High Performance Organizations Paper
Elements of a High Performance Organization
Lilia Grenada
Organizational Administration
December 7, 2009
• This document seeks to examine and analyze the different elements of a High Performance Organization and a Learning Organization. This will be accomplished by exploring how Information Technology plays a central role within a hospital, private security firm, and police department to turn them into a High Performance Organization and a Learning Organization. The role Information Technology plays as a strategic capacity in these organizations will be shown by suggestions of Information Technology usage to turn the organizations into High Performance Organizations and Learning Organizations. These are all very different professional settings and yet they all have a level of …show more content…
performance that must be met to achieve their goals or shared visions successfully. In all of the following organizations employers all encourage members to accomplish their personal goals therefore, having a greater self satisfaction and reflecting that in their job performance. • To have a successful performance in an organization takes an assortment of management skills as well as acquiring a sound technology base to use as a platform. “Performance management is the systematic process by which an agency involves its employees, as individuals and members of a group, in improving organizational effectiveness in the accomplishment of agency mission and goals. Employee performance management includes: planning work and setting expectations, continually monitoring performance, developing the capacity to perform, periodically rating performance in a summary fashion, and rewarding good performance. The revisions made in 1995 to the Government wide performance appraisal and awards regulations support sound management principles. Great care was taken to ensure that the requirements those regulations establish would complement and not conflict with the kinds of activities and actions practiced in effective organizations as a matter of course.”
(UOPM, 2009) Performance is part of a strategy to measure how well an employee does one’s job; it is beneficial to make sure that all employees are on the happy scale of things. In many organizations matrix studies are done to see in which the employee falls on the scale of happiness. Performance indicators determine the drive and success of the company. Technology is a major driving force to an effective performance in an organization. The elements in which an organization shows high performance-characteristics:
• Their leaders are clear, fair, and talent-oriented. They are more likely to promote the best people for the job, make sure performance expectations are clear, and convince employees that their behaviors affect the success of the organization.
• Their employees are more likely to think the organization is a good place to work. They also emphasize a readiness to meet new challenges and are committed to innovation.
• They are superior in terms of clarifying performance measures, training people to do their jobs, and enabling employees to work well together.
• They are more likely to adhere to high ethical standards throughout the organization
(Kerns, 2009)
Technology is important in today’s society; due to the overwhelming growth of technology based-products that is used to enhance one’s success in an organization. In organizations, technology can make or, break the company. Technology offers stability to an organization in the, “high-performance businesses regard IT as a source of both operational excellence and competitive advantage. They look beyond using IT as a tool for controlling costs, and understand that IT is the link for capturing the business value of information. However, the strategic use of IT demands far more than just a strategy and leading-edge systems. Top management must recognize that IT true benefit, it is and enabler of innovation and new value creation and that this benefit will be realized only when employees use IT intensively and creatively.” (Beene, Thomas. 2004)
Technology allows an organization the ability to support the employees in training, skill building, and competitive standards. High Performance and technology go hand- in-hand in which long-term business success is the focus.
A learning organization is a place where people are expanding their ability to create results they desire, where new and expansive ways of thinking are nurtured, where collective goals are set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn. Simply put a learning organization is an organization that facilitates learning. There are five key elements or disciplines Peter Senge identifies to a learning organization: personal mastery, mental modes, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking. Personal mastery and mental modes focus on the individual, whereas shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking focus on the group.
Personal mastery is learning to expand ones personal ability to create results most desired. In a learning organization personal mastery is encouraged for all members to accomplish personal goals. By encouraging personal mastery employers are creating an environment to which employees can develop themselves as well as contribute to the organization. Mental modes are the process of reflecting upon, clarifying, and improving internal pictures of the world, and seeing how they shape ones actions and decisions. Shared vision is the developing of shared images of the future sought by the members of an organization, and the principles and guiding practices by which organization will follow to achieve it. By sharing in the vision of the future of the organization the employees see themselves as a part of the future that will reduce high turnovers. Team learning transforms conversations and collective thinking skills, so that groups of people can develop intelligence synergy. Systems thinking are a way of thinking about, and a language for describing and understanding the relationships that shape the behavior of systems (Senge, 1990, p. 6-7). The Society for Organizational Learning identifies three factors that are key for a successful learning organization, “1. Well-developed core competencies that serve as launch points for new products and services. 2. An attitude that supports continuous improvement in the business 's value-added chain. 3. The ability to fundamentally renew or revitalize” (Nevis, DiBella, Gould, para. 3). By having these factors in place an organization will be able to grow and survive. • Information technology contributes to learning organizations by serving as a platform for gathering and putting out information for knowledge.
In the information age many organizations are relying more on computers and the Internet to keep up with the competition. Information technology in itself continues to evolve increasing the need for learning. By being able to do research on a given topic from ones office reduces expenses for a learning organizations operational …show more content…
budget.
The hospital environment is not as complex as most organizations. Recent technology advances provides employees the answers to the pertinent questions asked by visitors and customers. From the moment an individual enters the hospital as a customer or visitor, he or she realizes the importance of information technology to the hospital. The IT department is important to the hospital. Information technology, the Web and the computer are virtually inseparable and have also fundamentally changed the organizational design of firms to capture new competencies (Schermerhorn, Hunt & Osborn, 2008). Information technology has reduced the amount of time spent waiting for answers so that individuals can focus on other issues.
Information technology (IT) provides the hospital with a competitive edge. The services that the hospital provides to the community have one purpose in mind, and that is to attract customers. The IT department has transformed the hospital’s image into one that is competitive and prosperous. No longer is the hospital environment an unwelcomed place where the unexpected occurs, but a place which is welcoming that every question is answered.
The role of IT as a strategic capability is aligned with the missions and goals of the hospital.
Strategic capability is the competencies, knowledge, and skills that an organization can apply to achieve success in a competitive environment (BNET Business Dictionary, 2009). With the focus on the needs of the customers, IT allows the hospital to compete with other health care facilities. This involves the need to adjust and change in order to "fit" the changing environment and the need to "stretch" to exploit organizational resources in ways that other organizations will find it difficult to match BNET Business Dictionary,
2009). Along with focusing on providing products and services to the community, the hospital environment also focuses on ways to improve the talent skills and knowledge of its employees. Although information technology allows the hospital the opportunity to be a High Performance and a Learning Organization, all employees within the hospital have difficulty accepting this concept. Change is difficult for most people. The idea of leaving familiar putting aside familiar ideas and methods is not welcoming. Recommendations to use IT to make the organization a High Performance and a Learning Organization are: • Implement new technologies and software. The implementation of new software provides the employees with an efficient method of servicing the patients and visitors. New technologies and software provides the employees with free time to work on areas which are not efficient. • Encourage employee growth and development. Employees should be encouraged to attend seminars and train with the latest technologies to advance his or her career. Organizational studies show that employees who are allowed levels of autonomy with room to grow in their professional position are happier and show better performance than individuals micro-managed and not given any latitude in terms of growth (Goessl, 2009).
When employees are invested in, he or she becomes productive, costs are reduced and the organization’s profits increase. A healthy environment that fosters and encourages learning lets the employees know that his or her needs are incorporated into the mission and goals of the organization. In Conclusion, if an organization wants to be successful and accomplish all of the goals that are set they need to follow some simple rules that are apparently used in many different organizations that range widely from health care, law enforcement, and private practices. Some of these basic concepts are as easy as establishing a shared vision. A vision of what is wanted to be accomplish, Encourage the employees to be self efficient and achieve their personal goals, building up their self worth perspective and therefore being more productive . Also implement new technologies. Demonstrate that the employees’ efforts are not in vain and the organization continues to thrive for the better and to aide its employees by giving them new technology to use. There are a number of other things that can be done to establish and maintain a high performance organization but little efforts as the ones mentioned go a long way.
References
Beene. T, Thomas.R (2004) In Search Of Performance Anatomy. Retrieved on December 6, 2009 from Accenture at http://www.accenture.com/Global/Research_and_Insights/Outlook/By_Alphabet/InAnatomy.htm
BNET Business Dictionary (2009). Retrieved December 5, 2009 from http://dictionary.bnet.com/definition/strategic+capability.html
Gossel L, (2009) What is a high-performance organization HPO? Retrieved on December 6, 2009 from http://www.helium.com/items/802036-what-is-a-high-performance-organization-hpo
Kerns, C. (2009) Putting Performance and Happiness Together in the Workplace. Retrieved on December 6, 2009 from GBR Pepperdine University at http://gbrpepperdine.edu/081/performance.html
Nevis, E. C., DiBella, A. J., Gould, J. M., (n.d.). Understanding Organizations as Learning Systems. Society for Organizational Learning. Retrieved from http://www.solonline.org/res/wp/learning_sys.html
Schermerhorn, J. R., Jr., Hunt, J. G., and Osborn, R. N. (2008). Organizational behavior (10th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons
Senge, P. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. : Doubleday.
U.S. Office of Personnel (2009). Ensuring the Federal Government has an Effective Civilian Workforce. Retrieved on December 6, 2009 from http://www.opm.gov/perform/overview.asp
Vickers, M. (2007) The Essentials of High Performance Organizations. Retrieved on December 6, 2009 from American Management Association at http://www.ament.org/training/articles/The-Essentials-of-High-Performance-Organizations.aspx
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Lilia Grenada
Organizational Administration
December 7, 2009
• This document seeks to examine and analyze the different elements of a High Performance Organization and a Learning Organization. This will be accomplished by exploring how Information Technology plays a central role within a hospital, private security firm, and police department to turn them into a High Performance Organization and a Learning Organization. The role Information Technology plays as a strategic capacity in these organizations will be shown by suggestions of Information Technology usage to turn the organizations into High Performance Organizations and Learning Organizations. These are all very different professional settings and yet they all have a level of …show more content…
performance that must be met to achieve their goals or shared visions successfully. In all of the following organizations employers all encourage members to accomplish their personal goals therefore, having a greater self satisfaction and reflecting that in their job performance. • To have a successful performance in an organization takes an assortment of management skills as well as acquiring a sound technology base to use as a platform. “Performance management is the systematic process by which an agency involves its employees, as individuals and members of a group, in improving organizational effectiveness in the accomplishment of agency mission and goals. Employee performance management includes: planning work and setting expectations, continually monitoring performance, developing the capacity to perform, periodically rating performance in a summary fashion, and rewarding good performance. The revisions made in 1995 to the Government wide performance appraisal and awards regulations support sound management principles. Great care was taken to ensure that the requirements those regulations establish would complement and not conflict with the kinds of activities and actions practiced in effective organizations as a matter of course.”
(UOPM, 2009) Performance is part of a strategy to measure how well an employee does one’s job; it is beneficial to make sure that all employees are on the happy scale of things. In many organizations matrix studies are done to see in which the employee falls on the scale of happiness. Performance indicators determine the drive and success of the company. Technology is a major driving force to an effective performance in an organization. The elements in which an organization shows high performance-characteristics:
• Their leaders are clear, fair, and talent-oriented. They are more likely to promote the best people for the job, make sure performance expectations are clear, and convince employees that their behaviors affect the success of the organization.
• Their employees are more likely to think the organization is a good place to work. They also emphasize a readiness to meet new challenges and are committed to innovation.
• They are superior in terms of clarifying performance measures, training people to do their jobs, and enabling employees to work well together.
• They are more likely to adhere to high ethical standards throughout the organization
(Kerns, 2009)
Technology is important in today’s society; due to the overwhelming growth of technology based-products that is used to enhance one’s success in an organization. In organizations, technology can make or, break the company. Technology offers stability to an organization in the, “high-performance businesses regard IT as a source of both operational excellence and competitive advantage. They look beyond using IT as a tool for controlling costs, and understand that IT is the link for capturing the business value of information. However, the strategic use of IT demands far more than just a strategy and leading-edge systems. Top management must recognize that IT true benefit, it is and enabler of innovation and new value creation and that this benefit will be realized only when employees use IT intensively and creatively.” (Beene, Thomas. 2004)
Technology allows an organization the ability to support the employees in training, skill building, and competitive standards. High Performance and technology go hand- in-hand in which long-term business success is the focus.
A learning organization is a place where people are expanding their ability to create results they desire, where new and expansive ways of thinking are nurtured, where collective goals are set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn. Simply put a learning organization is an organization that facilitates learning. There are five key elements or disciplines Peter Senge identifies to a learning organization: personal mastery, mental modes, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking. Personal mastery and mental modes focus on the individual, whereas shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking focus on the group.
Personal mastery is learning to expand ones personal ability to create results most desired. In a learning organization personal mastery is encouraged for all members to accomplish personal goals. By encouraging personal mastery employers are creating an environment to which employees can develop themselves as well as contribute to the organization. Mental modes are the process of reflecting upon, clarifying, and improving internal pictures of the world, and seeing how they shape ones actions and decisions. Shared vision is the developing of shared images of the future sought by the members of an organization, and the principles and guiding practices by which organization will follow to achieve it. By sharing in the vision of the future of the organization the employees see themselves as a part of the future that will reduce high turnovers. Team learning transforms conversations and collective thinking skills, so that groups of people can develop intelligence synergy. Systems thinking are a way of thinking about, and a language for describing and understanding the relationships that shape the behavior of systems (Senge, 1990, p. 6-7). The Society for Organizational Learning identifies three factors that are key for a successful learning organization, “1. Well-developed core competencies that serve as launch points for new products and services. 2. An attitude that supports continuous improvement in the business 's value-added chain. 3. The ability to fundamentally renew or revitalize” (Nevis, DiBella, Gould, para. 3). By having these factors in place an organization will be able to grow and survive. • Information technology contributes to learning organizations by serving as a platform for gathering and putting out information for knowledge.
In the information age many organizations are relying more on computers and the Internet to keep up with the competition. Information technology in itself continues to evolve increasing the need for learning. By being able to do research on a given topic from ones office reduces expenses for a learning organizations operational …show more content…
budget.
The hospital environment is not as complex as most organizations. Recent technology advances provides employees the answers to the pertinent questions asked by visitors and customers. From the moment an individual enters the hospital as a customer or visitor, he or she realizes the importance of information technology to the hospital. The IT department is important to the hospital. Information technology, the Web and the computer are virtually inseparable and have also fundamentally changed the organizational design of firms to capture new competencies (Schermerhorn, Hunt & Osborn, 2008). Information technology has reduced the amount of time spent waiting for answers so that individuals can focus on other issues.
Information technology (IT) provides the hospital with a competitive edge. The services that the hospital provides to the community have one purpose in mind, and that is to attract customers. The IT department has transformed the hospital’s image into one that is competitive and prosperous. No longer is the hospital environment an unwelcomed place where the unexpected occurs, but a place which is welcoming that every question is answered.
The role of IT as a strategic capability is aligned with the missions and goals of the hospital.
Strategic capability is the competencies, knowledge, and skills that an organization can apply to achieve success in a competitive environment (BNET Business Dictionary, 2009). With the focus on the needs of the customers, IT allows the hospital to compete with other health care facilities. This involves the need to adjust and change in order to "fit" the changing environment and the need to "stretch" to exploit organizational resources in ways that other organizations will find it difficult to match BNET Business Dictionary,
2009). Along with focusing on providing products and services to the community, the hospital environment also focuses on ways to improve the talent skills and knowledge of its employees. Although information technology allows the hospital the opportunity to be a High Performance and a Learning Organization, all employees within the hospital have difficulty accepting this concept. Change is difficult for most people. The idea of leaving familiar putting aside familiar ideas and methods is not welcoming. Recommendations to use IT to make the organization a High Performance and a Learning Organization are: • Implement new technologies and software. The implementation of new software provides the employees with an efficient method of servicing the patients and visitors. New technologies and software provides the employees with free time to work on areas which are not efficient. • Encourage employee growth and development. Employees should be encouraged to attend seminars and train with the latest technologies to advance his or her career. Organizational studies show that employees who are allowed levels of autonomy with room to grow in their professional position are happier and show better performance than individuals micro-managed and not given any latitude in terms of growth (Goessl, 2009).
When employees are invested in, he or she becomes productive, costs are reduced and the organization’s profits increase. A healthy environment that fosters and encourages learning lets the employees know that his or her needs are incorporated into the mission and goals of the organization. In Conclusion, if an organization wants to be successful and accomplish all of the goals that are set they need to follow some simple rules that are apparently used in many different organizations that range widely from health care, law enforcement, and private practices. Some of these basic concepts are as easy as establishing a shared vision. A vision of what is wanted to be accomplish, Encourage the employees to be self efficient and achieve their personal goals, building up their self worth perspective and therefore being more productive . Also implement new technologies. Demonstrate that the employees’ efforts are not in vain and the organization continues to thrive for the better and to aide its employees by giving them new technology to use. There are a number of other things that can be done to establish and maintain a high performance organization but little efforts as the ones mentioned go a long way.
References
Beene. T, Thomas.R (2004) In Search Of Performance Anatomy. Retrieved on December 6, 2009 from Accenture at http://www.accenture.com/Global/Research_and_Insights/Outlook/By_Alphabet/InAnatomy.htm
BNET Business Dictionary (2009). Retrieved December 5, 2009 from http://dictionary.bnet.com/definition/strategic+capability.html
Gossel L, (2009) What is a high-performance organization HPO? Retrieved on December 6, 2009 from http://www.helium.com/items/802036-what-is-a-high-performance-organization-hpo
Kerns, C. (2009) Putting Performance and Happiness Together in the Workplace. Retrieved on December 6, 2009 from GBR Pepperdine University at http://gbrpepperdine.edu/081/performance.html
Nevis, E. C., DiBella, A. J., Gould, J. M., (n.d.). Understanding Organizations as Learning Systems. Society for Organizational Learning. Retrieved from http://www.solonline.org/res/wp/learning_sys.html
Schermerhorn, J. R., Jr., Hunt, J. G., and Osborn, R. N. (2008). Organizational behavior (10th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons
Senge, P. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. : Doubleday.
U.S. Office of Personnel (2009). Ensuring the Federal Government has an Effective Civilian Workforce. Retrieved on December 6, 2009 from http://www.opm.gov/perform/overview.asp
Vickers, M. (2007) The Essentials of High Performance Organizations. Retrieved on December 6, 2009 from American Management Association at http://www.ament.org/training/articles/The-Essentials-of-High-Performance-Organizations.aspx
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