Introduction
Organizations refer to collective association involving systematic cooperation of individuals in conducting collective activities in relation to the achievement of predefined objectives and set goals.
Organizations have specific aims and purposes, which include provision of better quality products at affordable prices and the overall increase in profitability and sustainability in business activities. There are various types of organizations categorized according to the activities undertaken, local, international, government, and non-governmental organizations.
NEMA organization
National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) is an environmental organization that is involved with issues related to the conservation and management of the environment. The organization stipulates policies and measures that check, promote and restrict certain activities in relation to the health of the environment.
Organizational development defines the overall level of organization achievement of increased productivity, improved product and service quality, improved quality of life and effectiveness because of the adoption of behavioral and knowledge practices.
These results in the improvement of the organization’s ability to access, prepare and solve short and long-term problems, maintaining the competitive standards of the organization with the external environment.
Organization development focuses on assuring healthy inter and intra unit relationships and helping groups initiate and manage change. For NEMA, there exists a synonymous process, which has ensured and established a workable healthy relation between the government, stakeholders, and outsiders.
Organizational development defines a system that promotes the transfer, incorporation and application of basic knowledge for planning the improvement and reinforcement of strategies, structures, and processes that promote organization effectiveness using the following steps; diagnosis, intervention and evaluation and impacts components in any organization in terms of culture, structure, strategy, control system, group, and human resource system (McLean, 2005).
Organization culture defines and concerns the social and behavioral manifestation of a whole set of values shared by the members and can define patterned ways of thinking, feeling, and reaction. All the shared values and beliefs provide links within the organization.
NEMA’s cultures promote and encourage all the stakeholders and the entire population to conserve the environment within the confines and standards that ensure minimal chances of environmental depletion and deterioration (Anon, 2006).
Open systems theory
This theory describes and explains environmental relationship with organizations, which influence the economic, political and the social nature of the organization. The theory explains the unique features of operation in relation to adaptation of problems and other opportunities that present themselves in organizational existence.
It explains the influence of certain environmental resources towards the sustainability of change and survival of organizations. Open system was developed after World War II and it “shares the perspective that an organization’s survival is dependent upon its relationship with the environment” (Bastedo, 2004).
All the modern theories of organizations utilize this perspective of open systems, which comes in numerous flavors that pinpoint and argue that “organizations as a means by which the societal values and beliefs are embedded in organizational structure and expressed in organizational change” (Bastedo, 2004). In addition, its resource providers dictate the organization adaptation.
Specificity of the environment defines a collection of supply networks, distributors, government agencies, and competitors that frequently interact with NEMA among other organizations.
General environment encompasses four influences that emanate from the geographic area in which the organization operates including cultural values that shape views about ethics, economic conditions (recessions, regional unemployment, economic upswings), legal and political environment, which helps in allocation of power within the society and enforces laws in determination of the long term stability and security of the organization’s future.
Quality of education is an important factor in high technology and other industries that require educated workforce. The open system describes “large organizations to be comprised of multiple subsystems, each of which receives inputs from other subsystems and turns them into outputs for use by other subsystems” (Bastedo, 2004).
Organizations differ greatly in size, function, and general makeup, and they practice division of labor, which defines both vertical (top, middle, and bottom levels that deals entirely with managerial and decision-making), and horizontal perspectives.
Diagnosis is a collaborative process that involves both “the managers and consultants in collecting pertinent information, analyzing it, and drawing conclusions for action planning and intervention” (Cummings, Worley, 2008). It is based on conceptual frameworks and it provides practical understanding to devise interventions for solving problems and improving effectiveness (Cummings, Worley, 2008).
Through such a diagnostic process, the managerial team is able to assign different groups to certain jobs in relation to the preferred skills and expertise required.
The groups are mainly composed of goal clarity, task structure, composition, team functioning, and performance norms that help in providing guidance in carrying out the activities within the organization structure. Performance appraisal and reward systems play a vital role in determining team functionality and productivity of the group individuals.
Role of Corporate culture on Organizational performance
Corporate culture describes the collective beliefs, value systems, and processes that provide a company with its own unique flavor and attitude and helps to define the business. NEMA incorporates this culture, which has enabled the organization to achieve greatly in terms of environmental conservation.
It is informed by the attitude of everyone involved with the organization including the inclusive nature that allows free communication between everyone employed by the business. Performance defines the overall actual output results as measured against the anticipated output in terms of profits, return on assets and investments, sales and market share, and shareholder return.
Corporate culture plays a vital role in determining the overall performance within any organization. The integration of the NEMA’s value systems, beliefs, and processes output services, goods, and other related outsourced activities that eventually add value to the investment in terms of capital returns, increase in profit margins, and elevation of service delivery to the outside world.
This increases the quality of service delivered for the customers, and the more the satisfaction, the greater the chances of an increase in profits, return on investment, capital and so on.
Corporate culture promotes effective communication between the group members within NEMA organization, and hence resulting in teamwork and increased productivity.
Since the culture involves and affects the members through promotion and encouragement of each other’s collective abilities, this ensures that the organization’s performance is increased in order to achieve the set goals and objectives within the specified period.
Model for Managing change in organizations
Organizations undergo various changes with time in order to increase productivity, while reducing the chances of losses, disasters, but essentially putting the organization at a competitive advantage. The ADKAR model “allows change management teams to focus their activities on specific business results” (Howlett, 2006).
Defined goals are sequential (they follow predefined format within defined time) and cumulative and is a useful framework for change management team in the planning and execution of work, for this case the overall conservation and effective environmental management. This model describes five key issues, which are awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement.
The elements of the model stipulate clearly to the entire organization the awareness of the need for change and the desire for the organization to adopt and make the change happen.
This is in addition to providing knowledge about how to change, the ability to implement new skills and behaviors, and lastly, the reinforcement to retain the change once it has been made. This has led to the achievement of set standards and objectives by NEMA within specified periods, successful running of daily activities that promote the conservation of the environment.
Barriers to effective change management
There are numerous barriers to successful change in terms of both implementing and sustaining the overall change. These include lack of clear vision, direction, and priorities. Lack of effective leadership to inspire and engage people’s energies, lack of focus and strong project management of the change, people’s success and efforts are not recognized through reward and appraisal systems hence reduction in their commitment.
The practices, beliefs of the people are not reviewed and realigned, and the progress is not measured and reviewed. Such barriers affect the rate and overall view concerning organization change. Such predicaments have been faced in NEMA, as the minorities tend to support minimal chances for organizational change because of both personal reasons and expectations (Howlett, 2006).
Appropriate Organizational development technique
Stream analysis technique becomes important in “planning behavioral, structural, and technical changes within the organization” (Howlett, 2006), and its onset commences by “identifying the behavioral, technological, and structural interventions that the organization can implement as part of the development program” (Howlett, 2006).
In NEMA, the application of the above technique has enabled efficient planning and execution of the desired objectives in relation to financial needs and the entire organizational needs.
Conclusion
Organizations refer to an association of individuals with a common goal and entail division of labor within the various groups assigned with different jobs in relation to the skill and expertise required. The organizations are defined by the open systems theory, which explains their activity in relation to the environment and its influence.
References
Anon. (2007). Loveland, CO. Web.
Anon. (2006). Intelligence Everywhere. Web.
Bastedo, N., M. (2004). Open Systems Theory. University of Michigan. Web.
Cummings, G., T., and Worley, G., C. (2008). Organization development & change. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Web.
Howlett, L. (2006). Strategies for Success – 10 Barriers to Successful Change. Ezine. Web.
McLean, N., G. (2005). Organization development: principles, processes, performance. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Web.