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Lecture notes study book The Open Organization of Jim Whitehurst - ISBN: 9781625275271 (Organization)
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Lecture 1&2What is a Organization?
An organization in its simplest form is a person or group of people intentionally organized to
accomplish an overall, common goal or set of goals. Business organizations can range in size
from one person to tens of thousands.
There are several important aspects to consider about the goal of the business organization.
These features are explicit (deliberate and recognized) or implicit (operating unrecognized,
"behind the scenes"). Ideally, these features are carefully considered and established, usually
during the strategic planning process.
Organization is a systematic arrangement of people to accomplish some specific purpose. Every
organization is composed of three elements i.e. people, goals and system. Each organization has
a distinct purpose. This purpose is expressed as goals generally. Each organization is composed
of people. Every organization has a systematic structure that defines the limit of each member.
Some members are managers and some are operatives.
Vision
Members of the organization often have some image in their minds about how the organization
should be working, how it should appear when things are going well.
Mission
An organization operates according to an overall purpose, or mission.
Values
All organizations operate according to overall values, or priorities in the nature of how they carry
out their activities. These values are the personality, or culture, of the organization.
Strategic Goals
Organizational members often work to achieve several overall accomplishments, or goals, as
they work toward their mission.
Strategies
,Organizations usually follow several overall general approaches to reach their goals.
Systems and Processes that Are Aligned With Achieving the Goals
Organizations have major subsystems, such as departments, programs, divisions, teams, etc.
Each of these subsystems has a way of doing things to, along with other subsystems, achieve the
overall goals of the organization. Often, these systems and processes are defined by plans,
policies and procedures.
How you interpret each of the above major parts of an organization depends very much on your
values and your nature. People can view organizations as machines, organisms, families, groups,
etc.
Organizations as Systems
It helps to think of organizations as systems. Simply put, a system is an organized collection of
parts that are highly integrated in order to accomplish an overall goal. The system has various
inputs which are processed to produce certain outputs, that together, accomplish the overall goal
desired by the organization. There is ongoing feedback among these various parts to ensure they
remain aligned to accomplish the overall goal of the organization. There are several classes of
systems, ranging from very simple frameworks all the way to social systems, which are the most
complex. Organizations are, of course, social systems.
Systems have inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes. To explain, inputs to the system include
resources such as raw materials, money, technologies and people. These inputs go through a
process where they're aligned, moved along and carefully coordinated, ultimately to achieve the
goals set for the system. Outputs are tangible results produced by processes in the system, such
as products or services for consumers. Another kind of result is outcomes, or benefits for
consumers, e.g., jobs for workers, enhanced quality of life for customers, etc. Systems can be the
entire organization, or its departments, groups, processes, etc.
Feedback comes from, e.g., employees who carry out processes in the organization,
customers/clients using the products and services, etc. Feedback also comes from the larger
, environment of the organization, e.g., influences from government, society, economics, and
technologies.
Each organization has numerous subsystems, as well. Each subsystem has its own boundaries of
sorts, and includes various inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes geared to accomplish an
overall goal for the subsystem. Common examples of subsystems are departments, programs,
projects, teams, processes to produce products or services, etc. Organizations are made up of
people -- who are also systems of systems of systems -- and on it goes. Subsystems are organized
in an hierarchy needed to accomplish the overall goal of the overall system.
Definition of Organizational Development
An Old Standard Definition of OD
A definition that was developed in 1969 at a time when an organization was considered to be
much like a stable machine comprised of interlocking parts.
“Organization Development is an effort planned, organization-wide, and managed from the top,
to increase organization effectiveness and health through planned interventions in the
organization's 'processes,' using behavioral-science knowledge.”
New Definitions of OD
Today's organizations operate in a rapidly changing environment. Consequently, one of the most
important assets for an organization is the ability to manage change -- and for people to remain
healthy and authentic. Therefore, the following definition was found ideal
“Organization Development is the attempt to influence the members of an organization to
expand their candidness with each other about their views of the organization and their
experience in it, and to take greater responsibility for their own actions as organization members.
The assumption behind OD is that when people pursue both of these objectives simultaneously,
they are likely to discover new ways of working together that they experience as more effective
for achieving their own and their shared (organizational) goals. And that when this does not
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