to the intended audience for this essay (Portland voters) in different ways? The first introduction is looking at the big picture of the problem and mentions pollution’s impact on all citizens in Portland, while the second introduction focuses on one specific family. The first helps readers see how vast the problem really is, and the second helps connect readers to a real family, making an emotional appeal from the very beginning. Neither introduction is necessarily better. You’ll choose one over the other based on the kind of tone you’d like to create and how you’d like to affect your audience. It’s completely up to you to make this decision.

Does the Triangle Mean the Essay Keeps Getting More Specific or More Broad until the Very End?

The triangle is kind of a general guide, meaning you’re allowed to move around within it all you want. For example, it’s possible that each of your paragraphs will be its own triangle, starting with the general or specific and moving out or in. However, if you begin very broadly, it might be effective to end your essay in a more specific, personal way. And if you begin with a personal story, consider ending your essay by touching on the global impact and importance of your topic.

Are There Other Ways to Think about Organizing My Ideas?

Yes! Rather than thinking about which of your ideas are most specific or personal or which are more broad or universal, you might consider one of the following ways of organizing your ideas:

• Most important information first (consider what you want readers to focus on first)
• Chronological order (the order in time that events take place)
• Compare and contrast (ideas are organized together because of their relationship to each other)

The section on Methods of Development, below, offers more detail about some of these organizational patterns, along with some others.

Choose one of the following topics, and practice writing a few opening sentences like we did above, once using the general-to-specific format and once using the specific-to-general. Which do you like better? What audience would be attracted to which one? Share with peers to see how others tackled this challenge. How would you rewrite their sentences? Why? Discuss your changes and listen to how your peers have revised your sentences. Taking in other people’s ideas will help you see new ways to approach your own writing and thinking.

• Facing fears
• Safety in sports
• Community policing
• Educating prisoners
• Sex education
• A book or movie that impacted you
• One thing you would change about your community
• Beauty standards
• Toxic masculinity
• How the media affects identity formation
• Gender roles
• Race in America
• The value of art in society
• Travel as part of a well-rounded education
• Drugs and alcohol
• Advice to new parents
• Advice to teachers
• The value of making mistakes
• How you’d spend a million dollars
• What a tough day at work taught you about yourself or others.

Methods of Development

The methods of development covered here are best used as ways to look at what’s already happening in your draft and to consider how you might emphasize or expand on any existing patterns. You might already be familiar with some of these patterns because teachers will sometimes assign them as the purpose for writing an essay. For example, you might have been asked to write a cause-and-effect essay or a comparison-and-contrast essay.

It’s important to emphasize here that patterns of organization or methods of developing content usually happen naturally as a consequence of the way the writer engages with and organizes information while writing. That is to say, most writers don’t sit down and say, “I think I’ll write a cause-and-effect essay today.”  Instead, a writer might be more likely to be interested in a topic, say, the state of drinking water in the local community, and as the writer begins to explore the topic, certain cause-and-effect relationships between environmental pollutants and the community water supply may begin to emerge.

So if these patterns just occur naturally in writing, what’s the use in knowing about them?  Well, sometimes you might be revising a draft and notice that some of your paragraphs are a bit underdeveloped. Maybe they lack a clear topic, or maybe they lack support. In either case, you can look to these common methods of development to find ways to sharpen those vague topics or to add support where needed. Do you have a clear cause statement somewhere but you haven’t explored the effects?  Are you lacking detail somewhere where a narrative story or historical chronology can help build reader interest and add support?  Are you struggling to define an idea that might benefit from some comparison or contrast?  Read on to consider some of the ways that these strategies can help you in revision. And if you want to learn more, check out what the New York Times has to say in their learning blog article, “ Compare-Contrast, Cause-Effect, Problem Solution: Common ‘Text Types’ in The Times .”

Cause and Effect (or Effect and Cause)

Do you see a potential cause-and-effect relationship developing in your draft?  The cause-and-effect pattern may be used to identify one or more causes followed by one or more effects or results. Or you may reverse this sequence and describe effects first and then the cause or causes. For example, the causes of water pollution might be followed by its effects on both humans and animals. You may use obvious transitions to clarify cause and effect, such as “What are the results? Here are some of them…” or you might simply use the words cause , effect , and result , to cue the reader about your about the relationships that you’re establishing.

Here’s an example article from the New York times, “ Rough Times Take Bloom Off a New Year’s Rite, the Rose Parade ,” that explores the cause and effect relationship (from 2011) between Pasadena’s budgetary challenges and the ability of their Rose Parade floats to deck themselves out in full bloom.

Problem-Solution

At some point does your essay explore a problem or suggest a solution? The problem-solution pattern is commonly used in identifying something that’s wrong and in contemplating what might be done to remedy the situation. There are probably more ways to organize a problem-solution approach, but but here are three possibilities:

• Describe the problem, followed by the solution.
• Propose the solution first and then describe the problems that motivated it.
• Or a problem may be followed by several solutions, one of which is selected as the best.

When the solution is stated at the end of the paper, the pattern is sometimes called the delayed proposal. For a hostile audience, it may be effective to describe the problem, show why other solutions do not work, and finally suggest the favored solution. You can emphasize the words problem and solution to signal these sections of your paper for your reader.

Here’s an example article from the New York times, “ Monks Embrace Web to Reach Recruits ,” that highlights an unexpected approach by a group of Benedictine monks in Rhode Island; they’ve turned to social media to grow their dwindling membership. Monks on Facebook?  Who knew?

Chronology or Narrative

Do you need to develop support for a topic where telling a story can illustrate some important concept for your readers? Material arranged chronologically is explained as it occurs in time. A chronological or narrative method of development might help you find a way to add both interest and content to your essay. Material arranged chronologically is explained as it occurs in time. This pattern may be used to establish what has happened. Chronology or narrative can be a great way to introduce your essay by providing a background or history behind your topic. Or you may want to tell a story to develop one or more points in the body of your essay. You can use transitional words like then , next , and finally to make the parts of the chronology clear.

Here’s an example article from the Center for Media Literacy (originally published in the journal Media & Values ): “ From Savers to Spenders: How Children Became a Consumer Market .” To encourage his readers to think about why and how children are being marketed to by advertisers, the author uses a historical chronology of how the spending habits of children changed over a number of decades.

Comparison and Contrast

Are you trying to define something? Do you need your readers to understand what something is and what it is not? The comparison-and-contrast method of development is particularly useful in extending a definition, or anywhere you need to show how a subject is like or unlike another subject. For example, the statement is often made that drug abuse is a medical problem instead of a criminal justice issue. An author might attempt to prove this point by comparing drug addiction to AIDS, cancer, or heart disease to redefine the term “addiction” as a medical problem. A statement in opposition to this idea could just as easily establish contrast by explaining all the ways that addiction is different from what we traditionally understand as an illness. In seeking to establish comparison or contrast in your writing, some words or terms that might be useful are by contrast , in comparison , while , some , and others .

Here’s an example article from the New York times: “ Who Wants to Shop in a Big Box Store, Anyway? ” The author explores some interesting differences between the average American and average Indian consumer to contemplate the potential success of big box stores in India and also to contemplate why these giant big box corporations, like Walmart or Target, might have to rethink their business model.

These four methods of development—cause and effect, problem-solution, chronology or narrative, and comparison and contrast—are just a few ways to organize and develop ideas and content in your essays. It’s important to note that they should not be a starting point for writers who want to write something authentic—something that they care deeply about. Instead, they can be a great way to help you look for what’s already happening with your topic or in a draft, to help you to write more, or to help you reorganize some parts of an essay that seem to lack connection or feel disjointed. Look for organizational patterns when you’re reading work by professional writers. Notice where they combine strategies (e.g a problem-solution pattern that uses cause-and-effect organization, or a comparison-contrast pattern that uses narrative or chronology to develop similarities or differences). Pay attention to how different writers emphasize and develop their main ideas, and use what you find to inspire you in your own writing. Better yet, work on developing  completely new patterns of your own.

The Word on College Reading and Writing Copyright © by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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7.2: Use patterns of organization and development

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Patterns of organization can help your readers follow the ideas within your essay and your paragraphs, but they can also work as methods of development to help you recognize and further develop ideas and relationships in your writing. Here are some strategies that can help you with both organization and development in your essays.

Major Patterns of Organization

Read the following sentences:

• Now take the pie out of the oven and let it cool on the stovetop.
• Mix the dry ingredients with the liquid ingredients.
• Set the pie crust aside while you make the filling.

How did it feel to read the above list? A bit confusing, I would guess. That’s because the steps for making a pie were not well organized, and the steps don’t include enough detail for us to know exactly what we should do. (Like what are the dry and liquid ingredients?) We all know that starting instructions from the beginning and giving each detailed step in the order it should happen is vital to having a good outcome, in this case a yummy pie! But it’s not always so simple to know how to organize or develop ideas, and sometimes there’s more than one way, which complicates things even further.

First, let’s take a look at a couple of ways to think about organization.

General to Specific or Specific to General

It might be useful to think about organizing your topic like a triangle:

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)

The first triangle represents starting with the most general, big picture information first, moving then to more detailed and often more personal information later in the paper. The second triangle represents an organizational structure that starts with the specific, small scale information first and then moves to the more global, big picture stuff.

For example, if your topic is air pollution in Portland, Oregon, an essay that uses the general-to-specific organizational structure might begin this way:

Many people consider Portland, Oregon, to be an environmentally friendly, pollution-free place to live. They would be shocked to know how many pollutants are in the air causing a multitude of health problems in Portland’s citizens.

An essay that uses the specific-to-general structure might start like this:

When Nancy moved to Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two kids, she expected to find a clean, pollution-free city. She was shocked and angered when her daughter was diagnosed with asthma caused by air pollution.

What’s the difference between these two introductions? And how might they appeal to the intended audience for this essay (Portland voters) in different ways? The first introduction is looking at the big picture of the problem and mentions pollution’s impact on all citizens in Portland, while the second introduction focuses on one specific family. The first helps readers see how vast the problem really is, and the second helps connect readers to a real family, making an emotional appeal from the very beginning. Neither introduction is necessarily better. You’ll choose one over the other based on the kind of tone you’d like to create and how you’d like to affect your audience. It’s completely up to you to make this decision.

Does the Triangle Mean the Essay Keeps Getting More Specific or More Broad until the Very End?

The triangle is kind of a general guide, meaning you’re allowed to move around within it all you want. For example, it’s possible that each of your paragraphs will be its own triangle, starting with the general or specific and moving out or in. However, if you begin very broadly, it might be effective to end your essay in a more specific, personal way. And if you begin with a personal story, consider ending your essay by touching on the global impact and importance of your topic.

Are There Other Ways to Think about Organizing My Ideas?

Yes! Rather than thinking about which of your ideas are most specific or personal or which are more broad or universal, you might consider one of the following ways of organizing your ideas:

• Most important information first (consider what you want readers to focus on first)
• Chronological order (the order in time that events take place)
• Compare and contrast (ideas are organized together because of their relationship to each other)

The section on Methods of Development, below, offers more detail about some of these organizational patterns, along with some others.

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)

Choose one of the following topics, and practice writing a few opening sentences like we did above, once using the general-to-specific format and once using the specific-to-general. Which do you like better? What audience would be attracted to which one? Share with peers to see how others tackled this challenge. How would you rewrite their sentences? Why? Discuss your changes and listen to how your peers have revised your sentences. Taking in other people’s ideas will help you see new ways to approach your own writing and thinking.

• Facing fears
• Safety in sports
• Community policing
• Educating prisoners
• Sex education
• A book or movie that impacted you
• One thing you would change about your community
• Beauty standards
• Toxic masculinity
• How the media affects identity formation
• Gender roles
• Race in America
• The value of art in society
• Travel as part of a well-rounded education
• Drugs and alcohol
• Advice to new parents
• Advice to teachers
• The value of making mistakes
• How you’d spend a million dollars
• What a tough day at work taught you about yourself or others.

Methods of Development

The methods of development covered here are best used as ways to look at what’s already happening in your draft and to consider how you might emphasize or expand on any existing patterns. You might already be familiar with some of these patterns because teachers will sometimes assign them as the purpose for writing an essay. For example, you might have been asked to write a cause-and-effect essay or a comparison-and-contrast essay.

It’s important to emphasize here that patterns of organization or methods of developing content usually happen naturally as a consequence of the way the writer engages with and organizes information while writing. That is to say, most writers don’t sit down and say, “I think I’ll write a cause-and-effect essay today.” Instead, a writer might be more likely to be interested in a topic, say, the state of drinking water in the local community, and as the writer begins to explore the topic, certain cause-and-effect relationships between environmental pollutants and the community water supply may begin to emerge.

So if these patterns just occur naturally in writing, what’s the use in knowing about them? Well, sometimes you might be revising a draft and notice that some of your paragraphs are a bit underdeveloped. Maybe they lack a clear topic, or maybe they lack support. In either case, you can look to these common methods of development to find ways to sharpen those vague topics or to add support where needed. Do you have a clear cause statement somewhere but you haven’t explored the effects? Are you lacking detail somewhere where a narrative story or historical chronology can help build reader interest and add support? Are you struggling to define an idea that might benefit from some comparison or contrast? Read on to consider some of the ways that these strategies can help you in revision. And if you want to learn more, check out what the New York Times has to say in their learning blog article, “ Compare-Contrast, Cause-Effect, Problem Solution: Common ‘Text Types’ in The Times .”

Cause and Effect (or Effect and Cause)

Do you see a potential cause-and-effect relationship developing in your draft? The cause-and-effect pattern may be used to identify one or more causes followed by one or more effects or results. Or you may reverse this sequence and describe effects first and then the cause or causes. For example, the causes of water pollution might be followed by its effects on both humans and animals. You may use obvious transitions to clarify cause and effect, such as “What are the results? Here are some of them…” or you might simply use the words cause , effect , and result , to cue the reader about your about the relationships that you’re establishing.

Here’s an example article from the New York times, “ Rough Times Take Bloom Off a New Year’s Rite, the Rose Parade ,” that explores the cause and effect relationship (from 2011) between Pasadena’s budgetary challenges and the ability of their Rose Parade floats to deck themselves out in full bloom.

Problem-Solution

At some point does your essay explore a problem or suggest a solution? The problem-solution pattern is commonly used in identifying something that’s wrong and in contemplating what might be done to remedy the situation. There are probably more ways to organize a problem-solution approach, but but here are three possibilities:

• Describe the problem, followed by the solution.
• Propose the solution first and then describe the problems that motivated it.
• Or a problem may be followed by several solutions, one of which is selected as the best.

When the solution is stated at the end of the paper, the pattern is sometimes called the delayed proposal. For a hostile audience, it may be effective to describe the problem, show why other solutions do not work, and finally suggest the favored solution. You can emphasize the words problem and solution to signal these sections of your paper for your reader.

Here’s an example article from the New York times, “ Monks Embrace Web to Reach Recruits ,” that highlights an unexpected approach by a group of Benedictine monks in Rhode Island; they’ve turned to social media to grow their dwindling membership. Monks on Facebook? Who knew?

Chronology or Narrative

Do you need to develop support for a topic where telling a story can illustrate some important concept for your readers? Material arranged chronologically is explained as it occurs in time. A chronological or narrative method of development might help you find a way to add both interest and content to your essay. Material arranged chronologically is explained as it occurs in time. This pattern may be used to establish what has happened. Chronology or narrative can be a great way to introduce your essay by providing a background or history behind your topic. Or you may want to tell a story to develop one or more points in the body of your essay. You can use transitional words like then , next , and finally to make the parts of the chronology clear.

Here’s an example article from the Center for Media Literacy (originally published in the journal Media & Values ): “ From Savers to Spenders: How Children Became a Consumer Market .” To encourage his readers to think about why and how children are being marketed to by advertisers, the author uses a historical chronology of how the spending habits of children changed over a number of decades.

Comparison and Contrast

Are you trying to define something? Do you need your readers to understand what something is and what it is not? The comparison-and-contrast method of development is particularly useful in extending a definition, or anywhere you need to show how a subject is like or unlike another subject. For example, the statement is often made that drug abuse is a medical problem instead of a criminal justice issue. An author might attempt to prove this point by comparing drug addiction to AIDS, cancer, or heart disease to redefine the term “addiction” as a medical problem. A statement in opposition to this idea could just as easily establish contrast by explaining all the ways that addiction is different from what we traditionally understand as an illness. In seeking to establish comparison or contrast in your writing, some words or terms that might be useful are by contrast , in comparison , while , some , and others .

Here’s an example article from the New York times: “ Who Wants to Shop in a Big Box Store, Anyway? ” The author explores some interesting differences between the average American and average Indian consumer to contemplate the potential success of big box stores in India and also to contemplate why these giant big box corporations, like Walmart or Target, might have to rethink their business model.

These four methods of development—cause and effect, problem-solution, chronology or narrative, and comparison and contrast—are just a few ways to organize and develop ideas and content in your essays. It’s important to note that they should not be a starting point for writers who want to write something authentic—something that they care deeply about. Instead, they can be a great way to help you look for what’s already happening with your topic or in a draft, to help you to write more, or to help you reorganize some parts of an essay that seem to lack connection or feel disjointed. Look for organizational patterns when you’re reading work by professional writers. Notice where they combine strategies (e.g a problem-solution pattern that uses cause-and-effect organization, or a comparison-contrast pattern that uses narrative or chronology to develop similarities or differences). Pay attention to how different writers emphasize and develop their main ideas, and use what you find to inspire you in your own writing. Better yet, work on developing completely new patterns of your own.

Organizational Development Essay Example

Anticipating change allowed me to get an understanding of the purpose of learning more about the different characteristics of how to become a better leader for the ones under me, especially myself. Organization development is a long range of efforts and programs that deal with improving different organizations that can survive with learning more about problems and how to solve, also conquer different challenges that are given. The challenges that we will deal with are being able to adapt to change while continuously interacting with external forces. Learning how to receive information from the environment to build, make the change, and learning the importance of gaining the information such as adapting to change, making reasonable plans, and improving the importance of staff, workers, and social. 

First, having an understanding of the characteristics dealing with organizational development helps with learning how to be flexible, becoming adaptive with managing a group of people. 5 stages are used in organization development such as anticipating the need for change, developing the practitioner with client relationship, diagnostic phase, an action plan with strategies and techniques, lastly self-renewal monitoring stabilize. Learning in dept of developing a plan that requires you to learn different cultures background, diagnose problems before it becomes an issue, and anticipate on what the future maybe. Implement changing different programs while gathering information on what can be done to improve the workplace. Using different methods that are allowed to meet the needs of the company or self. Collaborate with other leaders. Finding different approaches will help make the company comfortable with changing and growing within itself. With those methods, this can improve performances with you and the workers. To become a leader you have to create systems that are helpful with change inside the organization. 

Secondly, pressuring for change starts with learning the market, product, competition and also considering downsizing and making a renewal. Renewal organization is a consistent change that can be an ongoing process while building a system that is comfortable with learning more about how the company can change. The different ways to adapt to change can be sluggish thermostat management while using this method has a stable goal that is easy to meet and a centralized structure, satisficing management allows you to start planning and making a decision that is concentrated from the top. Transformation management allows the leader to deal with developing new ideas towards the products and the market. While creating change using the environment feedback that can be helpful with rebuilding and gaining the information that improves the development. 

In conclusion, I was able to gather the information that can be helpful with being a leader. The different characteristics and strategies are helpful with gathering information that is with adapting to change, improve the performance, including the cultural beliefs and ways of behaving. Importantly including the success and failure of the organization. Changing the resistance dealing with the culture. Organizational development planned changes on a larger scale, long time goals, and gradual implementation. Remaining focus on the main goals with learning information that is helpful with the major parts. Improving problem-solving, working through different conflicts, and improving the structure of technology management.

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Organization and Structure

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

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There is no single organizational pattern that works well for all writing across all disciplines; rather, organization depends on what you’re writing, who you’re writing it for, and where your writing will be read. In order to communicate your ideas, you’ll need to use a logical and consistent organizational structure in all of your writing. We can think about organization at the global level (your entire paper or project) as well as at the local level (a chapter, section, or paragraph). For an American academic situation, this means that at all times, the goal of revising for organization and structure is to consciously design your writing projects to make them easy for readers to understand. In this context, you as the writer are always responsible for the reader's ability to understand your work; in other words, American academic writing is writer-responsible. A good goal is to make your writing accessible and comprehensible to someone who just reads sections of your writing rather than the entire piece. This handout provides strategies for revising your writing to help meet this goal.

Note that this resource focuses on writing for an American academic setting, specifically for graduate students. American academic writing is of course not the only standard for academic writing, and researchers around the globe will have different expectations for organization and structure. The OWL has some more resources about writing for American and international audiences here .

Whole-Essay Structure

While organization varies across and within disciplines, usually based on the genre, publication venue, and other rhetorical considerations of the writing, a great deal of academic writing can be described by the acronym IMRAD (or IMRaD): Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. This structure is common across most of the sciences and is often used in the humanities for empirical research. This structure doesn't serve every purpose (for instance, it may be difficult to follow IMRAD in a proposal for a future study or in more exploratory writing in the humanities), and it is often tweaked or changed to fit a particular situation. Still, its wide use as a base for a great deal of scholarly writing makes it worthwhile to break down here.

• Introduction : What is the purpose of the study? What were the research questions? What necessary background information should the reader understand to help contextualize the study? (Some disciplines include their literature review section as part of the introduction; some give the literature review its own heading on the same level as the other sections, i.e., ILMRAD.) Some writers use the CARS model to help craft their introductions more effectively.
• Methods: What methods did the researchers use? How was the study conducted? If the study included participants, who were they, and how were they selected?
• Results : This section lists the data. What did the researchers find as a result of their experiments (or, if the research is not experimental, what did the researchers learn from the study)? How were the research questions answered?
• Discussion : This section places the data within the larger conversation of the field. What might the results mean? Do these results agree or disagree with other literature cited? What should researchers do in the future?

Depending on your discipline, this may be exactly the structure you should use in your writing; or, it may be a base that you can see under the surface of published pieces in your field, which then diverge from the IMRAD structure to meet the expectations of other scholars in the field. However, you should always check to see what's expected of you in a given situation; this might mean talking to the professor for your class, looking at a journal's submission guidelines, reading your field's style manual, examining published examples, or asking a trusted mentor. Every field is a little different.

Outlining & Reverse Outlining

One of the most effective ways to get your ideas organized is to write an outline. A traditional outline comes as the pre-writing or drafting stage of the writing process. As you make your outline, think about all of the concepts, topics, and ideas you will need to include in order to accomplish your goal for the piece of writing. This may also include important citations and key terms. Write down each of these, and then consider what information readers will need to know in order for each point to make sense. Try to arrange your ideas in a way that logically progresses, building from one key idea or point to the next.

Questions for Writing Outlines

• What are the main points I am trying to make in this piece of writing?
• What background information will my readers need to understand each point? What will novice readers vs. experienced readers need to know?
• In what order do I want to present my ideas? Most important to least important, or least important to most important? Chronologically? Most complex to least complex? According to categories? Another order?

Reverse outlining comes at the drafting or revision stage of the writing process. After you have a complete draft of your project (or a section of your project), work alone or with a partner to read your project with the goal of understanding the main points you have made and the relationship of these points to one another. The OWL has another resource about reverse outlining here.

Questions for Writing Reverse Outlines

• What topics are covered in this piece of writing?
• In what order are the ideas presented? Is this order logical for both novice and experienced readers?
• Is adequate background information provided for each point, making it easy to understand how one idea leads to the next?
• What other points might the author include to further develop the writing project?

Organizing at the sentence and paragraph level

Signposting.

Signposting is the practice of using language specifically designed to help orient readers of your text. We call it signposting because this practice is like leaving road signs for a driver — it tells your reader where to go and what to expect up ahead. Signposting includes the use of transitional words and phrasing, and they may be explicit or more subtle. For example, an explicit signpost might say:

This section will cover Topic A­­ and Topic B­­­­­.

A more subtle signpost might look like this:

It's important to consider the impact of Topic A­­ and Topic B­­­­­.

The style of signpost you use will depend on the genre of your paper, the discipline in which you are writing, and your or your readers’ personal preferences. Regardless of the style of signpost you select, it’s important to include signposts regularly. They occur most frequently at the beginnings and endings of sections of your paper. It is often helpful to include signposts at mid-points in your project in order to remind readers of where you are in your argument.

Questions for Identifying and Evaluating Signposts

• How and where does the author include a phrase, sentence, or short group of sentences that explains the purpose and contents of the paper?
• How does each section of the paper provide a brief summary of what was covered earlier in the paper?
• How does each section of the paper explain what will be covered in that section?
• How does the author use transitional words and phrases to guide readers through ideas (e.g. however, in addition, similarly, nevertheless, another, while, because, first, second, next, then etc.)?

WORKS CONSULTED

Clark, I. (2006). Writing the successful thesis and dissertation: Entering the conversation . Prentice Hall Press.

Davis, M., Davis, K. J., & Dunagan, M. (2012). Scientific papers and presentations . Academic press.

Organization Development Essays

Organizational culture strategies, popular essay topics.

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Organization Development and Its Future

OD (Organization Development) is mainly the practice and theory of planned, methodical change in the values, beliefs, and attitudes of the employees through creating and reinforcing long-term training programs. It is paramount to note that OD is action-oriented and it begins with a thorough organization-wide investigation of the current situation as well as future requirements. OD mainly employs various behavioral sciences techniques such as transactional analysis, sensitivity training, and behavior modeling. The fundamental objective of OD is to enable an organization adopt better to fast-changing external environments of new technologies, regulations, and markets (Foster, 2014).

In addition, Organizational development is a field of theory, practice, and research devoted to knowledge development. As well, OD is also dedicated to the efficiency of employees or people to achieve a more flourishing performance and change in an organization. OD is also a process of evaluation, action planning, and continuous diagnosis. Its major objective of transferring skills and knowledge to organizations so that they can effectively improve their capacity required for managing future change and solving problems (Foster, 2014).

The history of OD began in the 1950s when human relations studies were conducted. There were reputable psychologists who conducted these studies and they concluded that organizational processes and structures influenced the employee’s motivation and behavior. Currently, the growth of OD has its aim focused on efficiently bringing into line organizations in handling the complex and rapidly changing environment. In order to achieve this, organizational values and norms transformation, organizational learning, and knowledge management has to be aligned effectively. There are various key concepts in OD, and they include the organizational climate, organizational culture, and organizational strategies (Foster, 2014).

OD has been able to change effectively the perception of how people think regarding an organization’s work effectively. OD has continued to change rapidly due to the technological changes, which has ensured that practitioners and leaders are abreast with these changes in achieving organizational success. OD consists of a valuable heritage, which will continue to assist organizations to tackle their challenges. In addition, there will be innovation of new tools and ideas that will enable organizations to handle effectively tougher challenges in organizational and change dynamics particularly in this diverse, complex world. This is the paramount reason OD should be strengthened so that it can maintain its fundamental core values effectively through the establishment of innovative solutions (Foster, 2014).

The future of Organization development is dependent on two main aspects and they include E-change and O-change. The two aspects must go hand-in-hand because OD is an equal and strong supporter of E-change. On the other hand, there are five approaches, which can be utilized in leading a successful organizational change. These five approaches include education, participation and involvement, facilitation and support, negotiation, and straight talk. However, for these approaches to be effective, leaders should not resist resistance. Since they lead a successful organizational change and this change should start with the leader changing first so that the other employees can follow (O’Brien, 2008).

In conclusion, OD is indeed the game-changer in predicting the future of many organizations, and it should be able to overcome leadership, strategy, and competency barriers. OD will always continue to be an integral aspect to the HR professionals so that they can be able to support their organizations in the current turbulent, competitive, and rapidly changing world effectively. OD major focus is to assist in building healthy organizations, which contribute, to the society (Foster, 2014).

Foster, C. (2014). Organization Development. Web.

O’Brien, M. J. (2008). 5 approaches to leading successful organizational change. Leadership and Management. Healthcare Financial Management.

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Organizational Development Theories

Introduction, shifting roles, requirements, and demands, theories supporting organizational development.

Today, in the 21 st century, it is becoming increasingly clear that organizations and their internal and external environments are in a state of constant change due to a multiplicity of factors including globalization, evolving technological trends, and wavering markets (Lyons, Jordan, Faas, & Swindler, 2011).

This preoccupation with change has necessitated researchers and practitioners to use available organizational development theories to develop strategies and methodologies aimed at supporting ongoing change efforts and enhancing the effectiveness of firms in the competitive business arena (Cummings & Worley, 2009). The present paper not only discusses the shifting roles, requirements, and demands of contemporary organizations but also illuminates several organizational development theories commonly used in supporting organizations to change.

Within the organizational development context, it is evident that the effects of globalization, evolving technological inventions, and shifts in human resource practices are playing a significant role in forcing contemporary organizations to implement continuous changes in order to remain competitive in the harsh business environment.

Today, the role of organizations as purely profit-seeking enterprises is increasingly changing in the face of social and environmental concerns that demand businesses to be socially responsible and environmentally friendly. Indeed, available literature demonstrates that increased globalization and advancing technologies are forcing organizational managers to invest in socially responsible programs and implement environmentally friendly policies or risk the wrath of customers and regulatory agencies (Lyons et al., 2011).

Additionally, owing to shifting customer expectations and demands, managers are increasingly forced to change processes and procedures with the view to advancing organizational renewal and promoting the organization’s competitiveness. It is also important to note that the wavering markets and omnipresent competition witnessed in contemporary business environments are increasing the demand for managers to change the operations, processes, and culture of organizations with the view to maintaining a competitive edge over other players (Lyons et al., 2011). Lastly, new human resource practices and employee engagement procedures are increasing the demand for managers to change how enterprises operate with the view to ensuring the health and wellbeing of organizations and their employees (Lynham, Chermack, & Noggle, 2004).

Although organizational development has been defined differentially in the available literature, this paper defines the concept as any “effort that is planned, organization-wide, and managed from the top to increase organization effectiveness and health through planned interventions in the organization’s processes using behavioral-science knowledge” (McLean, 2005, p. 9).

Managers can use available organizational development theories to develop interventions that could be used to deal with the shifting roles, requirements, and demands of organizations. For example, Bridge’s Transition Theory defines three zones of personal transition (an ending, a neutral, and a new beginning) and can be effectively used to inform human resource professionals on how employees are likely to cope with the intended changes, or how they can align employee performance with their coping mechanisms (Cummings & Worley, 2009; Lynham et al., 2004).

Bernoulli’s Expectancy Theory has found widespread usage in organizational development literature, particularly in explaining “the importance of the value that individuals assign to organizational decisions based on potential individual outcomes” (Lynham et al., 2004, p. 163). Consequently, this theory can assist organizational development practitioners and change managers in articulating the impact that a particular change effort may have on employees, customers, and the organization.

The Team-Building Theory contains a multiplicity of theories and perspectives that continue to be used by organizational development professionals to not only explain a range of activities that assist groups and teams in improving on how they comprehend activities and make decisions but also to illuminate the various methodologies and strategies used to enhance the effectiveness of groups and teams within an organization (Lynham et al., 2004; McLean, 2005).

Another important theory in organizational development research is the Game Theory, which “describes and explains decision-making processes that involve multiple people in terms of social interaction” (Lynham et al., 2004, p. 166). These authors indicate that the Game Theory can be of immense importance in assisting organizational development practitioners and human resource professionals to not only understand the autonomy and interaction of employees or processes but also to develop the capacity to evaluate possible results of decisions and actions made by individuals through a conscious, interdisciplinary methodology. Other theories that support the organizational development literature, according to Lynham et al. (2004), include Skinner’s positive reinforcement theory, organizational learning theory, open systems theory, human capital theory, group process consultation, and the theory of communication.

Overall, it has been reported that amplified globalization, advanced technologies, uncertain markets, and a multiplicity of other factors have led managers to increasingly assume the role of change agents, particularly in developing and implementing change efforts intended to ensure the survival and competitiveness of their respective organizations.

Consequently, it is safe to assume that the managerial profession of the future will entail assuming more proactive approaches and highly individualized strategies aimed at dealing with risky decisions arising from the globalized economic outlook. Adequate knowledge and expertise of organizational development theories will, therefore, be instrumental in assisting future managers in developing and implementing proactive changes aimed at solving arising challenges occasioned by increased globalization and improving the health of contemporary firms and employees.

Cummings, T.G., & Worley, C.G. (2009). Organization development and change . Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Lynham, S.A., Chermack, T.J., & Noggle, M.A. (2004). Selecting organization development theory from an HRD perspective. Human Resource Development Review, 3 (2), 151-172.

Lyons, J.B., Jordan, J., Faas, P., & Swindler, S. (2011). Organizational development goes digital: Applying simulation to organizational change. Journal of Change Management, 11 (2), 207-221.

McLean, G.N. (2005). Organization development principles, processes, performance . San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

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Organizational Development

Updated 19 September 2023

Subject HR Management ,  Management ,  Workforce

Downloads 46

Category Business ,  Economics

Topic Organization

Organizational development (OD)

Organizational development (OD) refers to the study of effective administrative adjustments and the performance of employees. It is used to modify areas that are not profitable for companies. In most cases, changes occur on technological set-ups, working culture, data storage, and financial management in the firms. The process is usually planned by the top management team that has expertise in their area of specialization.

Humanization of workers

Organizational development enables individuals who perform duties to be viewed as humans instead of being seen as resources. Also, the concept is observed as a channel in which workers find an opportunity to show their capabilities. Besides, OD is seen as a venture where the company’s goals are readily accomplished by employees (Freedman, 2016). Furthermore, OD is seen as a practice that appreciates the efforts which people make in their daily lives.

Historical background

The term “organizational development” came into existence in the 1930s when the human rights activists started advocating for the wellbeing of people in various enterprises. OD contributed significantly to good characters and also improved the morale of workers (Lewis, Passmore & Cantore, 2016). Therefore, managers saw the essential of incorporating this concept into their regular operations for efficiency purposes. Today, OD is focusing on matters that deal with the changes which emerge in most of the global organizations.

Kurt Lewin's influence

The other origin of OD is believed to be founded by Kurt Lewin who lived between 1898 and 1947. According to Freedman (2016), Lewin focused on the problems that employees were facing in organizations. Eventually, Lewin highlighted that working in a group helped in discovering issues that were associated with management. Hence, his concept led to the inception of a "Research Center for Group Dynamics" (REGD) that was set up in Michigan after his demise (Lewis, Passmore & Cantore, 2016). Lewin's idea on OD is that workers become fruitful when they work and collaborate.

Freedman, A. M. (2016). The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of the psychology of leadership, change, and organizational development. John Wiley " Sons.

Lewis, S., Passmore, J., " Cantore, S. (2016). Appreciative inquiry for change management: Using AI to facilitate organizational development. Kogan Page Publishers.

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