Change Management in OD — The MS3 Model of Change
In academia, Organization Development (OD) is defined as “a system-wide application and transfer of behavioral science knowledge to the planned development, improvement, and reinforcement of the strategies, structures, and processes that lead to organizational effectiveness.”* As practitioners, we recognize that OD is an intervention-driven, planned, and managed process of change.
We are also aware that change management is an integral element of OD. However, OD is not merely change management: “Organization development can be distinguished from change management and organizational change. OD and change management both address the effective implementation of planned change. They are both concerned with the sequence of activities, the processes, and the leadership that produce organizational improvements. They differ, however, in their underlying value orientation. OD’s behavioral science foundation supports values of human potential, participation, and development in addition to performance and competitive advantage. Change management focuses more narrowly on values of cost, quality, and schedule. As a result, OD’s distinguishing feature is its concern with the transfer of knowledge and skill so that the organization is more able to manage change in the future. Change management does not necessarily require the transfer of these skills. In short, all OD…
