Program in Organization Development and Change ends on a business note

The Masters Certificate in Organization Development and Change is designed to help OD professionals be confident in their ability to assess a consulting situation in collaboration with the client and provide the most appropriate intervention from an array of many in your repertoire. The program is delivered in four modules over 11 days, with a practicum requirement as a capstone to the learning.

The final four-day module of the program, which ended its latest session just recently, is designed to develop the strategic business analysis and business acumen of OD professionals. In it, participants develop an advanced understanding of how business works, how to think as the CEO does, and how to manage and influence the bottom line.

Led by long-time Schulich ExecEd facilitator Michelle Chambers, the session gained high marks and enthusiastic comments from the group. Here is a sample:

• “Great knowledge and [Michelle is] very good at bringing her own experience in material. Priceless.”
• “Michelle is awesome.”
• “Michelle’s energy [kept] us going and her knowledge and experience shared is invaluable.”
• “Very passionate, willing to share real-life experience and resources.”
• “Really opened [my] eyes to business case process.”

As always, it’s the program content that counts and this module received kudos there too, particularly for the business case study component:

•  “I liked being able to look at the business side of the scene. I am mostly immersed in HR. It was great to hear how others can apply OD in their organization.”
•  “[I] Enjoyed working with [the] team on [an] actual business case.
• “The business case studies using real cases from classmates. Wonderful to work in small groups for a longer period and go deep into a ‘love’ case.”
• “The business case experience was incredibly valuable.”

The discipline of Organization Development (OD) is fundamentally about managing change but entails a much broader focus. It encompasses aligning and optimizing an organization’s social and technical environments for maximum effectiveness. From one-on-one coaching and reorganizing teams and departments, to re-designing processes or adopting a new strategic direction – OD strives to help create the best possible work environment through “whole jobs” so that employees understand the organization as a whole, not just their part.

To learn more about OD and the full Masters Certificate in Organization Design and Change program, visit the program web pages.