Hello Sukhi,
OD is an emerging function in India though most of the reputed organisations in the international arena have initiated Od interventions successfully.
The role of the OD practioner is to design and cordinate the various interventions requiredfor that particular organisation.
I could put these practioners into two compartments:
The Soft Practioners and Hard Practitioners.
“Soft” OD refers to the classic tools: teambuilding, group facilitation, conflict management, etc.
“Hard” OD refers to the socio-technical stream of OD, including organizational design, process design andimprovement, work design and redesign, and large-scale change management.
OD practitionerscould also be from within the organisation-"Internal", and those from outside, "External".
Internal OD practitioners are typically found in one of three areas: as part of Training & Development; as a stand-alone OD unit; and as an Organizational Effectiveness unit. In the first two cases, the OD is typically of the “soft” variety.
External OD practitioners fallinto two groups as well: those practicing “soft” OD (SE) and those practicing “hard” OD(HE). It’s my guess that whether internal or external, those practicing “hard” OD findmore favor with senior execs and other managers focused on measurably and often tangibly improving performance, whether of people, processesor the bottom line. Moreover, I’d also guess that HE ODconsultants are probably the best paid.
It’s been my observation that the Internal OD practitioners typically find themselves in supporting roles of limited influence and, in some cases, they have been there primarily for show, so the management can say, “Yeah, we have an OD unit.”
There are numerous OD practioners both external and internal, in India.
The most well known external practioners are Dr.Udai Pareek and dr.T.V.Rao.
cheers
Rajeev.V