What is a Master’s in Organizational Development?

Master's in Organizational Development If you have ever thought about attaining an education to advance your career in the field of organizational development, an important question has probably crossed your mind: “What is a Master’s in Organizational Development?” By reading the information found below, you can attain an answer to this question and several others that pertain to the field of organizational development.

Organizational Development-The Basics

Although defined diversely, the term “organizational development” generally refers to a sector of theory, research, and praxis that involves expanding the knowledge and efficacy people have for the purpose of attaining more successful organizational performance and change. The field of organizational development involves several processes, including action planning, evaluation and implementation, and continuous diagnosis. These processes are designed to facilitate the transfer of skills and knowledge to organizations so that they can improve upon their ability to manage future change and solve problems.

The Master’s in Organizational Development

Individuals who want to work within the field of organizational development may want to consider pursuing a Master’s degree in Organizational Development. The Master’s degree in Organizational Development places an emphasis upon the cultivation of ethical leadership while also placing primacy upon organizational leadership components like creativity, motivation, strategic planning, vision, group development, teamwork, and technology. In many cases, students who enroll in such programs will end the degree completion process by completing a project which incorporates the implementation of all the theories learned throughout the course of the semester.

Master’s in Organizational Development-Coursework

Although the courses that students will take while completing their Master’s degree in Organizational Development often differ, some of the core courses that you can expect to take are:

•Information Research & Resources
•Foundations of Leadership: History, Theory, Application & Development
•Organizational Development: Consulting, Design, Intervention & Evaluation
•Organizational Research, Analysis & Problem Solving
•Motivation, Teams, Coaching & Mentoring
•Organizational Communication, Conflict Resolution & Negotiation
•Strategic Thinking, Planning & Organizational Change
•Leadership, Technology, Job Design, Socio-technical Systems & Innovation

In addition to completing core coursework, individuals who opt to earn a Master’s in Organizational Development will often select a concentration and fulfill class requirements for the concentration. For example, students who opt to pursue the Future Studies Concentration might take the following courses:

•Survey of Futures Studies
•Forecasting Techniques
•Organizational Futures

Other concentration options students might have include a Human Resource Management Concentration, International Organizations Concentration, Leadership Coaching & Mentoring Concentration, and Organizational Communication Concentration.

Career Options

Individuals who opt to attain the Master’s in Organizational Development should note that they will have a plethora of wonderful career options to choose from. One such career option is that of a training and development manager. These individuals direct, plan, and coordinate programs for the purpose of enhancing the skills and knowledge of a business’s employees. Training and development managers are also responsible for overseeing a staff of training and development specialists. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, training and development managers can expect to earn about $95,400 annually or $45.86 per hour. Several other career options available include becoming a human resources manager or administrative services manager.

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