Management
Issue No. 51 - February/March 2010
OD aligns people with process
In our information-based global economy, it is people, not physical assets, who are critical and the primary source of an organisation’s competitive advantage.
However, unlike physical assets, an organisation cannot ‘own’ an employee and thus it must win the hearts and minds of its people to ensure its key talent want to perform at their best and remain loyal to the organisation. Becoming an employer of choice means having the right mix of people and culture and providing the training, development, coaching and support employees desire to be the best they can be in their role, assisting them achieve their career aspirations and ensuring the organisation meets its strategic objectives.
This is the essence of Organisation Development. The term ‘Organisation Development’ denotes the many activities and strategies that shape the competence, performance, remuneration and retention of people in an organisation. OD forms part of the overall human resource management function.
OD is the more proactive, strategic and dynamic aspect of the HR function and all operational OD activities must closely align with the current and future business needs of the organisation. People delivering OD services, whether in-house or outsourced, must clearly understand the business they serve and its corporate objectives. They should operate in a true ‘business partner’ relationship and be able to demonstrate their value-add to the organisation’s internal and external customers and stakeholders.
OD has only really come to prominence recently, due to competitive pressures on organisations which have forced managers to look for internal sources of competitive advantage. In the past, most managers were not interested in the unique elements and structures that characterise an organisation, and did not understand the principles and tools impacting its development. Now there is ample evidence to prove investment in OD is directly related to an organisationâ...
