Organization Development, Better Growth Prospects and Competitive Advantages - Assignment Example

Organization Development Part I Every organization desires to expand its business to other markets in order to gain better growth prospects and competitive advantages. In order to develop and expand its business processes, organizations should identify the problems that its operational unit is identified to be facing, while serving the ultimate customers. Correspondingly, for the problem identification, organization should take measures which can be identified as organizational diagnosis method. Generally, organizational diagnosis can be defined as the process of studying the entire organizational process critically in order to identify the problems along with implementing the proper solution for the problems. In identifying the problems of the organization which is prevailing within the organizational processes, diagnosis undertakes certain procedure which includes interview, group discussion, observation and meeting along with survey among others (Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2012). Furthermore, the tools often used for organizational diagnosis purposes can be identified as Fishbone or Ishikawa, Five Whys, Process Mapping and Check Sheets along with Pareto Charts. These techniques of diagnosis are used by the quality improvement team of an organization in order to recognize the problem and develop the solution accordingly (Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2012). After accessing the diagnosis method, the quality improvement team of the organization can retain proper workflow in order to achieve the organizational goal systematically. Furthermore, it is also observed that this method shall help the organization to maintain a proper relationship among the employees of the organization. In preserving a high degree of efficiency in the operational processes, organizations often attempt to take into consideration its employees’ skills with the belief of contributing in the successful accomplishment of the organizational goals (Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2012). When executing the process of achieving the organizational goals, periodic diagnosis helps the management to effectively analyze the causes and the difficulties faced by the organization, thereby rendering greater efficiency in risk management. Stating precisely, this measure helps the organization to reduce the problems likely to be faced by the employees in future operations which deliberately increases the level of productivity and the efficiency of the overall workflow as well. Furthermore, it also helps the organization to serve the markets with quality products and services in order to satisfy the customers’ demand. With reference to the context, SuanDusitRajabhat University (SDU) also considered to take certain steps for developing its operations in serving with adequate educational knowledge to the students. Contextually, it was identified that the university had certain limitations concerning its recruitment policies when hiring lecturers, which further proved to be limited in identifying the skills possessed by the candidates as per the requirement of the position. It was owing to this reason that the university had to witness probable chances of declining team work efficiency. Hence, appropriate diagnosis of the issue can be expected to assist the organization in preserving its service quality in the long-run. Table of Contents Part I 1 Part II 5 The Objective 5 Organization Background 5 Mission and Vision 5 Organizational Chart 6 Main Products or Services 7 Key Performance Indicators 8 People, Culture and Norms 8 Current Situation 9 An Explanation on the Rationale of Selected OD Data Gathering Techniques/Methods 9 An Explanation on the Rationale of Selected Diagnostic Tools 10 Part III 11 A Synthesis and Critique of Various Theoretical Concepts 11 Part IV 14 Presentation of Current Diagnostic Tools 14 Major Findings and Types of Change 15 Objective Recommendations and Potential Impacts/Benefits 15 Part V 17 19 References 20 Part II The Objective This paper intends to state about the organizational development which will be carried by SDU in order to enhance its operational process preserving its service quality, i.e. educating graduates. It is in this context that the university has been identified to face probable challenges in terms of its service quality owing to the limitations of its recruitment policies in hiring skilled manpower. Therefore, through the enhanced recruitment process, it is expected that the university can help or guide its students in expanding their knowledge and culture more effectively. Organization Background Suan Dusit Rajabhat University (SDU) is recognized as one of the renowned educational institutes of Thailand. It has been serving the educational sector for more than 75 years, being established in 1934. Since then, it has been rendering assistance to the young generation in developing adequate skills in relation to various professional fields such as food industry, childhood literacy, service industry and nursing sector. In its course of operations, SDU has achieved various milestones by utilizing its strengths and implementing strategies in accordance with the changes led by globalization (Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, n.d.). Mission and Vision SDU’s vision statement states that the university is distinct as compared to other educational institutions with its emphasis on distinctive concerns in relation to the sectors such as early childhood literacy, service industry, food industry and nursing science. With the help of these features, SDU generally serves the regions assembled in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) obtaining adequate competency over other educational institutions. In the similar context, the mission statement of SDU reveals that the institution aims to build skills amid the graduates by expanding their knowledge with innovative information, so that they can serve the society effectively maintaining proper culture and personality. Emphasizing on these concerns, the university aims at developing a knowledge-based economy strengthening its social growth prospects from a futuristic perspective taking into concern the international development standards. Organizational Chart In operating the primary functions, the entire organizational process needs to be performed in a systematic order with the purpose to achieve the objectives efficiently. This systematic order can be gained with the implementation of a well-defined and structured organizational chart which elaborates on the responsibilities entitled to the employees according to their hierarchical positioning within the organization. SDU also operates on the basis of a framed organizational chart in order to achieve the determined goals in a systematic way by utilizing the resources efficiently which consists of a Dean, Associate Dean, Board of Directors and head of every unit and department (Faculty of Education, n.d.). The organizational layout of SDU can be recognized as follows: Source: (Faculty of Education, n.d.) Main Products or Services SDU serves the national as well as international education industry with academic services. the primary services in terms of knowledge assistance rendered by this university to the young generation includes Thai Language & Cultural Studies, English Language & Cultural Studies, Airline Business Studies, International Business, Thai & International Culinary Arts, Tourism and Hotel Management, Food Science, Visual Communication, Event and Exhibition Design along with Nursing Science. Furthermore, SDU also serves with internship facilities for foreign students (Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, n.d.). Key Performance Indicators With the help of efficient performances, deciphered by the management while teaching and guiding graduate students, SDU has been able to expand its educational process in many other nations namely Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia among others. The key performance indicators of SDU can be identified as its regulating structures and systems which further assist it in performing effectively over a certain period of time. SDU also considered certain steps to develop the prospectus in a comprehensive way deciphering its educational management superiority. SDU is also providing training to its staffs in order to maintain English proficiency which can further augment the international presence of the institution through in-house learning and training sessions along with international networking initiatives (Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, 2009). People, Culture and Norms The primary operations of SDU have been based on the rules stated in accordance to the guidelines of Rajabhat University Act and Ministry of Education Act. The people associated with the entire organizational process include the students from both national and international spheres, the lecturers, the community members, and the government as well. In the similar context, it has been observed that the institution follows its mission and vision statements with utmost concern in designing its organizational policies which further develops its overall organizational culture and norms (Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, 2010). Current Situation The current situation being witnessed by SDU in relation to its operational processes concerning the tourism and hospitality department indicates towards the recruitment of inadequately skilled manpower as lecturers. In the recent process, it was observed that the lecturers guiding the graduates in tourism and hospitality department lacked professional qualifications to deal with the technical aspects of the educational stream. Diagnosis of the situation further revealed that the recruitment process practiced in SDU was fundamentally giving rise to such issues. This in turn hampered the progress of the students as per the expectations which further caused certain limitations for the organization to preserve its mission and vision efficiently. Hence, it is proposed that the institution should re-frame its recruitment process with the intention to identify and hire only skilled people with adequate professional certifications. An Explanation on the Rationale of Selected OD Data Gathering Techniques/Methods It has often been considered that in order to diagnose a particular issue from a critical point of view, collection of adequate amount of relevant data is mandatory. With respect to the problems identified in the recent context of SDU, it can be stated that diagnosis is quite vital to gain a better insight to the issue which shall not only assist in identifying the core reasons of the problem, but correspondingly, shall also help in developing appropriate measures to mitigate the drawback. In this regard, observation, formal as well as informal meeting based on the issue and questionnaire survey can be considered for the data collection process. These techniques can be termed as appropriate owing to the fact that by adhering to these mechanisms the perceptions of the respondents, i.e. the lecturers and the students can be identified unambiguously. The techniques shall also assist in monitoring the organizational process and its related limitations so as to obtain a better knowledge regarding the issue identified. Moreover, implementing more than one technique can enhance the transparency and accuracy of the gathered information based on which future strategies can be developed. An Explanation on the Rationale of Selected Diagnostic Tools The problem identified in the recent practices of SDU can be illustrated as a cause-effect relationship of various factors which are allied with the recruitment process of tourism and hospitality department within the institution. For instance, owing to the limitations in its recruitment policies, the institution had to witness limitations in terms of rendering adequate educational guidance to the graduates by hiring lecturers who possessed inadequate professional qualifications for the post. This in turn can be examined to hamper the mission of SDU at large, thereby causing a major impact on its sustainability. Based on these aspects, the diagnostic tool of fishbone can be used for the purpose of analyzing the collected data and likewise mitigating the identified problem. Part III A Synthesis and Critique of Various Theoretical Concepts Organizational diagnosis is a significant aspect in the area of organizational development. According to Janićijević (2010), organizational diagnosis is a method utilized for examining an organization for recognizing weaknesses so that they can be reduced by focusing on organizational change. Organizational diagnosis is associated with the model of organizational evaluation because both approaches are based on understanding organizational components, i.e. on knowing elements of an organization and their characteristics. The key responsibility of organizational diagnostic model is to simplify the truth (Janićijević, 2010). Alderfer (1976) stated that the objective of organizational diagnosis is to form an extensively collective understanding of an organizational system and to define desirability of change on the basis of that understanding. The diagnosticians endeavor to change an organizational system only when it is necessary to fulfill the purpose of organization (Alderfer, 1976). Katz & Kahn (1978) stated that organizational diagnosticians observe a business entity as a total system with efforts, throughputs and productivities which are linked with response loops. In observing an organization as a system, organizational diagnosticians shift their concentration to those functions and procedures which are considered to be essential for improving the performance (Leadersphere, Inc., 2008). According to Cummings & Worley (2008), diagnosis can be defined as the process of understanding the limitations persisting in the present scenario in order to develop effective strategic measures which further assists in the overall organizational development. With the help of appropriate diagnostic measures, organizations can be able to sustain in the market by satisfying the needs of its stakeholders. Furthermore, this process can also help the management to identify the problems prevailing within the organizational premises in a time-efficient way and facilitate the adoption of necessary resolving measures. Elaborating on the implications of the diagnosis process, Cummings & Worley (2008) also affirmed that in order to identify the problem and take precautionary measures, management should primarily focus on gaining adequate understanding the phenomenon with the assistance of rigorous data collection method which might include sampling, interview, focus group and questionnaire process among others. Thus, it can be stated that diagnosis process intends to help in identifying the problems restricting the expected organizational development and thereby developing appropriate measures which shall reward momentum to its growth prospects. From a similar perspective, Hassin (2010) also stated that diagnosis is the process that assists an organization to develop or identify its capacity or strengths and in return implement certain measures to gain effectiveness in order to reduce the inefficiencies and errors in the performance of the entire operational process. Diagnosis of an identified issue also helps an organization to achieve its pre-determined goals by identifying the gaps between the actual and the desired performances. Thus, it becomes quite significant for a modern day organization to effectively diagnose a problem identified at it initial phase and accordingly frame or identify the required data for the analysis which in turn shall promote the mitigation of the drawbacks. Furthermore, diagnosis of a particular problem leading to the mitigation of the limitations can be identified as a cyclical process that includes data collection, interpretation and application of the findings to develop resolving measures which are again reviewed by the similar process. From a critical perspective Janićijević, N. (2010) stated that diagnosis is a method often used by the modern organizations to measure the efficiency of its process related from a futuristic perspective to identify the shortcomings which shall be considered by the organization towards sustainability. In doing so, the management can often be identified to consider three major steps in relation to the adopted diagnostic procedure which includes developing or framing the diagnosis model, choosing the appropriate tools for data collection and framing procedures to solve the issues identified during the evaluation of organizational process. Hence, it can be affirmed that the diagnosis method is a systematic approach considered by organizations which assists it in scientifically identifying the prevailing limitations in relation to its operational process and in turn mitigating the drawbacks identified. Hassin (2010) observed that diagnosis is a cyclic procedure which includes data collection, analysis and identification of the problem areas and potential action programs. Alderfer (1976) described three stages of organizational diagnosis which are entry, data collection and feedback. Every stage has primary objectives which define the key driving forces behind the organizational change. Part IV Presentation of Current Diagnostic Tools There are several models for organizational diagnosis such as ‘Force Field Analysis’, ‘Leavitt’s Model’, ‘Fishbone Tool’, ‘McKinsey’s 7S Framework’, ‘5whys’ and ‘Weisbord’s Six-Box Model’ among others (Leadersphere, Inc., 2008). In accordance to the identified problem of SDU the fishbone tool of diagnosis has been selected with the belief that it can help the institution to understand the origin of the problem along with take appropriate measures to resolve the issues. Furthermore, the fishbone tool can be defined as the tool used to identify the core reasons associated with the problem defining the cause and effect relationship between the related factors which in the case of SDU includes its recruitment policies, skills of the lecturers, requirements of the students, and the mission of the organization. This process will be carried forward by questioning the individuals who are involved with this problem. The questions for this tool will be designed by undertaking various aspects which would reward an understanding to the perceptions of the respondents or the participants who are directly related with the diagnosed issue. However, it is worth mentioning that prior to designing the question for this diagnosis tool, the management should take into consideration certain factors which can help to drill down to the core of the identified problem (Ilie & Ciocoiu, 2010). In this context, factors that should be considered by the management include the probable causes of the issue, the influencing factors to give rise to those causes, and the participants which are to be directly affected by the limitations or the consequences among others. Following the diagnosis of the various factors, i.e. the causing, influencing and the consequential factors, the management should intend to relate each factor with the other to gain an unambiguous understanding of the factors which tend to affect one or multiple factors. This in turn is likely to enhance the competency of the management to deal with the identified issue and similar other concerns by controlling the actual factors operating behind the drawbacks. Major Findings and Types of Change After utilizing the fishbone technique, SDU shall be able to identify the actual problem related to its recruitment process. The understanding obtained through diagnosis shall also reveal that this problem was acting as an obstacle while achieving the objectives of SDU which had been developed in relation to its mission and vision statements. Hence, by identifying the actual limitations of the practiced recruitment policies the organization shall be able to conduct appropriate changes in its recruitment policies, rendering major focus on the identification of the adequate skills possessed by the potential lecturers. Furthermore, the organization shall also develop certain developmental measures to enhance the skills possessed by the current lecturers with the intention to make the entire process more effective to render better guidance to the graduates. Objective Recommendations and Potential Impacts/Benefits In an objective-oriented way, SDU needs to identify the actual causing factors associated with the problem. For instance, it needs to identify the specifications which are considered as the guidelines while recruiting lecturers in the tourism and hospitality department. Likewise, the gap prevailing between the required skills and the specified requirements of the recruitment policies needs to be considered based on which future measures can be developed by SDU. Moreover, with the help of the measures, SDU can be able to reduce the related problems faced by graduate students of tourism and hospitality department along with identifying if similar drawbacks also prevail in other departments of its organizational structure. In this regard, the measures that can be suggested include describing the job profile and the university’s requirements in the recruitment policies in an unambiguous way so that interviewees shall develop a clear understanding of the organizational expectations. Contextually, SDU should recruit professional with a certain period of experience in lectureship or industrial learning which shall further assist them in satisfying the doubts of the students efficiently, thereby making the entire process more effective. Furthermore, SDU should also reframe its job advertising process for the requirements of lecturers specifying the basic requirements unambiguously which would attract only the adequately skilled manpower from the targeted market area. Providing a standard salary for the new entrants and accordingly benefiting them with adequate growth can further be regarded as two of the important aspects which can attract the potential candidates. Part V In my view, organizational development is an effort which is administered by the top level management in order to enhance the effectiveness of performance. It helps to enhance the readiness of the organization in satisfying the requirement of any kind of change introduced in the organizational process to mitigate an identified problem. From the above discussion, I came to learn that to enhance the effectiveness of an organization, a systematic learning and development strategy must be implemented which can help to transform and restructure the existing, less effective organizational system. There are several aspects which assist in changing the pattern of work. From my perspective, I have recognized that organizational development occur in order to become more competitive and agile. The increasing pressure from external environmental factors such as competition and improvement in learning procedures among others can result in requirement of organizational development. It is in this context that organizational development always begins with the evaluation of the capabilities possessed by the organization. The evaluation process, in terms of diagnosis, further helps to recognize the organizational strengths and weaknesses and hence, develop adequate strategies. Organizational development activities cover ranges of functions comprising of strategic direction, changes in structure, authority, planning, monitoring and appraisal. Owing to the monitoring of these factors, the result can be identified as strengthening of organizational performance. It is worth mentioning in this regard that organizational development can be successful when delivered through training and learning sessions. Precisely, it can be affirmed that organizational development is related with changes which are occurring voluntarily and those which are introduced to mitigate certain limitations. It is in this context that unlike a single change technique, organizational development is recognized as long-term, systematic and continuous procedure which can cause vast alterations within the system. For instance, an example of single change technique can be regarded as the method of management training which only emphasizes on a part of organizational development. Training cannot be the end outcome; rather it is a stage in the entire procedure of organizational development. Furthermore, I was also able to derive that organizational development incorporates every phase of the life-cycle of an organization, i.e. its initiation, growth and decline. Organizational development can thus be regarded to enrich the development procedure in a person, organization as well as the entire community who are directly or indirectly associated with the process. The organizational development programs can further enhance the understanding of the related participants and hence, enhance the efficiency of the service/product deliverance procedure by a significant extent. In community, organizational development can create a continuous learning culture which shall also prove to be helpful for every person to develop their professional effectiveness. However, according to my understanding, in order to assume the tasks of organizational development, there is need for collecting information in order to decide the method of implementing the development procedure. The implementation plan must solve the root problem of organization which requires effective diagnosis through appropriate data collection method. Furthermore, the consequences of the developmental process should also be taken into concern when implementing the method. The major purpose in this context should be to develop an atmosphere where the participants can feel the tenure in the entire organizational development procedure. Hence, there is also a requirement for better evaluation technique to measure the impact of organizational development. In relation to the current situation of SDU, I have learned that in order to equip with the organizational development tasks, certain key attributes must be considered which are diligence, passion, patience, constancy, truthfulness, honesty and teaching skills possessed by the lecturers. There are certain key values which must be attended for carrying out the organizational development tasks such as understanding of organizational vision and mission and understanding the requirements of the related stakeholders, i.e. the students and the lecturers. References Alderfer, C. P. (1976). The methodology of organizational diagnosis. Professional Psychology, 11(3), pp. 459-468. Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2008). Organization development & change. The United States of America: Cengage Learning. Faculty of Education. (n.d.). Organization chart Board of Education. Retrieved from http://education.dusit.ac.th/chart.html Hassin, A. (2010). Effective diagnosis in organization change management. Journal of Business Systems, Governance and Ethics, 5(2), pp. 23-29. Ilie, G. & Ciocoiu, C. N. (2010). Application of fishbone diagram to determine the risk of an event with multiple causes. Management research and practice 2(1), pp: 1-20. Janićijević, N. (2010). Business processes in organizational diagnosis. Management, 15, pp. 85-106. Katz, D., & Kahn, R. L. (1978). The Social psychology of organizations. New York: Wiley. Leadersphere, Inc. (2008). Organizational diagnostic models: a review & synthesis. Retrieved from http://www.leadersphere.com/img/OrgmodelsR2009.pdf Suan Dusit Rajabhat University. (n.d.). China-ASEAN education information network. Retrieved from http://210.40.3.82/en_US/colleges/119;jsessionid=139447339DCBFive4FiveE40289247116FiveDAC7 Suan Dusit Rajabhat University. (2010). Executive board of the university. Retrieved from http://www.dusit.ac.th/sdu2011en/index.php?incfile=index/president.php Suan Dusit Rajabhat University. (2009). Internationalization plan 2009-2013. Strategy. Read More