Management Theory: Managing Organizational Design and Change (Essay Sample)

Managing Organizational Design and Change
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Introduction
An organization is a group of people that are purposely structured together, and they utilize resources in a bid to try and attain a certain set of goals. A strategy, in the organizational context, is a comprehensive plan laid out to achieve a goal. Organizational designs create the correct structure that fits the needs of the strategy to be implemented (Cummings and Worley, 2014). It involves an organization aligning its workforce, processes, and technology so as to attain the maximum potential. Organizational change aims at modifying the existing structures that have underperformed or gone wrong over a period of time (Cummings and Worley, 2014). It eliminates structures that are no longer fit the needs of the strategy to be implemented. Structure dictates how people function in an organization. Outdated structures can lead to uncalled for uncertainty, and they mostly lack liability. Substandard organizational design and structure leads to denial, confusion within roles, lack of coordination among functions, and failure to share ideas (Corkindale, 2012).
When analyzing scenarios and using them as a strategic planning tool, why, is it beneficial for planners to rank scenarios and identify commonness in possible futures and potential pathways?
Reviewing scenarios is a vital part of strategic planning for organizational design and change (Van der Heijden, 2011). It is a methodology applied to scrutinize plausible and divergent futures considering uncertainties regarding drivers of change. The reviewing allows companies and individuals to develop their capacity and capability to come up with tough decisions. Part of the approach to analyzing scenarios involves ranking the scenarios and looking for a common theme. It involves identifying the most preferable and optimistic state of the future. The planner then identifies the least preferred and most pessimistic states of the future.
Ranking scenarios is important because it is challenging to handle over four scenarios at a given time (Van der Heijden, 2011). When the scenarios to handle are many, it becomes necessary for the planner to rank them. This will help the planner describe a “middle-of-the-road” scenario. Using a ranking system when analyzing scenarios aids in the narrowing down of driver forces and coming up with the most relevant. This will, in turn, help in differentiating scenarios. The planner is also able to determine the degree of uncertainty of various scenarios drivers. Hence, getting the most preferred pathway becomes relatively easy.
Identifying commonness is an important factor in the ranking process. Identifying commonness involves determining the common trends or themes that are consistent among distinct scenarios. This process allows an organization to prepare its future by making its decision-making strategy more flexible (Van der Heijden, 2011). One approach employed in the process of identifying commonness is back-casting. This approach helps organizations recognize signals that show the pathway to a scenario from the present. The process also helps in the identification of a desirable position that an organization should strive to reach and the actions needed to get there. Ranking of scenarios and identification of common predominant themes eventually aid in the development of strategies and long-term plans for the changing and restructuring of the current organizational structure.
What are the issues for managers when preventing strategic drift?
Managers face issues when coming up with strategic choices aimed at avoiding a strategic drift. Strategic drift occurs when the competitive action of an organization gradually deteriorates leading to the organization failing to recognize and address changes in the business environment (Johnson, Yip and Hensmans, 2012). It happens whenever a manager in charge of strategy fails to monitor and keep pace with the business’s external environment. Managers need to make strategic choices in order to prevent strategic drifts. This is done by applying all the knowledge they have learned about an organization, its surrounding, and its possible future to decide which path the organization should take for the next significant period.
When making strategic choices, managers have to develop strategic options, analyze them, and then make a decision on which strategy to choose (Johnson, Yip and Hensmans, 2012). Managers, however, encounter issues when making the strategic issues. They cannot employ a strategy without a plan on how to make it happen. This happens to be the difficult part in making choices that will prevent a strategic drift. Managers employ quantitative and qualitative techniques in order to make robust strategic choices. Making strategic issues is also challenging due to the fact that the manager has to consider the environment and develop vital competencies within the context of the organization’s strategic intent and values.
When making a strategic choice, the manager has to consider what the stakeholders expect and their influence. The main objective of all managers is to impress the stakeholders since they are the hearts of the organizations (Johnson, Yip and Hensmans, 2012). Managers face a lot of pressure when making choices that should prevent strategic drifts due to the influence of stakeholders. Another issue is that preventing a strategic drift does not just involve making any choice. It involves applying strategic methods and directions to ensure they develop broad strategic choices. The managers should also develop competence and resources in a bid to deliver and sustain the strategies they choose.
Research on Quality: Toyota’s approach to quality
Toyota, one of the world’s leading car manufacturers and retailers, has a reputation for producing very high-quality vehicles (Toyota, 2016). The company has achieved this through the implementation of a unique approach to quality assurance and quality control. In their production operations, they believe quality control is a key element. Their mission is to reach standards which are economical and meets the consumers’’ needs at the same time. All their activities are driven by customer satisfaction. The company includes all its members in the quality control activities to ensure that customers’ needs are met.
Toyota implements wide quality control through the involvement of all their activities including researching, manufacturing, retailing, and servicing (Toyota, 2016). All members of the organization have two responsibilities, quality assurance, and their job. Quality assurance in the company is not just through inspection of parts to make sure they meet the market standards. It involves making sure they build quality at every stage and then they continually improve it.
To achieve quality control, Toyota utilizes all their members to ensure that only the best products proceed to the next stage. They utilize visual control together with standardized work to spot unusual conditions or problems as they occur (Toyota, 2016). They have a policy to adhere strictly to standardized work. This is a bid to ensure the stability of quality and be in a position to pinpoint a problem in the case of any. The company has equipped many processes with intelligent automation that halt productions in case they detect an error. For instance, if a machine is programmed to tighten four nuts, it will count the number of nuts in each operation and halt the process if it counts less. They have equipped every part with a special tune that plays in the occurrence of error. This enables the individual in charge of that part to know whenever there is an error.
In the selection of their workforce, they do it carefully, and they continually train their employees. This has helped them develop a workforce that is flexible, highly motivate, multi-skilled, and committed to maintain and improve the performance of the company (Toyota, 2016). The ability to maintain reliable supplies of high-quality parts is what determines the high quality of the vehicles manufactured by Toyota. They ensure their suppliers employ quality control and assurance through establishing long-term relationships with them.
Quality gurus: W Edwards Deming
A guru is defined as a good person, a wise person, and a teacher (Fonseca, 2015, p. 167). An individual possessing all these aspects, and one who have developed concepts and approaches to quality within business environments is referred to as a quality guru. One major guru is W Edwards Deming. He placed much importance on management and held it that management accounted for 94% of quality problems (Fonseca, 2015, p. 167). He came up with a fourteen-point plan that complements his philosophies on management. These points can be utilized for both large and small businesses and both public and private sectors. He came up with the following points;
* Inform the employees the purpose and aim of the company
* Due to the fact that the economy is constantly changing, one should adapt to the new philosophies
* Ensuring quality throughout production
* Instead of awarding business based on the price tag alone, venture into long-term relationships that operate on the basis of trust and loyalty
* Strive always to improve productivity and quality
* In a bid to improve job operations, teach and institute leadership
* Commence on job training
* Eliminate fear and create trust
* Strive to eliminate conflicts within departments
* Do away with goals that strive for improved productivity but do not provide the means
* Eliminate hindrances that deprive individuals of the pride of workmanship
* Teach w...