SYMPOSIUM X: OD IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: REEMPHASIZING THE GENERATIONS

INTRODUCTION It does not feel that way to your Editor, but the calendar tells me that this first symposium in this series was in preparation nearly a quarter of a century ago (Golembiewski, 1978). The early investment in public-sector OD had paid off rather handsomely: it got me a place at the tables of several major renewals or start-ups of public agencies and programs, including the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, or MARTA (Golembiewski and Kiepper, 1988); several thousand journal pages have carried the 9 previous symposia; the OD initiative has been carried more or less worldwide (e.g., Golembiewski, 2000, Chapter 2); and items in the symposia have found common homes in the bibliographies associated with OD articles and books. In contrast, a quarter of a century ago, some observers saw OD as a kind of affectation of a few North American managerial hippies. So your Editor takes delight in this Symposium X as it gets ready to find its own place in the literature. It has been a very good ride. So what will this tenth potpourri include? Five contributions populate its table of contents, and brief comments will help the readers orient themselves to what follows. In turn, the contributions below emphasize: the prison as locus for OD; OD in southeastern Asia a critical analysis of two major OD concepts; OD's usefulness in understanding a historical giant, and a new notion-perception management-for guiding planned change. REEMPHASIZING THE GENERATIONS Introduction to the catalog will come in due time, but note that Symposium X also serves a general purpose. One of your Editor's most valued perspectives on OD directs attention at the several generations of OD practitioners and theorists (e.g., Golembiewski, 1989). The notion is very simple. Without an older and more experienced collection of Oders, the danger is that cumulativeness will suffer as successors continually reinvent the wheel. Without a younger and less-socialized collection of Oders, on the other hand, the more likely that OD will fall in on itself without the reinforcement and testing of new approaches to new times by younger scholars and intervenors. The generations consequently have been one of the major themes in the 10 symposia. I count it as a substantial contribution of this series that it highlights the work of the generations in OD. Examples would always neglect someone. But, in general, the symposia are full of the work of mature ODers as well as the early publications of more recent workers in the discipline. What effects are anticipated? Younger contributors can bring the fresh eye and the direct criticism of assumptions others have made unselfconsciously over the decades. And more mature contributors may defend self-interests, but they also are more likely to have long experience to reflect on as well as that kind of freedom that comes with end-of-- game play. Here again, the generations provide the primary focus for the contributions below. Specifically, the first three contributions came from students of OD earlier in their development, and the remaining contributions come from ODers further down their tracks. SOME ORIENTING PREVIEWS Brief particulars about each of the contributions can help orient our readers to their content and intent. Five contributions get brief introductory attention. 1. OD in Corrections. Rose Opengart focuses on a common closed system as a tough locus for OD-the field of corrections, and more specifically the prison. Why is this a tough locus? No advanced degrees are necessary here. OD values and approaches constitute a generally poor fit for most corrections or prison loci, both as they are and perhaps somewhat less so in the ideal forms of prison as rehabilitative versus punishment-centered. Why this census? Well, paramountly, it is sui generis, and fills a blank spot in the literature. Moreover, if she finds any literature at all with some effectiveness, Opengart can make a strong argument for an underappreciated view: if OD can exist usefully in correction or prison environments, it can exist arguably anywhere. …

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