Field Of Organization Development Research Articles

Applying Design Thinking to Develop AI-Based Multi-Actor Decision-Support Systems: A Case Study on Human Capital Investments

Artificial intelligence, particularly machine learning, has revolutionized organizational decision-making processes by assuming many decision responsibilities traditionally allocated to humans. In this scenario, decision-support systems based on AI have gained considerable relevance, although the attitudes of managers toward intelligent agents are still unbalanced towards human intervention in decision-making. An additional level of complexity arises when the development of these systems occurs within the context of investments in human capital, such as startup funding or organizational development. In this field, decision-making becomes even more critical, since it implies the will, goals, and motivations of every human actor involved: the investors and those seeking investments. termed multi-actor decision-making, this process involves multiple individuals or groups of individuals who, starting from non-coincident objectives, must reach a mutual agreement and converge toward a common goal for the success of the investment. Considering these challenges, this study aims to apply the design thinking technique as a human-centered methodology to support the design of an AI-based multi-actor decision-support system, conceived by Mylia (The Adecco Group), in the field of organizational development. Additionally, the integration of strategic organizational counseling will be introduced to facilitate the modeling of internal DM processes within the provider organization, enabling the seamless flow of internal behaviors from the decision-support system’s conceptualization to its integration in the external market.

A Study of the Work-Life Balance of IT Professionals in Bengaluru: An Empirical Investigation

This study analyses the degree of work-life balance and challenges among IT Professionals of Bengaluru-based IT companies. The study has used both quantitative and qualitative analysis by using random and snowballing techniques to study the population. A structured questionnaire through an online survey form is used to collect the data. Smart PLS and IBM SPSS have been used to test the relation PLS algorithm and bootstrapping for quantitative analysis. For qualitative analysis, we used one on one interview method. We found 63 percent of responses for work-life balance can be explained from the WLB model and that females had better work-life balance and less pressure than male professionals. The study’s outcome lies in female employees compared to male employees. This research has implications for scholars and practitioners in the field of human resource management, as well as novelty in the field of organizational development and growth in particular.

Lessons Learnt From Facilitating Action Learning With Youth Facing Multiple Adversities

Action learning has proven to be an effective change process in the field of organisational development, where it originated. However, can it work equally well with young people who face intersectional adversities that negatively affect their holistic well-being, sense of purpose, and self-worth? This paper presents the case of a participatory action learning and action research project that we considered a failure because, after eight months of working with eight youth rendered vulnerable by sociostructural oppression, group cohesion and collaboration towards a common purpose did not materialise. Our analysis of three focus groups conducted with the youth after the engagement, various electronic communications with and between them, and our own reflections as facilitators, taught us some harsh lessons about the complexities of working with such vulnerable populations. Through critical reflection on the lessons learnt, we aim to "fail forward" in true action learning style. Therefore, we offer our learning to assist others working with similar groups to avoid the mistakes we made.

Longing for Life-Giving Organisational Development

This is the story of OD for Life, an emerging movement within the field of Organisational Development. It is a story of appreciation, inquiry and stewardship; of being guided by life’s principles; and of imagining a future where the explicit purpose of OD is to cultivate a more thrivable world.

ADAPTATION MECHANISM FOR ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The lines of this research are determined by the relevance and inadequate elaboration of the company development theory and method in view of the cyclicity of company functioning, and the urgent practical importance of activities for the reorganization of domestic business entities. According to the author, an adequate representation of the organization is the organizational culture, the definition of the unity that is formed as independent, assimilatory development. In addition, we should understand the organization as security systems optimally protect an orderly set that has a common and ensures the protection of the internal and external environment necessary for organizational effectiveness. Through the use of the author's adaptation mechanism, supply managers understand the life cycle in which their organization operates, evaluate the existing potential of the economic entity, determine the design structure of management systems, and create and use them. Methods of implementation of system transformations. By using the adaptation mechanism developed by the authors, company executives will be able to understand the life cycle stage of their business activity, to estimate the available potential of the economic entity, to identify the main components of the management system to be changed, to choose and implement the proposed methods of systemic transformations. The results of the authors’ research are intended for further development of theoretical and empirical analysis in the field of organizational development. Keywords: company, life cycle theory, models, procedure, methods, strategy, structure, personnel, organizational culture.

Insider Action Research for Human Resource Development

While action research is well-established in the field of organization development and change (ODC) its profile in human resource development (HRD) is less visible. Even less visible within HRD are accounts of how action research is conducted within organizations by their managers and other members who adopt it as an approach to managing change and other organizational challenges. In order to share thoughts and ideas on doing action research we draw from academic knowledge as well as experience integrating theory and practice, from being engaged in designing, delivering, assessing and improving group and individual activities to support ongoing learning and development. In this guest editorial, we introduce insider action research and its potential for HRD research and offer views from professional and personal experience, analysis, thoughts and speculations about how action research is important and useful for HRD and how those who use and benefit from doing it may be able to be encouraged to more widely share case studies and to write up insider action research projects for publication.

Mission Intended to Last?

The closer the end of the apostle Paul's life and ministry comes into view, the more some of his co-workers and congregations turn away from him. This article speculates on the reasons for this phenomenon, which Paul himself expresses in his presumably last letter, 2 Timothy. The focus is particularly on the personality of the apostle, which seems to intensify with advancing age, even in its challenging features. Based on the results of the study, the article concludes by reflecting on sustainable leadership for those in positions of responsibility in today's churches. The article provides connection opportunities, especially for psychological and sociological studies focusing on guidance by leaders in advanced age as well as for studies in historical research on emotions and studies in the field of organizational development.

The Effect of Job Stress and Feeling of Entrapment on Perceived Task Performance and the Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction in the Scope of Organizational Sustainability

Purpose: Increasing productivity in organizations is also an important function for organizational sustainability. It is seen in the literature that organizational development issues such as job stress, task performance and job satisfaction are intensively examined. However, the deterioration of work and private life balance in recent years has also created some negative effects on business life. Design/Methodology/Approach: The concept of entrapment emerges as a concept of increasing importance in this period. The trap, which we encounter mostly in the studies conducted in the field of psychology in the literature, is also an important concept in the field of organizational development. Especially in this recent period, it is understood that issues such as the lack of direct control over the employees and the negative impact of the work/private-life balance of the employees trigger the concept of being trapped. In this study, the concepts of job stress, task performance, job satisfaction and entrapment are examined from a different perspective within the scope of corporate sustainability. With the statistical study on call center employees, some raw data were obtained from 699 people representing different demographic structures. Findings: Then, the obtained data were subjected to statistical analysis and the relationships between them were determined. Discussion: As a result of the statistical analysis, it was determined that there was a positive relationship between the concepts examined. It is thought that this study will contribute to the literature, especially in terms of revealing the relationship of the concept of entrapment with other related topics and how it affects other issues.

Organizational Implications of Pope Francis’ Integral Ecology

We explore Pope Francis's “integral ecology” in the encyclical Laudato Si (Francis, 2015) as it provides us with an agenda for a planetary virtue ethic that should inspire the field of Organizational Development to reconsider the moral implications of our work. We begin by offering the framework of virtue ethics as a way of understanding Laudato Si (LS). We then summarize the argument in LS as it focuses on four ecological issues—climate change, pollution, water, and the plight of the poor as we tease out the document's implicit virtue ethic. Finally, we propose how OD practitioners can become more aware of the lens through which they approach their task, thereby coming to regard organizational change initiatives and moral-identity development as a single, undifferentiated, act.

Action learning as a practice: A case study of compassion in action

The need for compassion – broadly defined as noticing suffering, feeling empathetic concern, and taking action – is emerging as a crucial issue for 21st-century workplaces and organizations (Seppälä et al., 2017). This paper presents a case study of an action learning initiative that was designed to put compassion into action in a UK higher education organization. Action learning involves a small group working on real problems from practice, taking action, and learning as individuals, team/group and organization. This way of working has been part of the work and organizational psychology practitioner toolkit since its inception by Reg Revans in the 1940s (Pedler, 2021). This case study demonstrates Revans’ (2011) practical approach to integrating action learning into every-day situations and enhancing the practical and professional skills of the workforce, which in this instance focuses upon compassion in action. The paper also illustrates the role of work and organizational psychologists as ‘third space’ practitioners (Whitchurch, 2013) in the professional field of organizational development. It demonstrates how collaborative academic-practitioner relationships and learning enabled the practice of compassion in action through creation of shared stories of self-compassion (Nowlan, 2021). It also emphasises critical action learning to illustrate practical application and use of systems-psychodynamics thinking, and the unconscious processes that play out within and between groups and individuals at work (Obholzer & Roberts, 2019). The paper highlights the importance of reflective supervision in action learning, which in this case study used the innovative concept of social dreaming (Archer, 2021).

Why won’t people speak up? Unpacking silence at work

PurposeThis paper examines employee silence, namely, the causes of silence and how it might be overcome.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from academic research and work with organizations, the author explains that workplace diversity is insufficient to guarantee the contributions of diverse voices. The author then provides an overview of why individuals choose to remain silent and explores aspects of organizational culture and climate that contribute to silencing behaviors. Finally, the author offers suggestions on how organizational leaders can overcome silence.FindingsThe findings suggest that employee voice can be activated through a psychologically safe working environment in which leaders adopt a learning mindset, practice humility, create opportunities for all team members to contribute, treat people with fairness and respect, and hold others accountable to do the same. The findings also indicate that leaders can support safe and inclusive working environments by challenging basic assumptions and accepting vulnerability.Originality/valueThis paper makes an important contribution to the field of organization development and change by providing suggestions for how organizations can address workplace concerns and enhance performance by removing the inhibitors of “employee voice”.

Mutual Sense-Censoring, Generative Exploration, and Collaborative Change

Although several extant studies have focused on the discourse-based organizational change, the full potential of the change practices in global meaning-making systems has remained unexplored in the field of organization development and change (ODC) research. Hence, the major objective of this article is to develop systematic explanations on the power mechanisms in multinational corporations (MNCs) by proposing a model that implies the evolutional co-existence of various meaning-making patterns in the headquarter-subsidiary relationship. Furthermore, this paper attempts to explore the implications of some questions, such as what kind of leadership is more conducive for the constructive dialogic setting in the context of the headquarters-subsidiary relationship and how practitioners can facilitate a smooth transition from the mutual sense-censoring phase to the collaborative action phase in multi-cultural settings. The author uses a Japanese manufacturing MNC as a case in point and shows that the change practitioners are in charge of the crucial position to keep a good balance to create psychological safety in a dialogic space and to lead members to move ahead with the sense of crisis. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of leadership, the change leaders’ authentic self-descriptiveness can provoke organizational members to imagine and develop new ways of looking at the complex organizational realities.

What’s in a Name / Hashtag? Implications for the Field of Organization Development

As demonstrated by Ogle, Tenkasi, & Brock (2020), organization development, as a field, is not significantly represented in social media when measured by social media’s quintessential mark – the ha...

What Can Leadership-as-Practice Contribute to OD?

ABSTRACT This paper seeks to find complementarities and make contributions to the field of organization development (OD) from the new field of leadership-as-practice (L-A-P), and in so doing, enhance the development of OD in practice. Rather than looking for leadership in people, especially in their traits and behaviours, leadership-as-practice looks for it in everyday practice, in the spaces between people, and in emergent dynamic social interactions. To find leadership, we look to the practice within which it is occurring. The paper explores these premises by first discussing some of the principal classifications of OD throughout its history. It then offers ways in which L-A-P can potentially enhance OD in both theory and application. MAD statement While the merits of the dialogue and diagnostic models of OD have been submitted to debate, another process approach has been percolating, that of leadership-as-practice. This paper advances a number of principles and practices that can potentially enhance OD in both theory and application.

Leveraging Applied Behavioral Science in Business Settings: The Field of Organization Development

Leveraging Applied Behavioral Science in Business Settings: The Field of Organization Development

Inclusion starts with “I”? The missing ingredient in leading change: the case of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

PurposeThis paper examines how organizations can overcome cultural barriers and support leaders in creating more inclusive workplaces.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from personal experience as a senior leader within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the author provides a brief overview of the organization’s approach to creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace, including her role in overseeing the change effort. The author then describes how certain aspects of the RCMP culture manifested in bias against others, and contributed to leaders’ efforts to cover up important parts of their identity to fit in. Finally, the author presents self-acceptance and personal vulnerability as building blocks for a more inclusive style of leadership.FindingsThe findings of this paper suggest that diversity and inclusion efforts that fail to address harmful aspects of organizational culture are unlikely to be successful. The findings also suggest that this barrier may be overcome through a greater understanding of the cultural norms that are most valued, of practicing inclusion at three different levels, starting with the individual, and of supporting leaders to begin the practice of inclusion, staring from the inside out.Originality/valueThis paper makes an important contribution to the field of organization development by providing a brief snapshot of one leader’s experience in attempting to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace, and makes recommendations for how the challenges presented might be overcome.

Edgar Schein on Change: Insights Into the Creation of a Model

This article explores Edgar Schein’s sociopsychological model of change by relating Schein’s reflections on how he derived it from and extended Lewin’s model and how it informs contemporary change theory. Schein’s accounts of how he created his change model provides something of a mirror into his process of theorizing. The aim of this article is to reflect on Schein’s change model as to how he created and understands his formulation of his change model, with a view to drawing lessons for practices of creating models or theorizing in the field of organization development and change.

Making Sense of Positive Organization Development

The field of organization development (OD) has put increasing attention on the study and practice of positive organization development (POD), which is a form of OD that focuses on the elements and ...

Knowledge Production in Organization Development: An Interiority-based Perspective

ABSTRACTContemporary social science philosophy is bedevilled with debates about the nature of knowledge production. This article introduces the philosophical notion of interiority whereby, by focusing on the operations of knowledge production in the human mind, OD scholars and researchers can ground Modes 1 and 2 in a bigger picture of what is common to all research. This perspective which recognizes different ways of knowing in different situations cuts through the polarized differences between Modes 1 and 2. Rather than looking at what is different between them this article explores their complementarity through an interiority-based OD research framework.MAD statementThis article focuses on how knowledge is produced in the field of organization development (OD). Mode 1 produces knowledge in a disciplinary context and aims at producing scientific knowledge. Mode 2 focuses on creating knowledge for practical use through a partnership between researchers and practitioners. Both modes are valuable for managers and OD practitioners for how they contribute to knowledge production. A comprehensive framework based on six macrophases in OD knowledge production is advanced by focusing on kind of knowledge that is needed for what purpose (an activity of the human mind which we call interiority).

Unheard: the voice of users in the development of quality in career guidance services

ABSTRACTThe centrality of the users as partners in quality development is highlighted in official documents on career guidance, such as the EU Resolutions on Lifelong Guidance from 2004 and 2008. In addition, increased numbers of scholars in the field of organisational development and public service innovation highlight the importance of user participation as key in building stronger and more relevant services. Thus, policy rhetoric and research-based knowledge point in this direction: the main person in guidance interventions is the user, and the user should be involved. With this backdrop, it would seem evident that the voice of users was taken seriously in the planning, in the selection of methods and in the practical ways of offering guidance. Nordic research, however, shows that there is quite a gap between the rhetoric and realities when it comes to the systemic involvement of users in designing and offering guidance, even in the Nordic countries where democracy and active citizenship are so deeply rooted. This situation reveals some aspects of the uneasy relationship between individual and society.