Organizational Development
Organizational development refers to practices that are put in place in an organization to improve the organization’s operations and functioning (Anderson, 2011).
Conflict Resolution
An OD consultant is often hired in different circumstances such as when an organization’s employees are having conflicts amongst themselves which definitely affects how the organization performs. For example, there may be two employees who are at constant conflict because one thinks the other is too bossy and keeps on imposing his/her ideas on people. The fact that some people do not like being bossed around will lead to conflict which affects team spirit and productivity within the organization.
OD Interventions
There are different OD interventions that are put in place to solve specific problems in an organizations. In some instance, more than one intervention team be used in one problem but at times just one intervention can be useful in a specific scenario. For a scenario where there is interpersonal conflict between two employees, team-building is an OD intervention that can be applied. During team building activities, the employees bond with each other to improve their relationship and help them develop a healthy working relationship (Anderson, 2011). The employee who feel aggrieved can use the opportunity to air his/her grievances leading to resolution of the contested issues. The atmosphere created during team building is conducive for the employees to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and also to understand that so much more can be achieved when they work together as a team.
Challenges of OD Interventions
As much as OD interventions are to be of benefit to the organization, at times there are challenges that occur. At times, the employees may not be willing to be part of the intervention or even worse, the intervention may bear no fruit as the interpersonal conflict within the employees may continue even after the intervention process. Despite such odds, OD intervention is a good practice that should be upheld in an organization so as to boost team spirit and enhance output.
References
Anderson, D. L. (2011). Cases and Exercises in Organization Development and Change. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Incorporated.
