Odhr

Table of Content

Introduction 1

Organisation Development 1

Internal & External Change Leaders 2

Effectiveness of Internal vs External Change Agents 3

Case: Paul McKinnon, Human Resource Senior VP of Dell Inc. 4

So, Internal or External? 4

Conclusion 6

References 7

Introduction

In the modern context, organisations have to adapt to increasingly complex and uncertain technological, economic, political and cultural changes in order to be successful.1 Thus having leaders adept in change issues and theories is paramount, and we refer to these individuals as change agents or leaders.

Change leaders armed with organisation development (OD) knowledge and skillsets assist organisations in the adaptation of changes in environment, and to achieve greater effectiveness. So what is organisation development?

Organisation Development

There is no one standard definition of OD. However, here are 2 of the more common definitions;

A system-wide application of behavioural science knowledge to the planned development and reinforcement of organisational strategies, structures and processes for improving an organisation’s effectiveness.2

A planned process of change in an organisation’s culture through applying behavioural science knowledge and research.3

Change leaders can be categorised into internal and external change leaders. We go will on and understand the differences between internal and external change leaders and how each group contributes to the process of OD.

Internal & External Change Leaders

These change leaders, also known as OD practitioners, can be internal or external to an organisation. Internal change leader is essentially an employee of the organisation, under its payroll. It can be a manager or executive, or any staff tasked and empowered to effect changes pertaining to OD.

OD practitioners external to an organisation is not part of the organisation. They are engaged by organisations to aid in the process of OD. External change...