Strategic Thinking & Planning a guideline for new executives - PowerPoint Presentation Example

Organizational Transformation [Affiliate Introduction Innovation is a very powerful tool that can be used by any organization to steer towards development, ensure business success and establish competitive advantage over rivals. Innovation requires clear understanding of the current dynamics within an organization so that opportunities can be spotted immediately. The integration of innovation within the culture and operations of an organization is important to ensure that the approaches taken are effective and sustainable.

In the contemporary business environment there are many guidelines towards innovation. However, it is still upon organizations to customize the guidelines to fit within the goals of the organizations. The paper will analyze some of the innovation initiatives as employed by the CalWorks program in San Francisco with specific emphasis on incentives, training, education, management, sustainability and reward system. Incentives, Training and Education Education and training are key pre-requisites of innovation because they provide the foundation from where innovation can be initiated.

The job market in the United States is quite competitive and it is therefore imperative to ensure that the participants within CalWorks program are adequately equipped. One of the eligibility requirements for the program is “regular school attendance for all school age children” (CalWorks, 2004). Training and education are viewed as aspects that empower the participants with the relevant skills in terms of professional experience and when searching for employments. Therefore, in offering training and educational facilities the program ensures that the experience obtained is in line with the job requirements within the market (Lundvall, 2010, p. 305). Incentives within the program play an important role in showing the government’s commitment providing assistance (Mani, 2002).

Furthermore, the incentives such food, shelter, training, counseling ensure that participants have the time and the capacity to pursue employment opportunities and concentrate in building their futures. Role of Leadership Leadership within the program is important in structuring of strategies that continually address the needs of the participants with the aim of empowering them. The leadership ensures that period evaluations are conducted to identify areas that require innovation. Since innovation is a continuous process, the leadership within the organization ensures that it is effectively integrated within other systems of the organization.

Different organizations experience varied dynamics and nurture different organizational cultures (Edwards, 2010). Leadership therefore plays the key role in ensuring that the innovative strategies constructed are in harmony with the mission and vision of the organization. Individual Reward System According to (Griffin, 2007, p. 207), the reward system has been identified as one of the three approaches towards the promotion of innovation. Individual reward systems within the program are geared towards identifying the exceptional performance by certain individuals and also as a motivation to all participants.

However, the individual reward system has several ethical shortcomings especially in terms of the perception of other participants. The reward system might place undue pressure on some individuals and encourage unhealthy compeititon which might be counterproductive. Participants come from different backgrounds and have different capabilities. Therefore, when the program only rewards certain individuals without considering such aspects some individuals might shy off from making the best of the opportunity.

Every participant should be considered individually and enocuraged to make the best of their capacities. The Calworks program in San Francisco is a very innovative program by virtue of its major objectives. The program seeks to empower the participants through education, training and incentives. The management of the program is in constant study of the job market to ensure that the programs offered equip the participants with the experience to competitively tackle the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities within the market.

The program also ensures that all participants undergo assessments to identify their areas of strengths and weaknesses. The consideration is important in structuring strategies that will encourage individual innovation from the participants. Through a culture that has been constructed over time the management ensures that a specific emphasis is placed on seeking to empower participants in their areas of talent instead of imposing ideas on the participants. The incentives offered within the program also ensure that the participants are in a good position to think of ways to secure their future instead of just concentrating on their current problems.

Despite the various shortcomings exhibited within the program, the program is still innovative. The shortcomings only demonstrate that there is still room for improvement. Sustainability The aspect of transformation should be should be sustainable in the essence that the progresses witnessed should not be negative. Transformation is part of an organization and at one time or another, there will be the need to transform a particular aspect. The realization of the need of an organization to prioritize on various tranformational aspects is accompanied by the observation that transformation always occurs but with varied degrees.

Therefore, there is need for such organization to employ various evidence based research approaches to identify the areas of tranformation to ensure that the company capitalizes on the advantages of transformation. Different organizations experience varied dynamics and nurture different organizational cultures (Edwards, 2010). Sustainability therefore depends on the capacity of an organization to study the dynamics and the culture so that the strategies employed with regard to organizational transfromation are effective and efficient.

Organizational transformation usually targets a particualr system or systems within an organization depending on the capacity of the organization to handle the tranfromations. Areas within an orgnaization that usually experience tranformation include; human resource, production, managerial, finance, supply and procurement. There might be slight variations depending on the nature of an organization but these outlined factors are in existent in most organizations. In most instances, organizational transformation becomes inevitable as an organization experiences new challenges and identifies various development opportunities.

The most important conisderation is that an organization should respond to the dynamics or risk being overwhelmed by the challenges or lag behind in terms of competitiveness. The target system dictates the strategie that will be employed and the evaluation tools and metrics that will be utilized. Although some systems within an organization might overlap each other in terms of the operation and output, it is usually important to identify and define the specific area of focus (Livard, 2004). There must also clearly outlined objectives that guide the whole process to protect the initiative from redundancies.

Organization tranformation is an inevitable phenomenon that is particularly promoted by the current dynamic business world. There are various basic considerations that provide guidelines for organizations. The considerations include; the specific system or systems within an organization that are undergoing transformation, the strategies to be employed that will promote continous improvements of organizational transformation and the approaches that will ensure sustainability of the transformation.

However, the general realization is that due to differences in organizations, companies should conduct inhouse studies to ensure that the strategies constructed are efficient and effective. References CalWorks. (2004, December 29). Eligibility. Retrieved January 11, 2011, from CalWorks: http://www.ladpss.org/dpss/calworks/eligibility.cfm Edwards, M. (2010). Organizational Transformation for Sustaniability. New York: Routledge. Griffin, R. W. (2007). Fundamentals of Management. New York: Cengage.

Hacker, S. (2004). Transformational Leadership: Creating Organizations of Meaning. Milwaukee: Quality Press. Livard, S. (2004). Informational Technology and Organizational Transformation. New York: Routledge. Lundvall, B.-A. (2010). National Systems of Innovation: Toward a Theory of Innovation and Interactive Learning. New York: Anthem Press. Mani, S. (2002). Government Innovation and Technology Policy: An International Comparative Analysis. Tokyo: Edward Elgar. Sistare, H. (2008). Innovations in Human Resource Management: .

New Jersey: Sharpe.