This book is based on the premise that OD should be more relevant today than ever before and the observation that, by and large, executives ignore OD or relegate it to the bowels o the organization. This leads us to a crucial and paradoxical question: “If OD is so potentially relevant, why is it often ignored?”
Today change is constant and inevitable (as are death and taxes). If fact, one could argue that producing and managing change is the core task of leaders — and isn’t OD synonymous with change?
With exponentially increasing movement toward knowledge industries, tapping into and fully using human expertise is more important than ever before. Offering approaches that “tap into” member knowledge is a particular strength of OD …
Selected Editorial Reviews
A hard hitting yet hopeful look at a field concerned with renewal that is in need of renewal itself. This book is full of intelligent questions, provocative appraisals, and prescriptions for action that they serve.
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School
Wise, invaluable advice that the field and its practitioners should heed if the field of OD is to take its rightful place as an applied behavioral science that can make a difference in the economic and human affairs of organizations.
Michael Beer, Harvard Business School
Few disciplines in decline have subjected themselves to so profound a self-evaluation. It should lead ?to a rejuvenation of the field. Whether or not it does, there is a great deal to learn here about organizations and relevant professional practice.
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania