FACING THE CHALLENGES IN MANAGING THE COMPLEXITIES OF A CHANGING WORLD: ORGANIZATIONAL VERSUS INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT

Unpredictably, the transition to a global society and economy is occurring too fast and is mostly unmanaged, just a small percentage of our world organisations being prepared for this evolution. What will happen if the present gaps between the developed world and the rest become too big, or the price for bridging them proves too costly?

The fields of Management and Organisational Development are trying to address these concerns. The question we raise is to what extent can organisations be made adaptive and self-organizing? In this paper we intend to analyze the advantages of organizational development versus the traditional individual development which refers to well-known learning approaches such as trainings, improving skills, work experience or formal education. This paper will also provide detailed analyses of the concepts and the most recent trends in organizational development associated with the application of complexity theory to management science and proactive learning. But are complex systems capable of adapting as fast as the external system demands?

The Organisational Development process outlined in this paper suggests a new approach. This process ideally aims to be based on a continuous learning process and the development of employees’ capabilities besides the individual knowledge obtained by employees during the formal education in schools and universities or through different lifelong learning methods. Therefore it implies actions of both continuous learning and development.