 |
What is Organisation Effectiveness?
In business management, several topics appear somewhat unclear, even to those who work on those subjects professionally. One such topic is effectiveness of organisations. This article is an attempt to shed some extra light on this subject.
As with many such topics, in essence, its actual meaning is quite straightforward.
Effectiveness of an organisation is
the extent to which an organisation’s results
match the purpose of its existence.*
*Van Someren, R., 2014, Aptitude and Attitude as Constraints and Enablers in Organisation Development: An Elementary Model of Organisational Processes, The Hague, Van Someren, (p. 4)
Initially, the purpose of an organisation's existence is determined by its founders, often implied or explicated in a mission, goals and strategy to achieve those goals. This purpose can later be changed by the organisation's owners or managers, in response to internal or external developments, such as changes in customer behaviour and -preferences, or changes in expertise within the organisation.
An ineffective organisation can be highly productive.
It is just that outcomes of an ineffective organisation
do not match the express purpose of the organisation’s existence.
An organisation without a clear purpose for its existence cannot possibly be effective.
After all, if no clear effect of the organisation is intended, it is impossible to achieve an intended effect.
In theory, making organisations effective is also a straightforward exercise, for which we can let ourselves be
guided by the definition of an organisation:
An organisation is
an ensemble of human beings, procedures and tools,
directed towards achieving commensurable goals
From this, we can take that:
- an organisation’s commensurable goals must effect the purpose of the organisation.
- all organisation members’ aptitudes and behaviour, all the organisation’s procedures and all it means must symbiotically be directed towards achieving those goals.
When human beings, procedures and/or tools are not directed towards achieving commensurable goals, there cannot be an ensemble of those organisational components. In that case, it is almost certain that the organisation will bring about other effects than merely the effects for which the organisation exists.
To create such an ensemble, all organisation members, procedures and tools must be selected, implemented, applied and maintained such that each of those aspects symbiotically reinforces the purposed effect of the other aspects.
Content of this posting is taken from:
Van Someren, R., 2014, Aptitude and Attitude as Constraints and Enablers in Organisation Development: An Elementary Model of Organisational Processes, The Hague, Van Someren, ISBN/EAN: 9789079641086
Van Someren, R., 2016, Fundamentals of Organisations, The Hague, Van Someren, ISBN/EAN: 789079641109
René Van Someren’s personal website is: www.rene.vansomeren.org
|
|
