Description
The University of Law (UoL)
BS233 Organisational Development
L7 Assessment Brief 2025
2500 words
Deadline: 23rd September 2025
Individual Written Report
Learning outcomes of BS233:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the historical and theoretical aspects of Organisational Development (OD);
- Identify the stages of an organisational development (OD) process or cycle;
- Distinguish between individual, team, and whole organisation-based OD interventions;
- Assess the usefulness of OD interventions in engendering organisational change;
- Assimilate the impacts of the changing nature of work upon OD from an organisational and global perspective.
Assessment details: Individual written report, 100% (2,500 words)
Referencing: Students must use Harvard Referencing throughout their assignments where required. Please follow the Harvard Referencing Handbook for all your assignments at the ULBS.
Submission Method: Turnitin – Your work will be put through Turnitin. All submissions will be electronically checked for plagiarism and the use of AI software.
You have the option to upload your work ahead of the deadline, more than once. ULBS will be reviewing your last submission only. You can only upload one file. For example, if your work contains a word document and power point slides/Excel spreadsheet you will need to copy your slides/spreadsheet into the word document.
Note: Keep in mind that self-plagiarism (when you reuse your own specific wording and ideas from work that you have previously submitted without referencing yourself) is also a form of plagiarism and is not allowed.
BS233 Assessment Details:
Select a contemporary multinational organisation with which you are familiar. Make sure that you have access to sufficient information that is written in English and available online.
You have been contracted to conduct an Organisational Development (OD) initiative for your selected multinational organisation.
You should assume the role of OD Consultant. The Board of Directors at your selected multinational organisation have asked you to prepare a written report on the following points:
1.Critically review the historical and theoretical aspects of Organisational Development (OD), including the stages of the OD process or cycle (LO1 & 2).
2.Critically assess any impacts that the changing nature of work may have upon your selected organisation from both organisational and global perspectives (LO5). These changes may include one or more of the following:
- Advances in technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and remote working.
- Workforce demographics, working conditions and organisational environments.
- The impacts of globalisation.
3.Make recommendations at the individual, team, and organisation levels (LO3) in which you propose suitable OD interventions to bring about sustained organisational change in your selected organisation.
4.Assess the usefulness of your proposed interventions to bring about sustained organisational change in your selected organisation (LO4).
5.Referring to both the employability model and specific examples of your in-class learning experiences, critically evaluate how this module has benefitted your personal employability.
You should communicate your ideas effectively in writing by using an appropriate structure and writing style, including Harvard Referencing.
You should refer to academic concepts, theories, and practices in a critical and informed way, with reference to key texts and academic articles, as well as by referring to examples from your selected organisation.
All sources should be correctly acknowledged, and a list of references provided. This list of references is excluded from the word count.
Solution
To the Board of Directors, Microsoft Corporation.
- Introduction
Kurt Lewin, widely regarded as the father of organisational development, said “If you want to truly understand something, try to change it.” (Jones & Brazzel, 2012). Within organisational development, this quote serves to underscore the idea that, organisations are best understood not as static entities but as dynamic systems in evolution. According to Carnall (2007), change raises to the surface the dynamics underlying culture, leadership, and structure, revealing the resistance, strength, and flexibility within an organisation. Organisational development takes this principle further by studying organisational change and performance through continuous diagnosis, action planning, implementation and evaluation, to improve organisation’s capacity for solving problems and managing future change.
As a global technology leader based in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft Corporation is driving innovation in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and hybrid work solutions in over 190 countries within which it operates (Microsoft, 2024). With over 220,000 employees worldwide, Microsoft’s success in the future will not only depend on innovation breakthroughs but also on embedding organisational development strategies that bring agility, resilience, and ethical responsibility to its global operations.
Based on this background, this report takes the case of Microsoft Corporation and undertakes critical analysis of various aspects of organisation development. It starts by examining the history and theoretical aspects of OD as well as the stages of OD process. Further, it assesses the impact of various changes such as advances in technology and globalisation have on Microsoft, before identify various interventions to help Microsoft achieved sustained organisational change. Finally, the report uses the employability model to evaluate how the module has aided in improving my personal employability.
- Historical and theoretical aspects of organisational development
2.1 History of organisational development
Organisational development emerged out of human relations studies from the 1930s where psychologists realised that organizational structures and processes influence worker behaviour and motivation (Anderson, 2011). The history of OD is heavily indebted to Kurt Lewin’s early contributions in the 1940s. Yaeger et al. (2006) explain that, Lewin’s field theory and action research approach stressed diagnosis combined with action experimentation in order to establish OD as a science-based profession. Sensitivity training and T-groups of the 1950s were some of the initial innovations that stressed interpersonal relations and group dynamics, which was typical of OD’s humanist orientation (Burke, 2004).
In the 1960s and 1970s, OD focused on equilibrating human needs and technological needs, as well as exploring how organisations interacted with their environments at all levels (Jones & Brazzel, 2012). These advancements extended the scope of OD from individual and group problems to engaging larger organisational designs and environmental interdependencies.
In the 1980s and 1990s, OD was carefully crafted with a high degree of focus on leadership, culture, and navigating large-scale change. In 2000s, OD further evolved to address issues of agility, diversity, and globalization, having recognised that change is ongoing and not episodic (Anderson, 2011). Despite the OD’s history illustrating its flexibility, Jones and Brazzel (2012) point out that, its early orientation was based on Western values and put a high premium on ideals such as participation and openness which are non-transferable across the board to other cultures or organisational environments.
2.2 Theoretical Perspectives of OD
One of the most influential theories for understanding organizational development is Kurt Lewin’s 3-step change model, which balances the driving and restraining forces to manage organizational change in three core phases: unfreezing, changing, and refreezing (Syed, et al. 2018).
Figure 1: Lewin’s 3-step change model
Source: Lewin (1947).
The unfreeze stage involves preparing the organization for change by identifying the need for transformation and fostering readiness, while the change stage focuses on implementing new behaviours, processes or systems (Syed, et al. 2018). Finally, the refreeze stage aims to stabilize these changes, integrating them into the organization’s culture and practices to maintain the new state. However, Cummings, Bridgman and Brown (2016) argues that, while this theory has been applied widely over the last 70 years, it is criticised as being too broad and lacks detailed guidance on executing each stage, which may limit its applicability in complex scenarios.
The Burke- Litwin Model
The Burke-Litwin Model of organizational development is a comprehensive framework that delineates the complex relationships between different components within an organization and how they affect change. Developed in 1992, the model provides a detailed structure for understanding the dynamics of change in an organization and the factors that contribute to its effectiveness (Burke and Litwin, 1992). The 12 dimensions of the Burke-Litwin Model include: external environment, mission and strategy, leadership, organisational culture, structure, management practises, systems, work unit climate, task and individual skills, individual needs and values, motivation, and performance as shown in the figure below:
Figure 2: Burke & Litwin Model
Source: Burke & Litwin (1992)
In the context of organisational development, the Burke-Litwin Model serves as a diagnostic tool to identify areas for improvement and understand the interplay between these dimensions. According to Anderson (2011), it emphasizes the idea that, development does not occur in isolation; rather, it’s the result of the interaction between various elements within the organizational ecosystem. By using this model, managers can assess which areas need alignment for change to be successful, plan interventions accordingly, and predict potential outcomes of change initiatives (Burke, 2004).
Porras & Robinson Model
Porras and Robinson’s theory focus on organizational development as a systematic, planned process of change within an organization’s work setting to improve effectiveness and employee well-being (Porras & Robertson, 1992)……………………………….
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