Organization Development: What’s Actually Happening?

Antonie Van Nisterooij & Harry Sminia

Department of Organization Science, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands,
The Management School, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
Journal of Change Management Vol. 10, No. 4, 407– 420, December 2010

Amsterdam based scholars Dr. Antonie Van Nistelrooij, Assistant Professor of

Organizational Sciences, and Dr. Harry Sminia, Professor of Strategic Management article
entitled “Organization Development: What’s Actually Happening?” (2010) is an enriching
article. The authors address a foundational theoretical framework through the social
constructionist perspective for Organization Development intervention strategies to address
organizational challenges and change. The use of dialogue as an essential element of change
along with other practical applications within OD was potently communicated based on the
central research of Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann. The overarching goal of the article
looks to expose what is addressed and affected by an OD intervention within an organization
from a social constructionist paradigm[ CITATION Ant10 \l 1033 ]. The focus was on addressing
three types of change processes to aid the OD practitioner is appropriately identifying and
managing organizational change. Although there is no actual experiment with data results
supporting the author's thoughts, the argument is persuasive based on the connected research of
others within the OD field and the principled social constructionism theory. The article
culminates two main points in the relationship between OD and social constructionism which are
the significance of shared perception and interpersonal processing through dialogue. According
to the authors, both are critical to understanding behavior and change.

Using social constructionism as a theoretical underpinning in addressing the organization,

individuals within the organization and change is expanding the mindset of OD professionals. In
addition, supplying new applicable skills to help an organization construct new realities and
agreements. Dr. Van Nistelrooij and Dr. Sminia examine the systematic theoretical treatise of
Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann ‘The Social Construction of Reality’ (1966). Within the
book, several assertions are explained by Berger and Luckmann. The central thesis of the text is
the human construct of social order is a derivative of social interconnection. Within the social
order, there is “objective reality” which is a broader institutionalized social reality while
“subjective reality” is the individualized interpretation of social reality[ CITATION Ant10 \l
1033 ]. Also, the social order is continuous based on “three social construction activities of
institutionalization, legitimation, and internalization”[ CITATION Ant10 \l 1033 ].
Institutionalization is produced through habitual activity which establishes roles, functions, and
knowledge adding to the objectivity of the reality. Legitimation maintains the order through
cognitive and normative validation producing self-perpetuation. The third component is how the
individuals through encounters with both institutionalized society through primary socialization
and secondary socialization through subgroup interconnectedness. The functionality of the
individual is directly dependent upon the level of symmetry the “objective” and “subjective”
reality[ CITATION Ant10 \l 1033 ]. This understanding is foundational to understand the
dynamics of change. According to Berger and Luckmann (1966), there are three distinct change
processes, the first is an institutionalization scoop, next is symbolic universe change, and lastly is
changed in the subjective reality. The collective organization can engage in the change processes
through consciousness-raising dialogue that exposes current realities and new possibilities.
All the social constructionist theory becomes vital when understanding that the goal of OD is the
planned change in the organization’s social systems within the assumption that all organizations
are socially constructed realities. Using the three distinct change processes helps to address the
various organizational challenges. Individual asymmetry can be the base cause for employee
functioning issues. When organizational issues are around conflicting groups, then the cause can
be connected to the wide or narrow institutionalization scope. Lastly, the disconnect within the
organization as a whole may have for change in the symbolic universe.
Dr. Antonie Van Nistelrooij and Dr. Harry Sminia utilize an insightful social constructionist
theory to expose some critical elements in the practice of Organization Development. Connecting
theory to practical application supplies usable skills to those who encounter complex, political,
and disorderly organizational challenges in the process of change. Pairing organizational
problems with the types of change from this theoretical standpoint allows for individualized
intervention and benchmarkable change. I agreed with their assessment but also with the author's
confession that a valid research study should be done to support or shed further light on the use
of the constructionist lens to improve OD application.

References
Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1966). The social construction of reality; A treatise in the
sociology of knowledge. London: Penguin Group.
Nistelrooij, A. V., & Sminia, H. (2010). Organization development; What's actually happening?
Journal of Change Management, 407-420.