CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Values, Ethics, and Expanding the Practice of OD
William Gellermann and Terri Egan
The past three decades have seen a number of formal and informal dialogues, discussions, and debates about the nature of organization development (OD) and the values, ethics, and practices on which it is based. A classic article on the future of the field of OD suggested that, in contrast to a certain clarity around values that characterized the early days of OD, we have experienced a period of confusion and ambiguity—leaving practitioners in the position of having to rely on their individual ethical frameworks rather than an agreed-on set of ethical standards (Worley & Feyerherm, 2003). At the same time, the boundaries of what ...