360 Feedback
A process by which an individual or team receives comments on performance and behavior from stakeholders, including direct reports, peers, management and customers. Typically, the individual and his/her direct manager create an annual developmental action plan. It differs from the traditional performance review process, in which information is received only from direct managers.

Action Learning
A process of learning and reflection with the intention of accomplishing a task or learning a skill; it is centered on finding a solution to a real problem; it does not use simulation.

Action Research
A core problem solving method used to diagnose organizational situations and plan actions to improve them, followed by evaluation of the results. While the process can be done once, it is designed to be continuous. The term was initially articulated by Kurt Lewin in 1947.

Adult Learning Theory
Research and application of the most effective approaches to facilitate learning in adults, recognizing that adults have specific learning needs and requirements such as practical application of new skills, presentation methods, etc.

Appreciative Inquiry
A form of action research; it looks for positive attributes and what is effective in people and organizations and builds organizational systems from that. It has been expanded in recent years to include Appreciative Inquiry Summits, which brings it into the purview of Large Group Events.

Breakthrough
This term is used when a client has a new insight, awareness or understanding they did not have before. Often they gain this new awareness though the feedback from an OD practitioner or from working on a problem in a creative way that lends itself to new ways of thinking. This success usually leads to further progress.

Boundary
A term used to describe any factors that separate different parts. A physical boundary could be a wall or different building between two departments; a social boundary could be differences between how two teams work or between ethnic groups; temporal boundaries are differences involving time, such as projects start and end phases; structural boundaries describe the chain of command and reporting relationships among the workforce. Also, OD practitioners often work at the boundary between being part of the client system, and being an outsider apart from the client system.

Career Development
In organizations, the active management both by an individual and his/her employing organization to identify opportunities and develop skills with the intent of shaping the life work of an individual. Using a variety of assessment and planning techniques, it manages the individual's personal talents and skills for the benefit of the individual and that are compatible with achieving the goals of an organization.

Change Agents
Individuals who act as catalysts and assume responsibility to facilitate the change process

Change Management
An approach that includes how to make a compelling case for change to generate support and reduce resistance and sabotage; how to involve people in the change process to that they see themselves included and feel a greater sense of control; understanding the organizational responses to the process of change over time; communications about change; understanding how culture and values affect organizational change; what to do when change plans are not working; and what training, activities and skills are needed before change implementation begins.

Client System
A client system can be one person, a small group or team of people, a department, an entire organization, or even an inter-organizational conglomerate (i.e. a community, a state, or a nation). For OD professionals it is imperative to clarify who is part of the client system with which the work will take place. The size of the client system influences decisions concerning the scope of the work and consultation design.

Coaching
An interactive one-on-one process in which an individual works with his/her manager or an external resource to improve performance in the current position, or to ready him/her for future growth in the organization. It usually involves some personal assessment, planning for change, and guidance in the individual change process. Initially focused on executives, it is now being used as a system-wide change process, teaching middle managers the skills of effective coaching, to embed the thinking and skills in the organization.

Collaboration
The process of working collectively to achieve common goals as opposed to managing through independent contributions. In organizations, it usually involves using multiple sources to gather data, make decisions, and implement actions. Collaboration is a basic assumption in the design of most OD approaches. In modern organizations, it is often facilitated by technology.

Communicating Change
An important part of the change process where the expectations and concerns of the population are managed and information about the change process is collected and distributed.

Competencies
Competencies are a bundle that includes knowledge, skills, capacities and attributes.

Competency Modeling
The process of defining the competencies required for a job or job family and finding and developing individuals who fit that particular profile

Computer Assisted Training
The application of modern technology to the task of educating people

Connecting OD with Strategy
The work of organization development is to assure all organizational systems, such as the human resource, measurement, structural, and core activity are aligned and working together in service to and support of the overall strategy. OD then is connected with an organization's strategy to ensure that any and all growth serves both the social as well as financial requirements.

Consulting
The process of providing assistance to an organization to help the leaders and employees learn how to become more effective

Contracting
The process of working out agreements between the change agent and the client or leader to perform certain pieces of work, what the work will look like, how it will be done, roles and responsibilities, expectations, resources, and timeframes so that the scope of work is defined

Corporate Culture
The collective values, beliefs, and shared assumptions that organizational members hold about how their work should be done and how they should treat each other

Corporate Responsibility
The accountability an organization's leadership has about how they behave ethically as they manage the quality of the business finances and processes so that there is an overall positive impact on their workforce, community, and society

Communication Strategies
Purposefully developed plans or approaches to transfer information to individuals, groups, and whole organizations; generally intended to convey information about company direction or organizational performance

Communities of Practice
Groups of people who share a common bond or passion around a topic of interest to them and who, together, deepen their knowledge and expertise by meeting together on an on-going basis

Conflict Resolution
The act of working out differences through the use of a third party to act as a mediator between two individuals or groups who experience differences in thoughts, ideas, values, or beliefs in order to reach understanding and in many cases agreement

Continuous Improvement
The process whereby there is a management commitment to look for opportunities to make things better in order to affect the organization's performance and effectiveness; generally in the area of quality and customer service

Creativity/Innovation
The ability of leaders and employees to combine ideas in a novel way and then take that idea and turn it into a useful product, service, or method of operation

Cross Cultural
The aspect of two or more cultures within an organization; generally this means ethnic, not organizational, cultures

Cross-functional Teams
Teams of individuals who are expert in various specialties within the organization and who come from different functional units, who work together on a project

Cultural Audit
The process of assessing and understanding the traditions, customs, philosophies, values, and mood of an organization

Customer Service
The ability of an organization to constantly and consistently exceed the customer's expectations

Decision Making
The act of developing and analyzing alternatives and then choosing the best one to resolve the problem or issue

Decentralized organization
An organization in which the authority for local decision making is delegated to the departments responsible for implementing the solutions, while company-wide decisions continue to be made at the executive level

Dialogue
Dialogue is a type of conversation, which is focused on understanding all points of view. It is a conversation where people learn to think together. It is a way to surface any hidden assumptions that might cause misunderstanding or conflict. Participants in the dialogue are not interested in taking their own position as final but seek to listen to other possibilities that might not otherwise be surfaced.

Diagnosis
Also called Organizational Assessment; the process of identifying issues and problems in organizations; many techniques exist for doing so, including individual and group interviews with stakeholders, focus groups, employee surveys, sometimes anonymous. The goal is to find opportunities and build plans for improvement.

Distance Learning
Gaining knowledge and skills in various college courses, usually leading to a college degree, through information and instruction from an instructorÕs computer which is located in a different place from the learner's computer

Diversity
A characteristic of a group of people that refers to the differences among those people on any dimension

Downsizing
A process that organizations take when they have to reduce the workforce size in order to achieve a specific financial goal or to prevent the demise of the organization

E-Learning/Training
E-learning is the computer-enabled transfer of skills and knowledge. This is accomplished through web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classrooms and digital collaboration. Content is delivered via the Internet, intranet/extranet, audio or videotape, satellite TV, and/or CD-ROM.

Emotional Intelligence
As organizations become more complex, the ability of employees to find their way to career and professional success depends on how well they handle themselves in different situations and how well they interact with others. A growing body of work indicates that it's not just intellectual intelligence that counts, but the capacity to understand yourself and others as well as manage your emotions that will determine effectiveness in the future.

Employee Involvement Programs
A participative process that uses the entire capacity of employees and is designed to encourage increased commitment to the organizationÕs success.

Employee Orientation
Providing new employees, in a formal way, with an overview of the company's vision, mission, organizational structure, products, services, compensation and reward systems, key players and communication systems; generally provided through Human Resources

Employee Selection
Within a pool of applications, organizational managers use a variety of screening techniques to select the best and brightest employee for the job opening. Selection techniques include application forms, interviews, tests, and reference checks to assess fit of employee to organizational culture and position. The cost of hiring is very expensive and can cost a firm about three times the hired employee's salary.

Employee Surveys
The use of questionnaires to understand employees' perceptions of various components of the organization; relationships with managers and peers, pay and performance systems, communication and information systems, decision-making processes and involvement, coordination between teams and units, and general satisfaction with the organization. The questionnaires identify similarities and discrepancies among members' perceptions. Surveys are used to identify problems and clarify issues that may be creating difficulties for members in the organization.

Empowerment
The process of giving employees some degree of control over their work, including the authority and responsibility to make decisions, and the accountability for the results. Doing this effectively means providing employees with the resources they need to do their jobs, a clear vision and goals, and the training or education they need to succeed. This promotes high rates of satisfaction and motivation in most employees and takes advantage of untapped human potential.

Entry
The first contact a change agent and client have to understand the problem. This is generally the first conversation both parties have prior to developing any contract or conducting any assessments. This is also the time when the change agent and the client check for mutual "chemistry" and to see if the agent's expertise is a fit for the problem.

Equilibrium
In organization development this term refers to the natural process organizational systems use to maintain the status quo; in other words, a process used to deal with and manage any change introduced into the system. It is important to understand that this process is a key factor in initiating change in individuals, teams, and organizations.

Espoused Values
These are the values that leaders and employees say they have when asked, "To what values do you ascribe"? Additionally, these are the ones that people would like to have to guide their organizational behavior.

Ethics
Ethics are standards of conduct and moral judgment. Ethics in the profession of OD describe and explain professional norms that all change agents practicing OD are bound to uphold. A few of the ethical guidelines for OD practitioners are; responsibility to self, responsibility for professional development and competence, responsibility to clients and responsibility to the profession. Ethical issues in OD involve how change agents perform their helping role with their client.

Ethnocentrism
The belief that oneÕs own culture is superior to othersÕ culture

Executive Development
This is a process of building an executive's ability to carry out top-level roles in the organization. Some key skills include financial forecasting, understanding the internal and external environment, strategic planning, organizing, and managing resources.

Experiential Learning Processes
These are a way of teaching and learning that centers on the learner's own experiences and perceptions. As an example; the instructor gives a short lecture about a topic such as decision-making, then the students engage in working with a real-life issue. They attempt to make a decision using the practices they just learned, and then talk about their learnings about themselves in the process, the impact their behavior had on others, the impact others behavior had on them, the extent of their learning, their feelings and attitudes toward their ability to make decisions, what gets in the way for them, and how they might change behaviors to get different results.

Facilitation Skills
Facilitation is about process - how you do something, rather than the content Ð what you do. A facilitator is a process guide, someone who makes a process easier and someone who helps others to move toward a previously stated objective or goal. Some of the skills involved are; listening, comfort with ambiguity, ability to confront unproductive behavior, coaching, and a focus on accomplishments as well as gaps.

Feedback Systems
There are a number of definitions for this phrase. The one used here refers to social feedback systems. These are the processes by which people get information about the impact their behavior has on others. There are also process feedback systems such as customer focus groups, quality of worklife assessments, climate surveys, cultural audits, and 360 degree surveys that provide feedback to individuals, teams, and organizations about how they are doing and their impact.

Fishbowl
A fishbowl is an activity used by OD practitioners. The activity set-up looks like two groups of chairs in two circles one inside the other. The inner circle group discusses a topic and the outside circle group observes and listens in on their conversation. The fishbowl allows the participants to talk about an issue and the observers to talk about what they hear, both uninterrupted.

Force-field Analysis
A method developed by Kurt Lewin to identify both the factors that stop or slow down movement toward organizational or team goals and the factors that continue movement.

Future Search
A process whereby large groups of organizational members come together, in the same room at the same time, to explore areas of agreement that lie in-between all the differing views and interests among the members. Everyone who has a stake in the resolution of an issue attends and participates in the planning of the future as it relates to the issue being discussed.

Global OD
(The same as International OD) Global OD is the work practitioners do in other countries and cultures outside of the U.S. At a global level, paying attention to cultural differences to avoid or minimize violation of cultural norms is critical. As the field of OD is currently practiced in the U.S. it's firmly rooted in Western Anglo traditions and principles. The global practitioner needs to have a deep understanding of self and of the culture in which one is working.

Group Dynamics
Group dynamics are the influences that affect the way members relate to and work with one another. For instance; previous relationships between group members, leadership style, the clarity of the goals and objectives, level of trust, and support for the existence of the group

Group Processes
This refers to the processes that go on in a group; communication patterns, leader behavior, problem solving tactics, decision-making procedures, power dynamics, and conflict interactions. These processes are important when understanding the effectiveness of groups.

Human Capital Management
This refers to how organizations hire, develop, retain and evaluate their workforce by ensuring the right fit between employee and job to support and produce strategic results. This process is essential to an organization's ability to achieve its mission and strategy.

I/O Psychology
This type of psychology is concerned with the development and application of the scientific principles to the workplace. The focus is on both the research and practice of psychological principles to solve real-world problems, such as job performance or stress.

Instructional Design
The process by which experts in designing training materials gather information and then develop and create training courses targeted specifically for adults.

International OD
(The same as Global OD) Global OD is the work practitioners do in other countries and cultures outside of the U.S. At a global level, paying attention to cultural differences to avoid or minimize violation of cultural norms is critical. As the field of OD is currently practiced in the U.S. it's firmly rooted in Western Anglo traditions and principles. The global practitioner needs to have a deep understanding of self and of the culture in which one is working.

Internet Conferencing
Internet conferencing is the technology used to bring groups of people together to share their experiences, knowledge, and expertise. This is different from traditional conferences where people are required to share the same physical space and time. With computer technology, and advanced telecommunications, many conferences no longer require a shared physical space, but still require a coordinated time for participants to meet.

Intervention
This is an effort involving a set of structured activities or techniques to bring about a change (improvement) in an individual, group/team, or organizational and in their effectiveness and functioning.

Job Design
The way individual tasks are combined to form complete jobs that are motivating to incumbents. Jobs that are motivating and enriching generally require a variety of activities, the actual completion of a whole piece of work, have an impact on the lives of others, have a certain level of autonomy, and provide information back to the worker about the effectiveness of his or her performance.

Johari Window
The Johari Window is a model for soliciting and giving feedback. Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham developed it based on the premise that it is mainly through feedback that we are able to see ourselves as others see us. OD practitioners use this model to help organizational members change behavior.

Knowledge Management
Knowledge Management is the process by which organizations generate value from their intellectual and knowledge-based assets, usually from their employees. Often this involves sharing information among employees, departments and with other companies in an effort to create best practices.

Large Group Intervention
This is a process of getting a broad group of stakeholders (people who have a vested interest in the issue) into a large meeting to work on the organization's future direction, values, new ways of working, or to solve problems. It is also used in communities to resolve persistent conflicts and issues. There are a variety of distinct methods; Future Search, Conference Model, Real-Time Strategic Change, and Open Space, to name a few.

Large Scale Change
Large-scale change is a process by which the organization's culture, processes, structure, strategy, and systems are changed (often simultaneously) in a way that they are aligned and in support of a new organizational direction. The reasons for initiating a change of this scale may vary, but the scope of the change generally remains the same; that is, it is focused on the entire enterprise in a way that radically changes the way the organization operates, thinks, and deals with its environment.

Leadership Development
Leadership development refers to the strengthening and building of existing leadership capacity, often facilitated by an OD practitioner. The process frequently immerses leaders and managers in a transformational experience that promotes professional, intellectual, and personal development. The intended results are to build leaders capability to think and manage more effectively.

Learning Organizations
A learning organization is one that constantly seeks new information, examines current information, and then changes, based on these learnings. This information is made available to all members so that learning can take place throughout the organization.

Management Development
Management development is a learning method that enhances managers' capacity to administer their responsibilities, which include activities such as planning, organizing, coaching, controlling and directing the organizationÕs resources.

Matrix Organization
This is an organizational structure in which members have dual reporting relationships. Generally, they are permanently assigned to one department and report to a manager/supervisor in that department. In addition, they have on-going assignments in which they report to other department managers or supervisors simultaneously.

Meeting Planning
Designing, developing, organizing, and conducting an effective meeting that is complete with the right expertise, an achievable agenda, a skilled leader or facilitator, and a set of clear objectives

Mergers and Acquisitions
When the executives of a company decide it is to their competitive advantage to strategically to combine two or more companies into one, it is called a merger. The transfer of all assets takes place and the agreement is generally mutual. On the other hand, acquisitions are not necessarily by mutual agreement. This process is the action of purchasing a greater part of another company's assets (interest) Ð sometimes referred to as a "takeover".

Middle Managers
These are managers who are between the executive level at the top of the organization and the first line supervisors or workers. This level experiences a very high level of stress due to feeling torn between directives from top management and demands from the lower ranks. This level, typically, does not share a sense of camaraderie but either aligns themselves with top management or with the employees; rarely with one another.

Motivation
This refers to the set of internal needs that encourage a person's behavior to be directed toward attaining a certain goal at a certain time over other available goals available at that same time.

OD Blog
This is the practice of recording, as an on-line journal, thoughts about a particular subject or event on a personal OD website from which others can read and learn.

OD Consulting
The process of helping leaders and organizational members solve problems while, at the same time, developing their capability to deal with similar problems in the future. The end result is an improvement in the overall effectiveness of the entire organization.

OD Degree Programs
These are accredited Masters or Ph.D. university programs that specialize in teaching the theory, models, practices, methods, and processes of Organization Development.

OD Practitioner Challenges
OD practitioners are facilitators of change. The primary challenge that practitioners experience is the individual's, team's, and culture's resistance to change. Secondary challenges such as ethics, boundaries, project scope, competence, experience, client readiness, role clarification, and responsibility also exist within many consulting projects.

Open Systems
A system is a collection of components that are interrelated to each other; the circulatory system and the eco-system are two examples. An open system takes in information or energy from its environment (permeable boundaries), which changes the original system in some way and increases its capacity to change in the future. Once the system has changed the information or energy, it returns those elements back into the environment looking or sounding differently than they did before they entered the system.

Organization Design
The process of creating the best way to coordinate and integrate the work of the organization amongst all the people who work there in a way that is appropriate for the goals of the organization. This process results in what is referred to as the "structure" of the organization and can be viewed in the organizational chart.

Organizational Assessment
Also called Diagnosis; the process of identifying issues and problems in organizations; many techniques exist for doing so, including individual and group interviews with stakeholders, focus groups, employee surveys, sometimes anonymous. The goal is to find opportunities and build plans for improvement.

Organizational Change
Any planned or unplanned alteration in an organization's processes, strategy, structure, technology, and/or people. This is usually brought on by external changes such as new customer requests, competition, federal regulations, or internal changes such as downsizing, restructuring, a new CEO or executive management group, work redesign, or quality improvement.

Organizational Communication
The process by which stakeholders are informed of the decisions and activities of the organization. The communications can be driven from top management or from the employee group and can be kept internal to the organization or made public.

Organization Development
The process of applying behavioral science theories and principles in the workplace to increase individual, team, and organizational effectiveness and change. OD is fundamentally a process that helps leaders and members adapt to change using the principles of democratic workplaces, valid information, free choice, and commitment. OD enhances individual, group, and organizational performance to improve the quality of work life.

Organizational Development
The study of the applied behavioral sciences including the sciences of; anthropology, biology, psychology, physics, and sociology, as these fields relate to people in work settings

Organizational Diagnosis
The collection of information about what is going on in the organization. The criteria are to collect valid information about the current situation including problems and opportunities and how the current situation is enabling or preventing the organization from reaching its goals and being effective in doing so. This is an ongoing process that takes place even after the formal process has been completed, as the organization is constantly revealing information about itself. The importance of this activity is to understand the organization's communication patterns, decision-making processes, leadership styles, working relationships, rites and traditions, crisis management techniques, planning methods, and the act of setting goals in order to feed back this information to its members.

Performance Appraisal
A human resource system that provides feedback to individuals about their performance. A manager usually provides this feedback to a direct report for the express purpose of future improvement and development.

Performance Management
A collection of different processes that establish performance standards to guide behaviors. These processes include setting goals, evaluating performance toward the goals and rewarding the achievement of goals.

Personality Assessment
An evaluation that measures the unique characteristics and traits of an individual. The assessment measures the way these traits cause a person to interact with and react to other people and situations that help or hinder their adjustment.

Politics
The informal and often emotion-driven process of distributing limited resources. This involves the process of working out goals, decisions, and actions with other people who have different and competing interests and values.

Power
In the context of the organization, power is a condition found in relationships, positions, expertise, reward or punishment distribution, and access to resources. In addition, it is the ability to influence others to attain desired outcomes. In many organizations, a person's ability to acquire, develop, and use influence is the primary mode through which business is conducted.

Problem Solving Process
An organized and structured method to understanding, identifying, and answering work related issues or challenges. Often times, teams are tasked with this process and will work together to gather multiple ideas to resolve the problem.

Process Consultation
The act of helping leaders and organizational members become aware of and understand the ways in which they are working. This type of consulting focuses on how individuals work together to accomplish tasks and provides guidance on alternative ways to work together to increase effectiveness.

Process Improvement
The activity of raising the level of performance in terms of quality, time, or cost in human and business processes

Process Observation
A method of helping a group to improve its functioning by having a facilitator observe group interactions, comment on them, and allow the group to make meaning of what is happening while they interact. The group then decides whether or not to alter its behavior.

Project Management
The task of getting a projectÕs activities done on time, within budget, and according to the specified requirements

Quality of Work Life
Involving a concern for people and their work as it relates to the organization. It is believed that the employee's well-being is directly related to the effectiveness of an organization. The concern for people extends to knowledge that involving them in work-related problems and decisions increases their well-being.

Quality/Six Sigma
Concerning the ability to meet and or exceed customer expectations. Six Sigma is a quality standard that establishes a goal of an extremely low number of product defects per million produced.

Readiness (for change)
The extent to which people in an organization are willing to undergo some level of change

Recognition
Recognition is intangible feedback consisting of expressing one's gratitude, interest, approval, and appreciation for a job well done. This is often given to a direct report from a manager but can also be given from peer to peer.

Recruitment
The practice of locating, identifying, attracting, and selecting the most capable candidates for a particular position in a way that fits with the values of the organization.

Refreezing
This is the last stage of change, according to Kurt Lewin the developer of this theory. This stage occurs when individual, group, or organizational level changes have stabilized. This refers to a decrease in the strength of old beliefs, values, and behaviors while there has been an increase in the strength of new ones.

Reorganization
The process of changing the reporting relationships between individuals and departments (structure of and organization) generally in reaction to environmental pressures or as a proactive move toward a new organizational strategy

Retention/Turnover
The ability of organizational leadership to maintain workforce employment and to prevent the voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal of employees from the organization

Resistance
A natural part of any change process; a natural reaction to anything causing disruption or loss of equilibrium; the tendency to be unwilling to go along, the force that opposes any shift in the status quo (the way things are). It should be noted that resistance is an emotional reaction to the perceived fear of losing control of any situation where uncertainty exists.

Rewards
Rewards are tangible (usually monetary) compensation given by the organization such pay, promotion, bonuses, and perks.

Roles and Responsibilities
Roles are a set of behaviors that belong to particular job; also, the various behaviors that people expect from a person or group in a job or position. Responsibilities, on the other hand, refer to the authority and obligation an individual has to perform assigned duties.

Role Ambiguity
Confusion that comes from uncertainty about what one is expected to do on the job. This usually results from a lack of information or understanding regarding job expectations. It does not refer to how to do specific tasks; instead, it deals more with the scope and range of the position.

Role Conflict
Incompatibilities between the various roles individuals play in an organization and the priorities placed upon them

Safety Needs
The need for a secure working environment free of physical and psychological harm; the working environment includes co-workers and bosses

Scapegoat
A person who is blamed for the problems or failures of someone else or of a team. This is a common occurrence in teams when members cannot own up to their weaknesses.

Sensing Interviews
An information gathering process during which the consultant relies on his/her five senses to give him/her information about what is going on for an individual or a group. The information gathered is generally the intangible things such as attitude, beliefs, assumptions, and discrepancies.

Self-Managed Teams
Team members who have been given the authority and responsibility to make decisions directly related to how and when their collective work is accomplished.

Simulations
Are ways of imitating real behavior using case studies or role plays; frequently used in adult training.

Social Network Analysis
This is an analysis using a map or web of social relationships between individuals; it indicates the ways in which people are connected through social associations.

Socio-Technical Systems Theory
A theory that takes into account both the human (social) system and the technical system in order to create an effective match between the two leading to a more effective workplace

Software
Software is the language and assortment of programs that control the operations and functioning of computers

Stress Management
The management of physical and psychological tensions an individual feels when he/she faces situations that are out of the norm. Stress can arise from ÒgoodÓ or ÒbadÓ situations, such as overly high expectations, tight due dates, wedding or vacation planning, lack of sleep, etc. Stress management involves learning various coping strategies that alleviate the causes and begin to improve the work-related stressors.

Strategy
A plan that defines how an organization intends to use its monetary and human resources to compete; an outline of the functions the organization will perform, the products and services it will provide, and the markets it will serve.

Structure (Organizational)
The formal arrangement of jobs within an organization

Succession Planning
The purposeful attempt to identify potential managers ahead of time to fill a position in preparation for the time when the incumbent leaves

Survey Feedback
A technique in which the information gathered in questionnaires and focus groups is shared with the same leaders and employees who provided the responses and is used to determine the direction of organizational change.

Systems Thinking
It is about seeing the whole organization as a set of interrelated parts and relationships that work together. It can also be viewed as a problem solving process; a way of thinking about problems that focuses on connecting separate events to each other to see if there are patterns that continue to come up over and over again.

Talent Management
Systematic approaches to attract, develop, and retain people with the skills and knowledge to meet current and future organizational objectives. There is a shared understanding amongst managers of what is required to operate the company in the future and a general consensus about how to measure people's effectiveness. The process also includes a supportive environment where people can attain the necessary skills to be successful.

Team Building
Formal processes by which working relationships among group members are analyzed and improved so that the group can become more effective in carrying out their tasks and satisfying the needs of the members

Technology
The technical means that individuals use to improve their workplace. It is also the knowledge of how to use various tools and machines to complete tasks more efficiently.

Theory X, Theory Y Leadership
Two practical theories about human motivation; Theory X is the assumption on the part of leaders that workers are lazy, irresponsible, and must be closely supervised to perform. Theory Y is the assumption on the part of leaders that workers are motivated, creative, responsible, enjoy work, are self-directed and therefore do not require close supervision.

Transformational Change
A drastic change in the way an organization operates; a fundamental shift from one way of working and thinking about work, to an entirely different way with the new approach - so fundamentally different that people have to change their behavior and mindsets, resulting in a radical change in the organization's culture.

Transitional Change
A condition whereby an organization moves from the current state to a future state making gradual improvement in the way it accomplishes activities by changing policy, procedures, structure, or systems.

Trust
The fundamental belief in a person's integrity; a leader's credibility and character, and a person's degree of confidence in a leader's words and actions. In organizations, trust is the glue that holds the enterprise together - when trust is low there is usually a direct relationship with organizational performance and effectiveness.

Values
An individual's enduring belief about what is important, what is appropriate conduct, and how the person believes they should go about getting what they want. Organizational values are the ideals that influence and shape the actions of the organization. OD, as a field of practice, is differentiated from other professions because of the core values that guide practitioners' work.

Violence in the Workplace
The fatal or non-fatal threat of violence or actual violence against a worker; these acts can occur inside or outside of work and can range from verbal abuse to physical abuse, threats, and homicide.

Virtual Teams
Any type of team that uses electronic technology to link physically dispersed members in order to communicate; operates across space and time; not usually co-located within the confines of the same building.

Unfreezing
This is the first stage of a bringing about change, according to Kurt Lewin, the developer of this theory. It is the weakening of the strength of an organization's values, beliefs, and behaviors. At this stage, disconfirming information is provided to the client system and they are faced with the choice of changing.

Use of Self
How an OD practitioner uses his/her experience, knowledge, intuition, values, power, beliefs, esteem, awareness, personal style, and assumptions to intervene in the client system.

Work and Family
The interaction between the responsibilities of work and the personal responsibilities of an employee

Work Group and Peers
A work group is a group of people who share common connections. They may be physically located together or in separate areas. Peers are co-workers who are at the same level with each other in the organization.

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