Organization Development: Strategic Role of Change and its Impact

Organization Development
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Organizations worldwide find themselves in the middle of inescapable and unprecedented uncertainty and chaos. To overcome these pitfalls and remain relevant and competent, they have to keep on developing. Organization development is a systematic process of planned change geared toward enhancing the effectiveness of organizations (Cummings & Worley, 2015). It entails several steps: entering and contracting, diagnosing, collecting and analyzing diagnostic information, designing interventions, managing change, and evaluating interventions.
Entering and contracting is the foremost step, and it involves the preliminary definition of the organization’s problems or opportunities for development. It also concerns establishing a relationship between those implementing changes and the clients, which helps them to collaborate. Diagnosis is the second phase of development, and it is the process of understanding the current functioning of a system. It helps to identify potential interventions that can improve an organization’s effectiveness (Cummings & Worley, 2015). The third step is collecting, analyzing, and feeding back diagnostic information. The step is vital as it helps to assess how an organization is performing and decide the best interventions for change. The fourth step is designing interventions; it entails resolving identified problems and improving specific areas of organizational functioning. That is followed by managing change which involves planning and implementing interventions to enhance effectiveness. The last stage of the development cycle is evaluating interventions, and it provides feedback to all stakeholders. It aims to communicate the progress and impact of interventions.
Strategic Role of Change and its Impact
Organizational change refers to the process of redefining operating strategies and structures. The fundamental role of change is to remain relevant and competent. For instance, organizations need to change to keep pace with customers' needs, which are perpetually evolving (CHRON, 2020). Change also helps organizations to adjust and align themselves with global economic changes. In a nutshell, change enables organizations to navigate dynamic circumstances.
The impact of change on an organization's performance substantially depends on how the organizations handle change (Saleh, 2022). As such, the impact can either be negative or positive. A positive impact enables an organization to enhance employees' productivity and job satisfaction tremendously. In addition, change that involves streamlining processes results in better decision-making. This ensures the smooth running of affairs, thus minimizing unnecessary losses.