Current
strategic direction, aims and objectives Organisational
Development
Introduction
In developing strategies that deal with issues as complex as business and organisational change, there is an inevitable trade off between academic completeness and managerial usefulness. If every item in the academic approach was attended to, planned change may not be implemented quickly enough for the turbulence of today’s business environments. However, if complex change is to be accomplished successfully it is important to attend to a range of strategies in order to achieve business objectives.
In business organisations a change continuum exists ranging from simple to complex. At Carlton Stewart we recognise this continuum and offer the design of organisational change frameworks to accommodate each business requirement. This means that such solutions may be used either in their entirety or by choosing or building further elements bespoke to the level of complexity and the needs of the business.
Organisational Change and "The Vision"
Within most businesses there exists a need to establish and communicate a vision throughout the business and the development of a robust communication framework to enable this to happen. Carlton Stewart provide a practical approach to attending to this business need based upon the following simple framework:
I. An Assessment of the Current Scenario
II. The Creation of a Preferred Scenario (Vision) Jump to this section
III. Designing plans that enable the move from Current to Preferred State Jump to this section
This approach focuses on producing valued outcomes or results dependent on the focus of the project – in many cases, the establishment and integration of the Company or Departmental Vision.
I. An Assessment of the Current Scenario
Assessing the current scenario provides the foundation upon which a new vision can be delivered. It ensures that the vision is a positive and realistic step from where the business currently operates to its desired future state.
Therefore, in order to develop an internal vision, the organisation will have to first achieve a realistic view of itself in terms of current strengths and blockages. These would include all elements which would support the achievement of the vision, for example:
Current
strategic direction, aims and objectives
Values
& Beliefs
Management
philosophy and style
Management
Training and Development
Organisational
structure
Planning,
Monitoring and Control
Recruitment
and Selection
Personal
Development
Communication
systems and methods
Teamwork
Performance
Challenging "blind spots" and developing new perspectives
In addition to the overt issues, which may be visible to everyone, it will also be important to identify and surface those areas to which the organisation may be less aware. Many organisations develop a functional or institutional blindness to some of their most important issues. They suffer, not due to their inability to solve such challenges but more because they have never been formally identified.
II. The Creation of a Preferred Scenario (Vision)
Creating a vision is, in many ways, at the heart of the change process. Its creation is the moment the organisation commits to declaring what the organisation will look like. There are two distinct steps in the creation of a sustainable vision (based upon the objective view achieved through the assessment process):
Developing
the preferred scenario or desired future state
Gaining
the commitment of the organisation to "buy in".
Developing the preferred scenario or desired future state
Against the background of the assessment of Stage I it is now time to ask of the "Key Stakeholders" - "what would our organisation look like, if it was to look even better?"
To choose the direction these key stakeholders must first develop a mental image of the desirable future. This vision will articulate a view of a realistic, credible, attractive future for the organisation, a condition that is better than what now exists.
Gaining the commitment of the organisation to "buy in"
Organisations are social systems and, therefore, the link between the vision and action is not just technical (strategies and plans) but it is also carries a human factor. In this sense the way in which the new agenda is communicated, as a first step, to those responsible for its implementation is crucial.
On the assumption that commitment is not an automatic process, the search for strategies to promote commitment is important. Examples would include:
Encouraging
participation in the change process
Ensuring
the appeal of the vision
Communicating
detailed plans as they emerge
Supporting
positive action with resources
Ensuring
leaders models future behaviour and thinking
Supporting
the learning required to achieve the vision
III. Designing plans that enable the move from Current to Preferred State
The purpose of a vision is to let everyone know that the organisation is on the move by describing a picture of the future. However, for the message to permeate the entire organisation, each sub-unit needs its own vision, carefully linked to the corporate view. The common pitfall is that people at the top often think, because they know and understand what the vision represents, that all employees share an equal understanding.
It is therefore the role of the unit managers and leaders to develop and update strategies to keep the vision alive and guide the day to day decisions along the journey. To achieve this managers will be central to the communication (see below) that will need to underpin both the macro and micro strategies.
In brief the overall and sub-part strategies will need to identify what needs to be done, the order in which they need to happen, who does what and who needs to co-ordinate the whole process.
Developing A Framework for Communication
The Role of the Board
The "vision" is the primary energising force in the organisation. Although expressed in words it should be shared by all personnel, particularly those in positions of power. At the top there should be an on–going forum for debate so that the vision is defined, re-defined and shared. Unless deep communication exists at this level there is a fundamental flaw in the management system. Of course the possession of the vision at this level is not enough. The vision must be communicated.
The Role of Management
Managers must develop the communication techniques and skills to encourage people to play their part in transforming the vision into reality. Senior managers will need to develop their influencing skills in order to shape attitudes, change behaviour, instil standards and build a positive climate.
Ensuring Effective Information Flow – Top Down…
Geography itself can impede communication and even in these days of network technology there can still exist "islands of ignorance". A solution is ensuring effective flow of information.
In particular the collation and distribution of information down through the organisation enable the control of forward planning and performance evaluation. There are four main methods:
Down
the line; coaching, briefing, team leadership
Through
representatives of the workforce, action learning sets
Through
mass communication techniques, newsletters, bulletin boards, networks
Through
training techniques, leadership and communication programmes, team
development planning
…and bottom up
In order to take wise decisions senior managers also need information to be gathered and channelled "upwards" through the organisation. "Intelligence" must be gathered so that potential problems and opportunities are well understood and that initiatives to support the vision are being maintained.
"Upward" flow is vital for the following reasons:
To
collect information about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
To
harvest ideas and creativity
To
monitor the health of the company
To
be seen as, and to actually be, responsive
It is impossible to generalise as to the potential range of initiatives which will support the implementation of a programme of this nature. Key to its success however will be the quality of leadership and the leader’s ability to model the behaviours and attitudes that support the vision itself. The leader’s ability to promote and support local initiatives and communicate this across functions and up through the organisation will be a key measure of success, indicating that positive progress is being made.