What have you learned when organization transformation does not work?
Two major factors that contribute to the failure of organization change or transformation are organization
culture and politics
. I think that OD is based on a belief that people use power to benefit the organization; however, people many times use power to benefit themselves. A person's motivation and how he or she uses their position power greatly affects the outcomes of organization transformation.
Political power
is used primarily by an individual or group to benefit that individual or group, a constituency within or outside the organization, or in support of an ideology. The organization comes in second or third on the list of beneficiaries of the power. Politically motivated decisions and actions can greatly affect the success or failure of organization change.
My guess is that every experienced change management consultant has stories of political expediency over what is best for the organization.
