Organizational development is essential for the success of any business or enterprise. But to properly use it, one needs to learn the procedure involved. There’s nothing better than reading books. Therefore, we’ve created a list of the best organizational development books.
These books will give you the edge to thrive in this fast-paced business world. You’ll learn the history, necessary theories, and practical frameworks for organizational development through these books. We believe these books are what every aspiring business leader needs to read and learn from.
List of the 5 Best Organizational Management Books
We’ve curated a list containing the five best organizational management books. Each book is excellent on its own terms but teaches something new and unique. You’re sure to learn a lot when you go through the books we’ve talked about today.
1. An Experiential Approach to Organization Development By Donald Brown
Donald Brown’s book is a comprehensive manual that provides actionable insights and methods for efficient organizational development. Due to his status as a preeminent academic, the author can draw upon his vast store of knowledge to write the book.
The book is not just scholarly but also instructive and exciting, to say the least. It covers a lot of ground on the topic of organizational development. Moreover, it offers training that is both up-to-date and applicable to the realities of modern workplaces.
Additionally, a wealth of information has been covered in the book. From topics such as change management, team building, and continuation process after the changes take effect. This is why we included the book in our list of the best organizational development books.
2. Organization Development: A Jossey-Bass Reader By Joan V. Gallos (Editor)
The most respected experts in the field of organizational development have taken part in writing the book. In addition to that, the book has been edited by Joan V. Gallos, who is an award-winning author and scholar.
The book has everything one needs to know about organizational management. One part of the book we liked is the authors’ emphasis on practical management. The book is a welcome change despite today’s typical scenario where charismatic CEOs are heralded as greats.
From Schein to Lewin to Kotter and beyond, you’ll find the most influential ideas and authors, and practices for change. It’s an essential summary of the best books on change management.
Therefore, the book can be considered a repository of ideas and perspectives from influential thinkers. For this reason, we have included the book in our best organizational development books list.
3. Consultant’s Big Book of Organization Development Tools By Mel Silberman (Editor)
Firstly, the book begins with an introduction to organizational development and presents its basic tenets and principles. This lays the groundwork for learning the tools covered in the rest of the book.
In addition to that, a detailed explanation accompanies each tool. Complementing it is a guide on how to use the tool in the workplace. The key to the complex and innovative nature of the book is why it’s been included in our list of the best organizational development books.
The book provides extensive guidance on how to do various interventions. Balanced against the text is galore of team-building exercises. You can find a few of the practices by googling. However, you’ll never see this many in one place and organized in such an excellent manner.
4. The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course: Organizational Development By Stephen Balzac
The author delivers a comprehensive yet entertaining review of critical organizational challenges. The book provides the reader with a step-by-step guide to organizational theory.
Moreover, it provides several instances of how these theories have played out in real life. This makes the application of theory and practices enlightening. And earns the book a place on our list of the best organizational development books.
The author clarifies foundational principles and provides illustrative cases that pave the way for us to draw conclusions. Many books make the mistake of trying to be either overly theoretical or universal in their approach. Happily, for us, this is different here.
5. Organization Development: A Practitioner’s Guide for OD and HR By Dr. Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge and Linda Holbeche
The authors begin by showing that organizational development is a dynamic subject. They do so by presenting a historical framework for organization formation. The authors examine organizational development theories and models in detail.
The book then dives into discussing organization growth methodologies and strategies. The authors provide actionable advice for optimizing these issues and solving user issues.
The book emphasizes a practitioner-client team approach. They emphasize the importance of practitioners connecting with clients to learn about their challenges and craft solutions.
This is what makes the book so great. It’s also why the book has been listed here as one of the best organizational development books.
You may also read: THE 5 BEST BOOKS ON TALENT MANAGEMENT
Final Words
We conclude this article by hoping we’ve helped you find some of the world’s best organizational development books. As always, we urge you to read and learn in order to pursue self-improvement. By reading the books, you can become a more effective agent of change in your organization.
Rabab Rayan is a senior year business undergrad at the Bangladesh University of Professionals with an insatiable appetite for reading. He has a particular enthusiasm for science fiction and mystery genres and can often be found exploring local bookshops and chatting with fellow bookworms about his latest reads.