Organization Development [OD]

Healthy Organization : A Critique

In the Neilson , Pasternack and Van Nuys article , The Passive-Aggressive Organization ' [2005] , they mentioned that the healthiest companies and organizations are the ones who are resilient meaning they can adapt to difficult situations and overcome the challenges that come in their way . This kind of trait is actually scarce among organizations and most of them may be labeled as passive-aggressive ' organizations . Employees under these passive-aggressive organizations are only exerting just enough effort to make sure they look compliant . These organizations have very friendly cultures , but are

very resistant to essential change [Business Wire 2005] . Organizations who are unhealthy are observed to be either too controlling or not controlling enough [Nielson , et al , 2005] . Moreover passive-aggressive organizations were found to be the most difficult to change of all the different types of enterprises that necessitate some change

Most passive-aggressive organizations have large and complex structures Since the company cannot be run by a small team , it has begins to decentralize the control of the company , which can be hastily deliberated . Such situation will make it more difficult for the employees to see who is actually responsible for a specific decision or action . Thus , people become more apathetic and more resistant to changes . It is not really hard to reach a consensus , but it is harder to implement the plans that have already been established

There were three organizations that were taken as examples of ineffective companies falling into a passive-aggressive path . A company selling consumer products was used as a subject of study of Nielsen et al . [2005] . The company suffered an unclear scope of authority . The Vice President for Acquisitions believed that their product development must be focused to the local markets . However , the founder of the company thinks that they can modify their products to cater to the Latin American market as well and not only the Western United States . As a result , the product received a very cold welcome from the consumers . As Nielsen et al . [2005] puts it , Misunderstandings and misrepresentations concerning who really has control over which decisions are often the first signs that an organization is slipping into passive-aggressive territory ' There should be a clear line on who is responsible on what and it will really make a difference to have such role clarification

Another featured organization used by Neilsen , et al . [2005] in their article is an American houseware company , who suffers from misleading goals . According to their CEO , they need to empower their human resource in to strengthen their initiatives and heighten their profits . As a result , there were differences in goals because there were different teams who had the authority . Thus , instead of boosting their profits , there were more costs because some managers prioritized being more prompt in their deliveries . Some did otherwise . It was just too confusing

The same company also suffered agreement without cooperation ' problem a decade later . The new CEO launched a new program on complexity reduction . They were having problems with the unnecessary...