Final Exam: Org. Diagnosis Flashcards
What other profession has consulting been compared to?
Like going to the doctor; we see symptoms but no root cause
As a consultant, we aim to diagnose what three aspects of a company?
Effectiveness, efficiency, and health
Named three added values of a consultant?
1) Organize problems into a cohesive idea
2) Point out a client’s abilities instead of just focus on problems
3) Draw out motivation for change from management, by using/showing/talking about strengths
What is one of the main goals of consulting?
Learn the problem and understand the system root behind the problem
What is considered a HUGE GOAL of consulting?
Differentiating between sources and symptoms
What system did Michael Harrison introduce?
Open System Model
Describe what a feedback loop is.
An organization should always have feedback from the environment in order to learn, plan, force, and organize based on what they learn. It’s everywhere, always in an organization, i.e. through business intelligence, surveys, customer satisfaction.
Why does a consultant need to understand the environment that the organization is located in?
It’s like understanding the context/background of a child, if don’t understand those pieces of information, it is harder to understand the child.
Name some important aspects to consider when assessing the environment of a company.
1) industry
2) public v. private
sector
3) customers
4) pace of change
5) competitors
6) software, hardware, services, etc. restaurant (food - under regulation —> big brother that tells you how to work, etc.)
7) level of volatility
8) composition of the workforce
expectations
What do we as consultants need to be aware of, in terms of objectivity?
Not to include our own interpretation into what we are seeing.
What are unobtrusive measures?
Method of research, where a research primarily takes on the role of the “viewer”, sees things, don’t need to do anything. we can use it for our org. diagnosis, even without talking to anyone.
Name several type of environments we may observe.
Physical Geographic Political Economic Regulatory Cultural Judicial Customer Supply Competitive
Name aspects of an organization that we may take note of:
Physical Communication Structural Cultural Learning Thinking Interpersonal
What are the two-stage process for a worldview?
Framing and Interpretation
Describe the term phenomena.
Plainly what we see/hear. no objective proof. something we are witnessing.
Describe the term Interpretation
Giving meaning to what we see, often judgemental
Describe the term Fact
can be proven to be true.
While observing a meeting, what are some questions we may ask ourselves?
who is speaking?
how much are they speaking? how many times? for how long?
is there a leader of the meeting? who is that person leading the meeting? is it the manager?
body language
distractions? are people on the phone?
how are people seated?
do ppl sit in the same position?
how do they make decisions/conclusions? do they decide together? do they take into account minority opinion?
materials - ppt/observation
time - beginning on time? ending on time? how much are they devoting to each subject? what about if there is a conversation that is happening
Describe what a consultant’s world view should contain?
Distinguish between a fact and an interpretation
Each person has a different world view
Ask to contradict not to confirm assumptions
Do not hurry to make conclusions
Try to give systematic interpretations
What system did Ichak Adizes introduce?
Life Cycle
What are an organization’s life cycles?
Birth, infancy, adolescence, maturity, prime, aging and death.
Name three purposes of the life cycle model.
To examine the behavior of organizations across the lifecycle
To understand the forces that allow the organization to develop and grow between each stage
What causes them to eventually grow old and die?
Name three assumptions of the life cycle model.
Every living organism and every organization is a living system aims to be versatile and effective in the short and long term. An organization is thriving in its’ prime when it is good at this versatility. When management performs optimally it enables the organization to achieve this state. However poor management will hamper the organization’s ability to develop to its’ prime.
Nothing lasts forever, except for changes; changes are inevitable and every organization experiences them.
Understand and incorporate this as a “corporate medical science”
Name this stage: “Falling in love with the idea” – an important stage in order to build the level of commitment which is required to establish an organization
In this stage there are low self control mechanisms and high flexibility
Successful transition to the next stage occurs when the required commitment has been established, risks have been taken, and the organization is starting to be built.
Ideas fail at this phase when there has there is no sufficient commitment established. The idea collapses when faced with a dose of reality. It ends up becoming a nothing more than a novel romance which ends abruptly – aka “the affair.”
Courtship
What are normal characteristics of the courtship phase?
Excitement, reality tested Details thought through Realistically committed founder Product orientation Commitment to risk Founder in control
Name this stage:
The organization was born, and is behaving like a baby
Management style - a single perspective of the founder
Systems have not yet been built, there are no rules and policies. Work is done by the opportunities and crises that arise. Enthusiasm is high.
Close interpersonal organizational climate
Flexibility and little control help towards a higher chance at survival in this stage
Success and transition to the next stage happens when the organization creates a first stage product, makes a stable commitment and is not afraid of taking risks. There is also a balance between growth and the availability of money.
Failure in this stage is called “Infant mortality”; this happens when the founder loses control, and the commitment to the organization growth and / or loss of total liquidity.
Infancy
Name Abnormal Characteristics of the Courtship Phase.
No reality testing of the commitment No details thought through Unrealistic fanatic founder A profit orientation – kills the idea Rapid development Founder’s control in vulnerable
What are normal characteristics of the Infancy phase?
Commitment not threatened by risk
Negative Cash flow
Lack of management depth
Few Systems
No delegation, one person show with a willingness to listen
Lack of planning casing management to jump from crisis to crisis
Short-term financing for short term investments
Benevolent dictatorship
Name Abnormal Characteristics of the Infancy Phase.
Commitment destroyed by risk Unanticipated neg. cash flow Premature delegation Premature Rules Arrogant founder Unmanageable Crises Short-term financing for long-term investments Dictatorship
Name this phase of the life-cycle. Organization takes wild leaps, there are frantic sales, rapid growth, and a very high sense of success.
The company is organized around people, not around tasks and responsibilities.
The company responds quickly and successfully to opportunities, but doesn’t necessarily focus on business development.
Problems are seen as opportunities.
Success and transition to the next step happens when management systems are built, and processes are established which manage and operate the organization without a central control
Failure in this stage is called the founder trap, it happens when the founder is unable to institute a systematic and professional management structure.
Go-Go
What are normal characteristics of the Go-Go phase?
Self Confidence Eagerness Insufficient cost controls Lack of discipline (staff meetings) Unclear communication Unclear responsibilities Internal disintegration
Name Abnormal Characteristics of the Go-Go Phase.
Arrogance Lack of focus No cost controls No staff meetings No communication
Name this stage of the Life cycle: The organization is now reborn and must separate from the Founder (emotional farewell). This is the most difficult transition period.
There will be multiple clashes between groups within the organization (us vs. them, and old vs. new)
There is a stark inconsistency in monitoring targets, a lack of alignment between the goals of the actual work and rewards that distributed, meetings are usually useless, and an overall experience of frustration is rampant.
Success in this stage occurs when the organization moves beyond an entrepreneurial type of management and creates real structured processes. There is also real profitability, not just sales.
Failure in this stage happens when the many confrontations cause complete system paralysis and stagnation, “Divorce.”
Adolescence
What are considered normal characteristics of the adolescence life cycle stage?
Conflicts between partners Temporary loss of org. vision Policies established partially Power comes and goes Founder accept sovereignty
Name abnormal characteristics of the adolescence life cycle stage.
Return to the gogo stage
Inconsistent goals
Organizational paralysis during endless powershifts
Removal of founder
Name this life-cycle stage: Institutional vision and creativity
Organizational structure and systems that enable effective conduct
The company is results-oriented and customer needs oriented
Planning and execution of the strategy is key
Impactful growth incurs by both sales and profitability increases.
There are nascent formation of new groups within the organization (rejuvenation).
Prime
Name characteristic problems for the Prime life-cycle stage.
Insufficient managerial depth
Name abnormal characteristic problems for the Prime life-cycle stage.
Insufficient decentralization
Name the following life-cycle stage:
Maturing past the prime is not guaranteed and depends on the ambitions of senior management, as growth is still possible and is on the agenda.
The level of ambition is influenced by three main factors:
1. The mental stamina of the people standing in positions of power and strategy
2. The relative market share that the organization holds
3. The functionality level of the organizational structure.
Strong and stable company lose its flexibility
No motivation for change / innovation
Good cash flow -> dormant culture
financial results exceed forecasts, and there is an excellent cash flow. The focus is on the “how” and the “who” rather than the “what” and the “why”
Success in this stage happens when innovation is instituted and intrapreneurship is enabled, rejuvenation is critical.
Failure in this stage happens when the company avoids any changes, tries not to make any waves
The organization at the end of it’s Prime Aging and the Fall of the organization
What are normal problem characteristics of the “Fall” stage?
Nothing! There is no normal aging problems!
What are characteristic abnormal problems of the “Fall” stage?
Signs of disintegration
Signs of decreased entrepreneurial activity
Satisfaction with the results and the process
A sense of security, no sense of urgency
Longer hours at the office
Hesitation of taking risks
Loss of org. vision
Name this stage: The organization focuses on past achievements rather than its vision of the future
There are low expectations for growth, market domination and breakthroughs.
There becomes a practiced form of the way in which things are done. The question is “How did you do that” (and not “what” or “why.”)
Aristocratic organizations distinguish codes for dress, how colleagues are contacted, important ways to access information, location of conference sessions and use of spaces.
These organizations are apprehensive of change and take a conservative approach to innovation which is risk-averse (they don’t want to do mergers and acquisitions)
Corporate laziness is rampant, there is decreased activity and output, and a decrease in profitability.
The organization falls into the Finzi-Contini Syndrome – they believe that problems are temporary and transient
Aristocracy
Name this stage. There are multiple failures in this stage, with negative consequences.
There are various internal conflicts, and energy is directed inwards towards the organization instead of towards the customers and business. The organization is busy keeping afloat and has no room for expansion.
Paranoia paralyzes the organization
Internal conflicts end up concerning everyone internally and do not allow time for the organization to address the needs of external customers.
The end of this stage signals the beginning of the “death” of the organization, unless it is a governmental organization in which external resources “feed” the bureaucracy .
The end result is a full bureaucracy
Recrimination - Early bureaucracy aka. Salem City – Witch Hunt
Name this life stage: Many systems are instituted which serve few functions
There is a general detachment from the environment and steep internal focus
There is no sense of control
The bureaucracy forces the customers to develop sophisticated approaches to circumvent the road blocks of the system, or breaking them completely - customers are inconvenienced
“Worship of the written word”
Beauracracy
Name this stage. Lack of resources available to reward members of the organization for their work
Employee turnover, nobody wants to come to work and there is no reason to show up
This occurs when no one is committed to the organization, not the owners, employees or even customers.
A strong sense of failure
Death
What type of questions do we ask ourselves to utilize the life cycle model?
At what stage is the organization on the lifecycle?
How aware of this are the management members / managers?
Which problems exist in the organization and are they normal / abnormal for it’s developmental stage?
How the organization was born?
What events were critical in influencing the organization’s development?
What are the 7 steps of Org. Diagnosis?
- Entrance, acquaintance, goals
- Psychological contract, diagnosis plan
- Choose models
- Prepare methodologies
- Execution
- Analyze data and write report
- Meet with client and present findings and recommendations
What Model did Weisbord introduce?
The Six Box Model
According to the Six Box Model what are the six most important aspects?
- Management
- Purposes
- Org. Structure
- Rewards
- Helpful Mechanisms
- Interpersonal Relations
What two questions is the six box model guided by?
- What is the gap between the formal and informal organization?
- What is the degree of correlation between the ideal and realistic organization?
Six Box Model: Name this term defined by the following:
Answers the question: Who balances the system?
Focuses on the management style and its fit to the organizational state:
The degree to which the leadership leads
Do the management team complement one another?
What is the functionality of management and board of directors?
An examination of the decision making process.
What is the degree to which employees participate in the decision making process?
Management and Leadership
Six Box Model: Name this term defined by the following:
Answers the Question: What business are we in?
Examining the relevance of the field of expertise and fit of the objectives of the organization by examining:
types of customers
type and distinctiveness of product
niche of the organization, and the strategy to achieve its purpose
Congruence of this with other systems within the organization.
This term = vision, mission, strategy (not the same as planning the implementation on the day-to-day, goals
Purposes
Six Box Model: Name this term defined by the following:
Examination of this and division of labor in accordance to the needs of the organization and environment
Examination of the flexibility of this
Does this adjust for size and complexity?
What is the degree of decentralization or concentration of power required?
What is the flow of knowledge and relationships between various departments and the environment?
What is the capacity for learning and adaptation? - what is the growth mindset?
What is the level of role and organizational flexibility?
Organizational Structure
Six Box Model: Name this term defined by the following:
Examination of motivation and rewards practices in the organization:
Are there incentives for each of the tasks?
Are the rewards material?
Which benefits and other methods are used to motivate employees?
Does the organization dedicate time and resources to the promotion and development of employees?
Do activities promote involvement and participation? Diversity? Interest or responsibility?
Rewards
Six Box Model: Name this term defined by the following:
Everything in the infrastructure of the organization that helps the company move forward.
Examine the existence and functionality of mechanisms which are designed to help the organization reach its goals.
For example, methods of control, feedback mechanisms, assessments, satisfaction surveys, safety regulation, quality assurance mechanisms etc.
sometimes the software does not coincide with the way an organization wants to work.
Helpful Mechanisms
Six Box Model: Name this term defined by the following:
Examining the characteristics of the human element of the organization: •
Examining the existing organizational culture
Is there a nature of openness and acceptance, or mutual trust?
Does the culture encourage trial and error?
How are conflicts managed between people in the organization?
What is the climate of relationships between the units of the organization in general?
What is the level of support and acceptance of various employee ideas?
Interpersonal Relations
Six Box Model: Name this term defined by the following:
Explanation of the relationship of the organization with this.
In this stage, each subsystem will be examined on its’ relationship with the environment that the organization exists within.
Environment
