Organisational Diagnosis: Issues and Concepts – an overview

 

Organizational Diagnosis

Organizational Diagnosis is an effective way of looking at an organization to determine gaps between current and desired performance and how it can achieve its goals.

In recent years organizational diagnosis has evolved from a technique used as part of the organizational development process to a major technique in its own right.

Effective diagnosis should be an organic process in that as you start to look at an organization and its structures and what it does and does not do, change starts, as change progresses so does the ‘now’ performance and as such the diagnosis process also needs to re-start.

The BIR methodology looks at taking a ‘snapshot’ in time in a way that is quick and relatively unobtrusive. This allows decisions to be made, plans developed and actions implemented rapidly… Then using the benchmarking facility another snapshot of the organization can be made and new plans developed. A bit like the old story of “how do you eat an elephant? … one bite at a time. Developing an organization is no different.

The Diagnostic Cycle

The purpose of a diagnosis is to identify problems facing the organization and to determine their causes so that management can plan solutions.

An organizational diagnosis process is a powerful consciousness-raising activity in its own right, its main usefulness lies in the action that it induces.

The major steps of a diagnostic cycle include

• Orientation
• Goal setting
• Data gathering
• Analysis/ Interpretation
• Feedback
• Action Planning
• Implementation
• Monitoring/ Measure
• Evaluation

PURPOSE OF ORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS

The organizational analysis may be done for different purposes. These include:
1) Enhancing the general understanding of the functioning of organizations (i.e. educational or research purposes.)
(The direct beneficiary is the researcher or the analyst rather than the organization). Such a study may aim at enhancing the understanding of human behavior through a study of it in an organisation, or to enhance the understanding of the society as reflected in organizational life.

2) Planning for growth and diversification
An analysis or a diagnostic study may be necessary for planning growth, diversification, expansion, etc. The organizational analysis may reveal the strengths that could be used for growth and diversification, weak spots that need to be removed in the new plans, the precautions to be taken, structural dimensions to be kept in mind, etc. Several insights may be provided on structure, people, systems, styles, technology, etc. that have implications for growth.

3) Improving Organisational Effectiveness or Planning General Improvements
Organizational Analysis may be used also for improving the general efficiency of an organization. On the basis of a diagnosis made out of the analysis action steps could be initiated in terms of toning up administration, introducing new management systems and processes, reduction of wasteful expenditure, introduction of time savers, change of personnel policies to enhance employee motivation, restructuring of some parts, training, elimination of unwanted structures and teasers, improvements in general health of the organisation etc.

4) Organizational Problem Solving
Whenever some subsystems departments, units, etc. fall sick or start creating problems a diagnosis may be undertaken with a view to identify the source of the problem and take corrective action. A sick unit, a bottleneck, a communication block, a poor performing department, frequently occurring conflict between two departments, repeated failures of a management system or an organizational process, a frequent violation of an organizational norm, fall in discipline, reduction in output absenteeism, increase in conflicts, etc. can all lead to the need for an organisational diagnosis of a part of the organization or the entire organisation.

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METHODS OF ORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS

Of the various perspectives presented so far the Professional Management and the OD perspective encompass the Economic, Political and Sociological and Social Psychological perspectives. These are also more modern and are being more frequently used. Among these two of the professional management, perspective is vast and covers the entire management field. Since the focus of this course is on Organisation Design and Development, the OD or the Applied Behavioural Science Perspective is more appropriate for discussion here. Hence in the subsequent part of this unit and the subsequent unit, more details are presented relating to the organization’s development.
There are many ways of analyzing and diagnosing organizations and their phenomena. The following are the most frequently used methods:
1) Questionnaires
2) Interviews
3) Observation
4) Analysis of records, circulars, appraisal reports, and other organizational literature
5) Analysis of hard data of organizations and various units
6) Task forces and task groups
7) Problem identification/problem-solving workshops
8) Seminars, symposia, and training program
9) Recording and examining critical incidents,

PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS

This involves a study of the entire organization in terms of its objectives, its resources the allocation and utilization of these resources for the achievement of its objectives as well as its dynamic interaction trends with the external environment. The philosophy for the entire organization can be developed in terms of the following steps:
1) Analysis of Objectives: Analysis of the organisation’s objectives provides a clear understanding of both short and long-term objectives as well as the priorities that are accorded to various objectives. Specific goals and strategies should be stated for various divisions, departments, and sections of the organization as a means of achieving the long-term priority objectives. Through the continuous review of the objectives and their subsequent modification, it is positive to translate general objectives into
action plans.

2) Resource Utilisation Analysis: Having analyzed the objectives, the second step involves evaluating the process of allocation of various human and physical resources in the organization. Various efficiency indices can be derived to determine the adequacy of specific workflows so that detailed examination of the inputs and outputs of the total system is possible. The focus should be on the contribution that human resources make towards these indices.
3) Environmental Scanning: This involves analysis of the enterprise as a subsystem operating in a socio-cultural, economic, legal, political and competitive environment. This enables the organization to manage certain aspects of its environment and to accept other constraints which cannot easily be handled. Yet strategies can be devised to control these.
4) Organization Climate Analysis: The climate of an organization is a reflection of its employee’s attitudes towards various aspects of work, supervision, company procedures, goals and objectives and Productivity in the organization.
5) Work Practices: The practices adopted for the execution of various activities in different functional areas. These practices are like norms, which are followed by all employees in order to maintain uniformity in performing various tasks.
6) Technology: Technology is responsible for driving various Organisational Processes. The technology converts raw materials into final Products and Services offered by the organization.
7) Other resources: Other resources are financial resources, business practices, Administrative Practices, management expertise information
resources, R & D, etc.
8) Systems: Are the overriding set of interacting elements that acquire inputs from the environment transforms then and discharges outputs to the external
environment.