Critically Evaluate the Contribution the Paper Makes to the Knowledge Base On Strategic Management In Organisations - Essay Example

? Critically evaluate the contribution the paper makes to the knowledge base on strategic management in organisations Table of Contents Introduction 3 Review of Theories 4 Critical Review of Paper 7 Theoretical knowledge base of paper 7 Contribution of the paper to the knowledge base 8 Novelty or innovation in the paper 9 Application of ideas within the paper to engineering/ built environment 10 Conclusion 11 References 13 Bibliography 16 Introduction This paper will attempt to present a critical review of a journal, called ‘A model of goal dynamics in technology-based organizations’ presented by Francesco Ceresia and it was published in Journal of Engineering and Technology Management. The primary aim of this paper is to develop and present a plausible and effective model that can be used in the organisations by the managers for setting their organisational based on the proposal of Barlas and Yasarcan (2008). Barlas and Yasarcan (2008) have developed a compressive and dynamic model for the determining organisation goals, decision making, evaluating and for revising processes. Following the suggestions of Barlas & Yasarcan (2008), this paper is a further effort in the pursuit of a suitable system dynamics model for goal dynamics in organizations. System dynamics is considered to be a computer modelling methodology used for analysing complex and non-linear systems which enhances the designing and generation of system performance (Meyers, 2010, p.727). The paper primarily proposes to build such a model in which the setting of goals, training and management by objectives are regarded as some of the HR practices which helps to enhance employees’ commitment towards goals and thus adds to the organization’s performance also. The paper emphasizes on the role of setting goals for the purpose of improving the performance of workers. This is followed by a quantitative model present in goal dynamics and finally presentation of the limitations in the research (Ceresia, 2010, p.1). The analysis made by the two authors is based on the fact that the simple structure of goal seeking is not a very reliable model of such goal dynamics and does not apply effectively in the complex social systems. In this, the state gets modified and the reaching and approaching of the goal which is termed as improvement advances with a negative exponential behaviour. Review of Theories Following are some of the theories which contribute to the paper’s objective. Goal setting has been considered as one of the most empirically investigated HRM practices undertaken in organizations (Rauch, 2007, p.6). The study of previous literature reveals that goal setting contributes to the process of decision making in organizations through the way of increasing the motivation of workers. Under the system dynamic approach, Warren has stated the importance and critical factor for setting of appropriate goals for the attainment of organizational objectives. He has put forth that managers often overestimate or underestimate the obtainable performance which causes the organizations to lose out on opportunities of growth and resource utilization while trying to attain ideal goals which are unrealistic (Hirsch, 2001, p.133). The common errors of setting performance goals are that they undershoot the potential of the situation or aim to attain such outcomes which are not possible (Warren, 2008, p.328). Barlas and Yasarcan (2008), has put forth the comprehensive model of goal dynamics adopted through the perspective of the systems dynamics. They have emphasized on the limitations or drawbacks of the simple structure of goal seeking in the complex and social systems (Ragg, 2011, p.99). Under the structure there is modification of the state and reaches and approaches the goal with a negative and exponential behaviour. They have also emphasized on the roles of intangible soft variables which are associated with goal dynamics in organizations. Some of the major efforts have gone into the building of a model which considers such intangible factors like motivation or frustrating effects on workers’ performance. As per the suggestions of Barlasand and Yasarcan (2008), the paper further tries to find a pursuit to a suitable model of systems dynamics for the goal dynamic organizations (Epstein & Manzoni, 2010, p.23). To be more specific, the paper seeks to present a model of goal dynamics in which management by objectives, goal setting and training are considered as the most common human resource management practices used for enhancing workers’ commitment towards goal achievement and hence the development of organizations. The goal setting theory is considered as the most instrumental of all theories of motivation. The primary basis on which the theory relies on is the assumption that the setting of challenging goals, difficult goals or such goals which are difficult to be met and well described goals are ones which contribute to the betterment of working performance in organizations (Locke & Latham, 2002). One of the other theories seen to contribute to the paper is the goal setting theory which is considered to one of the most prominent and powerful theories of motivation. The main assumption on which the theory is based is the fact that the setting of challenging goals which are difficult to be met and yet described well contributes to the improvement of the working performances. A meta-analysis was conducted by Tubbs, which proved confirmed the fact that a detailed and clear description of the goals complimented by the detailed explanation of the objectives plays a key role in influencing the performance of workers positively (Sonnentag, 2002, p.220). The goal setting theory emphasizes on the importance of difficulty in meeting goals and specifications in the way of improving the worker’s performance. It also presents the approach of management by objectives in defining the entire process. As presented by Drucker (1954), management by objectives is one such procedure which considers the following five steps or phases, namely revision of the management objectives. Under this the manager is supposed to explain to the workers the entire and overall objectives of the organization. This is followed by setting the worker’s objectives, in which the managers and the worker together conduct meetings to decide on the workers’ objectives and the day and the work schedules. Then the process is monitored through the process of regular meetings between managers and workers and monitoring on the regular proceedings of work and the meetings of goals. At the end of the period of operation, the workers’ performances are to be evaluated by the managers, and finally the system of rewards is to be incorporated based on the extent of achievement of results as against the objectives. A number of scholars have emphasized on the importance of the participating in the process of making decisions and goal commitment or the acceptance of the goals defined in the determination of high standards of performance. As per the above studies workers are able to attain higher commitment towards goals and this helps them to increase their dedication and also the persistence of works and bettering of their performance. Scholars have suggested that the procedures of setting goals in management have contributed towards the enhancement of commitment towards goals in a participative set-up. The high commitment has further contributed towards fastening the process of skills acquisition which is considered fundamental in the process of undertaking any task (Seijts and Latham, 2001). Hollenbeck and Klein, (1987), have presented a model which presents the ways of enhancing commitment towards attainment of difficult goals. The commitments factors have been presented as per the attraction or the expectation associated with the attainment of a goal and have furthermore declined as per their situational or personal nature (Harkins, 2001, p.161). Critical Review of Paper Theoretical knowledge base of paper The simple goal seeking structure has been most widely used for underlining the purpose of setting the right goals for the achievement of organizational objectives. The importance of the theory lies in the fact that very often managers are not able to make a proper estimate of the obtainable performance which is the reason why organizations often lose out on lucrative opportunities for growth and waste useful resources and time too (Thibault, 2004, p.204). This is where the simple model of goal setting plays a crucial role and helps organizations to fix goals which are attainable and helps employees to make the right direction of activities. However, the theory is not free from criticisms and conflicts. Scholars have highlighted on the limitations of the model in finding relevance and applications in complex organizational settings. Locke and Latham have thrown light on the theoretical knowledge base of the paper. The main emphasis have been given to the need for participation in the process of decision making in organizations and the acceptance of difficult goals in the organization for determining high standards of performance. The model which has contributed towards the knowledge base of the paper is the Expectancy Theory Model. It defines aspects of goal commitment in organizational dynamics. The theory put forth by Hollenbeck and Klein (1987), presents a summary of factors which might improve or enhance the commitment towards difficult goals. There is various commitment factors involved with the expectation or the attraction associated with the achievement and attainment of the organizational goal. The theory has been further supplemented by that stated by Locke and Latham (2002). The theory that they have put forth is the high performance cycle which further characterizes the goal setting theory. According to their opinion, the difficulty and specificity of set goals is said to affect the performance of workers in a positive way and this further enhances their satisfaction through high performance and results. Contribution of the paper to the knowledge base Managing the transition from a production based organization to a knowledge based organization is considered to be a difficult and complex task. The paper makes a great contribution to the application of goal dynamics in knowledge management in organizations. The models find special applications in the complex and goal related structures. The models propose the new aspects of goal dynamics in increasingly realistic settings. Based on the above theoretical models the management strategies can be based (Qudrat-Ullah, Spector, Davidsen, 2008, p.337). The contribution of goal setting theories plays a major role in knowledge management in organizations. Information technology plays a crucial role in the achievement of productivity, innovation, efficiency, effectiveness and values. Organizations require knowledge at each and every facets of running their business. The rapidly changing and highly complex information and technological environment has made it mandatory for organizations to keep up with the changing environment. Organizations are increasingly confronted with highly competitive environment in which the management of knowledge has become even more crucial. In such a situation the goal dynamics have contributed in a major way in organizations. This has helped them to attain targets easily and helped identify the factors which contribute to the attainment of the targets. Confronted with the growing knowledge intensity of services and products, organizations are under pressure to put greater focus on the intangible resources for the purpose of driving greater financial returns and attaining greater competitive advantage also. The goal dynamics are seen to help organizations to direct their efforts in deploying their knowledge in the right direction. In other words, what follows from the paper is that goal dynamics plays a crucial role to the way knowledge can be explored and managed in organizations (Academic publishing, 2008, p.888). Novelty or innovation in the paper The paper presents a number of factors which are innovative and finds relevance to the present set up of organizations. The goal dynamics have been applied in organizations to analyse and monitor the present business processes in the company (Gazendam, Jorna & Cijsouw, 2003, p.208). Companies and their managements have realized the importance of practices of setting goals. The goal setting practices undertaken by researchers have allowed company managements to generate higher performance levels (Cummings & Worley, 2008, p.211). It is possible to find a cause-and-effect relationships existing between the key variables of the social system. This is done through the systems dynamic model of goal dynamics. This is a structure representing the various commercial activities going on in a firm. The model provides an innovative approach of the behaviour of a commercial department in a firm which has been trying to reach its organizational objectives through the goal setting policies, management by objectives and training practices. For attaining goals employees must also be given additional resources in the form of information and equipments or training (Brown, 2006, p.376). The causal loop diagram of goal dynamics is considered to be innovative in the way it considers different factors like growth via traditional performance, stated goals, balance existing between the stated goals and the self esteem of employees, growth attained through turnovers and growth via the worker’s abilities for improvement (Madachy, 2008, p.79). The causal loop diagram is found to be especially relevant when interpreted on conjunctions with the stock flow diagrams and are able to depict factors influencing the flow rates or in the determination of auxiliary values (McLucas, 2003, p.173). The present paper puts further effort to the development of the model of systems dynamics in goal dynamics. The model is also not said to be exhaustive. Research on the present topic has revealed that a number of intangible variables which influences the attractiveness of goal attainment are considered. Moreover the intangible variables have been modulated in such a way so as to respect and retain their authentic and inner complexity. The model mainly throws light in the various tangible as well as intangible factors which enhances and improves the workers commitment towards the attainment of goals and thus improves the possibilities of improving the performance of the organization on the whole (Ceresia, 2010, p.27). Application of ideas within the paper to engineering/ built environment Despite the fact that there has been extensive controversy in literature there is extensive use of goal dynamics in engineering. Most of the engineering processes involve the setting and iterating towards specific, objective and measurable goals which are established and also agreed upon in the project at the early stages. It has been unanimously and universally understood in the fields and disciplines of engineering that in order to reach a particular and specific end result on an engineering project the team involved in the project must establish a clear goal and then work in combination to attain that goal (Mayhew, 1999, p.124). The paper not only expresses the purposes of setting goals in engineering organizations but also emphasizes on such factors which influences the employee’s behaviour towards attaining the goals. In other words it presents such factors which make the goal setting attractive and attainable for the employees. The goals established must be clear and precise because firstly the articulated goals help to focus user interface design efforts by giving the designers something concrete and specific to help them measure their performance. It helps them to choose between the many different alternatives and their possibilities of attaining the goals using the most cost effective and the best resources (Mayhew, 1999, p.124). In fact each step involved in the engineering process must be driven by such goals. In fact not defining the goals clearly can be considered the same as making a blind choice. The most important application of the goal dynamics is for the purpose of streamlining the designing process and also shortening the design cycle. It is a common phenomenon in the organizations requiring engineering skills that the user interface designers and software engineers have endless and extensive meetings which end up in heated conversations over the design option to be chosen. In such cases the usability of goal dynamics plays a special role in defining the reasons as to which choice must be taken. It helps in making design decisions, and the ideas which serves the purpose and objective of the organization. Conclusion The paper primarily contributes to the building of a model which depicts the setting of goals, management by objectives and training and development are considered to be some of the major components in human resource management required for enhancing the productivity of employees and consequently adding the performance of the organization on the whole. The contribution of the simple goal setting theory has been presented in the paper; however, scholars are critical about the application of the same in complex organizational settings. Researchers like Barlas and Yasarcan have emphasized on the components of intangible variables and their importance in organizations. They have shown a correlation between the goal setting theory and its influence on the motivation of workers and the goal commitment of workers. It is found that the goal dynamics plays an important role in the knowledge base of organizations. It influences knowledge management in organizations. Most importantly information technology which forms a critical component in any knowledge based organization is influenced by the goal dynamics. Organizations are required to keep up the ever changing technologies and as such their short and long term goals also keep changing. Moreover they are also meant to focus on the optimum use of intangible resources for ensuring greater financial returns and attainment of greater competitive advantage. Lastly the paper is found to make a major contribution to the engineering sector through the presentation of the reasons of choosing the best suited engineering alternatives from many different design alternatives. This helps to shorten the design process and streamline the design activities too. References Academic publishing. (2008). The 9th European Conference on Knowledge Management: Eckm 2008. Academic Conferences Limited. Brown, D. R. (2006). An Experiential Approach to Organization Development. Pearson Education India. Cummings, T. G. & Worley, C. G. (2008). Organization development & change. Cengage Learning. Ceresia, F. (2010). A model of goal dynamics in technology-based organizations. ENGTEC-1310. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management. Epstein, M. & Manzoni, J. (2010). 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