Final Reflection Paper in Organizational Development and Consulting

This course developed my conceptual, practical, and ethical skills in performing analysis
for organizational development leading to consultancy. Before taking this course, I expect that it
will just be another strategy and management course, but the activities and learning outcomes
provided a holistic experience that opened my eyes in the actual functions of a business
consultant. The case studies, reading materials, and lecture sessions gave me an opportunity to
not only harness what I learned about management, but also apply them in real life scenarios and
organizational dilemmas.
Conceptual Reflection
I already expected that this course will delve into the context of the organization with
scopes related to organizational design and dynamics. However, I came to appreciate that this
course provided a wider perspective in understanding the nature of an organization. I did not
only learn about doing the basic SWOT and PESTEL analysis in terms of organizational
diagnostics, but I also come to learn other tools to support my case analysis. Take for example
our first group analysis on conflict resolution. I learned that the value of an organization is
beyond the results of internal and external environmental scanning, but also the dynamics of the
human resources of the organization. In our first case analysis, I learned the role of interpersonal
relationships and leadership in managing conflict. I come to realize that an organization will not
perform effectively if the people inside do not complement each other or worse, do not share the
same vision in pursuing the organizational goals. Thus, I realized that to have a competitive
organization with positive results in environmental scanning, team dynamics should be settled
first. This is where I come to appreciate the value of coaching and mentoring where the leader
can still point out the areas for improvement of the members without breaking the synergy and
dynamics of the whole organization. Feedback is essential in harnessing the strengths and
competencies of the organizational members. As a future consultant, it is important to deliver
effective feedback that do not neglect the weaknesses, but also converts them into organizational
strengths.
Practical Reflection
It is only appropriate to have a lot of team dynamics for this course about organizational
development, but I come to appreciate how each group activities harnessed my competencies in
working in a team. In conducting the case analysis on Global Sales Training, I applied not only
the concepts related to team dynamics but the framework for change management. I understood
the value of the driving and restraining forces using Lewin’s Framework in change management
not only in analyzing the case, but also in coordinating with my teammates in our approach for
the group case study. Initially, we divided the prompts according to the number of members and
this worked during our first group study. However, since the case of the Global Sales Training
involve critical elements that cannot be separated from one another, our initial inputs lacked
coherence and organization. That is when, we tried to adjust our approach which is just similar in
determining the good inputs by unfreezing, identifying which can be improved and changed, and
standardizing the changes by freezing it. At the end of the task, we had a coherent and
comprehensive case analysis.

Ethical Reflection
Ethics was integrated all throughout our lessons and I appreciate how we had the chance
to make decisions on our case analyses based on ethically acceptable frameworks. On the case of
Neil and how he handled the weaknesses of his team, I learned the value of justice ethics.
Fairness has to be served because it will not only be good for those who will be called out for
their weaknesses, but also to motivate the other members of the organization who do not want to
be reprimanded. The OD value of maintaining synergy and dynamics does not mean that the
leader has to please everybody but rather direct the weak and strong members of the organization
towards effectiveness and productivity. In doing the paper analysis on the Global Sales Training,
I learned to apply the utilitarianism ethics. In every decision to be made, we always have to
strive for the good of the majority. In handling the organizational design and communication
problems in providing effective training, some trade-offs have to be made to ensure that the
organization progresses.
In conclusion, this course developed my strengths towards becoming a well-rounded
manager and I am looking forward to applying them in the industry I will pursue in the future.