The modern business environment requires that organizations keep developing the behaviors and attitudes of workers to help the address match up to the ever-changing demand. To help satisfy the new challenges, organizations must plan to implement necessary strategies and manage efficiently the transition from the old to the new.
This is organizational development (Morrison, 2011). Many organizational managers think that changes influence the realization of the desired results. However, Bridges (2003) explains that it is managing the transition that influences the outcome. Thus, managing transition becomes a key element in organizational development.
The finance industry requires continuous organizational development to keep up with new and emerging trends. Some of the organizational development needs in the finance industry involve its public relations, a department that is given the mandate to create a very positive image of the organization.
Thus, the organization, a bank, whose services to the public depends on the marketing of its products as well as maintaining a good public image and has to make sure that among other things clients are satisfied with the organizational services.
The organization needed to increase its marketing activities at a minimal budget and one of the possible ways was to incorporate marketing as part of public relations. Thus, the PR personnel had to acquire new behavioral characteristic to enable than to perform their expanded roles.
The organizational management has had to facilitate the department’s transition to its multi tasking roles. The personnel thus had to developed in such a way that they will acquire marketing skills, embrace the new roles while still maintaining the production levels of PR duties.
For successful transition organizations needs a transitional agent, what Bridges (2003) calls transitional a manager. Every organizational development plan must be assigned to a manger thus the roles were given to one of the assistant marketing managers. The organization development plan involves identifying the gaps in development needs in the department.
His was done by identifying information and behavior that existed in the PR workers and the desired behavioral outcomes In this case the desired needs included learning of marketing skills. This stage also involved motivational training for the staff to encourage them to adapt to the new behaviors.
Developing the Human resource in the department is not enough and the organizational finance department must make the necessary structural and business process adjustments to facilitate the desired change.
As such the organization had to break the existing operational gaps between the marketing an public relations department by marrying their operations, beliefs, aims and objective while still maintaining the core PR functions of the public rations department.
It was also important to help the employees make the necessary transition at this stage by helping them to deal with the negative attitudes brought about by the increased job roles (Cummings and Worley, 2009; Bridges, 2003).
The new behaviors needed to be reinforced and cemented in the department through a series of motivation activities and support mechanism within the organization. As such, the company had to implement the right strategy and develop a reward scheme for employees in the public relations department who exhibited the right behavioral and attitude adjustments. Employees at the public relations department were now eligible for sales and marketing bonuses for those who met sales target.
To facilitate the awarding of bonuses a performance measurement scheme was implemented (Cummings and Worley, 2009; Bridges, 2003). This saw the employees take to the new challenge positively and eventually help the organization progressively move towards it attainment of its goals in increasing sales and marketing activities at a minimal cost.
Reference List
Bridges, W., (2003). Managing transitions. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo/Perseus.
Generally speaking, organisational development and change implementation refers to some particular insights offered into the process of modifying the operations of the organisation and the conduct of the people too.
Outstanding performance clearly depends upon the organisation’s multiple element interaction with each other. Through embracing teamwork, commitment, coordination and creativity will be enhanced thus realizing outstanding organisational performance (Watson, 2000).
This theory and practice of organisational change can be traced back to a famous psychologist, Kurt Lewin who highlighted the decisive role that is played by context in shaping behaviours of individuals.
He further reasoned that creating dissatisfaction with the status quo is the only way of motivating an individual. In summary, he implemented a three-stage change implementation: unfreezing then moving and finally refreezing (Watson, 2000).
It is therefore necessary for business leaders and government sectors as well to understand organisational development elements so as to link the desired novel behaviours to the key performing task requirements of the organisation and focus on the implemented organisation development efforts in order to improve performance.
What design challenges should leaders take into account so as to address change processes in their respective organisations?
Needless to say that every organisation is unique in their terms of operation, they nevertheless face some mutual design challenges in which organisational leaders ought to know before embarking on an effort of change implementation.
They are; the challenges of creativity and control, of differentiation and integration and of decision making rights allocation (Watson, 2000).
At what organisation’s level are decisions made on what activities to engage in, how to apportion resources or how to apportion work schedule so as to meet immediate demands? All these decisions ought to be made at one point in the organisation’s line.
However, since they represent different decision making levels, they are probable to take place at different organisation levels (Denison, 1990).
What are the organisation’s requirements in building teamwork and coordination? Ordinarily, effective teamwork deduces from four factors of design namely; shared intention, shared responsibility, team empowerment and team enablement, of which the absence of any will not bear out real teamwork within an organisational context (Watson, 2000).
How do employees perform the assigned jobs? This can be done in many ways, say frequent communication pertaining work goals progress, combining employees into a team with common responsibility for the end product or still allowing groups or individuals to schedule and assign particular tasks consistent with the achievement of performance goal.
What is the multidivisional organisation challenge? Multidivisional organisations find it hard to allocate a high autonomy level into distinct divisions since it is a way through which marketplace responsiveness is achieved while at the same time making decisions of corporate level which allows the exploitation of synergism throughout the divisions (Watson, 2000).
It is important for organisational leaders to motivate and value potential employees so as to create favourable conditions for behavioural change. Also, they should value employee participation as this will not only ameliorate the calibre of making decisions but will as well enhance commitment and employee self-supervision.
Furthermore, diversity should also be valued so as to create room for creativity among the organisation’s varied perspectives and background employees. Lastly, leaders should embrace learning within the organisation as this will propel the organisation miles forward.
Innovation is necessary for an organisation’s success and one such organisational culture that inspires it is value for diversity within an organisation. Taking on that diversity of insights and opinions is mandatory for outstanding performance and innovation makes an employee feel valued whilst urging learning, experiment and adaptation (Denison, 1990).
The important lessons learned from this content are that communication channels are important in supporting new behaviour, teamwork enhances creativity and effective performance of a desired task, employee participation builds up support for change, there are three design challenges that are common to all organisations and there are different decision making levels within an organisation.
Broadly speaking, organisational leaders are responsible for shaping the behaviour of their employees thus change implementation.
“Strong, internally consistent cultures may resist; adaptive cultures will embrace, encourage, and enable change implementation.” This ideally means that the organisation’s culture has been reinforced and shaped by past successes and as such they have developed a robust culture which may tend to resist new ideas and approaches as they attempt to preserve their old practices.
Another theory in practice is “Individuals and organizations learn by receiving and analysing valid information, then altering thinking and acting as appropriate.”
This implies that individual and organizational learning is fundamental to effectual change as it enhances employee creativity, acquisition and knowledge transfer. Knowledge gets transformative when it begins to encourage an individual to modify their behaviours as an outcome thus effecting change implementation.
This content is somehow similar to my personal experience at a small thriving consultant firm in Chicago where the employees’ always embraced teamwork and as a result fruitful, satisfactory outcomes was realised.
This effort is owed to a team of professional employees and leaders, and more especially Mr Smith who was the organization’s manager. He had a mutual engagement with various employees at various organisational levels. This content has motivated my thinking into some useful future strategies to use as an aspiring organisation leader.
First, it is important that my employees will be committed to their tasks and this will be achieved through forging a bond between the employees and the organisation. Then, mobilizing adaptive behaviours and finally heighten and encourage upward communication so as to get the insights of even the lower organisation level employees. With this, my aim is to become a leading change.
References
Denison, D. R. (1990). Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness. New York: Wiley.
Watson, T. J. (2000). Organisational Change. Academy of Management.
Yahoo is a cosmopolitan American brand that has its head offices in both Sunnyvale and California, in the US. Yahoo has recognition in its products and services that include Yahoo Groups, video distribution, fantasy sports, advertising, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Answers just to mention, but a few.
In 1994 January, David Filo and Jerry Yang came up with a website by the name “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web”, which acted as an information bank of the other websites. Its formation was in a chain of command, rather than a searchable record of pages.
It later changed its name to Yahoo, in April the same year. Yahoo.com field arose in 18 January 1995. Just like many web directories and search engines, Yahoo expanded to become a web portal. Yahoo also got many high-profile achievements. Its stock cost rose remarkably rapidly throughout the dotcom bubble (Cardoso, & Sheth, 2006, pp. 3-15).
On January 3, 2000, its stock shut at the highest peak of $118.75 per share. Nonetheless, subsequent to the dotcom bubble rupture, it dropped to the lowest point of $8.11. Contemporarily, approximately 700 million people use Yahoo websites each month. The Company declares that it draws over half of a billion customers each month in above thirty different languages.
Consulting firm
Following Thompsons meeting some firms, he engaged Boston Consulting Group in assisting Yahoo on development of schemes and assisting decide the finest course for the progress of the company.
Boston Consulting Group, Inc. offers administration-consulting services (Fain, & Pedersen, 2006, pp. 12-13). Thompson, who aggressively took up the reins of supremacy at the company, led a fantastic deal of the thrust for rapid change.
Overview
Yahoo started making use of Google for search outcomes in 2000. In the course of just four years, Yahoo came up with its search expertise. In the year 2007, this company came up with a mail service that is similar to Gmail of the Google. In January 2009, Carol Bartz reinstated cofounder Jerry Yang (Rose, 2006, pp. 797-799).
On Fortune 500 record, Yahoo ranking advanced in 2010, rising to 343rd position when judged against 345th in year 2009. This owed to its revenue and profits increase. The company’s chairperson Roy Bostock detached Carol Bartz from her rank and Tim Morse took up the role of the Interim CEO of Yahoo Company in 2011.
Following Scott Thompson becoming the CEO of Yahoo Company in 2012, many tales unfolded concerning massive redundancies. On April 2012, the company made known a reduction of two thousand posts or approximately 14% of its 14,100 workforce.
This slash, as anticipated, will bank about $375 million yearly, once layoffs are through by the closure of 2012. Yahoo announced through the press on 13 May 2012 that Thompson no longer was with Yahoo, and would immediately on an interim ground be replaced by Ross Levinsohn, lately allotted head of Yahoo’s fresh Media group (Thomas, & Sheth, 2011, pp. 1285-1288).
Products and services
Yahoo controls the web portal that offers content like entertainment, sports information, and the latest news (Cardoso, & Sheth, 2006, pp. 16-23). Yahoo Company as well offers its customers admittance to services like Yahoo Maps, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Messenger and Yahoo Groups. Other products and services include the following:
Yahoo associates with several content suppliers in products like Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Music, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Movies, Yahoo Answers, Yahoo Games and Yahoo News to offer news and media content. Yahoo in addition offers a personalization service called My Yahoo, which allows users to join their preferred Yahoo aspects, knowledge along with content to a given page.
On 31 March 2008, Yahoo opened Shine, a site styled for women hunting for online counsel and knowledge. Yahoo Mobile provides services for immediate messages, emails, and mobile blogs in addition to information explores, vigilance, and services.
Services provided for camera mobile phones encompass ring tones, snaps and entertainment (Cardoso, & Sheth, 2006, pp. 24-33). These are just but a few of products and services of Yahoo.
Benefits program
Disburse at Yahoo is spirited in the area. Benefits are a powerful part of the pack and rely on the work position (Thomas, & Sheth, 2011, pp. 1289-1291). Some of the benefits may comprise the following:
Employee Stock Purchase Plan: via ESPP plan, workers may invest through payroll subtractions. Workers pay just 85% of market price for stock.
Health Care: the company presents coverage of health care for staff and their entitled dependents.
Medical Insurance: that has numerous plans.
Income Protection: offers fundamental life insurance/AD&D to every employee at no cost. Purchase of extra voluntary life insurance is at faction rates. Additionally, Yahoo pays for short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) coverage (Thomas, & Sheth, 2011, pp. 1292-1293).
Change
A great deal of change in Yahoo aims at the company’s vast products organization, in addition to other fields, where the company falls behind. Amid the targeted are communal marketing and affairs, weaker area attempts, trivial businesses, and study.
Changes are prone to prompt executive turnover. By now, as reported, Labs head at Yahoo Prabhavar Raghavan is parting for Google. This, as believed, is because of the possibility of considerable job slash in his research sector. The most spectacular progress by Thompson was to cut staff.
Even if Yahoo has encountered layoffs before, none of them is as striking as the one anticipated in a bid to reduce costs (Cardoso, & Sheth, 2006, pp. 25-29).
Yahoo had 14,100 workers during its previous released statement, higher with more than 4% from the preceding year. Nevertheless, sources said that Yahoo also has a vast dependence on software outworkers who work on merchandise and whose fee masks in its capital outflows.
All units need to demonstrate either a vivid path to adept development in revenue or substantive savings. Moves like this are probable to encourage the Wall Street enhance its stock and possibly temporarily allay Daniel Loeb, its aggressive activist shareholder (Cardoso, & Sheth, 2006, pp. 30-31).
The activist shareholder has been pressing for transformation on Yahoo’s panel that will be going on now, given that its members together with Jerry Yang, the co-founder, will be leaving. Even as Yahoo has officially disengaged with confidential justice players, there could be extra situations for a meaner and tilter Yahoo, predominantly considering its enormous viewers.
Thompson, without doubt, pointed out gigantic alteration in his initial dialogue call with the Wall Street, albeit he refused to give exact information. Thompson stated that Yahoo could not just defend current income sources, but could do much more.
He also stated that they would consider fresh revenue sources and business models. Yahoo’s leadership interlocks in a course to generate noteworthy strategic modification, but making of ultimate decisions is yet for now.
OD interventions
In an attempt to boost its effectiveness and viability, Yahoo will utilize interventions as it applies different change causes. The interventions are meant to progress performance, behaviors, and productivity in the course of a sequence of structured teams and individual activities that center on what workers do, and their way of doing it.
If Yahoo invests in its workers, workers will devote their talents and time back into their company. Over and above providing feedback, monitoring goals and strengthening constructive worker activities, Yahoo ought to also labor toward building up the expertise of their workers and boosting their sense of comfort (Cummings, & Worley, 2009, pp. 150-155).
Investments like these can include providing employee benefits, educational opportunities and offering the tools and support required to carry out work proficiently.
While making developmental changes in Yahoo, the duties of decision-making ought to change from a duty assigned to managers only, to one that every employee shares.
In successful companies, managers appreciate that decision-making ought to take place where the foundations of information are. However, this does not happen at all time toward the peak of the sequence of authority (Cummings, & Worley, 2009, pp. 159-164).
Conclusion
Yahoo is among the winning companies. They have upheld the lead owing to a high excellence end-to-end client experience. This owes to their persistent investment of new services, in addition to widespread alliances and partnerships with leading companies.
Yahoo’s strong focus on the customer’s requirements and high excellence online understanding has been influential in creating a reputation for superiority.
Additionally, their guerrilla marketing and innovative promotional techniques have shaped a distinct product identity that appeals to its intended market and differentiates the brand. Because of all these aspects, Yahoo has created a strong brand having a large user base and high degrees of customer dependability.
Reference List
Cardoso, J., & Sheth, A. P. (2006). Semantic Web Services, Processes, and Applications. Semantic Web and Beyond Computing for Human Experience, 3, 3-33.
Cummings, T. G., & Worley C. G. (2009). Organization Development & Change (9th ed.). Australia; OH: Southwestern Educational Publishing.
Fain, D. C., & Pedersen, J. O. (2006). Sponsored Search: A Brief History. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 32, 12–13.
Rose, D. E. (2006). Reconciling Information-Seeking Behavior With Search User Interfaces for the Web. Journal of the American Society for Information Science And Technology, 57(16), 797–799.
Thomas, C., & Sheth, A. P. (2011). Web Wisdom: An Essay on How Web 2.0 and Semantic Web can Foster A Global Knowledge Society. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(4), 1285-1293.
Development of models that helps solve important issues depends on a company’s desires to tackle its problems in a scientific approach. This will need sound mechanical orientations to attempt and unravel such mysteries, once identified institution of appropriate measures becomes long overdue, In this context the company does adventure to provide basic military, police, and life skill education.
Although there is no utilization of high stake testing, the company’s main issue lies with the students’ ability to choose either military or police profession. The company lacks a proper method that engages students in designing learning affairs to cater for their interests.
This is partly because the company fail to provide a successful approach to recruiting future military and police candidates. Notably, these organizational issues arise from setting priorities, governance, and effective dialogue in the firm (Hoy & Hoy, 2009). Capacity building is a crucial consideration of the organizational development; in this respect it is paramount for the company to institute an internal mechanism that helps solve such complexions (Fred & Allan, 2011).
Research theories related to the problem
Professional training takes into account several fundamentals that help those concerned to grasp vital ideas useful to career and life skill. Most institutions would only base their interest in imparting knowledge without having a critical consideration of issues that matters to their clients (Ubels et al., 2010). In this perspective, engaging students in their training affairs to cater for their special needs is a basic requirement for such institutions.
But most importantly, programs must not be new to them. Introduction of programs at earlier stages of life helps these people identify their interest at an earlier stage of life. They would therefore, prepare their mind and thoughts to embark in a specific career choice with many expectations. Research shows that students’ professional skill development depends largely on amount of time taken to help sharpen their educational needs (Ubels et al., 2010).
This is true because innovation and other life skill take a longer duration to come out, progressive monitoring is therefore, important to achieve tangible results. Assessment based on acquired life skill other than theoretical grasping of knowledge is more appropriate than testing one’s capability to remember theories learnt in a classroom session. This will help students apply knowledge in a real life situation. This does not go well with most institution interested in minting money at the expense of their students (Fred & Allan, 2011).
Designing learning affairs that rhymes with the community’s needs is also paramount in validating the entire system. Education should be problem oriented, that is why special attention of students’ learning affairs is worth considering. This will help professionals become well equipped with important life skills that eventually help the entire community. Training facilities with this in their curriculum are more productive in the business segment.
Responding to these issues forms a complete recipe in tackling the entire educational system desires. When such systems institute methods of evaluation, it helps motivate students in embracing innovation and application of their knowledge, from this, chances are that it would be easy for them to choose a specific career unit within the profession. This is because they would identify themselves with certain areas of their career development (Marelize, et al., 2010).
Recruitment approach is a necessary process that helps identify appropriate group in any profession. This method determines the wellbeing of that profession because the fresh blood will either introduce new ideas or develop the existing programs into more glories. It is thus important to lay down strategies that helps identify the right personnel for hire (Marelize, et al., 2010).
This must be in line with company’s policies to authenticate the process. Studies shows absence of this may lead to several problems that may have a lasting impact on the future prospects of the firm for several years unless an overhaul comes to rescue the problem (Fred & Allan, 2011).
The positive consequence of assessing students is it helps the company gauge what instructional matter needs improvement in each subject matter. It also allows each instructor to improve instructional methods to make the lesson effective for student learning. This effectiveness can improve in areas such as simplifying the lessons in English, so students’ engagement with the lesson increases.
Also, it allows instructors to improve the content of the lesson by adding or minimizing difficult information to make the lesson more comprehendible. As these positive consequences seem soothing let’s view the negative consequences to the assessment process of assessments.
The negative consequence of assessments with the company is its ability to effectively create questions that challenge students learning. The assessment does not incorporate learning strategies that involve comprehension, cognitive, or numerical abilities. The assessment also has language issues in its interpretation of English to Arabic language.
The assessment process does not allow students exposure to past learning areas and majority of them have never come across any of these lessons from prior grade levels. Overall, the assessment process contradicts its ability to effectively gauge a student’s cognitive understanding of the company’s program curriculum because of an improper foundation of curriculum content.
According to Hoy and Hoy (2009); A highly trained professional gives most diagnostic tests to students individually. The goal is usually to identify the specific problems a student is having. Achievement tests that are either standardized or teachers’ made would identify students’ weaknesses in academic content areas like mathematics, computation, or reading. (p. 287)
This type of testing seems to fit perfectly for how the company assesses students’ understanding of the programs. They utilize this testing effectively because they incorporate questions in the instructional and student feedback forms for every past lesson to help restructure the curriculum and instructional methods for positive improvement of students’ learning.
The company also have incorporated into the lesson plan special needs and differentiation portion to allow identify students with learning disabilities or physical disadvantages, this allow instructors to adapt to those student’s desires.
According to Hoy and Hoy (2009); Aptitude tests measures abilities developed over many years and predict how well a student will do in the future when learning unfamiliar material. The greatest difference between the two types of tests is their uses for different purposes. Achievement tests measure final performance (and perhaps give grades), while aptitude tests predict how well people will do in particular programs like college or professional school. (p. 287)
This type of testing needs to be more functional in the curriculum to assist the company identifying if students’ will be successful in either police or military careers upon graduation (Ubels et al., 2010).
A great example would be an ‘ASVAB’ test that the states utilizes to determine a particular Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) that a student would be great at in the military aspect. The UAE needs to incorporate these types of testing into their programs to make it more effective for students’ learning process, but most importantly, it will put a stamp mark on how serious students take the programs for their benefit. It will also allow determine the students needed in the program to utilize the funds and resources properly.
In the past, the development of the assessments was not close to the standards the company currently implements, but for future trends the firm needs to separate its program from the public sector to achieve sound results in line with its duties (Ubels et al., 2010). Yes, these programs provide discipline and structure that assist students in creating an understanding of everyday life skills.
My professional opinion is that it hinders its ability to engage students’ interest in joining the military or police, and needs to reforms to effectively engage students’ interest in joining either profession (Fred & Allan, 2011). If the company would emulate other first world country’s models like the U.S, I believe there would be a more apprehensive approach to the program for those interested in joining the military or police professions in future.
The only evidence that I have to provide that the company is regressing in its ability to keep students engaged into the program is fabrication of scores on test and attendance.
This shows that the company will take desperate measures to show a positive result driven program for student success, when in actuality the company is failing to provide a successful approach to recruiting future military and police candidates. Hopefully, the company will realize that this is not the answer to recruiting and that drastic change will need to take place for a successful outcome (Marelize, et al., 2010).
Measurable objectives related to the problem
These issues need a critical evaluation before embarking on possible methods of addressing them. The company should understand that as much as it is necessary to engage in capacity building to enable the country strengthens its security systems, it is equally essential to adapt novel scientific approaches of tackling issues in its dockets (Ubels et al., 2010).
Assessment of students alone cannot help institute strong security systems, but rather sound systems that ensures each candidate has a right of choosing the department to specialise in would most suffice (Michael et al., 2008). Methods of ensuring they take a certain line of duty should help strengthen their faith in the system.
This will go great miles in attaining the entire objectives for all stakeholders in the institution. Problems related to introduction of course basics at lower level of learning are most appropriate because it helps make a decision on the career prospects.
Policies must therefore, be in line with the students’ special needs, this ensures their desires forms part of the curriculum development for their benefit. A connection between the tutors and the students is pivotal in the sense that it helps both sides take a decisive step in helping the company grow in all facets.
The main hindrance to this is the estimated cost for implementation. But if the company has strong systems, some of its funds would need reallocation in areas that urgently need consideration to improve its capacity building prospects (Michael et al., 2008).
Participants and change agents
Implementation of these issues requires goodwill and participation of all those involved in one way or the other. The primary role should lie with the management team, these people ensures appropriate curriculum is in place prior to commencement of training, policy makers who ensure they institute desired rules for the benefit of everyone, the tutors who interacts with students, and the students.
They must have a way of contributing toward the success of the company in its capacity building objectives. It would be futile to ignore active involvement of the students in entire system, this can be effective through carrying out a survey based on the past classes to assess what they think should be appropriate for the coming groups before engaging them to give their inexperienced perception to build a bigger picture of the entire evaluation scheme.
The approach will yield fruits if given the right perception to include major issues affecting the recruits in their specific careers (Fred & Allan, 2011).
Problem diagnosis
The assessment process for the three terms (winter, spring, and fall) in which term one (fall season) the baseline assessment in all subject matter would not reflect the real issues students know and those they need to understand to help carry out an assessment of foundational learning. This may lead to misjudgement and eventually a compromise in capacity building because the tutors’ assumption may not reflect the facts if students do not participate.
This call for restructuring of management approaches to take into account an evidence-based method that solves real issues of concern to both parties (Fred & Allan, 2011). At the end of each term students undergo a final assessment to see what they have comprehended from each lesson taught. This does not encourage innovation and other key life skill, in fact, not all students’ abilities is examinable.
Procedure of solving problem
This need to take into account the basics and other problems in a chronological manner to help both students and tutors attain their objectives. First, the institution should ensure they acquaint themselves with the community and students’ expectations; this helps design appropriate measures to answer their worries. Once these issues get a nod, making viable policies in line with these will help attain the goal in a more easy way (Marelize et al., 2010).
Secondly, giving students an appropriate channels of making decision to join either the military or the police department based on their unique abilities is crucial. This will help produce the best out of them. Engaging students in organizational and curriculum development brings harmony in the entire company structure because it will include their expectations and special needs.
Despite utilizing the formative and summative assessment process throughout each lesson to check for understanding and comprehension at the end of each term, innovative methods of evaluation will help tap other skills from the students (Michael et al., 2008).
Thirdly, before recruiting the students, it is important to conduct a survey from the past graduates and incorporate their views on what they thought should have been appropriate. This will provide the benchmark of designing a solid method of integrating future groups into the programs while taking care of their special requirements. Introduction of basic classes in earlier stages of learning will also help build a strong foundation for the people interested in the career.
Finally, aligning organizational structures from the management team to the lowest stakeholder helps connect the main goal to the needs of everyone within the institution.
Hoy, A., & Hoy, W. (2009). Instructional Leadership: A Research-Based Guide to Learning in Schools (3rd ed). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Marelize, G.A., Gorgens, M., & Kusek, Z.J. (2010). Making monitoring and evaluation systems work: a capacity development toolkit. Washington DC: World Bank Publication.
Michael, F., DiPaola, M.F., & Wayne K.H. (2008). Principals improving instruction: supervision, evaluation, and professional development. Mason OH: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Ubels, J., Naa-Aku, A.B., & Fowle, A. (2010). Capacity Development in Practice. London, UK: Earthscan Ltd.
Organizational development depends on the ability of the company to identify and solve most of its problems. As training based organization, Al Shaheen L.L.C Company faces many problems, especially those related to a change in curriculum and instruction in the work setting (Al – Shaheen, 2011).
The major problem facing the company is the increase in technological complexity of the organization. Notably, the technical problems arise from goal setting, leadership and communication in the company (Hoy & Hoy, 2009).
Since training is a very important aspect of the organizational development, it is important for the company to develop an internal mechanism of dealing with technical complexity and other operation uncertainties (Al – Shaheen, 2011).
Research Theories Related to the Problem
Technical complexity is a very difficult problem to solve as most consultants and researchers would agree that the normal technical support in the company is critical to the organizational success (Hoy & Hoy, 2009).
Product customization, consulting and training are the main recommended ways of offering solution to the problems affecting the organization. Perhaps, this is the reason explaining Al Shaheen’s interest in offering experienced training and encouraging development business (Al – Shaheen, 2011).
As a service sector, the research theories related to the problem of technical complexity include the industry lifecycle and its evolution theory because they play a very significant role in explaining technical complexity in the organization (Hoy & Hoy, 2009). It is through understanding the relevant theories that one would be able to identify and intervene in solving the organizational problems.
The company was categorical in explaining the distinction between operations involving the organization’s product and other training services, which it offered. Apparently, this could propel the organization to exploit the services for financial gain (Hoy & Hoy, 2009).
Particularly, the company had the knowledge that innovation was the key aspect of product development, thus it had to incline its training towards a more innovative approach than mere theoretical aspects.
Considering the industry lifecycle theory, it is apparent that the organizations become complex as they develop into different life stages (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011). Each complete cycle in the organization’s system presents a stage in its development and gives rise to certain degree of complexity in the manner in which the company’s affairs are run.
For instance, as the company assets, products and services loom large, running the affairs becomes complex. Therefore, it needs a pragmatic design that allows industry dynamics to interplay and create a competitive environment based on cost and technological advancement (Hoy & Hoy, 2009).
On industrial evolution theory, the research indicated that the firm’s dynamics are based on consumer demands. This means that the company would only invest in areas where the demand is high (Hoy & Hoy, 2009).
As the industrial services evolve, the company is also compelled to shift its services to tailor with the changing customer requirements and evolution of technological invention. Mostly, evolution of technology makes the operations to be very complicated, thereby necessitating the actions, which would harmonize the organizational activities.
Measurable Objectives Related to the Problem
Some of the measurable objectives related to the problem of technical complexity include some of the following. Basically, the main objective is to identify the existence of the problem (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011).
In essence, identifying the real problem is very crucial in formulating the policies that aim at providing the best solutions to the problem (Anderson, 2009). Ideally, the extent to which the company is able to identify the problem is measurable and could be determined by observing the signs depicting the dilemma.
Another measurable objective is to develop connection with other stable companies so that the firm might increase its capacity to the needs of consumers, employees and other stakeholders of the organization (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011).
Through increasing capacity, the organization will equally experience a rise in complexity and the way of doing its activities. In this manner, the company might be capable of enhancing its modes of operation.
In addition, the company has to verify the pre-determined annual operation cost so that unnecessary expenses are minimized (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011).
This is relatively important in underscoring the optimal management changes in the company so that it could deal with the effects of the organizational complexity. In fact, such verification makes the operation easy and reduce the cost, thus the company may realize marginal profit from its activities.
Participants and Change Agents
Notably, the people who could be involved as participants and change agents include the company management and other stakeholders. Again, all the management personnel such as the general managers, the directors and business development executives are to be included to participate in the operations, the selected employees would also get chances to make their contributions (Anderson, 2009).
Finally, the company would appreciate the participation of some shareholders such as the Ultra Electronics among others.
Problem Diagnosis
There are many causes of technical complexity within the organization. For example, as the organization expands in the country, region and around the globe, it opens several branches in the new areas, employs workers in such places and has to coordinate the operations of all the branches (Cheung-Judge & Holbeche, 2011).
For this reason, the organization’s database has to be developed to cope with the rising need and complex operation and management structures. Clearly, the industry cycles have profound change on the service levels in the organization, which might contribute to the company’s complexity.
Technological progress in the company could also give rise to technical complexity (Anderson, 2009). This is because, as the company adopts sophisticated modes of operation, such as computerization, the management is forced to undergo basic training on how to use the new and complex operation systems (Anderson, 2009).
Therefore, it means that introducing a new technology in the company operations would increase technical complexity.
Procedures of Solving the Problem
For the company to solve the problem of technical complexity in an adequate manner, the process of doing this has to be procedural. This would be the sure way of becoming successful in solving the complex issues in the company. In this regard, the company should follow the procedure as explained here.
Step I. Problem Determination: here, the company has to accept that technical complexity is a problem and affects the company’s operation (Singapore Math, 2012).
Unless the company is able to come into terms of the reality surrounding the problem and its existence, it might not be able to provide meaningful solution. Problem determination also involves establishing the constraint failures of this particular problem, thereby planning for possible intervention (Singapore Math, 2012).
Step II. Initial Analysis of the Problem: this involves the analysis of specific constraint. In fact, it helps in gathering high-level and particular information that might have led to the failure (Singapore Math, 2012). This helps in determining whether the problem is severe or mild and could enable the company to get the most probable grounds, which led to the mistake.
Step III. Determine Source of Failure: this is an investigation of all issues, which might be behind the problem. From this analysis, the company would be able to come up with a single or probably two particular loopholes responsible for the error (Singapore Math, 2012). In this step, the company establishes the design failure that is used in solving the problem.
Step IV. Isolate the Problem Area: here, isolation of the particular problem results from examining the other possible errors, giving a summary and detailed analysis showing that the isolated problem is indeed, specific (Singapore Math, 2012). Therefore, it gives the specific and general information that is responsible for the failure.
Step V. Isolate the Specific Problem Cause: in this analysis, the major cause of the problem is identified and singled out. Notably, this is the appropriate way to correct the error since the company will not operate on assumption and mere guess work (Singapore Math, 2012). The cause is dealt with specifically in order to offer a permanent solution.
Step VI. Offer and Verify the Solution: after isolating the problem and its specific cause, the company outlines the strategy for resolution based on the level of its severity (Singapore Math, 2012).
In this manner, the resolution model would be directed to the problem, thus finding solution becomes easy (Singapore Math, 2012). The strategies and outcome are then verified to ascertain if they actually offer solution to the problem of technical complexity.
References
Al – Shaheen. (2011). Al Shaheen LLC. Web.
Anderson, D. L. (2009). Organization Development: The Process of Leading Organizational Change. New York, NY: Sage Publications.
Cheung-Judge, M. & Holbeche, L. (2011). Organization Development: A Practitioner’s Guide for OD and HR. New York, NY; Kogan Page.
Hoy, A. & Hoy, W. (2009). Instructional Leadership: A Research-Based Guide to Learning in Schools, (3rd Ed). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Singapore Math. (3 Jan 2012). Step-By-Step Problem Solving, Grade 7. Singapore: Frank Schaffer Publications.
Organization development embodies planning and evaluation of structures within organizations in order to enhance effectiveness and productivity. Application of organizational development is diverse and complex, hence its multidisciplinary approach and orientation (Jackson 11). Organization development plays an important role in enhancing change and other resultant outcomes within organizations. It revolves around organizational culture, attitudes, and belief systems. Through organization development, organizations rejuvenate and adjust to recurrent realities that define operations within specific market landscapes.
Experts in this area offer services that are vital in evaluation and determination of structural frameworks that support functions within and without organizational entities (Jackson 16). This enables organizations to seize opportunities and diffuse threats within their area of operation. Organization development assumes a holistic approach to evaluation of various parametrical thresholds that anchor performance in organizations. This research undertaking seeks to discuss the organizational inclination of Google. It shall look at the internal structure and organization of Google with a view to determining realities that relate to its position within the market. This essay shall also look at challenges and opportunities that the organization faces within its market scope.
Discussion
Google continues to record unprecedented success in its operations within the market. The current success of this organization is monumental because of various factors that favour its operations. For instance, technological developments and advancements play an important role in creating success and progress for the organization (Girard 14). In modern society, there is increase in the number of people who use the internet for various purposes. This reality offers a favourable ground for Google’s success and progressive trajectory. Other factors contribute to success of Google in rendering services to its customers. An example of such factors is its internal organizational structure. Google has a progressive and dynamic management structure that plays a cardinal role in sustaining growth and expansion. The management is instrumental in formulating and implementing policies that govern and define Google’s actions in relation to market forces (Girard 21).
As earlier mentioned, organization development is vital in shaping operations within organizational entities. Through such undertakings, organizations acquire foresight and capacity to confront issues and challenges that manifest in their scope of operation. Organizations should always endeavour to seize opportunities for growth, expansion, and progress in critical areas of concern (Girard 25). The current success of Google emanates from appropriate design that supports navigation with ease. Internet enthusiasts have an opportunity to enjoy such services without much struggle. Google supports its activities by invoking its code of conduct that offers guidelines with regard to customer service and satisfaction. The code of conduct is integral in creation and development of sustainable corporate culture and belief systems. Devoid of such efforts, it is difficult for organizations to realize and actualize basic ideals and aspirations (Girard 29).
Google has a succinct vision and mission statement that inspires its core values such as competence, quality service, and innovative thinking. The above qualities form basis for developing products and services that satisfy recurrent demands within the market. Customer satisfaction is an important aspect because it recognizes their role in sustaining profitability among corporate entities (Girard 33). From the onset, Google has developed structural frameworks that govern its quest for profitability and relevance within its market. The internet industry is highly competitive and dynamic. Organizations require foresight and innovation in order to achieve profitability and ensure dominant influence in the market. Recurrent changes and developments in technology necessitate strategic thinking and planning in order to give organizations an upper hand over competition (Girard 34).
Google strives to increase profitability through efforts that enhance its quest for market presence. The company has a dynamic and inclusive expansion programme that accords it an opportunity to venture into new territories. This strategic plan has been instrumental in enhancing Google’s interests in regional and global markets (Girard 37). Presence in regional markets is important because of the potential that lies in such markets. For instance, Google has aggressively penetrated the African market with a view to seizing numerous opportunities that manifest in the market. According to recent research findings, there is increase internet use across Africa (Girard 41). By venturing into Africa and creating platforms for hegemony, Google appreciates the potential in this regional market segment. Google’s expansion plan also involves corporate acquisition and ventures within the market.
Under this strategy, Google takes over ownership and control of corporate and organizational entities that have presence in the market. It also involves partial acquisition of stakes within strategically positioned organizations within the market. An example of such acquisition is the deal between Google and Pyra Labs. Pyra Labs had substantial interests in internet and technology across the market. This acquisition increased and entrenched Google’s presence and dominance within its market scope (Girard 44).
Most market surveys indicate that Google has a higher ranking with regard to service provision and customer satisfaction. Users assert that Google has an innovative design and outline that eases navigation and accessibility. This accords Google a strategic advantage over competitors in the market. The company has a team of experts who provide oversight regarding functions and operations that exist in the market (Weber 54). Such experts provide ideas and counsel to Google’s management regarding market penetration, integration, and preservation. These aspects are important because they enable the company to decipher areas that require action and attention.
Adoption of new technology is an important aspect in Google’s regime of operation. It is evident that technology plays a pivotal role in supporting Google’s operations in the market. Google’s performance in the stock market is indicative of its popularity and success among internet users. This fosters confidence among shareholders because they develop faith in the performance and profitability of the company (Weber 56).
Despite recording success in numerous areas of market presence, Google has challenges that threaten its position as the market leader. One such challenge relates to competition from other market players. Although competition is a ubiquitous reality in the corporate landscape, corporate entities should endeavour to scale down its intensity and disposition. Stiff competition requires innovative thinking in order to devise strategic reactions with regard to such corporate overtures. Google has had to initiate various structural adjustments to counter the effects of stiff competition within the market (Weber 64).
Google has a unique niche that depends on its innovative and dynamic products and services. In order to satisfy various customer demands in its market segment, the company realigns its ideals and aspirations to guarantee compliance. Google has numerous strengths that bolster its stand as an influential player in the corporate arena (Weber 67). The company has an array of innovative products that seek to meet customer needs. Such products are popular among internet users because they are adaptable and cognizant of trends within the market. Google designs products that fulfil needs of customers from diverse social, economic, and cultural orientations. An example of such products is the Google Maps. This product offers direction to users across the market. This product is innovative and visionary because its applicability is legendary and revered by users (Weber 71).
There is opportunity in Google’s willingness to invest resources into programmes that complement its desire for success in a competitive corporate environment. The company has a strong resource base that accords it an opportunity to actualize its goals and objectives with regard to product development, innovation, and market penetration. Devoid of adequate resources, organizations cannot fulfil their obligation to meet and actualize customer needs. Google has strength in its ability to understand crucial realities that govern operations within the internet and technology market. Familiarity with market trends and demands enables Google to devise products and services that integrate innovation and applicability (Weber 73).
Google also experiences numerous challenges that undermine its efforts within the market. One such challenge is the increasing popularity of mobile telephony. Most people use their mobile handsets to access internet services. This affects Google because it is difficult to relay advertisements over the internet because of spatial limitations. Increase in use of mobile phones reduces preference for personal computers as access points for internet services (Weber 79). Another challenge relates to presence of redundant products in the market. Currently, Google has products and services that fail to arouse excitement from users. Such products present setbacks that add little or no value to operations of Google. Such products also contribute to redundancy and dismal performance within its market scope. Another challenge relates to stiff competition from other industry players who provide standardized products and services (Weber 85).
Recommendations and Strategies
In order to create room for progress, profitability, and innovation, Google should initiate a strategic structural overhaul of its operations. The company should undertake organizational development ventures that enhance its position as a market leader. There is need for comprehensive market research and evaluation to determine areas that require adjustment and realignment (McLean 45). Google should conduct a feasibility study to establish realities that characterize customer needs in different segments of its market. Such a study should also determine attitudes of users with regard to Google’s products and services. It is important for the company to ensure that its products and services reflect and satisfy current needs in the market (McLean 47). The company should also document all relevant areas that pose challenges to its dominance across national, regional, and international market. There is need for consistency and forthrightness in developing and implementing structural policies with regard to all operations within Google’s market. Implementation of the above recommendations should involve all stakeholders in Google Corporation (McLean 45).
Conclusion
The role of organizational development is evident in Google’s case study. Organizational development creates avenues for change, innovation, and progressive thinking within organizations. Through its application, organizational leaders understand and react to issues that pose challenges to growth and sustainability with regard to operations in their market segment (Jackson 22). Organization development creates an atmosphere of change and evaluation in contentious realms of an organization’s scope of operation. Besides identification of structural and managerial loopholes, this procedural undertaking creates viable solutions to challenges within organizations. Proper solutions ensure that organizations revamp their operations in order to comply with market needs (Jackson 23). However, it is important to note that organization development requires planning, foresight, and dedication because of complexities that manifest in its initiation and implementation.
Works Cited
Girard, Bernard. The Google Way: How One Company is Revolutionizing Management As We Know It. Newyork: No Starch Press, 2009. Print.
Jackson, Cooper. Organization Development: The Human and Social Dynamics of Organizational Change. Newyork: University Press of America, 2010. Print.
Approaches to Change of Organizational Development (OD)
The case study “Change at DuPont” highlights the major aspects of Organizational Development (OD). The case study explains how companies “can merge the three OD approaches to organizational change” (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2009, p. 203). The first focus at the firm is Organizational Development (OD). Tom Harris wanted to improve DuPont’s organizational practices and structures. The “main goal was to produce a better organizational structure that could support every employee” (Palmer et al., 2009, p. 203). Tom identified the best ideas in order to improve the productivity of its employees. He also embraced the best organizational skills in order to support the targeted change. However, he failed to identify the existing problems in the firm.
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a powerful aspect of OD. This aspect focuses on the best practices within an organization. The approach makes it easier for managers to develop the best strategies for their firms. For instance, DuPont used “the southern stock-car racing metaphor to embrace the concept of teamwork” (Palmer et al., 2009, p. 208). This approach promoted the idea of Appreciative Inquiry. This practice eventually supported the targeted organizational change.
Sense-making is another practice embraced by different managers. This approach encourages every manager to use various problem-solving methods. DuPont used various sense-making strategies in order to support the targeted organizational change. For instance, Tom and his team “introduced new metaphors for teamwork” (Palmer et al., 2009, p. 207). A new language also emerged in order to support the targeted change. The idea of sense-making encouraged DuPont’s employees to support the proposed change.
Best Recommendations for DuPont
This case study examines how DuPont used appropriate strategies to promote its performance. The above three approaches made it easier for the Tom to achieve most of his goals. However, the Change Process (CP) did not improve DuPont’s competitiveness. A contemporary “Change Management (CM) approach could have produced better results” (Oxman & Smith, 2003, p. 78). Such approaches can identify the existing gaps in the firm. The next approach is encouraging every employee to address such gaps. The organization should also promote the best practices. It should also make such practices part of its culture. This approach will “ensure DuPont succeeds in its competitive industry” (Oxman & Smith, 2003, p. 78).
The managers should have also used better OD strategies. For example, Tom should have empowered his employees using appropriate eldership strategies. The manager should have addressed every problem affecting the firm. The company should have used “an experiential-based learning in order to promote the most appropriate behaviors” (Oxman & Smith, 2003, p. 81).
Promoting Change at my Workplace
Most of my workmates have not been focusing on the best outcomes. The level of production has decreased thus affecting the profitability of our company. Many employees have been unhappy with one another. The company is no longer embracing the concept of teamwork. The company can use the best OD approaches in order to address its problems. The OD concept encourages managers to diagnose the issues affecting their companies (Oxman & Smith, 2003). The next stage is planning for the targeted improvement.
The approach can empower more employees to work as teams. The approach will also address their problems. The managers at the company should introduce the best resources to every worker. The managers should make this new change a critical part of the firm. A proper leadership model will “ensure every employee becomes part of the targeted change” (Oxman & Smith, 2003, p. 79). This new change will eventually promote the firm’s performance.
Reference List
Oxman, J., & Smith, B. (2003). The Limits of Structural Change. Sloan Management Review, 45(1), 77-82.
Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009). Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspectives Approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
J.P. Hunt is a large retailing company in Boston. The Company sells different products such as furniture, appliances, and apparels. The retailing industry has been recording an increasing rate of employee turnover. The rate of employee turnover is capable of affecting the performance of every business organization. The above company enjoys a set of strengths.
The company is a leading retailer in the United States. The supervisory behavior in the corporation is also acceptable. Most of the employees are aware of such behaviors. Every company in the industry records similar results. The workflow planning is efficient for managers. The managers also experience the highest level of cooperation. This retailing company provides positive rewards to its managers.
These practices explain why most of the employees support the company’s strategy (Legge, 2005). Every employee also experiences a level of autonomy. This practice has encouraged the employees to continue working for the company (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2013). The company also maintains the best gender balance.
The company pays uncompetitive remunerations and salaries to its supervisors and non-supervisors. The practice increases the level of employee turnover. The company lags behind when it comes to rewarding its employees. The other possible challenge affecting the company is the ambiguity associated with every organizational practice (Wiley, 2007). The managers do not cooperate with the non-supervisors. Most of the supervisors and non-supervisors are unhappy with their working conditions. The managers experience the best workflow planning. The American retailing industry should undertake some of the best measures in order to deal with the challenge.
Suggestions to Resolve the Above Problems
This case study explains why this retailing industry continues to record an increasing level of employee turnover. The presented data explains why the company should address its problems by fosters employee development. This practice should support the needs of both the non-supervisors and the supervisors. The managers should always mentor every non-supervisor in the business. According to Ton & Huckman (2008), the company should also communicate its objectives to every new employee.
The approach will ensure every employee understands his or her duties in the company. The company should use the approach to employ and retain its employees. The “nature of communication between a manager and his or her employees is critical in every sector” (Vries, Bakker-Pieper, & Oostenveld, 2010, p. 74). This company should foster open communication. The plan will support the needs of every stakeholder.
The issue of satisfaction is necessary towards dealing with the above problems. The level of supervision for these employees is also unsatisfactory. The company should consider the best theories such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to support the needs of every employee. The approach “will consider different approaches such as pay increments, promotions, and motivations” (Wiley, 2007, p. 274). The company can achieve greater goals by offering competitive benefits.
The company can provide health insurance covers and accommodation to the employees. The strategy will reduce the level of employee turnover. The organization can hire new managers to mentor and motivate every employee (Rao & Argote, 2006). The plan will motivate every employee. The business needs to conduct more studies in order to identify some of the critical issues affecting the employees. The above strategies will reduce the rate of employee turnover at the company.
Reference List
Ivancevich, J., Konopaske, R., & Matteson, M. (2013). Organizational Behavior and Management. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Legge, K. (2005). Human Resource Management: Rhetoric and Realities. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Rao, R., & Argote, L. (2006). Organizational learning and forgetting: The effects of turnover and structure. European Management Review, 3(2), 77-85.
Ton, Z., & Huckman, R. (2008). Managing the Impact of Employee Turnover on Performance: The Role of Process Conformance. Organization Science, 19(1), 56-68.
Vries, R., Bakker-Pieper, A., & Oostenveld, W. (2010). Leadership = Communication? The Relations of Leaders’ Communication Styles with Leadership Styles, Knowledge Sharing and Leadership Outcomes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(3), 367-380.
Wiley, C. (2007). What motivates employees according to over 40 years of Motivation surveys. International Journal of Manpower, 18(3), 264-280.
The world of business is one that is highly dynamic. Competition is growing rapidly each day and every organization is trying the best it can to maintain its customers, acquire more customers and keep making profits. The concept of organization development (OD) has become one of high importance. Organization development can be defined as the deliberate actions that are taken by organizational leaders and managers with the aim of making the organization more effective and efficient. This is a body of knowledge that can be used to improve the performance of any organization. In addition, OD can enable the development of human beings. An organization is made of various departments and sections that make up a complex system. The system is part of a larger system that comprises of the external environment. In this regard, there must be strategic plans, organization design, as well as proper change management procedures for proper organization development to happen (Brown, 2011).
Leadership is crucial for successful organizational development. Sound leadership steers organizational growth and helps the entire organization remain focused. Maintenance of work-life balance among employees is equally important. OD is seen as a human resource management field that has been growing over the last couple of years. Organization development is said to have developed from behavioral and social sciences. It is notable that those who practice organizational development in various organizations adopt a humanistic approach to successfully manage change and ensure that organizational performance is sustained at a high level (Brown, 2011).
It is pertinent to have skills that can help in pointing out challenges and opportunities in the quest for organizational development. In addition, appropriate action should be taken in order to correct the identified problems. There are many alternatives to problems, but the best option has to be selected. Finally, one needs to learn how the organizational development knowledge can be applied to situations that occur in an organization. This research paper explains how the above outcomes can be applied in order to achieve organizational objectives, as well as personal goals.
“Diagnostic skills to identify OD issues, problems, and opportunities”
Problem solving is one of the most important activities in any organization. An organization must have leaders who can solve any problems that have the ability to deter it from achieving its objectives for it to succeed. There is need to have knowledge about the current problem to be able to effectively solve the problem since it is not possible to solve a problem that one is not aware of its existence and its cause. Modern organizations are faced with a number of pressures that require them to meet customer needs. It is only when firms satisfy customer needs that the organizations can be guaranteed of staying competitive and making profits. Therefore, it is important for leaders and managers of organizations to find the best solutions to organizational problems. The key to good solutions is in the diagnostic procedures that will be adopted. As it has been mentioned earlier, organizations are currently operating in an environment that is dynamic and highly interactive. As a result, there is need for effective change and transformation that would be conducted to help them stay in competition (Zack, 2002).
There are a number of ways in which a leader can apply diagnostic skills to identify the issues, problems and find the opportunities that are available for the organization. First, it is important to note that organization development of a firm should be planned on the basis of relevant data that should be collected and analyzed carefully. Therefore, one should first gather information regarding the problem and then carefully arrange data and analyze it when carrying out diagnostic procedures. That way, one is able to understand the problem in detail and the source of the problem. In turn, it is easier to find a solution that is effective and help the organization improve on its performance (Friday, 2002). For instance, if an organization sells certain products and it realizes that the number of customers has gone down drastically, it is an indication of a problem that should be addressed with a lot of urgency. It is a problem that will have a direct impact on the organizational performance if not addressed.
To diagnose such a problem, the organizational development practitioner will collect data that is relevant to enable him or her understand the factors that have led to loss of market for the organization’s products. Data collection methods and types of data that can be used include:
Secondary data- this is data that is collected from other organizations that have had similar problems before. It is usually cheap and time efficient compared to other types of data. The other method that can be used is observation of the way people behave. It is possible to collect relevant data that can be used in the diagnostic process through observation. Surveys, questionnaires and interviews are other methods that can be applied. There are some practitioners who carry out SWOT analysis in order to understand the position of the organization and deduce the possible cause of a problem. SWOT analysis is important in that one can understand the internal, as well as external environment of the organization. In turn, it is possible to know the opportunities that the organization can explore in the future. In addition, one understands the weaknesses and threats that are likely to lead to loss of customers (Hassin, 2006).
Several factors are likely to cause such a loss, thus the organizational development practitioner needs to identify each of the factors before devising any means of solving the problem. It is worth noting that there are a number of diagnostic models that can be adopted, but each of them is dependent on the type of problem that is being addressed. Once data has been collected, the organization development practitioner should consider any other factors that might be involved in the situation. Such factors may include culture, turnover rates, schemes that are adapted for employees’ remuneration, as well as communication problems among others.
“Practice in identifying appropriate actions and selection of best alternative”
Once the problem has been identified, the managers and the leaders of the organization should find a solution to maintain performance. There are several alternative solutions that are applicable for every problem. It is the responsibility of organization development practitioners to identify the best action. Therefore, one needs to understand the best solutions to a problem. It is also important to understand organizational constraints. It is pertinent to note that there are both feasible and infeasible options. The process of selecting the best option will actually involve elimination of infeasible options. There are problems whose options for resolving the problem are not too complex since there are no many infeasible options, or there are one or two obvious feasible options (Hassin, 2006).
In this regard, the OD practitioner should first list all the possible options in selecting the best organizational development actions. Alternatives should then be ranked. There are alternatives that have the ability of addressing more than one problem at the same time (Hassin, 2006). Such options should be ranked first. Once the options have been ranked, the next step is to evaluate every alternative to establish their level of feasibility. In evaluating the problems, the organization development practitioner checks the range of problems addressed by each of the options. He or she considers whether the options cover the problem both collectively, as well as exhaustively. There are options that can cover the problem exhaustively, but they do not cover a wide range of the problems. On the other hand, there are options that cover the problem collectively, but they do not exhaust it. The OD practitioner selects the option that maximizes both factors; that is, the one that covers a wide range of problems and at the same time exhausts the problems. It is also important to consider the mutuality of each problem.
It is imperative to note that the process of selecting the alternatives requires one to think in a logical and holistic manner in order to understand the situation that needs to be addressed. Creativity is also an important factor that needs to be applied in solving a problem. In fact, creativity and innovation are factors that can never be overlooked in the current business environment. It is innovation that gives an organization the most competitive advantage. One should combine creativity with knowledge on the organizational internal and external environments in order to arrive at the best possible options. There should be a specific criterion that is used in selecting the best possible options.
The purpose of having criteria is to enable the OD practitioner to develop the best options (Zack, 2002). One needs to completely understand the organization in terms of its situation, its goals, as well as its objectives to be able to come up with the best criteria to address an impending issue. One also needs to understand the various roles played by individuals in the organization, as well as the roles played by various departments in the firm as a way of coming up with various alternatives to a problem. This understanding is helpful in that the solution developed is easy to implement since the concerned parties are involved in coming up with the solution.
The criteria selected can either be personal, economic or social depending on the problem being addressed. Another point that should be taken into account when selecting criteria is measurability. The preferable way of measuring criteria is through quantification, but any other means that is deemed right can be applied. Basically, one needs to have holistic skills, as well as logical reasoning ability in order to come up with a good and effective criterion. The listed options are evaluated against selected criteria to find a solution to the problem. It is important to note that each alternative that is evaluated has an unknown outcome and an uncertainty risk. The OD practitioner is required to give priority to the criteria used in coming up with the best alternative (Brown, 2011).
As mentioned earlier, an action should be taken to counter the problem being addressed. Coming up with an action plan follows the process of choosing the most appropriate alternative among an array of suggested solutions. In other words, the selected alternative is implemented at this point. The organization development practitioner will decide the person or the people who will do the implementation, the time when they should do it, and direct the ways that should be followed in the implementation process. It is important to develop a program that should be followed in the implementation process. The implementation process is done in phases; therefore, a time phase program is effective. After full implementation, the next and final step is to follow up and gather feedback on the outcome. This is done to ensure that the solution implemented is effective. Another solution can be selected in case the first one was not effective (Sauter, 2011).
“Ability to apply organization development knowledge to organizational situations”
Knowledge is a very important resource that is used by organizations today. It helps in the development of various strategic plans that are used in the improvement of organizational performance. In fact, most business organizations view knowledge as their most valuable resource. It is this knowledge that they use in solving their problems, as well as exploiting opportunities that are presented to them (Singh, 2005). The sources of knowledge that are used by organizations today are information systems. Development of technology has enhanced acquisition of knowledge by organizations through information systems. An organization needs to have knowledge ahead of its competitors for it to have a competitive advantage. Organizations should, therefore, carry out SWOT analyses that are knowledge based. These analyses should then be compared with knowledge that is possessed by competitors, as well as knowledge that is required by the organization in order to execute its own strategies.
Organizational development can be used to handle some of the situations that are faced in an organization (Brown, 2011). From its definition, organization involves execution of activities and actions that can improve the general performance of an organization. The process involves action plan designs and diagnostic procedures among others factors. Therefore, the knowledge or organizational design can be effective in addressing various areas within the organization in case of a situation that affects the performance of an organization. The knowledge in question includes action plans among other form of knowledge that is available to the organization. It is, therefore, advisable that any organization that wishes to improve its performance and maintain its competitive advantage should hire organization development practitioners.
Conclusion
The pressure on organizations to satisfy their clients is growing as the business environment in the world becomes more competitive. As a result, organizations need to come up with strategic plans that can help them gain competitive advantage. An organization’s development plan is important since it involves actions and activities that improve the effectiveness and performance of an organization. OD is effective in finding a solution to a problem that might be affecting the firm’s performance negatively. Organization development outlines the actions and procedures that are followed in developing a solution to a problem. It also directs the methods of diagnosing a problem and identifying the opportunities available to the organization. OD is, therefore, an important and effective factor that can give competitive advantage to any organization.
References
Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Friday, S. (2002). Organization development for facility managers: Leading your team to success. New York, NY: AMACOM.
Hassin, A. (2006). Effective diagnosis in organisation change management. Journal of Business Systems, Governance and Ethics, 5(2), 23-29
Sauter, V. L. (2011). Decision support systems for business intelligence. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Singh, K. (2005). Organizational change and development. New Delhi, India: Excel Books.
Zack, O. H. (2002). Developing a knowledge strategy. California Management Review, 41(3), 125-145
The concept of organizational development (OD) is critical for any firm that wishes to stay competitive in the market. Like many other business processes, it has several stages that assist companies in navigating through OD and adjust the course. In the majority of cases, OD runs in accordance with the following model: identification of the problem, assessment, planning, plan implementation, data collection, results in analysis, feedback, and sustaining. In this report, the stages of OD will be explained in further detail to achieve a better understanding of the process.
The Process of Organizational Development
OD process is often triggered by a certain problem which does not let business operate normally, lowering its effectiveness, thereby, necessitating improvement. The problem can be obvious, but some problems need careful assessment to locate. After the problem is identified and explained, there is a need for company evaluation to find critical spots where performance could be improved (Anderson 3). This stage may include gathering internal reports from all departments and their analysis by higher management. A company may also turn to outside professionals.
Based on the assessment, executives draw an implementation plan that elaborates a set of concrete measures to improve a company’s performance in critical areas identified in the course of the assessment. Its goal is to outline the intervention and define how the company will implement it (Anderson 71). The plan usually mentions key assets, resources, terms, and deadlines, as well as key parties responsible for the implementation of innovation.
A critical element of any plan is the establishment of measurable goals that allow for further evaluation of the OD endeavor. The plan is a critical part of OD as it allows for better control of the transitional period.
As soon as the plan is finished and approved by owners and other stakeholders, the company may initiate OD implementation stage. Depending on the chosen OD measure, there are many possible scenarios that differ in accordance with the scale of change, time and resources (Anderson 99). During the initiation phase, the company may face many difficulties such as change resistance from employees, external threats, or other adverse events.
There can be an array of different techniques to help a firm transition from its previous state to success. Those methods may include staff training, development of leadership potential, the introduction of new technology, and so forth.
At certain intervals during the whole implementation stage that can last for months or years, OD process presupposes collection and analysis of data. Data is collected in accordance with the planned measurements and core performance indicators (Anderson 137). Data collection may be semi-automatic such as through employees submitting scheduled reports into the system or managers, and department leaders may survey workers themselves.
The collected data is then analyzed to detect the necessary level of change. As established by the plan, an organization measures its progress towards the goal. The frequency of assessment may vary depending on the scale of change, yet it should not be burdening the key stakeholders. Such assessments are aimed at updating the executives on the current status of a development initiative (Anderson 171). By evaluating the deliverables in dynamics, upper management is able to tell whether any corrections are needed.
The evaluation stage often cross-references the current status against the planned levels to see if the change is significant. It also answers the question of whether the problem was correctly defined or intervention is chosen correctly. It should also be noted that the collection and evaluation stages run parallel to implementation and may influence the course of the latter depending on the outcomes. Acting on evaluation results and adjusting methods of intervention is critical for the initiative to result in success.
The next stage of the process is feedback, which reveals the final notes on the OD process and marks it as a completed. Ideally, the feedback should be positive as any negative trends should have been noted and corrected during the implementation and assessment stages (Anderson 172). The goal of this stage is to summarize the key positive and negative factors of successful or unsuccessful OD process to draw implications for future cycles of development. In its nature, it is similar to data collection and assessment stages, yet it may be less formal.
After the implementation phase is complete and feedback is gathered and analyzed the OD initiative needs to be sustained. Usually, it requires no specific measures besides monitoring the company’s performance and activity to reveal any residual inconsistencies or remissions (Benn et al. 245-247). This stage may include formal reporting of the management to employees about the success of the intervention and expressing gratitude for their impact. The improvement in crucial performance indicators should also be mentioned (Anderson 372). Celebrations and notions of accomplishment should motivate the employees to continue contributing and adhering to a new mode of operation or use a new technique.
Conclusion
All in all, the OD is a multistage process, where each step is crucial and requires proper management. Given the paramount nature of development in the course of organizational activities, there is a necessity for adopting similar models in firms in order to have a better control and understanding of the process of change. Such a framework could indeed lead the company to success as one of the most hectic and chaotic processes may now be organized.
Works Cited
Anderson, Donald L. Organization Development: The Process of Leading Organizational Change. 4th ed., SAGE Publications, 2016.
Benn, Suzanne, et al. Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability. 3rd ed., Routledge, 2014.