Od Final

Organizational Development in Chrysler

Organization Development is how individuals, groups, and organizations improve their performance. Richard Beckhard (1969) has defined Organization Development (OD) as “an effort planned, organization wide, and managed from the top, to increase organization effectiveness and health through planned interventions in the organization’s processes, using behavioral-science knowledge.” (Anderson pg.2) With this said, OD improves an organization’s ability to adapt to changes in an external sense and develops the organization’s internal structure. Many companies went through changes when they were hitting rock bottom. Rising from bankruptcy into a very wealth company. Some may think that the cause of companies problems are within the company, the CEO, or the employees, but the main causes are the social structure, work process, culture and communication. One company that used Organizational Development as an advantage was Chrysler.

Chrysler was founded by Walter Chrysler on June 6, 1925 from a company called Maxwell Motor Company. Chrysler grew into a bigger company in 1928, when it attained the Fargo truck company and the Dodge Brothers Company and began selling vehicles under those brands. Within the same year, it also created the Plymouth and DeSoto automobile brands. Chrysler has undergone through several incidents that affected their image and productivity. In the 1970s, oil crisis impacted Chrysler's sales. This incident caused Chrysler to be on the verge of bankruptcy. Lee Iacocca was brought in as CEO and is credited with returning the company to profitability in the 1980s. In 1987, Chrysler acquired American Motors Corporation, which brought the profitable Jeep brand under the Chrysler umbrella. But In the early 1990’s, Chrysler’s market share started falling, their fixed costs were getting out of control and their losses increased due to their terrible customer service and outdated products.

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