The research and practice in the field of OD has led to the emergence of new
concepts and interventions. Therefore, OD is a continuously growing field.
The factors that add to the strength of OD include soundness of its
processes, the emphasis of OD interventions on democratic processes and on
bringing about a simultaneous change in people as well as technology. Though
OD seems to have a promising future, there are certain factors that have the
potential to make the future of OD uncertain. These include nature of
organizational leadership and the values of top management, knowledge of
management about OD, the importance given by management to training employees
in OD skills, interdisciplinary nature of OD, dissemination of OD techniques,
integration of techniques in the field of OD with those in other fields and
the recording and maintenance of the history of OD.
The changes in global economy, technology and nature of workforce have
significant implications for the future of OD. In the future, OD will become
a part of organizational operations and OD skills will be acquired by
employees at every level in the organization. OD processes will use advanced
technology and the duration of OD interventions will be reduced. OD will
focus on learning and innovation and its interdisciplinary nature will
increase. As OD practitioners have to work with diverse client organizations
and cross-cultural teams, they will need to develop the required competence.
Prior to solving the value dilemmas of modern organizations, OD practitioners
will be required to resolve the dilemma within themselves regarding the focus
of OD interventions.
Short Case Studies / Caselets
