Organisational Culture and Performance

The social and psychological environment of an organisation has a considerable impact on its performance. The philosophy of an organisation in addition to elements such as experiences and expectations coalesce to form the culture of the organisation which controls not only the inner workings of the organisation but also its interaction with the external environment. In this case, it is crucial to deliberate the interaction of various phenomena in the business world with organisational culture. This would effectively provide a better frame of analysis for organisational performance.

            Empowerment is a central element of contemporary corporate culture that revolves around the management affording information and power to employees thus acting as a go-ahead for them to solve problems and effectively improve their productivity. Besides giving employees authority and motivation, it also holds them responsible thus contributing to their competence in the long run. Employee empowerment can revolutionize a firm’s culture by giving employees a free leash to explore their creativity and innovative abilities. The motivation gained from this endeavour is translated to customers in form of superior customer experience. In the business world, effectiveness in complex decision-making is key. As such involving employees is an added advantage to any firm. Despite the potential benefits of employee empowerment, there must be a strong framework through which employees work towards organisational objectives. As such empowerment efforts will only succeed if there is a concrete and appropriate culture at the organisation (Saremi and Nejad, 2013). In the healthcare sector, empowerment is a necessary strategy since junior practitioners are as involved in decision-making as other employees with senior titles.

            In the organisational set-up, authority refers to the decision-making power that enables an individual to guide the actions of his inferiors. Authority leads to a precarious balance between superiors and their subordinates and if not handled properly could lead to an implosion within the organisation. If authority pressure is overbearing, it may have negative effectives on organisational culture with employees even rebelling against the management. However, measured authority bears obedience which leads to prosocial behaviour which has a positive effect on organisational success and culture in the long run. At the nursing home, diligent authority is necessary to ensure that all employees work towards organisational goals. Responsibility is another aspect of organisational behaviour that refers to the obligation of an individual to perform duties that they have been assigned to the best of their ability. It is characteristically a continuing obligation that cannot be delegated to another individual. Responsibility brings about a sense of cohesion within an organisation thus strengthening the social bond within the workforce. At my workplace, responsibility is key since our customers are patients who are struggling to attain optimum health. As such, commitment to one’s obligations will serve to strengthen the organisational culture. Accountability, on the other hand, refers to the liability that comes about after one has discharged their responsibility. The individual in question has to report to their superior and as such should be ready to explain elements leading to their performance or non-performance. Accountability brings about trust within an organisation and could fortify the existent culture. One should acknowledge their faults and work to rectify any problems that arise. Delegation refers the allocation of powers to subordinates within an organisation in order to achieve effectiveness. It brings about trust within the organisation and added responsibility for subordinates. Delegation is a common practice within the nursing home and so far, it has provided immense benefits (Lister, 2017). By delegating duties, I can concentrate on more complex tasks thus enhancing overall productivity within the organisation.  

Centralised vs Decentralised Organisation Structures

            An organizational structure basically outlines a company’s framework and guidelines for business operations. The most common alterations of organisational structure are the centralised and decentralised forms. The former is characterised by its hierarchical nature with major decision-making a reserve of the top executives. In the decentralised organisational structure, authority is dynamic with authority being delegated across all levels of management (Hung et al., 2016). As such, decisions are made companywide. Centralised structures are reliant on one individual to drive the company forward while decentralised structures are more team-oriented. Several individuals are involved in decision-making and the general running of business operations.

            The centralised organisational structure has its range of strengths that make it a preferred system by organisations. Firstly, it ensures that all levels of a firm are focused on achieving a common goal. It effectively reduces inconsistency and ensures the fast execution of decisions in an organisation. The organisational leader has more control over operations and an increased sense of accountability. In addition, there is reduced conflict in an organisation with a centralised structure since decision-making is restricted to one individual or a small group of individuals (Cosh, Fu, and Hughes, 2012). However, the system has its fair range of limitations. Centralised control offers little space for creativity and innovation due to its static nature. Communication also suffers in a strictly centralised system since employees will incline towards using the chain of command even in the case of urgent situations. Inflexibility is also a limitation of such systems employees follow a strict hierarchy that requires approval of every decision from the head office. This could greatly affect the performance of the organisation.

            Decentralised organisations are advantageous since managers across the organisation are able to hasten decision-making and save money for the organisation. The system empowers managers across all levels thus lightening the workload of top executives who are released to deal with major issues. The constant micromanagement can also overload top executives so decentralisation helps avoid a potential burnout (Wilden, Gudergan, Nielsen, and Lings, 2013). However, the decentralised system also has its disadvantages. The top management could lose touch with day-to-day activities which could severely impair strategizing. Another concern is that if managers are not competent enough, strategizing could lead to conflicts thus crippling the organisation. Departmental managers could also be more concerned with advancing their departments rather than increasing performance standards.

            The two forms of organisational structures have their share of strengths and limitations. At the nursing home, we have dealt with the inefficiencies of either system by combining both structures. This way the organisation is able to enjoy the benefits of both structures. The security of the centralised system is complemented by the multifaceted emphasis of the decentralised system. Strategizing is also more effective with this hybrid system since execution considers the viewpoint of the various departments and the organisation as a whole.  

Business Process Engineering

            Business process reengineering (BPR) is an organisational process that involves the recreation of core business processes. The aim of the radical redesign is to improve productivity or reduce costs (Tonnessen, 2014). BPR involves the analysis of workflows within a company and determining processes that are inefficient. This enables the company to formulate strategies to eradicate or change the processes. The process is particularly important in the modern age where the pace of technological change is relatively fast. Instead of reorganizing the entire organisation, managers can optimize the existing systems through upgrades.

            BPR is based on a number of principles that help explain the rationale behind the process. First, the redesign of business processes should be based on the natural flow of materials or information in the organization. The thinking behind this principle is that outcomes rather than tasks should be the basis of strategic planning. Secondly, in order to achieve dramatic improvements in performance, an organisation has to rethink core processes. This essentially gets rid of inefficiencies and allows the firm to approach things differently. The third principle is that a process should be performed by those who use its output. This eradicates the need for other business functions to dedicate their resources to supply such products. The result of this kind of thinking is the streamlining of processes thus shortening the duration taken to complete them. The fourth principle of BPR is that decision points should be put where the specific work is performed. This principle ensures that there is coordination of effort between the production and control function. The merging of the supplier-customer dynamic within the firm further increases overall productivity (Ozcelik, 2010).

            The nursing home is still in its formative stages which means there are many inefficiencies in the various processes. BPR would help the organisation modify its processes so as to benefit customers more. The improved service delivery would usher the organisation into a new phase. BPR would also help us understand current business processes better thus enabling the nursing home reach its target. The involvement of employees throughout the process also means that it would provide an opportunity for increased collaboration.   

Project Management Techniques

            There is a variety of techniques used in project management to aid effective completion. Traditional project management is the commonest approach in this field and it involves assessment of the tasks involved and the consequent monitoring of the project to completion. Managers in this case are involved in assessment, feedback, and coaching. Its simplicity means it is appropriate when working with small groups. Waterfall project management, on the other hand, is based on the assumption that individual team members are reliant on each other for task completion which is entirely in sequence. This approach enables individuals to partake larger tasks and as such hasten the completion (Meredith and Mantel Jr., 2011). The rational unified process is optimised for cyclical projects, with feedback at one stage informing users of future production cycles. The emphasis on transition after every cycle is a major characteristic of the technique. PERT project management is another important technique in this context. It works best for one-time processes that may evolve or expand with time. The methodology enables project managers to distinguish events from activities and track project progress. The critical path project management technique is concerned with speeding up tasks within a project. This is based on the estimation of task duration which helps project managers develop a timeframe of the project (Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017).

            When it comes to monitoring the progress of a business plan, due diligence and accuracy is important. The critical path technique is appropriate in such a case due to the accuracy of its measurement and prioritization. It would allow the completion of tasks in the shortest possible duration this allowing time for assessing the project and making necessary changes. The Kanban technique which is associated with lean manufacturing would also provide important advice in this context. The principle of continuous delivery would ensure that the progress of the business plan is checked regularly in relation to quantity and quality. The effect of this approach is that it would ensure that all processes are optimized. Despite the superiority of these techniques in this circumstance, it is necessary to consider the input of other techniques. Picking various positive elements from the various techniques would prove a stroke of genius especially in an environment as dynamic as that in the nursing home.    

References

Cosh, A., Fu, X. and Hughes, A., 2012. Organisation structure and innovation performance in different environments. Small Business Economics, 39(2), pp.301-317.

Hung, D., Jamaludin, A., Toh, Y., Lee, S.S., Wu, L. and Shaari, I., 2016. A system’s model of scaling: leveraging upon centralised and decentralised structures for diffusion. Learning: Research and Practice, 2(2), pp.143-159.

Kerzner, H. and Kerzner, H.R., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Lister, J. (2017). Organisational culture’s effects on a manager’s role. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/organizational-cultures-effects-managers-role-18426.html

Meredith, J.R. and Mantel Jr, S.J., 2011. Project management: a managerial approach. John Wiley & Sons.

Ozcelik, Y., 2010. Do business process reengineering projects payoff? Evidence from the United States. International Journal of Project Management, 28(1), pp.7-13.

Saremi, H., and Nejad, B.M. 2013. Impact of organisational culture on employee empowerment. Human Resources Management, 65, pp. 821-829.

Tønnessen, T., 2014. Business process reengineering. In Managing Process Innovation through Exploitation and Exploration (pp. 27-33). Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden.

Wilden, R., Gudergan, S.P., Nielsen, B.B. and Lings, I., 2013. Dynamic capabilities and performance: strategy, structure and environment. Long Range Planning, 46(1-2), pp.72-96.