There are several organizational boundaries that exist within any entity and they are key elements of management. These boundaries mostly exist in respect to employee groupings and basic personnel management (Aarons, Ehrhart, & Hurlburt, 2015). An environment in which boundaries occur is juxtaposed by a boundary-less environment whereby horizontal or vertical hierarchies do not feature in an organization.
Boundaries also involve a series of networks that serve various purposes. The most prevailing issue with organizational boundaries is that they are inflexible and they tend to limit talent utilization (Borkowski, 2015). One example of my experience working for an organization that had rigid boundaries involved how people functioned. For instance, I came to realize that not all people could achieve full productivity in a boundary environment. On the other hand, some employees can only function in a boundary environment. This became apparent because some career trajectories of my co-workers would change as they changed organizations.
In my experience, organizations that are dominated by boundaries tend to have perennial structures, processes, and outcomes. Consequently, boundaries within my former organization gave it a distinct identity depending on the set out goals. It is important to realize that vertical and horizontal boundaries in an organization produce different results. For instance, most of the junior employees tend to favor the horizontal structures as opposed to vertical ones. Furthermore, boundaries have the capacity to put up external barriers between an organization, its suppliers, and its customers.
Therefore, in a normal scenario the object of any business is to ensure that the core process go on unhindered. However, existence of boundaries can create a problem or a solution in this regard. For instance, some of the worlds leading companies such as General Electric have sought to re-establish their horizontal and vertical boundaries from time to time in an effort to streamline their operations (Manojlovich & Ketefian, 2016). The flexibility of lack of boundaries is often favored in progressive organizations while boundaries are considered advantageous in most traditional settings. Another positive impact of eliminating boundaries is that it is possible for managers to replace them with virtual networks.
If I were a member of the organizations leadership, my approach would have been to dilute the boundaries. This would have led to a more flexible and less structured operational environment. In todays workplace environment, it is futile to consider a scenario where a business operations solely depend on the efforts of the top management. Organizations that employ rigid boundaries operate under the assumption that organizational drivers are just a few individuals. On the other hand, the modern approach to leadership is to form formidable teams that are not defined by employee-titles and boundaries.
For example, some of the most successful technological startups in the last ten years have often disregarded traditional organizational designs in favor of team unity. Therefore, my approach as a leader would have been aimed at bringing all employees together against a common goal as opposed to separating them in accordance with organizational levels. Currently, there are various methods of achieving an organization without boundaries including the use of virtual organizational structures. These types of organizations can be easily customized to meet specific goals including temporary ones. Eventually, I would have steered the organization towards becoming a network-organization.
References
Aarons, G. A., Ehrhart, M. G., & Hurlburt, M. S. (2015). Leadership and organizational
change for implementation (LOCI): A randomized mixed method pilot study of a leadership and organization development intervention for evidence-based practice implementation. Implementation Science, 10(1), 11.
Manojlovich, M., & Ketefian, S. (2016). The effects of organizational culture on nursing professionalism: Implications for health resource planning. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research Archive, 33(4), 1-13.
Organization Development refers to the evaluation and change of the strategies, processes, and structures of an organization in a bid to improve the performance of the organization and help in the development and contentment of its employees. It may involve things like coaching, work-life balance, leadership development, performance management, strategic planning, and organization design (McNamara 1997, p. 1).
Global Organizational Development
Global organizational development is characterized by the need for a myriad of skills ranging from the various categories of personal skills to those of professional skills. Some of these skills include the ability to form groups of people with common interests and even bring different groups of people to work together, the ability to form networks for the provision of resources to the community, ability to negotiate deals helping in the community or organizational development, mediation skills, ability to handle the dynamic nature of organizations and put up with uncertainty and ambiguity (Barlow 2008, p. 7).
Global Organizational Development is greatly affected by cultural and economic practices. It is thus carried out differently in different countries since these countries are characterized by different cultural and economic backgrounds and practices. Although in most cases cultural considerations are outweighed by time and cost considerations, the most successful Organization Development practitioners develop an approach that does not conflict with local cultures. In a nutshell, to effectively use culture to achieve success in organizational development, practitioners must be ready to suspend their own cultural beliefs, learn and understand the culture in their areas of operation and be able to read the behavioral aspects integrated into the local culture (Tobin 2009, p. 2). The economic crisis is the main factor that contributes to the need for organizational development. It is thus of essence to consider economic practices when developing strategies for organizational development (Carrigan 2009, p. 1).
Organization Development practices of Italy
The level of Organizational Development in Italy has attracted commendable interest from several organization development practitioners all over the world. This country has seen a substantial decline in the levels of industrial development, allegedly, parallel to the level of organizational development in this country. The problems in Italy could be a result of the conflict of traditions, religious beliefs, and government bureaucracies with foreign-adopted policies and theories. After being torn by World War II, the Italian people adopted the economic and technological ideas of the United States in an attempt to recover the damage caused by the war. They applied theories, procedures, philosophies, and techniques of Americans without considering the social and cultural aspects of the Italian community. This led to a dismal failure in aspects that had socio-cultural interference; like employee participation, decision-making involvement, a collaboration between employees and management, etcetera. Italians have therefore learned the hard way that Organizational Development has to consider the setting of the community in which the organization is located (Boss 1995, p. 1).
Conclusion
The application of certain theories of organizational development should not depend on their success in another country or organization. This is because different countries and organizations operate in very dissimilar socio-cultural settings. Thus the decision of the Italians to adopt theories, philosophies, and procedures of the United States, just because they had worked in the United States, was very wrong. It is therefore of essence that countries and organizations develop Organization Development policies that are suitable in their socio-cultural settings.
Reference
Barlow, J. (2008). Global Organizational Development Management . Web.
Boss, W. (1995). Organization Development in Italy . Web.
Carrigan, M. (2009). Economic uncertainty and the role of organizational development . Web.
McNamara, C. (1997). What is Organizational Development? Web.
Tobin, R. (2009). The six traps of global organization development and how to avoid them . Web.
Many organizations conduct research works to determine whether their business needs any improvement. Usually, this measure is taken to calculate the efficiency of current processes and the ability to reach certain goals. For instance, a company must be very specific and ask questions only about those fields that are relevant to it (O’Leary & Hunt, 2016, 50). This paper analyses the article that discusses what elements does the quality research has when used for organizational development.
Summary
The article by Coghlan and Shani (2014) discusses three crucial elements that help to make the research process effective. It claims the process must be rigorous, reflective, and relevant. The first feature stresses the importance of data collected during the study. The second one discusses whether the data is linked to previous or contemporary research that can be found in literature and case studies. Finally, the relevancy element determines whether the collected data addresses the goals set by an organization. All three elements are applied to several steps of the research process.
They include the purpose of research, the context, methodology, and method of inquiry, design, narrative and outcomes, reflection on the story, and discussion. The authors of the article offer a table that matches rigor, reflectiveness, and relevance with these features. Each combination is supported by questions that have to be addressed at each point of research. The discussion finalizing the article states that there are four primary factors for evaluating action research. These are the importance of context understanding, the quality of collaboration between researchers and employees, the quality of the process itself, and the development of collaboration from learning by practice.
Contemporary Thinking
The article corresponds well with the contemporary perception of the topic. For instance, studies suggest that context is one of the most important factors for conducting quality research (Eriksson & Kovalainen, 2016, p. 99). A person who is responsible for evaluating various elements of a process must be skilled in collecting the right data. It takes a deep understanding of the culture in which he or she is trying to function. An article by Coghlan and Shani (2014) features several questions that are important while acting in a context. They call for determining whether the contextual data is collected in a way that corresponds with quality standards and whether it is supported by the previous research. It may sometimes take a long time for researchers to collect the necessary information. The important part is to have a systematic approach to every detail noticed and recorded during weeks or even months.
Research Importance
The article illustrates the importance of using analytics for decision-making within organizations. It makes it understandable that effective studies of organizational processes can draw positive results from each outcome, whether it is a negative or a positive one. A positive outcome would require the company’s top management team to keep the same strategy as it was using before. An adverse outcome is an opportunity to learn new ways of tackling the issue. Thus, the management team is making decisions based on organizational research, and their results are directly linked to the quality of data collected and analyzed.
Application
This article has given me an understanding that context is one of the most important factors in conducting organizational research. Another factor that I have found to be important is the importance of collaboration between researchers and employees. The public administration calls for a deep understanding of processes that flow inside a working community. Understanding psychology and behavior is crucial is one wishes to collect the necessary data. All work should be conducted in an atmosphere of collaboration. Interviewees should understand that all research questions that are discussed during the research will help to make considerable changes to the way they work and to any performance factors required from them.
Reflection
I have found the topic of this article to be quite interesting to discuss. A perspective from rigor, reflectiveness, and relevance is much broader than I thought it should be for conducting an organizational study. However, there is a good point that there are several frameworks for collecting data and analyzing it. I believe that this article reveals the importance of those frameworks being relevant to an organization and to various fields it needs to analyze. It would be overwhelming to test every single process within a company, as it takes time and might be irrelevant for the primary questions facing a management team.
Conclusion
The research method in an organization that includes the focus on rigor, reflectiveness, and relevance seems to be much more effective than the approach of using a universal framework. The article demonstrates the importance of linking context, data collection, design, analysis, and conclusions to these factors. The process of making decisions becomes facilitated when a research team focuses only on those issues that are relevant to the main goal and were analyzed in the past for drawing connections between the past and the current situation.
References
Coghlan, D., & Shani, A. (2014). Creating action research quality in organization development: Rigorous, reflective, and relevant. Systematic Practice & Action Research, 27(6), 523-536. Web.
Eriksson, P., & Kovalainen, A. (2016). Qualitative methods in business research: A practical guide to social research. London, UK: Sage.
O’Leary, Z., & Hunt, J. S. (2016). Workplace research: Conducting small-scale research in organizations. London, UK: Sage.
The development of the nursing sector is vital for the enhancement of the health conditions within a community. Setting up a nursing educational organization to facilitate training for the development of skills among students within a particular environment is a strategic move towards satisfying the health needs of a given community. Nursing schools aim at equipping individuals with skills to facilitate their qualification as nursing practitioners, thus aiding in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic and acute illnesses. In this case, the establishment of the Northway College of Nursing is essential for the provision of educational nursing programs to the community surrounding the institution and beyond. This paper will focus on the strategies for the development of the Northway College of Nursing. It will address the functions of the new organization in the provision of educational and training programs in nursing.
Purpose of the Organization
The establishment of any organization should be aimed at the attainment of particular ends through the inputs of its members to deliver desired outputs (Johnson, 2012). Therefore, the development of the Northway College of Nursing is geared towards the accomplishment of certain results. The organization seeks to provide a high standard of nursing education and training programs to provide the community with skilled nursing practitioners. Additionally, the aim of the organization is to ensure that the training and educational programs are in line with the current developments in the healthcare industry through the facilitation of research that seeks to improve the delivery of services by nursing practitioners. Furthermore, the organization strives to enhance patient advocacy by facilitating the patients’ safety in health care procedures.
The Organization’s Target Population
A target population is essential for an organization to plan strategically for its operations and satisfy the needs of the group. The Northway College of Nursing seeks to target individuals that are interested in pursuing their careers in nursing. The target group includes individuals who possess the minimum educational requirements required for enrollment in the nursing school regardless of their background, age, or gender. Additionally, the organization targets the community as a whole in its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. This aspect entails efforts put forward by the organization to improve the social, economic, and environmental conditions of the surrounding community.
Stakeholders
The involvement of various parties in the development of a new organization is essential for its growth. In particular, the health sector has to consider different parties that have a direct implication on the effective running of operations through interdependence (Wolf, Hanson & Moir, 2011). The Northway College of Nursing would consider the students, patients, clinicians, medical schools, the government, professional licensing agencies, and associations as the major stakeholders.
The students are the primary stakeholders since they are trained to become the future nursing professionals that would build the image of the institution by employing their high standard skills in medical endeavors. On the other hand, clinicians play a collaborative role with the nursing students through their complementary roles. The patients are major stakeholders since they are the beneficiaries of the skills instilled in the nursing professionals after graduating from the institution. The government plays a significant role in the formulation and implementation of policies aimed at controlling the health sector of which is to be highly considered by nursing educational institutions for compliance. Therefore, considering the key stakeholders is important for the new organization to run successfully.
Vision and Mission Statement
An organization needs vision and mission statements that give it a sense of direction. In this regard, the mission of the Northway College of Nursing is to facilitate professional nursing practice through the provision of quality nursing education and training programs that integrate academic rigor, a supportive environment, and the willingness to serve the society. The vision of the organization is to be regarded as the most academically oriented and student-focused nursing school in the region.
Therefore, the organization’s mission would guide the organizational culture through the formulation of values, norms, values, behaviors, and attitudes that each member is expected to observe.
The Incorporation of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards
The Council of Chief State School Officers in conjunction with the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) formulated the ISLLC standards for the enhancement of leadership in learning institutions. The known six ISLLC standards have knowledge, disposition, and performance aspects (Sorenson, Goldsmith, Mendez & Maxwell, 2011). The Northway College of Nursing would integrate the first two standards to enhance the leadership of its students.
The first ISLLC standard provides for the promotion of the success of all students by the school administrator who acts as the educational leader through the facilitation of a vision that is shared by the academic community. The second ISLLC standard provides that the educational leader needs to foster a school culture and educational program that can facilitate learning and the professional growth of the staff members (Sorenson et al., 2011). Therefore, the administration of the new nursing school would strive to realize the school’s vision through the creation of a culture that seeks to benefit all the involved stakeholders collectively.
The Organizational Culture
An organizational culture indicates the behaviors that members depict in the organization and the meanings that they attach to the behaviors. In this light, the nursing school would develop values, norms, attitudes, and behaviors to facilitate the attainment of its mission. This end would be achieved by sharing common goals, motivating students and staff towards the goals, supporting each other, encouraging meaningful formal and informal interactions, and the active involvement of the change agents or leaders in the creation of a favorable learning environment. The organizational culture would foster ethics to ensure accountability and interactions of mutual respect (Borkowski, 2008).
Managerial Issues
The efficient management of an institution is essential for the realization of the set goals. A new nursing organization has to ensure efficiency in managerial issues such as enrollment, funding, improving the learning environment, technology, security and safety, maintenance of operations, and staff recruitment and retention (Wolf et al., 2011). Such issues need to be addressed comprehensively for the smooth running of the Northway School of Nursing. Efficient management of the managerial issues would require the application of the principles of management, which include effective planning, coordinating staffing, organizing, reporting, and budgeting.
Encouraging Managers to Advocate for Organizational Culture
The management of the organizational culture is paramount for the realization of the mission and vision of an organization. Change agents or leaders in an organization ought to encourage their juniors to enhance the organizational culture (Johnson, 2012). In this respect, the Northway School of Nursing would encourage the middle managers to promote the organizational culture in various ways. The middle managers need to communicate the mission of the organization to other staff members effectively in a bid to foster the desired values, norms, behaviors, and values. The middle managers need to be encouraged to employ transformational leadership skills that would influence the behavior of other members within the institution. Healthy interactions between staff and students need to be encouraged in a bid to foster personal and interpersonal relationships. Additionally, managing cultural diversity is another aspect that the middle managers need to consider for the promotion of meaningful relationships of individuals from different backgrounds within the organization.
Promoting Employee Support of the Organizational Culture
Providing support to the employees on issues of the organizational culture facilitates its acceptance among all members within a company. The employees that would be recruited need to be trained to pass the organizational culture to them. The administrators ought to lead by example since leadership is about influencing the behavior of the followers towards the attainment of certain ends. Rewarding and providing incentives to employees who engage in activities that promote organizational culture would enhance motivation and conformity. Ensuring that all employees are aware of the organization’s core values would also improve their support of the organizational culture (Borkowski, 2008).
Conclusion
Developing a new nursing educational organization requires strategic planning to ensure its survival and effective provision of services. The target population and other stakeholders need to be considered in the process. The organizational culture facilitates the attainment of the organization’s vision and mission. Therefore, leaders and employees need to be encouraged and supported in a bid to facilitate the promotion of the organizational culture. The incorporation of various standards such as the ISLLC into the operations of a nursing school enhances the growth of both the students and staff members in areas like leadership. Therefore, a new nursing school needs proper planning in a bid to provide high standard training to its students.
References
Borkowski, N. (2008). Organizational Behavior, Theory, and Design in Health Care. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Johnson, J. A. (2012). Introduction to Public Health Organizations, Management, and Policy. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Sorenson, D., Goldsmith, M., Mendez, Y., & Maxwell, T. (2011). The Principal’s Guide to Curriculum Leadership. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin.
Wolf, J., Hanson, H., & Moir, M. (2011). Organization Development in Healthcare: A Guide for Leaders. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
As a target case to analyze, the city center hospital case will be reviewed. The key problem that worries its CEO is tension among employees, which, in turn, affects work productivity and patient outcomes negatively. In particular, ethical communication problems are raised, which consist of the arrogant behavior of doctors in relation to the junior medical personnel. This type of interpersonal conflict is an unhealthy form of teamwork, and disunity is a deterrent to effective collaboration. Nurses are stressed by their senior colleagues’ behavior, and the morale in this hospital is weak and does not allow for a strong and well-coordinated team with common development goals and objectives. As a result, the organizational development (OD) intervention is seen as a change algorithm designed to address the weak aspects of the hospital’s organizational culture and create a background for honing healthy leadership skills among managers. The challenges to address imply identifying steps to strengthen the hospital’s internal culture, developing a proper communication strategy, applying an effective theoretical methodology to evaluate growth tactics, and determining an optimal leadership structure.
The OD intervention is the main planned mechanism to address the existing problems and gaps in the team of the hospital in question. Analyzing the morale of the nursing staff and the behavior of clinic managers can help create an environment for the effective resolution of the current disagreements and stimulate productive communication among colleagues. As a tool to apply to substantiate the existing problem in the team, a special 4A framework is utilized. According to Hurst (2017), this is an algorithm designed to mitigate nurses’ distress and is used in situations similar to that of the clinic under consideration. This framework includes the following stages: ask, affirm, assess, and act, which allows moving from reasoning about a specific issue to concrete actions based on the identified challenges and gaps (Hurst, 2017). As a result, the OD intervention has an appropriate rationale and includes the key steps that reflect the implementation of the assigned tasks in stages.
The intervention process itself includes several basic steps to implement. To begin with, organizational identity is defined, which is done to create a favorable background for promoting change in the work environment. This step can help convey to all the interested parties the importance of taking the necessary actions. An aforementioned 4A framework is a tool that can enable this step of the intervention process to be implemented.
After determining the relevance of the appropriate intervention, specific operating procedures are planned and compiled into a single and continuous mechanism for working with personnel. Through ad hoc interaction practices, data is collected from the interested parties through relevant tools, such as interviews, surveys, and questionnaires. Additional practical steps are also suggested as part of this phase, including staff meetings, training sessions, and team-building activities.
Establishing an appropriate framework for promoting an optimal communication strategy allows for building the entire intervention process within a sustainable program in which each party involved understands the value of the work performed. As Moseley (2017) notes, this practice contributes to overcoming various barriers, transforming organizational behavior, and other valuable perspectives. In this regard, current communication practices are offered, which are implemented through different tools, for instance, team-building or training sessions.
Creating an enabling environment for the intervention can be accompanied by some external challenges, for instance, the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes it difficult for full-fledged social interaction. To avoid potential planning problems, a special methodology is proposed – the SWOT analysis as a tool to identify the existing strengths and weaknesses, as well as assess the prospects for the future. Such an analysis is a convenient algorithm to correlate the current results with anticipated ones and draw objective conclusions.
Finally, as part of the intervention plan, an appropriate leadership strategy is chosen to follow. While taking into account the problem in question and the existing constraints and limitations, the interests of each party are assessed to ensure that the issue is comprehensively addressed. As a result, team relationships may be built through effective leadership practices, which is the ultimate goal of the considered intervention.
The Role of the Consultant During the Intervention
During the intervention, the role of the consultant is revealed as an essential aspect influencing the results of work and the general atmosphere aimed to facilitate all operational steps. Bierema (2020) notes that the collaboration regime that is built between the consultant and the client is favorable for addressing the planned OD and ensuring sustainable productive communication. In particular, the responsible employee proposes an appropriate intervention regime that satisfies the interest of the other party and provides an effective framework for addressing the current difficulties. As a result, the consultant helps shape a clear strategy of work, which includes assessing the organizational mission and vision, and this, in turn, is in the client’s interests.
To carry out the intervention successfully, individual competencies need to be taken into account. In particular, leadership competencies are important determinants that need to be addressed and transformed to achieve the desired outcomes. Communication competencies also play an essential role and are the features that should be honed to create a supportive interaction environment between doctors and nurses in the clinic. From the perspective of ethical behaviors and their functions in the case at hand, professional respect is the main behavior to promote to eliminate interpersonal conflict in the workplace. Equality is also a form of behavior that needs to be addressed, with an emphasis not on professional responsibilities but on personal characteristics.
Since the information required for the intervention is collected directly from the clinic staff, a qualitative research method is an optimal approach. The data obtained in the course of communication with the personnel is recorded, and based on its analysis, appropriate recommendations and conclusions are proposed. Numerical correlations in the form of statistical ratios are not relevant, which eliminates the need for a quantitative research method.
While taking into account a qualitative research method, appropriate data collection tools should be applied. The information is collected directly from the clinic staff, and for this purpose, questionnaires, surveys, and interviews are the instruments of choice. Regarding the assessment methods, the aforementioned SWOT analysis is a convenient strategy to evaluate the existing nuances of the operation of the medical facility under consideration. This tool provides an opportunity to compare the results of the assessment with the proposed principles of intervention. In addition, to determine the effectiveness of the performed work from the perspective of patient outcomes, patient care plans will be reviewed based on the data before and after the intervention. Since the goal of the work is to not only increase the level of communication within the team but also strengthen employees’ professionalism, positive changes are planned in the indicators of work with patients. Finally, the level of professionalism will be measured in terms of the skills acquired during the intervention. Training sessions and team-building activities are offered to the clinic staff. Therefore, by comparing their qualifications before and after the target work, appropriate conclusions can be drawn.
The entire operating mode is expected to take the next twelve months. During this time, all stages of the intervention will be completed, and the data will be collected comprehensively to obtain objective results and compare the planned outcomes with those obtained. The aforementioned data collection steps and evaluative stages are included in this period, and in one year, the indicators of team communication will be compared to the current ones.
Despite the value of the intervention under consideration from an organizational perspective, individual constraints can make it difficult to effectively implement the plan, in particular, certain factors associated with resistance to the change. Clinic staff may be disloyal to the proposed measures and show dissatisfaction with the program which implies increased responsibility for communication in the team. In their study, Schulz-Knappe et al. (2019) highlight such personal constraints as skepticism, inflexibility, and disengagement, and all of them can manifest themselves in the environment in question. However, through effective influences and persuasion steps, the reconciliation process may come quickly, and all involved can adapt to change. As relevant practices to apply, encouraging openness of work, the approval of employees’ efforts, and the joint discussions of the work performed may be utilized. These methods of persuasion are valuable drivers in influencing the willingness of the staff to participate in the intervention and do their best to achieve the set goals timely and successfully.
The Projected Outcomes for the OD Change Project
Due to a relatively long OD change period (twelve months) and the comprehensive methods of collecting and evaluating data, the proposed intervention will allow achieving crucial results that can be successfully implemented within the framework of the clinic in question. Firstly, productive communication between doctors and nurses in the healthcare facility may contribute to creating a highly professional environment in which each employee can fulfill one’s individual potential. All the participants in the workflow will be able to make a personal contribution to the achievement of organizational goals and objectives that the leaders of the clinic setting.
Secondly, an equally valuable prospect of the intervention is an increase in patient outcomes due to improved interaction among the clinic staff. According to Ghahramanian et al. (2017), “disrupted communication between nurses and physicians” “endangers the safety and quality of care” (p. 169). Consequently, fostering this interaction is a valuable practice that can enhance patient outcomes, which, as Hurst (2017) states, is the ultimate goal of healthcare professionals’ activities. Doctors and nurses will be able to interact successfully and establish a sustainable communication mechanism, which, in turn, can improve the quality of care by eliminating gaps in treatment.
Thirdly, organizational culture can be strengthened due to the intervention. The well-coordinated work of employees who value their colleagues’ activities and respect one another’s professionalism is the key to effective collaboration. The CEO of the clinic can count on the superior performance of subordinates if each employee understands the importance of personal input and does not discriminate against others’ work. As a result, as Ghahramanian et al. (2017) note, this mode of operation creates a supportive and inclusive environment in which staff are loyal to management requirements and perform assigned tasks responsibly. Therefore, the intervention will help increase the reputation of the clinic among the city’s medical institutions.
Finally, the unit managers of the clinic will be able to acquire valuable leadership skills and hone their ability to adapt effectively to specific work conditions. Transformational leadership is seen as an approach that allows for flexibility in control, which is relevant to the healthcare environment (Jambawo, 2018). Based on this, after the intervention, unit managers will gain valuable knowledge about how a product team works, what incentives and motivation are essential for colleagues, and what methods of influence and reward are effective. Thus, the considered OD change is a crucial and valuable intervention that addresses the existing gaps in the work of the clinic staff and provides a framework for transforming individual work regimes.
Conclusion
The project concerning the implementation of organizational development change and aimed to address poor communication in the clinic under consideration is multi-stage and implies enhancing operational aspects. Due to the complex work to create a favorable interaction environment and a long period of activities (one year), the clinic staff will be able to adapt to the proposed conditions. The planned research methodology is a convenient framework to collect data from employees and analyze it successfully. Valuable implications can be achieved, including strengthening unit managers’ leadership skills, increasing patient outcomes, enhancing the clinic’s reputation, and creating a sustainable algorithm for sharing knowledge among the team members. Respect for one another and equality are valuable properties to promote within the project to enable a smooth transition to a refreshed mode of operation and overcome potential resistance to the change.
References
Bierema, L. (2020). Organization development: An action research approach (2nd ed.). Zovio.
Ghahramanian, A., Rezaei, T., Abdullahzadeh, F., Sheikhalipour, Z., & Dianat, I. (2017). Quality of healthcare services and its relationship with patient safety culture and nurse-physician professional communication. Health Promotion Perspectives, 7(3), 168-174. Web.
Hurst, D. J. (2017). Mitigating moral distress in nursing. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, 15(6), 11-12. Web.
Jambawo, S. (2018). Transformational leadership and ethical leadership: Their significance in the mental healthcare system. British Journal of Nursing, 27(17), 998-1001. Web.
Moseley, G. B. (2017). Managing health care business strategy (2nd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
The article discusses the findings of a public inquiry that was made into three major disasters in order to reveal the development process of major intelligence failures. The report explores the common causal features in the three disasters and discusses them in detail. These features include failure to change organizational beliefs, distracting decoy phenomena, failure to address external complaints, poor information handling, regulations compromise, minimization of risk, and aggravation of hazards by external factors. The inquiries listed these factors as part of the incubation period of the three disasters. The inquiry conducted through investigations, discusses the three cases in detail, and offers recommendations for effective cultural readjustment.
Foresight and Its Failure
It is very difficult to predict disasters in large organizations because of the complexity of tasks and processes that are pursued daily in the attainment of goals and objectives. This is worsened by lack of clear criteria to determine when the goals and objectives are achieved. In any organizations, disasters occur due to lack of sufficient resources to avert them or lack of foresight. Some disasters are unpredictable and therefore, unavoidable. However, large-scale organizational disasters can be avoided through foresight and proper disaster planning. There are six stages in the sequence of events that are evident with a failure of foresight. In stage 1, there are certain accepted beliefs regarding the world and the various hazards that exist, as well as associated norms that are practices through organizational laws and policies.
Stage II is the incubation period in which several events that that are at odds with accepted beliefs go unnoticed for a long period of time. In stage III, the consequences of ignoring the hazards appear and force the organization to evaluate its perceptions regarding accepted beliefs. Stage IV is characterized by the collapse of cultural precautions toward changing accepted beliefs. The effects of this shift are evident throughout the organization. In stage V, the organization tries to avoid complete collapse by making necessary changes and adjustments. The last stage (VI) is characterized by a full cultural readjustment that results from the findings of an inquiry conducted to evaluate the disaster. The organization adjusts its beliefs and precautionary norms to match the newly acquired view of the world and its hazards. All disasters and subsequent mitigation efforts fall under the aforementioned six steps.
Observed Patterns
Major casual features
The inquiry revealed that in the Aberfan, Hixon, and Summerland cases, the disasters were initiated by lack of unity in the handling of complex and ill-structured organizational challenges. At Aberfan, the problem was improper management of the pit and its subsidiary activities while at Hixon, the problem was the introduction of a new type of level crossing that was highly ineffective. At Summerland, the problem was the construction of a leisure centre that involved different design teams. The article addresses the major causal factors but does not create a clear connection between them that can be used to give recommendations to fit disaster planning and management in the three industries.
Similarities
These disasters had several similarities that include rigid cultural and institutional perceptions and beliefs, the decoy problem, organizational exclusivity, information difficulties, involvement of strangers, disregard for existing regulations, and minimization of emergent danger. The three aforementioned organizations had rigid cultural and institutional beliefs that inhibited the accurate perception of the possibility of disaster. Their cultural beliefs had created collective blindness to collective issues that resulted in disaster. In the three organizations, the actions taken to address problems when they were firs identified distracted the organization from the real problems that led to the disasters.
The source of danger acted as the decoy that distracted the organizations from addressing the ill-structured problems that caused the disasters. Two of the organizations ignored complaints from external sources that had identified the dangers that led to the disasters. Information difficulties such as dissemination of wrong or misleading information, irrelevant messages, and ambiguity contributed to the disasters. The involvement of untrained personnel in Hixon and Summerland cases contributed to the disasters because the individuals were unknowledgeable on the proper handling of hazardous processes. Employees also ignored existing regulations by considering them irrelevant to current situations. Finally, individuals in all the three cases evaluated emergent danger as negligible and therefore, gave it time to develop. When the danger became imminent, employees did not work toward addressing it but focused their time and energy on finding scapegoats.
Analysis
The inquiry reports revealed that many disasters because of poor responses during stage II of the disaster development process when failures of foresight develop. During that stage, several events go unnoticed or misunderstood because of rigid organizational cultures, difficulties in handling information in dangerous situations, and violations of precautions because of the unwillingness to abdicate organizational beliefs and norms. The article explores the disasters vaguely because the author disregards the complexity of events and decisions that led to the disasters. In addition, he disregards the fact that disasters happen due to the interplay between organizational and personal factors. Finally, the article does not provide recommendations that organizations can implement to prevent foresight failure and avoid the occurrence of such disasters.
Discussion Questions
How could the disasters have been avoided by the management teams of the three companies?
What role does proper problem structuring play in disaster avoidance?
The purpose of this assignment is to analyze and summarise an article by Joyce S. Maphosa and Thembinkosi Maphosa. The paper deals with the challenges of organizing schools in the Warren Park-Malbereign District of Harare Region, Zimbabwe, to maximize student performance and educational outcomes. The authors questioned a sample of school teachers and administrators to learn whether organizational development education for staff is necessary or underrepresented. The authors conclude that changes in the corporate culture of local schools would likely lead to improved performance. They recommend that the concept of organizational development be introduced in schools at all levels.
The Main Idea of the Authors
The authors propose the idea that schools are underperforming due to an inefficient organization and a work culture that interferes with their performance. Besides, Maphosa and Maphosa attempt to inspect the influence of demographic factors on the overall environment and the resulting outcomes (2). The authors do not provide evidence of lacking school performance, as their focus lies in improvements for the existing situation. They investigate the school as a structure, devoting attention to teachers and administrators who oversee them and collecting the opinions of both parties. Awareness of the shortcomings of the current system and of the challenges of changing it is necessary to achieve comprehensive advancements in an organization such as a school.
The authors propose the concept of organizational development as a framework for the evaluation and improvement of the school system in the area. According to Maphosa and Maphosa, the approach uses knowledge and various interventions to change the system, focusing on the integration of the interests of the individual into that of the company (2).
The definition is consistent with the one offered by Rothwell et al., which note, however, that organizational development is not a toolkit with predefined measures and should develop organically for every situation (36). Generally, managers and employees collaborate within the framework of behavioral sciences, usually with the assistance of a specialist, offering ideas and putting them into practice. The goal of the authors is to determine whether the method is appropriate for the school environment based on its effectiveness and ease of application.
Approach to the Subject
The authors choose to adopt a theoretical approach to the testing of their hypothesis, gathering responses and information before proposing a plan of action for further research. Maphosa and Maphosa question 50 teachers and 18 school administrators in the Warren Park-Malbereign District in personal interviews assisted by a questionnaire (4). The former would be the primary agents and recipients of change, and the latter must provide leadership to transform the organization (Litchka and Shapira-Lishchinsky 45).
They gather data such as demographics, professional qualifications, views on current organizational culture, decision-making, delegation of duties, and others. Most of the tendencies and opinions were pronounced, with relatively few outliers, which allowed the authors to draw a variety of conclusions from the data they gathered.
The analysis by the authors discovers a considerable prevalence of women in the teaching staff of the schools they inspected, though the majority of staff heads are male. Most teachers are between 31 and 40 years of age, while most leaders are in the 41-50 age range. Most of the teachers and all of the administrators possess ‘O’ or ‘A’ academic qualifications or a degree, and over half of the teachers have a CE/DE professional qualification. Most teachers believe that behavioral change is vital to organizational culture and that teachers should be involved in decision-making.
Almost all participants support the delegation of duties, and most are at least aware of the concept of organizational development. Lastly, the majority of teachers and heads believe that staff development is beneficial and that OD interventions will improve performance and are prepared to participate in the appropriate responses.
Main Issues and Interventions
The authors express concerns over the general performance of schools in the region and associate it with the organizational culture, which is insufficiently corporate and therefore inefficient. They believe that schools would perform better as systems without a strict hierarchy, where heads would delegate duties and involve teachers in the discussion of significant decisions. However, these improvements would be ineffective if the staff or the administrators are opposed to the idea and refuse to participate.
The primary reasons for refusal that the authors choose to investigate are a lack of understanding of organizational development, a negative opinion of its effectivity, and an unwillingness to change or to accept change. The study shows a low adoption rate for all three views above, and the authors suggest that the interventions should be applied.
The recommended approaches include methods that would create organizational development consultants, college curriculum changes, government funding, and further research. The authors suggest that the discipline should be taught in higher education institutions for educators to improve awareness. They propose additional training for existing teachers to grant them the competencies necessary to consult others and assist them in the changes. The government would provide the resources for the measures by funding the Better Schools program. Lastly, the authors call for heads and teachers to become proactive and innovative and to begin introducing organizational change initiatives in their schools.
Lessons Learned
I have learned two essential lessons about organizational development in schools from reading this article. The first is that the technique applies to various types of institutions and can achieve beneficial results with regards to different goals. Organizational development originated in businesses, which primarily aim to maximize profits, but it can be applied to schools, which are government-funded and concentrate on providing high-quality education to students. A change in operating principles and increased involvement of staff at all levels can lead to improvements in desirable statistics regardless of their natures.
The second lesson is that school teachers and heads of staff are mostly aware of the concept of organizational development, but lack the leadership and driving force necessary to introduce it. Members of the faculty are aware of the benefits of cultural changes and would like to see them implemented, but they currently lack incentives and the leadership required to begin working on the matter. Theoretically, school heads are in a position where they can propose and perform such changes, but they choose to postpone or ignore the idea.
Conclusion
The authors propose organizational development as a tool that would change the culture of local schools and improve their performance as a result. They conduct a study, in which they question teachers and school heads on a variety of issues and opinions. The results show that both categories are aware of the concept, believe that the improvements it offers would be beneficial, and are ready to implement them. The authors recommend the proposal to take on a practical form and describe several changes that would help to start the process.
Works Cited
Litchka, Peter R., and Orly Shapira-Lishchinsky. “Planning Educational Policy: Teacher Perceptions of School Principal Transformational Leadership in Israel and the United States.” Educational Planning, vol. 23, no. 2, 2015, pp. 45-58.
Maphosa, Joyce S., and Thembinkosi Maphosa. “The Organizational Development (OD) Interventions that Influence Organizational Culture to Improve Performance of the Schools in the Warren Park – Malbereign District in Harare Region, Zimbabwe.” International Journal of Management, vol. 3, no. 5, 2015, pp. 1-9.
Rothwell, William J., et al. Practicing Organization Development: Leading Transformation and Change. Wiley, 2015.
Bank of America is a major financial institution that has been operating in the United States for over 110 years (Cheung & Holbeche, 2015). The firm has its headquarters in North Carolina, with several branches all over the country (Anderson, 2012). It also has branches in over forty countries around the world. According to McLean (2006), Bank of America is one of the United States’ financial institutions that have achieved success in the global market. The firm has several branches in Europe and Asia-Pacific. It also offers mobile and online financial services to its clients in any part of the world. The firm currently employs over 200,000 people in its many branches across the world. It is one of the most successful financial institutions in the global market and is currently considered one of the industry leaders. It has a strict employment policy as it seeks to ensure that its organizational culture is practiced all over the world. The researcher has worked in this bank and therefore understands its culture, and that is why it was chosen for the study.
Relationship with the bank
I am a former employee of Bank of America. I have been a client of the bank for the last six years. Within these six years, I have been pleased with the services offered by this firm. It is almost possible to predict how the employees of this bank in foreign markets handle customers because the firm has a clear policy that dictates how its entire customer care unit is run. It was for the short period that I worked at one of the branches of this firm that it became apparent how this firm achieves uniformity in customer care management. I noticed that the firm has been keen on promoting employees with a detailed understanding of how the firm is run. In most cases, regional managers were once working at the firm’s headquarters.
Historical information about the bank
Bank of America was founded in 1904 by Amedeo Giannini, an Italian who had immigrated to San Francisco, the United States. The first name of the firm was the Bank of Italy. During this time, Anderson (2012) says that most of the banks in the United States were only serving the wealthiest families. Moreover, most of these banks were very discriminatory, always serving a section of the society. Giannini came up with this small financial institution to serve the middle class and the rich who could not access the services of the mainstream banks because of their race. He started the business by accepting deposits and soon started lending money to trusted clients. The firm grew very fast, and in 1909, it expanded its operations to the Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association. The firm expanded its operations outside California in 1983 when it opened a branch in Washington (Anderson, 2012). Since then, the firm has experienced massive success, expanding to the global market through acquisitions.
How to diagnose the organization
Bank of America has experienced massive success in its globalization strategies. However, the culture of employing the parent country nationals to head its branches overseas is an issue that should be addressed. It is a sign that the firm does not trust the host country nationals enough to allow them to lead these overseas branches. This problem can be easily diagnosed by conducting an audit of the managers in the overseas branches.
Need for Change
Need for change
According to Yaeger and Sorensen (2009), emerging technologies in the field of transport and communication have turned the world into a small village. Currently, a chief executive officer of a global firm can monitor the activities of its companies in various parts of the world without necessarily leaving the office. Multinational corporations have also embraced a new trend in their globalization strategies which is in line with the emerging technologies. Many firms are now employing the host country nationals to head their foreign branches because they know that the activities taking place at these branches can be monitored remotely from the firms’ headquarters. Another major reason why many countries are hiring host country nationals at the top position is the need to earn their trust. Hiring the host country nationals is a clear indication that the top managers of the firm trust the locals and believe that they can deliver the desired results.
Anderson (2012) also says that although the world is increasingly becoming globalized, cultural practices around the world still differ, which creates differences in the way employees behave. For instance, most of the Japanese still find it comfortable working for 9-12 hours a day. Some may even work for over 14 hours in a day. However, most of the Italians work for 7-8 hours a day, sometimes less. Taking a Japanese manager to head a firm’s branch in Italy can be a disaster. It requires a local manager who understands the locals and can steer them in the direction of success without making them feel frustrated. Bank of America, however, has maintained a culture of hiring the parent country nationals. These parent country nationals are unable to understand the local forces that affect the locals in their operations. This makes it very difficult for these locals to work well with their managers. In such environmental conditions, achieving success can almost be impossible.
Data needed to confirm the need for change
According to Cheung and Holbeche (2015), a leader can only achieve success in a market he or she understands properly. All other employees look to their leaders to provide them with a vision on how to achieve success in the market. It is important to note that a strategy that worked in the United States may not work in another country. Target Supermarket is one of the best examples of how a firm can fail in the International market if it fails to understand the local forces. The top management unit assumed that Canada, a North American country that shares most of its borders with the United States, has a similar business environmental condition such as that in the United States. It appointed the Americans to hold senior positions at the firm. Four years down the line, the firm realized that its operations in Canada were not sustainable because of the serious losses it was making. It ended its operations in Canada after making a $ 5.4 billion loss (Alexander, 2008).
Another good case that can help demonstrate the danger that Bank of America could face if it continues with the current strategy is the move by Wal-Mart to invest in Germany. The firm invested a total of over € 1.1 billion into this project that failed soon after. It ran into losses of about USD 200-USD 300 million per year during its final years in Germany because of its inability to understand the local forces in the foreign market. This data shows that Bank of America needs to review its employment policies to avert such massive losses in the future (Munizzo & Virruso, 2009).
Level of analysis to be applied
In this research paper, the level of analysis will be narrowed down to micro-analysis. The focus will only be on Bank of America and the consequences that it may face as a firm if it continues to hire the parent country nationals to head its overseas branches. The analysis will not dwell so much about what may happen to other firms or industries if such employment practices are embraced, especially by large firms such as Bank of America. The researcher will only focus on this bank, its employment strategies, reasons why it should change, and the benefits of changing to a new culture or consequences of maintaining the current culture.
Proposed Solution
Recommended solution
The researcher is recommending a simple solution that can be used to address this problem and help the firm achieve success. According to Yaeger and Sorensen (2009), the financial sector is one of the industry’s that has become extremely competitive in the global market. Bank of Africa faces stiff competition both in the local and international markets. Because of the variety of options that clients have in the market, they always tend to go to the banks where they feel their services will be met best. That is why Islamic banking has emerged and became very popular in the Middle East and other Islamic nations. It is not possible to bring a Christian, born and brought up in San Francisco to head an Islamic Bank in Mecca, Saudi Arabia even if he has extensive knowledge and experience in banking. It is only a local who understands the local practices that can know the dynamics of society and what influenced them whenever they need financial services.
Bank of America must start employing the locals to head its international branches. The research recommends that if a firm plans to send a parent country national to an overseas branch, then such an executive should be assigned the strategic roles such as chief financial officer. In such roles, they do not have to interact with the locals in most of the cases. They do not have to interact with the local employees and neither do they have to interact with the local customers. The top positions should be held by the locals as a way of convincing them that the bank cares about their interests. Hiring a local at the top position also eliminates the possible conflicts that can easily arise due to the misunderstandings that could arise if the firm is headed by a foreigner.
Effective interventions
According to Cheung and Holbeche (2015), one of the main reasons why firms sometimes consider sending parent country nationals to head foreign branches is the lack of the needed skills and experience within the local country. Some firms also consider hiring parent country nationals as the only way of maintaining the organizational culture of the firm across the globe. This could be the main problem why Bank of Africa is forced to hire the parent country nationals in these overseas branches. The firm will need to come up with proper intervention mechanisms that can help solve these problems. One of the effective intervention measures that can be used is to hunt for the talents within the local population. For instance, if the Bank plans to open a branch in Baghdad, Iraq, it should look for an Iraqi with the right skills and experience who can head the firm in this city. The talent hunt may even be extended to the United States. This means that the firm can look for an Iraqi who came to the United States for higher education but is willing to go back to his home country to manage the operations of the firm.
If it is the issue of organizational culture that is forcing the firm to hire the parent country nationals, then an effective intervention would be used to send the selected top managers in the host countries to the firm’s headquarters in the United States for two months. Within that period, such employees will be expected to work alongside colleagues in the parent country and learn the culture that is embraced. During that period, they will be inducted into the systems of this firm, its practices, the approach when making difficult decisions, and how to manage the work force. They will be informed to find a way of emulating such management styles in their local branches based on the local forces.
How to determine the success
This proposal should bring success in the firm’s operations if it is implemented appropriately. According to Cheung and Holbeche (2015), success can be measured in different ways. One of the best ways of measuring success in case this proposal is implemented is by determining the level of employees’ satisfaction before or after the implementation. When the employees realize that one of their own has been appointed as the head of the branch, they get motivated because they know they can rise to such a position if they work hard enough. Such a manager will also understand his or her employees better because they share the same cultural practices. It is true that when employees are satisfied with the management, they tend to get motivated in whatever they are doing. Such employees are always very productive.
The firm can take a more direct approach to determine success by evaluating the organizational performance before and after the implementation of the strategy. The firm can do this in several ways such as determining growth in the market share, growth in profits, or an increase in the level of customer satisfaction. All these are the factors that indicate a bright future for the firm if the current practices are maintained. It is expected that when the locals are assigned the task of leading the local employees to provide the products needed by the locals, then chances are high that the organizational performance will be high. In case it is confirmed that the performance has improved, then it will be clear this proposed solution is effective enough in delivering the desired success.
Logical steps in the firm’s development
The organizational development based on the proposed solution should follow specific steps. Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze Model of Change Management may help in implementing this proposal without causing any fear or resistance among the relevant stakeholders.
Figure 1: Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze Model.
As shown in the above figure, this model emphasizes the need to unfreeze before introducing an actual change within an organization. The unfreezing process entails the creation of a debate among the stakeholders and explaining to them the reasons why the current system which is in use has become unsustainable. Stakeholders must understand why change is necessary and the specific areas that the expected change will address. It makes the stakeholders psychologically prepared to deal with the new systems that are to be created. When stakeholders have appreciated the need for change, then the actual process of introducing the new concept will begin. In this case, stakeholders will be informed of the new employee-recruitment program, and how it will be applied. The stakeholders will be informed about the new strategy and the reasons why it is important. The last stage of the implementation will be refreezing. The refreezing process entails internalizing the new concepts and accepting them as integral parts of the policies and values of the firm. The stakeholders will be expected to appreciate that going forward this will be the strategy that shall be used to recruit the employees to head the foreign branches.
Conclusion
Bank of America is one of the leading financial institutions in the global market. The firm operates in over 40 countries outside the United States. It is clear from the discussion that this firm should change from its traditional style of hiring the parent country nationals to head its overseas branches. Instead, it should start hiring the host country nationals in these top positions. This new strategy will not only reduce the cost of operations but also motivate the local employees. The strategy will also attract more clients in foreign markets because it will win their trust by delivering the products that meet their local needs. If implemented properly, this new human resource management strategy will improve performance in the foreign markets.
References
Alexander, C. (2008). Market Risk Analysis 1: Quantitative Methods in Finance. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Anderson, D. (2012). Organization development: The process of leading organizational change. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Cheung, J., & Holbeche, L. (2015). Organization development: A practitioner’s guide for OD and HR. New York: Cengage.
McLean, G. (2006). Organization development: Principles processes performance. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Munizzo, M., & Virruso, M. (2009). General market analysis and highest and best use. Mason: Cengage Learning.
Yaeger, T., & Sorensen, P. (2009). Strategic organization development: Managing change for success. Charlotte: Information Age Pub.
Organizational development is an endeavor designed by the top management through the application of behavioral-science techniques to enhance organization’s efficiency and profitability by means of interfering deliberately in the organization’s practice which should cover the whole organization. Organizational development will be applied to tackle and overcome problems in the retail store scenario of an important customer leaving the business and relocating to Mexico. This will be accomplished as follows.
The first strategy includes launching dealings with important workforce in the organization (this is frequently referred to as “entering” and “contracting” along with the establishment). The second strategy will involve doing research and appraisal structures in the establishment to comprehend dysfunctions and/or objectives of the structures in the business (“analyzing ” the structures in the business).
Single out methods (or “involvements “) will also be used to increase value of the company and its associates. Lastly, methods will be applied to improve value (techniques of “intended transformation “in the business) and calculating the continuing value of the methodologies and their outcomes (Cummings & Worley, 2008).
Organization effectiveness is one of the goals of organizational development and its aim is to make better the business’s ability to deal with its inside and outside implementations and associations. This would involve interacting with areas related to enhancing interpersonal and team course of actions, more operational exchange of ideas and customer service training.
Skills will be enhanced to manage executive problems of all varieties and more effectual decision making and including new suitable leadership methods with superior skills in handling destructive tension and higher degrees of trust and teamwork together with organizational associates.
These goals originate from a value structure founded on an optimistic outlook of the characteristics of man — with the aim of man in a supportive situation being capable of realizing higher degrees of progress and achievement (Rothwell, Stavros & Sullivan, 2009).
McLean (2005) records and describes how disturbing trauma can harmfully have an effect on functioning due to many factors such as: suspicion, uneasiness, downscale, misuse of power, amalgamations, invasions of confidentiality, subcontracting, restructuring, fear, anxiety, nuisance, and frequent transformations that make many workers go through the feelings of hostility.
McLean (2005) proposes that in order to set right the trauma and improve the working setting, organizational development practitioners should admit the reality of the trauma, make available a secure place for workers to talk about their thoughts, correspond to the trauma and set it into awareness, and then consent to and face the consequences of the emotional reactions.
One technique of accomplishing this is by having workers illustrate what they think about the circumstances, and then having them share and give details about their illustrations with each other. Illustrations are advantageous because these are opportunities for employees to communicate feelings they generally would not be capable of expressing.
Also, illustrations over and over again encourage contributions in the work place, as everybody is expected to illustrate and then talk about his illustrations (Cummings & Worley, 2008). As the tempo of transformation keeps on increasing, management of change is an essential know-how and should be looked for by administrators, overseers, personnel staff, and organization directors. This know-how includes: management wisdom and structuring an organization centered on ethics.
In conclusion, business needs to be more competitive and will entail among other things team structuring, smoothing the progress of group, imaginative problem resolution, pre-meditated planning, divergence resolution, interpersonal consultation, socio-technical scheme strategy, management development, organization development, occupational management, managing personnel diversity, business restructuring, highly committed work teams and complete quality management (Rothwell & Sullivan, 2005).
Reference List
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2008). Organization development & change. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Rothwell, W. J., & Sullivan, R. (2005). Practicing organization development: a guide for consultants. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
Rothwell, W., Stavros, J. M., & Sullivan, R. L. (2009). Practicing Organization Development: A Guide for leading change. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
Organizational development refers to advancement concerning performance and the quality of output. It entails identifying the current and future barriers so that the organization can progress towards achieving its mission. Organizational development requires the efforts of all employees in an organization regardless of their position because lack of participation can be an obstacle.
This paper will focus on the procedures followed when implementing the changes intended to stimulate growth, skills in identifying and solving problems, and organizational development knowledge for achieving personal and professional goals.
Procedures of Implementing Changes
Before introducing reforms in an organization, it is important to observe the environment and the internal systems to identify what needs change or advancement.
The problems that are associated with the present systems should influence the desire for change. For instance, if the performance of employees has been dropping the organization should identify the exact cause of decline in performance. The organization can borrow ideas from competitors who are a notch higher because such principles are the ones behind the success of an organization.
The management should analyze the changes and determine how those changes can affect the careers of employees. This implies that the implementation of reforms should not happen without first consulting the employees because whatever consequences follow will affect them direct, and if they learn that the management ignored their interests they will loose confidence with the organization and some will exit the organization.
This can be very disastrous because if an employee decides to leave an organization he/she exits with the skills that had cost the organization a lot of money (Estlund, n.d).
Engaging all employees in drafting the changes will make sure they would not change their attitude towards the reforms, and thus the management should ensure that employees understand that the changes are for their own good. In addition, addressing the weaknesses and strengths of individual employees to ensure smooth transition is important.
Heathfield (2000) points out that inclusive participation ensures that there is a common ground between the employees and the management. When employees do not understand the necessity of bringing changes, they are most likely to reject it or sabotage the implementation processes.
The above situation suggests that managers should request employees to express their concerns and the feedback they give should be used in weighing the chances of success. Before implementing the changes, the management should communicate with as many employees as possible because if the employees are well informed they are the ones who will start pushing for reforms. However, the management should give a valid reason for bringing reforms. Some of the reasons include changes in economy and government regulations among several others.
The organization should also notify its clients about the changes because any change process affects them. Informing them in advance will make them understand why the changes are necessary. In fact, knowledgeable clients can become reliable marketers because they will spread the information to their friends and thus help in increasing client base.
When the management does not inform the employees in detail, there are high chances of receiving distorted information based on assumptions. Communication about reforms can be formal during official meetings or during personal encounters such as during lunch break. Moreover, it is important to convey the information to the common communicators such as the employees who are popular because they will accelerate the speed of spreading the word.
Furthermore, the management should create an impression that the reforms are urgent and explain the effects that may follow if the implementation of reforms fails. Presenting data of the possible dangers enhances this process. This will make the employees to make up their minds much faster, as opposed to when the issue at hand was not urgent. This is because each employee looks at the risks from a personal perspective hence the conclusion one makes is for safeguarding the individual’s interests (Mullins, 2004).
When the time finally comes for the changes implementation, the transition should be gradual so that the employee can get used to the new processes. This means that the management should be very patient when employees are responding slowly to the changes. There is no gain in implementing changes at a very fast pace and compromise the quality of output.
Skills in Solving Problems
When organizations are implementing changes, various problems arise probably due to lack of adequate orientation. The managers should be on the frontline while rolling out changes and the manner in which they handle matters is the evidence. The management should assume leadership, and thus should be the role model of the employees. When problems arise, the managers should move swiftly to assess the situation on the ground because that way he/she will understand the problem much better.
According to Dekler (2007), solving the problems that hinder organizational development requires combined efforts of the management and the employees. Both parties should pull in the same directions. The situation should be double-checked to identify the indicators that suggest that things are not working out as planned. One particular and reliable indicator is the result of productivity. If the volume of output has gone down then something is wrong, and the problem may persist if not solved.
It is important to find out exactly where the problem is happening because in an organization, there are various departments and owing to their differences, the intensity at which they are affected varies. If all departments are affected attention should be focused on the ones that are most affected.
If the managers and their respective teams understand how the problem is manifesting itself then they can develop appropriate strategies to solve the problem. On the contrary, if the teams do not have an idea of how the problem occurs the solutions they will develop may not solve the problem (McLean, 2006).
Sometimes, a given problem occurs at specific times such as when the demand of goods and services is high. This means that if the problem is caused by the increase in the number of customers during certain times like holiday seasons, then the organization should come up with tailor made solutions because once the season is over the problem is no more.
For instance, the management should lay off employees hired during peak seasons and recall them only when the need arises. If one or a few employees are causing the problem, then managers should explain the problem in details. If anything, victimization is not an option, but allowing employees to give their side of the story is better.
The managers should collect views from the employees because they are the ones who can give reliable information. Anderson (2003) recommends that when looking for solutions, requesting everyone to give his/her opinion is important. This will ensure that the organization will have a wide pool of options to choose. The most logical and appropriate solution should be given the first priority. Discarding the remaining solutions is not appropriate because they can help in solving the problem if the initial solution fails.
When identifying the best option, it is important to consider the time it is going to last, that is if the alternative is going to solve the issue temporary or it is going to eliminate the problem. Short-term solutions are costly because repetition is essential once they are exhausted. The manager should also consider the availability of resources to roll out the solution. Some solutions require extra money and technical skills.
Usually, it is not the money that matters but the availability of skilled personnel to oversee the implementation. If there are employees who posses the required skills then it becomes easier, but if the experts come from outside the organization the issue becomes complicated. This is because if the solution is going to run for a long period the experts require incorporation into the organization, which comes with extra costs.
Once the above-mentioned issues are addressed, the management should isolate resources and facilities specifically for the implementation of the solution. In addition to that, allocating a certain period to the implementation period is important because if rolling out the solution takes too long, it may be too late and thus the solution will be of no use.
Besides that, establishing an oversight committee is essential because when things are not working out they become accountable. The monitoring unit should act as the bridge that connects the employees and the management. This means that the management should channel official communication through the committee. However, this does not mean that informal communication is unacceptable.
Organizational Development Knowledge
The development of an organization relies on the knowledge that it has in terms of the skills possessed by the employees. Besides that, organizational development inspires the employees to stick to the organization because they feel that their careers will advance along with the growth of the organization.
McLean (2006) explains that employees tend to exit from organizations that do not show any symptoms or the willingness of growing. This is because they develop an attitude that they will remain stagnant as long as they are in such an organization and thus the urge to exit early comes in.
As an organization prepares to develop it should have a valid succession plan. This means that the employees update their skills as an organizational requirement. This is important because the trends in markets keep on changing, and thus if the employees do not advance their knowledge the organization will not be in a position to respond to future challenges.
Moreover, knowledgeable personnel will be part of the solution to potential problems. For instance, if an employee has advanced his/her skills and a problem arises that requires the expertise that he/she has it will benefit the organization because it will not hire experts from outside the block.
The management of the organization should encourage employees to advance their skills and provide favorable environment for them to proceed with the learning. This is because as an organization grows new positions will emerge, and this implies that people with relevant skills should take the positions. For instance, if new branches are to be established it is the employees who have leadership skills who should fill such positions. Promoting employees who advance their skills will encourage the rest to advance their skills too.
Additionally, when employees advance their skills they improve the quality of their output. Knowledge enables employees to reduce errors and increase accuracy and this will make them improve the quality of products. Likewise, basing an organization in the service sector means that the quality of service delivery will improve because the employees will have acquired interpersonal skills.
The management should pay attention to the career desires of their employees so that they can understand the path that each individual employee wishes to take. This is because some employees would wish to change their career but this should not be a problem as long as there are opportunities in respect to the choice of the employee.
It is certain that some employees do not like their present roles and thus the management should swap roles among employees based on their respective skills. This will make them work with a lot of enthusiasm because of the pride they will have towards their new roles.
After training the employees, providing an opportunity to share their skills with their peers is important. Similarly, they should integrate their skills into their roles because it will improve their performance. For instance, they will identify alternative ways of carrying out their tasks with minimum risks.
In conclusion, it is important to involve employees in decision-making processes because that is what will make them feel appreciated. Communication is important to organizational growth because it enables all the participants to express their views. This means that organizations that are willing to grow should first establish working relationships with their employees. This will enable the entire organization to move collectively without leaving some players behind.
References
Anderson, C. M. (2003). Bottom-line Organization Development: Implementing and Evaluating Strategic Change for Lasting Value. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Dekler, M. (2007). Healing emotional trauma in organizations: an O.D framework and case study. Organizational Development Journal, 25 (2), 49-56.
