Putting organizational development principles into practice.

Organizational development requires us to look at the whole system, rather than to isolate the parts. Its precepts urge widespread participation in planning and implementing change. Turning the organization into a conscious learning system ensures ongoing adaptation to an unpredictable environment. The role of everyone with OD knowledge in health care is to apply the guiding principles we have discussed. It is also to raise awareness about the potential harm that may ensue from ignoring these principles. Rarely will an OD intervention provide a quick fix. Substantive changes always go through a cycle of "worse before better." But, the lasting benefit from integrating OD principles into health care education and management is that they provide the resiliency that people and organizations need to thrive in a time of change.