Struggling to Choose a PhD Topic in Organizational Development? Let's Brainstorm Together

Hi All, my name is Prerna, and I am working in an IT company in an HR Generalist role for the last 2.2 years. I am planning to pursue a PhD in Organizational Development next year from TISS. The application process at TISS requires sending in the Research Proposal along with the Application Form.

Choosing a Research Topic in Organizational Development

Organizational Development is a vast discipline and my area of interest. I would appreciate it if anyone could help me choose and fine-tune the topic. I have thought of a couple of topics like Change Management and OD, Talent Management, but I am not really sure about the two.

I am awaiting a prompt response on this.

Thanks,
Prerna

Choosing a Dissertation Topic in Organizational Development

Those aren't topics - those are broad areas of the field. A dissertation topic should answer one or more key research questions related to the topic. What topic or question excites you? Is it important to the field? Could it be somewhere you can make a contribution? Does it build on your background, passion, and interest?

For me, I'm interested in things like how the adoption of high-performance work practices, such as those described in the People CMM, leads to organizational transformation. How would we know the organization has changed? What were the changes in outcomes? How did they manage that transformation?

Best of luck,

Regards,
Bill Hefley, PhD, CCP, CDP, COP
University of Pittsburgh
Author of People CMM
Bill Hefley | University of Pittsburgh (link updated to site home) (Search on Cite | Search on Google)

Thank you for providing insight on the topic. Since I am working in the Training & Development profile, I want to research this topic as well.

Contribution of Training & Development Initiatives

How does the Training & Development initiative contribute to individual and organizational development in the long run? How do they contribute to employee motivation and retention?

Measuring Effectiveness and Impact

How can we measure the effectiveness of the training initiative at the organizational level? How do we study its impact on financial outcomes? Please let me know if this would be an appropriate topic for research and if these questions would add meaningfully to the current literature context in this field.

Thank you,

Prerna

You're starting to move in the right direction about honing your questions. It might even be worth doing a little quick sleuthing on Google Scholar or similar platforms to see if there are already works in these areas that might help you focus more.

Training Effectiveness at the Organizational Level

Just the questions about training effectiveness at the organizational level, how they measure this across many organizations, and how this relates to individual outcomes like motivation and retention could make the crux of a good study. Many people focus on the individual returns, and few focus higher on the organizational use of the effectiveness of training and results. I use the word "down" because in People CMM, the training (to do the job) is a Level 2 phenomenon, while competency development to develop personal and organizational competencies is a Level 3 focus. Using data from this to manage the organization is Level 4. It is at this higher level that really interesting challenges develop.

Comparison of Organizations Using People CMM

A related question that could fall out of such a study is a simple comparison between organizations that have used (or been assessed using) People CMM and those who have not. Do they experience different results or have different capabilities for managing and exploiting training and development?

During this weekend, I was exploring the field of Training & Development and its effectiveness on Google Scholar. Most of the work in this field has focused on topics like evaluating the effectiveness of training through the Kirkpatrick Model, wherein a detailed analysis is conducted at each of the four stages: Reaction, Learning, Behavior, and Results. Others have concentrated on studies such as the impact of individual and situational factors or attributes as defined in Organizational Theory to study the effectiveness of training. The latter delves deeper into analyzing individual behavior, attributes, and the organizational environment that could impact achieving the desired state of effectiveness.

Hence, I have considered including this as a part of my study, as it would eventually help direct me towards my area of study, like motivation and retention.

Also, the inclusion of People CMM as an addendum to this study would make it even more relevant to the current context. This would broaden and enhance the scope of my study, resulting in deeper insights into the topics covered.

Thanks & Regards,
Prerna

Bill Hefley has given you excellent specific advice regarding the field, despite the limited information provided by you. I am not a specialist in HR; therefore, I can offer only general advice. Please access and study the PowerPoint presentation on Research Methodology at https://www.citehr.com/150459-resear...cognition.html. Additionally, kindly search CiteHr for materials on pursuing a Ph.D., etc.