Organisation Development, as a field, is messy, imperfect and hard to get hold of; it is like nailing jelly to the wall.A Field Guide for Organisation Development offers a variety of perspectives and unparalleled experiences from practitioners and researchers who all share an interest and involvement in Organisation Development (OD). In it are multiple voices, mindsets and practices - not all of which necessarily agree with each other.Leading OD practitioners present a contemporary, practical guide that tackles the dilemmas and polarities that face anyone studying or practising within the OD arena, and encourages them to develop their own particular practice of OD in way that is appropriate for their context, skills and preferences, while challenging them to look beyond what comes naturally. Here are new ways to support the growth and development of an organisation from modest endeavours that are small in scale to organisation-wide change programmes.A Field Guide for Organisation Development is as comprehensive a resource to support the practice of Organisation Development as can be found anywhere. It covers issues of organisational health as well as offering tools aimed at supporting practitioners to survive in the harsh realities of organisational life. It contains chapters on the OD practitioner, on groups, on culture, on data and evaluation. It offers perspectives on change, on the relationship between OD and HR, and on the use of external consultants.
Contents: Foreword; Introduction: a note from the editors; What is organisation development?: an introduction to the field, Ed Griffin; HR and organisation development: a match made in heaven or the odd couple?, Angela Baron; The practitioner at the heart of OD: the role of the individual, Martin Saville; The reality of organisational life: working at the edges and in the spaces in between, Mike Alsop; Working with chaos and complexity: an OD practitioner perspective, Andy Smith; Underpinning OD practice with data: using data wisely, James Traeger; Working with groups in organisations: 'could you come and do something with my team?', Penny Lock; Large group interventions: a potent alchemy, Sue Belgrave; Culture and OD: appreciating the 'unseen hand' governing behavior in organisation, Grahame Smith and Paul Brewerton; Planning and managing complex change - where OD meets project management, Niki Dalton; Working with external consultants - smart contracting and consulting, Kate Mulcahy; Measuring and evaluating OD: return on investment?, Liz Finney and Jo Hennessy; Index.