The Rise and Fall of the Growth of Organization Development: What Now?

Drawing on a view of economic events, which notes rapid growth in the United States beginning in 1870 followed by a stagnant period from 1970 forward, I do an analysis of the status of organization development (OD) that sees a similar pattern. I argue that the fundamentals of OD have been invented and have served us well, but little if any innovation has occurred in the field since 1987, when appreciative inquiry was introduced. The events, actions, and inventions of OD that have had a lasting impact are identified, as are "headwinds" that may now be inhibiting growth. Key events in the period from 1939 to 1969 include Lewin's early research on leadership and Alfred Marrow's adoption and application of participative management for his company; the consultative work of McGregor and Beckhard and of Blake, Shepard, and Mouton; the formation of the OD Network; the first OD training program in Bethel, Maine; and the publication of the Addison-Wesley series on OD. Significant inventions that propelled OD were Lewin's contributions, field theory and force-field analysis, the T-group, the formula B = f (P, E), and the 3 phases of change (unfreeze, change, and refreeze). Other inventions were processes of intergroup conflict resolution, survey feedback, large-group interventions, and the Power Laboratory. Reviews of the field by others are summarized. Headwinds now and for the future include education, competence, leadership development, and covert processes. The future is largely in organizations other than business-industry and requires a concentrated effort at understanding the importance of context.