Organizational Development (OD)

Definition

The field dedicated to making organizations function better, with a success rate roughly equivalent to therapy for your company's dysfunction.

Example Usage

We hired an organizational development consultant who recommended 'better communication,' which costs $150K to implement.

Origin

Emerged in the 1950s from behavioral science applications

Fun Fact

Every OD recommendation eventually boils down to 'communicate better' and 'trust each other more'

Source: Organizational Development Standards

Related Terms

Advanced

just cause

A legal standard requiring employers to have a fair and reasonable basis for disciplinary action or termination, typically in union environments. Seven specific tests that prevent 'because I felt like it' terminations.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

complaint

The formal grievance that transforms casual workplace whining into official documentation. In HR contexts, it's the trigger for investigations that make everyone uncomfortable; in legal contexts, it's the opening salvo in litigation. Filing one means you've crossed the Rubicon from 'dealing with it' to 'making it everyone's problem.'

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shift

A designated block of time when workers are expected to show up and be productive, usually during hours when humans would prefer to be sleeping or living. In corporate environments, it's the polite term for dividing a 24-hour day into segments of varying desirability. Night shift workers have a special place in society: tired, underappreciated, and deserving of much higher pay.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

Headcount

The number of employees in an organization, reduced to a single dehumanizing number that makes layoffs sound like inventory management. When someone says "we need to reduce headcount," they mean real humans with mortgages, but the phrasing helps everyone sleep at night.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

HRIS

Human Resources Information System—software that manages employee data, payroll, benefits, and basically every detail of your employment life. The database that knows more about you than you remember about yourself.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

EAP

Employee Assistance Program—a confidential service offering counseling, legal advice, and wellness resources, theoretically showing the company cares about your mental health while spending minimal money on actual support. The corporate equivalent of thoughts and prayers.

👥 Human Resources

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