Highly structured analysis of OD.
4/16/2005
Cummings OD book is perfectly designed to approach and delve into the field of OD smoothly and profoundly. Its first three chapters provide an excellent introduction to OD and how it is differentiated from overlapping organizational dynamics, primarily change management and organizational change. I respected this text's strategic analysis of the OD interventions and the pragmatic models of their implementation. Although developing business organizations sounds theoritical in its conceptual or abstract sense, this text gives you reasonable and sensible tools that help convert the OD theory to a tangible reality.
Review of Org Development & Change
10/4/2005
This is a graduate text book that is long-winded, overly-wordy self-serving brochure for why we should all become Organizational Development Practitioners. The authors spend the first three chapters justifying the existence of the profession as if they were insecure about their relevance in the corporate world. It prattles on about how OD professionals work in teams and how they should structure their own private contracts. It even whines that being an OD practitioner is stressful. Find me a professional job that isn't stressful.