This week’s discussion is an interesting one because we’re looking at my personal views on the future of Organizational Development (OD). The problem with this is that I consider myself too new and inexperienced to really know any better. In fact, aren’t we all a bit new because in the overall span of human time OD is still a relatively new discipline? While I think OD is relevant to today's world, in the future it very well may become a fad.
It’s mentioned in our text that “some executives like to latch on to almost any new concept that promises a quick fix for their problems” (Brown, 2011). I find this similar to how people react with stock investment and stock investment strategies. A lot of strategies can work, but only over the long term. As soon as one strategy fails, people abandon ship and look for the next. Take Total Quality Management (TQM) for example. The Air Force adopted it back in the 90’s and immediately discarded it as ineffective (McAneny, 2010). Instead, the Air Force created its own homebrew strategy it could call its own based on a number of other strategies.
Another aspect that could make OD a fad is the changing environment that we live in. As aspects of our jobs become more and more automated, the types of strategies that we employ will have to adjust. It may even come to the point where strategy isn’t needed anymore as everything will be automated. Take WALL-E for example and the scene where every human is able to enjoy the luxury’s of life without ever lifting a finger (Juggler, 2013). I’m not sure I hope to ever see that happen, but it’s a very real possibility.
While I do think OD has important and useful aspects to it in today's world, I can’t speak as for its future. Even if OD is improved upon and changes with the coming times, it wouldn’t be the same OD that we know today. It would simply be something different with the same name. I don’t think this is bad by any stretch of the imagination as we need to learn, adapt, and evolve. But I also wouldn’t be surprised if 50 years from now we have something completely different and brand new.
References
Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (Eighth Edition ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Juggler, F. (2013, December 24). Fitless Humans (WALL·E). Retrieved December 6, 2015, from YouTUbe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-kdRdzxdZQ
McAneny, P. (2010). Red Is Good: Transformational Changes for Air Force Aircraft Maintenance. Air Force Journal of Logistics, 120-133.
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