The Human Factors Specialist as Organizational Change Agent

Abstract

Organizational development (OD) as an approach to change, has provided a variety of techniques to systematically plan and manage change in an organizational context. Typically the locus of organizational change is in the upper echelons of management. The success of many OD interventions rests primarily on interpersonal factors and people-to-system factors characterized by concern for a climate of openness and trust and participation in organizational activities at all levels. These activities include the determination of goals and the seeking of agreement on the direction the organization would take in the near term.