Special Features
“I applied to the MPOD program because I wanted to focus on what makes organizations, teams, and people successful. I had my fill of hearing about the “glass being half empty” and wanted to help people recognize when the “glass was half full” and how to use that recognition to move forward and fill the glass completely. MPOD gave me the luxury to assess myself and to take the time to reflect on where I have been, where I am, and where I am going. The faculty helped me re-frame myself and my thinking so that when I work with clients, having spent time on myself, I have the tacit knowledge to help others to reflect on themselves, their organizations, and their dreams.”
RITA KOWALSKI
MPOD, 2006
Employer and Title: Veterans Health Administration National Center for Organizational Development, Program Specialist
Undergraduate University and Degree: St. Bonaventure University, BA in English
Hometown: Buffalo, New York
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This organization development program embodies an experiential
approach to learning, also pioneered by the
Organizational Behavior Faculty at Case’s Weatherhead
School of Management. Program goals are conceived in
terms of what practitioners in the field must be able
to do, and learning activities are geared to the achievement
of these goals.
Achieving a high degree of professional competence
typically requires several years of experience in the
field as well as involvement in an educational process.
This Master's degree program is designed to foster the
rapid development of competencies which
underlie the most current research on effective
leadership and the analytic and interpersonal
skills to intervene effectively in any variety
of organizations. As such, the program provides: (1)
a basic and thorough underpinning for people who are
relatively new to the profession, as well as (2) the
critical intellectual and skill bases for professional
practitioners who experience the need for more intensive
programmatic training. Development of the following
competencies is a prerequisite for thorough analysis
and constructive intervention in organizations:
1. Analytic Competence: Each student develops the capability to gather, organize,
and use relevant information from social and organizational
settings. This is a crucial preliminary step in any
organization development activity, and its competent
execution requires both theoretical knowledge and behavioral
skills. In order to know what data to gather and how
to organize them, a practitioner must have a firm understanding
of theories of organization, small groups, personality,
and societal dynamics. To obtain the data required,
skills in strength-based inquiry, interviewing, and
observing people at work are mandatory.
2. Action Competence:
Interlocked with diagnostic competence is the ability
to use theory and information for effective action.
This requires the capability to create objectives that
are suited to the needs of the organization and its
members. A thorough grasp of the basic OD cycle of collaborative
discovery, analysis, action, and evaluation is critical
as is the ability to place both past efforts and new
situations faced by the organization in a larger environmental
perspective. Finally, each student will develop skills
in handling conflicts, building teams, acting as a process
consultant, coaching, designing organizations, using
innovative techniques for strategic planning, and designing
and implementing behaviorally-oriented management development
programs.
3. Interpersonal
Competence: The practice of effective organization
development requires generative interaction with others,
often in a crisis. The greatest resource in such situation
is one's self, one's actions, words, and demeanor, and
the feelings of comfort, caring, honest confrontation,
and conviction one conveys to others. Although the development
of interpersonal competence and self-knowledge is a
continuing effort, this program is designed to foster
rapid progress in these areas through: (1) assessment
by self, peers, and faculty; (2) experiential learning
activities; and (3) shared responsibility for one's
learning.
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