Organizations are expected to adapt to the various changes that happen both internally and externally for them to thrive. The changes include globalization of markets, new technologies, increased customer diversity, improved knowledge, changing customer preferences, natural disasters, economic downturns or upturns, and sudden changes or reorganization in management. For an organization to be successful in adapting to such changes, it needs to engage in planned change which is a strategic and intentional process that aids in problem-solving and overcoming challenges. The practice of planned change is referred to as organizational change (OD) (Course Work). Therefore, organizational change is an intentional change process that uses an evidence-based approach in planning for change that increases the health and effectiveness of an organization . Organizational consultants are professionals responsible for steering organizations through complex and changing environments by applying planned responses to challenges and problems. The unplanned changes require a sudden shift to adapt to the changes. OD is vital to the success of an organization with the help of OD consultants because it helps an organization to easily adapt to the ever-changing environment. It is important for an OD consultant to determine whether the issue is an OD problem or an internal issue that should be addressed before accepting the job.
For an OD consultant to determine the validity of the problem or whether the issue is an OD problem, he/she should carry out a problem diagnosis. The most essential technique or tool in determining the validity of a problem is the ability to accurately diagnose the needs of clients and organizational needs (Turi, Sorooshian, & Javed, 2019). Data collection is critical in the diagnosis of the problem because it offers an informed decision. The process involves the identification and recognition of the problems by data gathering, assessment of the cause of the problem, and initial investigations that help in ascertaining the available options. During the process, it is possible to examine the client’s expressed and unexpressed needs. The expressed needs are those issues that the client is aware of and can articulate and hence wants assistant from an OD consultant in solving them. On the other hand, unexpressed needs are potentially unknown issues that the client is unaware of or does not raise when expressing him/herself (Course Book). The consultant then meets various groups in the organization to determine the problems and challenges the organization is going through. The methods used to collect information may be through surveys and interviews whereby the respondents give valuable information. Therefore, during the diagnosis of the problem, the OD can know the challenges and problems of the organization and therefore can be able to come up with the most appropriate plan of addressing the issues.
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The verification of the information is important in avoiding assumptions that may otherwise lead to erroneous conclusions which then lead to developing the wrong interventions. An assessment of the situation is also important in determining the extent of the problem which is vital in assessing the validity of the problem (Lau, Lee, & Chung, 2019). During the assessment, it is essential to gather all facts related to the issues at hand which will then help in developing a suitable plan for resolving the problem. After facts are collected and assessed and the diagnosis is achieved, it is essential to share feedback on data analysis with the client.
The next action is making a plan on how to solve the problem or challenge by the OD consultant based on data analysis and feedback. Planning should take into consideration all the information gathered and it should aim at addressing the diagnosed problem. The suggested recommendations should be taken into consideration. However, caution should be taken when considering the suggestions from the client to avoid repeating the same problem. When developing a sketch plan, it is essential to include the persons who are responsible for the problems and the most appropriate solutions to the problems (Course Book). A detailed action plan should be developed which should also include time. Identification of areas that need a change in the organization should be included in the plan. There should be an analysis of every need and the potential effects of each change determined.
The criteria for OD consulting is based on the problems an organization is facing. Organizations will decide to consult an OD consultant when there is a complex and changing environment either internally or externally so that they can come up with planned responses to the challenges and problems. The decision to go to an OD consultant is also based on the kind of interventions that are required to solve a problem. It is also necessary to consider the abilities and competencies of the workers within a company whether they can deal with the problem before going for external OD consultants (Shelygov, Biryukov, & Avramenko, 2019). When choosing the right OD consultant, he/she must be able to offer support, help, advice, and counsel which means that he/she has more competencies than what the organization has. Therefore, it is essential to determine whether OD consulting is necessary or not by considering those factors.
Sample Response
The problem being experienced by the organization is not an OD problem because it has more to do with the internal affairs of the organization. The organizational problem can be solved by ensuring there is effective communication at the workplace. The main issue is poor communication which leads to poor coordination and hence the main issues of inaccurate and late deliveries. The poor dispute resolution is a result of poor communication. However, the root cause of that is the pressure at work due to the high workload. The supervisor of the department has poor dispute resolution by taking a laid-back approach. There is a need, therefore, need to address the pressure on workers by increasing the employees in the department. That will increase their morale and reduce the pressure. It is also important to enhance effective communication within the workplace by training the workers. A culture of respect should be formalized by creating a code of ethics policy that describes how workers should behave. The supervisor should take a conflict resolution course to enable him to solve the conflicts that arise within the workplace.
Conclusion
Organizational development is vital for the success of an organization in the ever changing internal and external environments. It is important to have a planned change that helps companies adapt to the changes that may occur. OD consultancy is important for diagnosing problems and challenges in an organization and coming up with solutions. It collects information which is then analyzed to show where a problem or challenge is. The information is essential in developing a plan that then helps solve a problem. Before offering OD consulting, it is important to first determine whether the problem or challenges are valid. The validity of a problem is determined by considering the impact of the challenge. It is important to check whether the internal systems have the competencies of addressing the issues before going for external OD consultancy. An external OD consultant should be to provide relevant solutions, help, support and advice in order to help the organization overcome the challenges they are going through successfully.
References
Corse Work. file:///C:/Users/Steven/AppData/Local/Temp/Temp3_2021-01-26%2004_50_26.903512_282475.zip/459253chapter%201%202%203.pdf
Lau, K. W., Lee, P. Y., & Chung, Y. Y. (2019). A collective organizational learning model for organizational development. Leadership & Organization Development Journal .
Shelygov, A. V., Biryukov, V. A., & Avramenko, G. M. (2019). Assessing organizational development and analyzing strategic actions in a company. Экономика и предпринимательство , (6), 1311-1316.
Turi, J. A., Sorooshian, S., & Javed, Y. (2019). Impact of the cognitive learning factors on sustainable organizational development. Heliyon , 5 (9), e02398.
