Product Description

Timeless, poetic and wise, the articles recaptured in this remarkable volume beg to be read again and again, a much for their spirit as for their practicality. This collection defines our roots, yet in its timelessness points the way to the road ahead for the theory and practice of organization development.
--Gary E. Jusela, Corporate Director of Organization Development, The Boeing Company

From the very first issue to the present, the OD Practitioner has been the premier publication of the organization development profession. Its articles defined organization development and envisioned its future. These articles are now considered classics. And for the first time, they are assembled here, all in one volume, for practitioners and aspirants to the field to study, learn from, and enjoy again and again. A wealth of innovative thinking that will continue to impact the OD profession for years to come.

To discover where you're going, it helps to first know where you've been. And in the world of organization development, the surest road map is the OD Practitioner.

Among the leading contributors to this volume are:

• Richard Beckhard
• Geoff Bellman
• Warner Burke
• Roger Harrison
• Rosabeth Moss Kanter
• Jim Kouzes
• David Noer
• Tony Petrella
• Barry Posner
• Ed Schein
• Marvin Weisbord
• Margaret Wheatley . . . and many more!

Since its debut in 1968, the OD Practitioner has been the premier forum in which the field's founders, innovators, and working professionals have shared their ideas, values, and experiences regarding the practice of a dynamic discipline few can accurately define. With every issue published, the profession chronicles its history, refines its standards, and imagines its future.

Readers will learn from these:

• Stories of OD successes and failures
• Interviews
• Historical insights into OD
• OD anecdotes
• Consulting tips
• Leadership ideas...and much more!

In these pages, readers will gain a historical perspective on both the theory and work of organization development that will greatly inform their practice. They will discover reports and research that moved the field ahead. They will gain an appreciation of the foresight the field's founders and innovators had regarding OD's possibilities and usefulness. And they will benefit from a wealth of innovative thinking as relevant today as when originally published?thinking that will continue to impact the practice of organization development for many years to come.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #704806 in Books
• Published on: 1997-10-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 8 pages

Review
"With this collection of articles, I now have a resource that gives the consultants I coach and mentor some sense of the breadth and depth of the work that has been accomplished in organization development. It will provide an excellent foundation for their learning. Thank you for your contribution to the field; you have made my job so much easier!" (Marilee Nauman, senior consultant, Arthur D. Little)

"This selection of articles from the Organization Development Practitioner, our 'public diary,' gives us a wonderful glimpse into the hearts and minds of people who deeply care about this field of work. It allows us to track the evolving consciousness of practitioners from a kaleidoscopic set of perspectives and in so doing, it comes close to capturing our essence." (Tony Petrella, organizational consultation and executive counseling)

"Timeless, poetic and wise, the articles recaptured in this remarkable volume beg to be read again and again, a much for their spirit as for their practicality. This collection defines our roots, yet in its timelessness points the way to the road ahead for the theory and practice of organization development." (Gary E. Jusela, corporate director, organization development, The Boeing Company)

"This book is an exceptional contribution to the OD field. Long overdue, it fills a significant void in OD literature. It is essential reading for anyone interested in change management, both novice and experienced practitioner." (Peter F. Sorensen, Jr., director, Ph.D. program in organization development, Benedictine University)

From the Inside Flap
To discover where you're going, it helps to first know where you've been. And in the world of organization development, the surest road map is the Organization Development Practitioner.Since its debut in 1968, the OD Practitioner has been the premier forum in which the field's founders, innovators, and working professionals have shared their ideas, values, and experiences regarding the practice of a dynamic discipline few can accurately define. With every issue published, the profession chronicles its history, refines its standards, and imagines its future.The articles included in this compilation were culled from more than one hundred back issues of the OD Practitioner?articles that the editors felt represented the leading edge of the field, articles that have encouraged practitioners over the years to think broadly and deeply about the work they do and how they do it. Names of contributors are synonymous with the evolution of organization development itself: Richard Beckhard, Warner Burke, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Marvin Weisbord, James Kouzes, Barry Posner, and Geoffrey Bellman among them. Consequently, these writings represent the ?best of the best? that the publication has offered, and that is quite excellent indeed.In these pages, readers will gain a historical perspective on both the theory and work of organization development that will greatly inform their practice. They will discover reports and research that moved the field ahead. They will gain an appreciation of the foresight the field's founders and innovators had regarding OD's possibilities and usefulness. And they will benefit from a wealth of innovative thinking as relevant today as when originally published?thinking that will continue to impact the practice of organization development for many years to come.

From the Back Cover
From the very first issue to the present, the Organization Development Practitioner has been the premier publication of the organization development profession. Its articles?works by such leading-edge practitioners as Burke, Beckhard, Shepard, and Weisbord ?have done no less than define organization development and envision its future. Many of these articles are now considered classics. And for the first time they are assembled here, all in one volume, for practitioners and aspirants to the field to study, learn from, and enjoy again and again.

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Customer Reviews

This book is a must for the library of the OD practitioner.
The field of OD has a rich, varied, and value based heritage. Through case studies, research, metaphor, and story telling these "classic" articles from "The OD Practitioner," capture the scope, beauty, and promise of organization development. The OD Practitioner is a publication which is small in circulation, but large in impact. This collection of "The Best of the OD Practitioner," deserves to be read by all who profess to practice OD. From classics by recognized experts such as Bob Tannenbaum and Herb Shepard, to gems such as "Reflections of a New Mother on the Similatities Between Caring for an Infant and Working with Organizations: Or What New Babies and Clients have in Common," by Rosemarie Barbeau, this collection touches the mind and the heart of OD practitioners.