Breaking Down the Process of Organizational Development By Neela Seenandan

Introduction• As a business grows in size and productivity, the

climate, culture, employees, and strategies must grow with it in order for the company to remain successful. Professional development specialists like Neela Seenandan, managing partner of the executive search firm Hanold Associates, know the important role that organizational development can play in promoting successful business practices.

Organizational development can be broken down into three primary components. The first, organizational culture, is concerned with the values of employees and the company as a whole.

Organizational Development• It is important to determine if a company culture is more

nurturing, industrious, or competitive, and what effect that culture has on employee values and interactions. If there is a disconnect between employees, especially between managers and the managed, organizational development can assist companies in finding strategies to make the relationship productive.

The second component is organizational climate, which focuses on the general mood that stems from the attitudes and beliefs of company employees. When a company has a negative organizational climate, it has a tendency to impact employees’ willingness to perform, and curbs productivity. Organizational development helps business leaders identify where organizational climate issues originate, and in what way they need to be changed.

Conclusion• Organizational strategy is the third and most critical

component of organizational development, because it is the step in the process that incites change. The first step is to identify problem areas. Once the problem areas are identified, a plan for positive change is designed and implemented, and progress is monitored to assess the impact. This step produces the direct results of the entire process.

Human resources professionals like Neela Seenandan and firms that specialize in organizational development can be an asset to companies looking to improve business operations.