Topic > Leading and managing change - 980

Organizational development is both a professional field of social action and an area of ​​scientific inquiry.” (Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.1). Organizational development has no common definition; however, it has more than one definition that expresses the meaning of organizational development and change. Organizational development can best be described as a “systemic process of data collection, diagnosis, action planning, intervention and evaluation aimed at improving the congruence between organizational structure, process, strategy, people and culture; develop new and creative organizational solutions; and develop the organization's capacity for self-renewal.” (Beer cited in Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.2). It occurs through the cooperation of organizational members working with a change agent using behavioral science theory, research and technology (Beer cited in Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.2). Organizational development and change management is about the actual implementation of planned change (Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.3). The two terms concern leadership issues and the process of change (Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.3). Change is a very critical process for every organization and is a characteristic of organizational development. Change moves from one state to another; it is the inevitable aspect of life and the essence of any organization (sharma,2007,p.1); it is the only constant and is changing focus as the pace of change has become so rapid, therefore it needs effective management and leadership to be implemented successfully ( Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.27). Change Management: Management and change are related. It is impossible to embark on a journey without addressing its purpose (Paton and McCalman, 2008, p.3). “Managing change means managing the complexities of change; it is about evaluating, planning and implementing operational tactics and strategies” (Paton and McCalman, 2008, p.3). According to Armenikas and Bedeian, organizational change is highly sensitive to management; its possibility remains high as managers strive to achieve perfect and successful change in the organization (Paton and McCalman, 2008, p.3). Change management is a complex and dynamic process; it is about finding the best solution for the organization to achieve the best results (Paton and McCalman, 2008, p.4). The environment is changing rapidly due to changes in technologies, customer preferences, altering economy and many other factors (Paton and McCalman, 2008, p.10), so organizations need to embark on the journey of change to cope with the external forces they face and this is done through management. To be able to manage change effectively, managers must examine the defects and problems found in the organization, proposing alternatives and stating its pros and cons, decide on the future state of the organization and then implement the change process ( Paton and McCalman,2008,p.