The article discusses some of the current trends in organizational development. Importantly, the author of the article asserts that for a business to create a niche in the market, managers should be aware of the significant trends that would affect the businesses. They should forecast on the changes that may occur in businesses and their impacts on organization success (DeRosa, 2017). One of the trends discussed in the article is the growth of cross-generational and cross-functional teams. Notably, most of the businesses today are creating employee teams, which may contain variations in generations of workers. The main reason for creating the cross-functional and cross-generational teams is to ensure that diverse talents and viewpoints are pooled together. This would result in increased innovation. However, coming up with such teams would require businesses to clarify responsibilities and roles of the employees. The businesses should also ensure that they build strong communication channels between the team members. Building these teams is beneficial in that the younger employees to get the opportunity of interacting and learning from experienced colleagues (DeRosa, 2017).
The other trend discussed in the article is the increase in organizational complexity. Because of the growth and adaptation of new technologies and processes, many businesses have become increasingly complex. Other factors that have increased the complexity of companies is an increase in the globalization of companies and the emergence of cross-functional teams. This is perceived in the interdepartmental interactions and organizational structures.
The other trend is increased use of mobile Apps for the management of the business. It is worth noting that technology has simplified processes and can perform complex operations that may be cumbersome when done manually. In Today’s world, most of the OD managers are using mobile Apps to implement and communicate changes in organizations (DeRosa, 2017). The article concludes that change is the constant organizational development. Lack of preparedness for change in businesses has resulted in failures in most organization development initiatives.
The Relationship between the Article and Organization Development
The article being reviewed is closely connected to organizational development in various ways. The trends discussed are some of the current changes that companies have adopted to ensure that they achieve a competitive advantage and high performance (Marshall, 2017). A good example would be the emergence of cross-generational and cross-sectional teams, which assists companies in creating teamwork and enhancing innovation. Importantly, innovation is driven by the sharing of ideas and support by these teams. I believe that the article has given sufficient information regarding the current trends in organizational development. However, it requires more information and examples on the stated trends.
References
DeRosa, D. (2017). Preparing for Change: 2018 Organizational Development Trends. Retrieved from https://www.business2community.com/leadership/preparing-change-2018- organizational-development-trends-01957132
Marshall, D. (2017). What is Organization Development?. Retrieved from https://ideas.bkconnection.com/what-is-organizational-development
