Sustainable Change in the Public Sector: The Longitudinal Benefits of Organization Development
Abstract
This article examines the impact over a 30-year period of a 4-year organization development project in the Metro County Sheriff’s Department. Interventions included confrontation team-building sessions, management training, process consultation, survey feedback, third-party consultation, technological interventions, implementation of methods for increasing accountability, and changes in the organization structure, the physical setting, and the policy formulation procedures. Results include improved organization climate and leader effectiveness; decreased employee turnover, jail breaks, and citizen complaints; increased resources allocated to the organization; and improved organizational effectiveness, as measured by criminal justice leaders in the community. This research becomes the longest longitudinal study of the effects of organization development interventions in the behavioral science literature.
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Involved and committed leaders can help facilitate sustainability.
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- Authors
- Wayne Boss, R., Dunford, B. B., Boss, A. D., & McConkie, M. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA,
- Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
- University of Washington Bothell (US)
- University of Colorado Colorado Springs (US)
- Venue
- The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-11-12
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 436-472
- ISSN
- 0021-8863 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-6879
- OpenAlex
- W2134974672
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 1.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Appreciative Inquiry and Organizational Change
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Organizational Change and Leadership
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Organizational Management and Change
- Keywords
- organizational development, public sector transformation, sheriff's departments, county jails, organizational climate, leadership effectiveness, employee turnover, prison escapes, citizen complaints, accountability, organizational structure, process consultation, management training, behavioral interventions, organizational effectiveness
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