Introduction
Organization Development refers to the evaluation and change of the strategies, processes, and structures of an organization in a bid to improve the performance of the organization and help in the development and contentment of its employees. It may involve things like coaching, work-life balance, leadership development, performance management, strategic planning, and organization design (McNamara 1997, p. 1).
Global Organizational Development
Global organizational development is characterized by the need for a myriad of skills ranging from the various categories of personal skills to those of professional skills. Some of these skills include the ability to form groups of people with common interests and even bring different groups of people to work together, the ability to form networks for the provision of resources to the community, ability to negotiate deals helping in the community or organizational development, mediation skills, ability to handle the dynamic nature of organizations and put up with uncertainty and ambiguity (Barlow 2008, p. 7).
Global Organizational Development is greatly affected by cultural and economic practices. It is thus carried out differently in different countries since these countries are characterized by different cultural and economic backgrounds and practices. Although in most cases cultural considerations are outweighed by time and cost considerations, the most successful Organization Development practitioners develop an approach that does not conflict with local cultures. In a nutshell, to effectively use culture to achieve success in organizational development, practitioners must be ready to suspend their own cultural beliefs, learn and understand the culture in their areas of operation and be able to read the behavioral aspects integrated into the local culture (Tobin 2009, p. 2). The economic crisis is the main factor that contributes to the need for organizational development. It is thus of essence to consider economic practices when developing strategies for organizational development (Carrigan 2009, p. 1).
Organization Development practices of Italy
The level of Organizational Development in Italy has attracted commendable interest from several organization development practitioners all over the world. This country has seen a substantial decline in the levels of industrial development, allegedly, parallel to the level of organizational development in this country. The problems in Italy could be a result of the conflict of traditions, religious beliefs, and government bureaucracies with foreign-adopted policies and theories. After being torn by World War II, the Italian people adopted the economic and technological ideas of the United States in an attempt to recover the damage caused by the war. They applied theories, procedures, philosophies, and techniques of Americans without considering the social and cultural aspects of the Italian community. This led to a dismal failure in aspects that had socio-cultural interference; like employee participation, decision-making involvement, a collaboration between employees and management, etcetera. Italians have therefore learned the hard way that Organizational Development has to consider the setting of the community in which the organization is located (Boss 1995, p. 1).
Conclusion
The application of certain theories of organizational development should not depend on their success in another country or organization. This is because different countries and organizations operate in very dissimilar socio-cultural settings. Thus the decision of the Italians to adopt theories, philosophies, and procedures of the United States, just because they had worked in the United States, was very wrong. It is therefore of essence that countries and organizations develop Organization Development policies that are suitable in their socio-cultural settings.
Reference
Barlow, J. (2008). “Global Organizational Development Management”. Web.
Boss, W. (1995). “Organization Development in Italy”. Web.
Carrigan, M. (2009). “Economic uncertainty and the role of organizational development”. Web.
McNamara, C. (1997). “What is Organizational Development?” Web.
Tobin, R. (2009). “The six traps of global organization development and how to avoid them”. Web.