The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change: Principles, Practices, and Perspectives, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONELEARNING SYSTEMS AND ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT^a

Anthony J. DiBella

The field of organization development (OD) is fundamentally about the processes and products of change. To develop an organization means taking it from one level or stage of performance to another, presumably in some positive direction. OD practitioners are not bound by or required to recite the Hippocratic oath (“First, do no harm”), yet that remark or affirmation is consistent with the beliefs and values of the profession. In OD, there is a presumption that change or development represents positive improvement in one or more key indicators that are of concern to stakeholders. The practitioner’s role is to help clients move along that path in as fast, safe, ...