Organizational development targets an overall change in the organizational culture to increase the organizational effectiveness and viability. The most used definition is Beckhard's (1969) which states that organization development (OD) is "an effort, planned, organization-wide, and managed from the top, to increase organization effectiveness and health through planned interventions in the organization's processes, using behavioral-science knowledge" (pag.9). More recently the focus has been on giving all stakeholders in the organization ownership of the process. The organizational development is more likely to be successful if all stakeholders agree and actively participate in the process. Organizational development is a response to change trigger by external factors and a process that carries a predetermine end result.
The process involves continuous assessments that focus on feedback and action planning. It is described as an action research with non-linear steps such as assessment and diagnosis of present situation in the organization, feedback from all stockholders, action planning that includes developing an implementation plan based on the assessment data, interventions, evaluation of actions done and results, and adoption of successful actions (Rouda & Kusy, 1995).

Some of the theories that have influenced the organizational development process are: Taylor's Scientific Management, Weber's Bureaucratic Theory, McGregor's Theory X vs. Theory Y and Likert's System 1-4. Taylor's Scientific Management and Weber's Bureaucratic theories are considered classical theories. Taylor's Scientific Management established a framework for the organization that had a clear delineation of authority, responsibility, separation of planning from operations, management by exception and task specialization (ACCEL-team, 2010). Weber's Bureaucratic theory is considered as too rigid and rule-oriented, dehumanizing and de-motivating. It establishes order where there is chaos, increases productivity by reducing inefficiencies and have defined specifications in its design. It is believed that it led to the development of humanistic theories like McGregor's Theory X vs. Theory Y and Likert's System 1-4.

McGregor's Theory X vs. Theory Y makes assumptions based on social science research. It looks for the potential in the individual and the organization to become more effective. Both