Carter McNamara raises and important questioon especially given the
increasing number of our students who go into consulting as change agents.
Here at Tech, we embed some of these issues in our basic MBA management
course. We spend a considerable amount of time talking about high
performance management systems. In fact HPM is one of our 150 hour
management concentrations for undergraduate students as well as one of our
concentrations for graduate students. In addition, we require a course in
Executive Skills, and offer electives OD, Leadership, Negotiation and
Conflict Resolution among others.
I know there are many fine universities which also offer electives in OD,
and some. like Case Western have developed outstanding reputations in
Executive Education. Kim Cameron, their new Dean, is one of the leading
scholars in studying organizational effectiveness, and I could name a
plethora of outstanding scholars around the US who have made significant
strides in helping us understand and manage change. I know there will be a
review of the literature on change published in the Journal of Management
this summer for those who are interested.
In additon there are some outstanding programs in the US that team Academic
with Practitioners. Let me mention two. Here at Texas Tech, Barry Macy,
the Director of the Texas Center for Productivity and Work Life, runs a
managers workshop. This consists of 4 different groups from 91 Fortune
companies that visit and discuss innovative work sites around the US.
Usually, this consists of 3 nights and two days at a plant hosted by the
local folks. The participants spend a full day learning about the
innovations talking place at the plant, and a half day providing positive
and negative feedback to the employees about what they have seen and learned.
Also, the Center for Effective Organizations run by Ed Lawler at University
of Southern California enters into partnerships with companies about change
programs, as well as sponsoring numerous programs open to the practitioners.
The program at USC is considerably more expensive than the program at Texas
Tech but is open to anyone. You must be a member of the Managers Workshop
to attend the meetings at various field sites, and are expected. at some
point in time to host a visit.
I assume that the many members of this Web site are affiliated with
organizations that sponsor programs on managing change as well as providing
individualized consultation on managing change. As I implied in an earlier
post, I assume practitioners like Rober Keidel have as much, or more to
teach organizations about managing change than academics like myself. (The
difference between a priest-Bob- and a layman-me). I study change from the
outside, he lives change from the inside.
Regards to all you run the good race, and fight the good fight.
Kim Boal
>Kim Boal wrote:
>>
>> Dear Bob, I have taught at universities which have a principles course
>> followed by either an OB course or both an OB and OT course, universities
>> that dropped the principles and use OB as the required course. In some
>> cases the follow up courses are required in some cases they were management
>> electives. The big issue I have experienced is that some students complain
>> of too much overlap. This is especially true when all the courses are
>> simply lecture based with multiple choice exams. Currently, as Department
>> Chair, I am teaching our giant (450 & 200 students respectfully-yes its an
>> over load, but nobody will be able to complain when they have to do it)
>> principles course using Jones, George, and Hill. If one looks at it, or
>> say Robbins and Coulter, as examples of current priciples texts, it becomes
>> apparent that the move is to include the kitchen sink from from strategy to
>> OB to OT to HRM to Ethics.
>
>I'm curious. Why aren't graduate schools of business including more OD
>courses in their programs? For example, one rarely finds an MBA program
>that has an OD course. MBA programs often have some nature of OT and OB
>courses, but not much about OD, i.e., diagnosing organizational issues,
>conducting interventions, assessing interventions, etc. If, for a
>moment, we compare the "organism" of an organization to the "organism"
>of the body:
>1. studying organizational theory (OT) is comparable to studying
>anatomy
>2. studying organizational behavior (OB) is comparable to studying
>physiology
>2. studying organization development (OD) is comparable to studying
>medicine.
>
>Wouldn't a smattering of organizational "medicine" be very helpful to
>managers?
>
--------------------------------
Kim Boal
College of Business Administration
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX 79409
(806) 742-2150
KimBoal@ttu.edu