In thinking about it, I realized the answer can't be yes because there is still so much we don't know, there are still many problems needing to be solved and there will always new data, tools and insights that provide new ways to look at old problems. Unfortunately for me, that realization seemed to make the assignment that much harder.
The idea of looking at old problems in new ways is always intriguing to me. I have, more than once, found myself reading the findings of a research study and feeling that something was missing or having a sense that some assumption in an analysis was flawed. The MBA rankings research that I blogged about is a good example of this.
I like to think about problems at the highest level, integrating knowledge from many disciplines to make meaning of situations. And I'm drawn to theory development; particularly to developing theories that challenge conventional wisdom and produce real insights that can benefit organizations and the people in them.
The lack of relevance in academic research has been talked about for a long time, but it can't go on forever. Leaders relying upon quick fixes and short-term thinking even when addressing fundamental strategic problems is not new, but it can't go on forever, either. These are ultimately unsustainable situations that cry out for new ideas and solutions and they are the types of organization problems that are well-suited for OD work and interest me.
So with that, here are three research questions that I would find very interesting for theory development.
1. Can there be a model for a sustainable, functional organization? What characteristics does the organization and the people within it have? How does it work? How is it led? (by functional, I mean the opposite of dysfunctional)
2. How does the concept of a sustainable organization change the dialog about inclusion and the ways diversity can make a positive difference in organizations?
3. How would the concept of a sustainable organization change the dialog about the purpose of business schools and how would their students and faculty benefit from looking at the purpose of business schools through an sustainable model lens?
This represents just the very beginning of my thinking in this area so I'm interested in hearing how it sounds to you. What do you think of the idea of a model for a sustainable organization? Do you think this could be the basis of a useful theory?
As always Lisa, your comments are ripe for thought! I think your idea of a model for a sustainable organization is an incredible notion! In fact, it sounds like this could be an excellent dissertation topic. It seems to me that much of the organizational literature and theory is trying very, very hard to achieve what one would coin a "sustainable organization" but, most of the literature is in silos with mediocre integration. Why so many silos? is yet another interesting question. If you were able to filter as much of the literature, theory and practice as possible into one useful sustainable org model it would probably solve a majority of org problems...and, leave some of us out of a job :)
ReplyDeleteI think it is a great idea worth additional thought and research!