Organizational Development for Thornlea: A Communication Package and Some Results

The author introduces his facilitative role in organizational development at Thornlea School' with the following two statements: "Most organizations have a structure that was designed to solve problems that no longer exist" but "I am less interested in inducing any particular change than I am in fostering and nourishing the conditions under which constructive change may occur." In one sense the author's work at Thornlea could be classed as in-service training, but as the case developed the training was found to be of a very different kind from that which school people are accustomed to or acquainted with. This case study begins with the assumptions and objectives of organizational development (OD) in general; proceeds to some background of a school which recently participated in a very brief taste of OD; presents some essential features of the communication package itself and some of the results; and concludes, of course, with some implications.