ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT THROUGH INTERLEVEL DYNAMICS

Abstract

This article presents a nucleus of organizational levels which attempts to articulate an OD framework which acknowledges how large system change is a systemic interlevel process. This framework describes four levels in terms of a task at each level—bonding at the individual level, creating working, functioning team at the team level, coordination at the interdepartmental group level and adaptation at the organizational level—and attempts to articulate the dynamic interrelationship between the individual's bonding to the organization, the team's functioning, the interdepartmental group's coordination and the organization's adaptation, particularly in a change situation. This focus on interlevel dynamics is not common in the OD literature, yet is at the heart of many consulting experiences. The article describes this framework, positions it in relation to other OD levels approaches, and argues for the notion of organizational levels to be understood in dynamic systemic terms and that interlevel dynamics be constructed into OD theory and practice.

Citation

Coghlan, D. (1994), "ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT THROUGH INTERLEVEL DYNAMICS", The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 264-279. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb028812