Globalization has forced an environment of tight resources and new challenges in which dynamic companies are exploring and creating new capabilities and opportunities overseas. Large international organizations are increasingly turning to organizational development practices to solve problems of inefficiency. However, they often face challenges when operating in the international context, especially when difficulties arise when companies combining international business, organization development and inter-cultural communication, fail to address the complexity and agility needed in today’s global business arena.
This paper will attempt to assess the strategies organizational development (OD) consultants can use to design and implement planned organizational changes for international companies and help them fit their organizational procedures and practices to the different cultures in which they operate. These will include introducing new strategies for building structures and systems, as well as types of interventions used to building high performing global teams. Other topics discussed will also include strategies and OD interventions in global settings and the relationship between OD and international cultures including conflicts and interests.
The practice of organizational development in global settings is fairly new and there is much debate on the applicability and effectiveness of traditional OD practices in cultures and organizations outside of the United States. This is because, according to Cummings and Worley, OD was “developed and practiced predominately by American and Western European practitioners and its practices and methods are heavily influenced by the values and assumptions of industrialized countries.” (1)
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