What makes a Great Organization "Great"?

The Good to Great Readings were my favorite readings of the semester because I felt like this was directly applicable to my Organizational Project, as well as my future career opportunities.  Learning what makes a “great organization” different from just a “good organization” depends strongly on the traits of the individuals that make up the organization.  A Level 5 leader builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.  Having modest, passionate, disciplined individuals will make the organization successful no matter what.  For more information, watch this video of Jim Collins discussing what a level 5 leader is like http://www.jimcollins.com/media_topics/level-5.html#audio=81. 

This leads to the importance of “First Who, Then What.”  According to Collins, its all about “getting the right people on the bus” in the first place.  I completely agree with Collins because once you have the “right” people on board, the rest will fall into place.  For our Organizational Group Project we weren’t able to pick our groups.  However, we ended up being lucky because we do have the “right” people on board for our team project.  We are all self-motivated which makes completely our tasks that much easier for the team. 

After working in our groups for a while I felt it was refreshing when the Culture Maven came to speak to us about what makes her Organization successful.  She talked about how being engaged and honest with the organization will make it that much better.  For example, she would talk to employees one on one to get real, honest feedback.  Being able to confront the “Brutal Facts” of an organization is a key component of resolving issues and moving forward.  This helps in our own group when we come across problems that need to be fixed quickly.  Knowing that we can be upfront with each other builds our team dynamics and brings us closer.  For tips on improving your team dynamics, read this http://www.businessknowledgesource.com/blog/how_can_i_improve_team_dynamics_021635.html. 

I think the most important concept of Unit 5 was the “Hedgehog Concept.”  The Hedgehog Concept is an understanding of what an organization can be the best at in the world.  This is necessary for the core of a business, otherwise you can’t form your Hedgehog Concept.  To watch a video of Jim Collins describing the Hedgehog Concept watch this video http://www.jimcollins.com/media_topics/hedgehog-concept.html#audio=79. 

In the future, I want to work for an organization that has strong core leadership, and a place where the individuals are the “right” people on board.  Understanding the importance of not relying on technology or skipping the steps of building momentum in a company and going straight for the breakthrough really makes a “great organization.”  Taking these concepts into my own Organizational Project will help my group be more successful.    

Organizational Culture - It's Important!

Our group dynamics is very much based on the Organic Model of Organizational Structure.  Although each of us is assigned a certain task, we encourage cross-functional teamwork and free flow of information so that everyone in the group knows what is going on at all times.   There is low formalization and decentralization through everyone communicating together on the same hierarchical level.  We value the power of the team and the trust that each member is pulling an equal weight in this Organizational Project.  I think our team has had a high performance rate, shown in our RATs, as well as the progression in our group project.  Having loser structure in our teams allows us to be more innovative and have a positive, stress free work environment, while still meeting deadlines and accomplishing our goals.  For more info on Organizational Structure and Leadership go to http://www.tnellen.com/ted/tc/schein.html. 

I’m satisfied with our work environment, however if an organizations is not pleased with their work environment, it is not too late to change the culture.  The Organizational Culture is the overall subjective perception of the organization based on factors such as degree of risk tolerance, team emphasis, and support of people  (go to http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ndu/strat-ldr-dm/pt4ch16.html to find out more about Organizational Culture).  Although it is possible to change an organization’s culture, this will not take place over night.  How an organization impacts their employees determines job performance and satisfaction.  Having the Culture Maven from Rackspace come into talk to our class really allowed me to apply this information into the real world work force.  I was really interested in how she spent all her time analyzing the culture of her company and making sure the employees were completely satisfied with how everything is going.

“Happy employees = happy costumers.”  This phrase that the culture maven talked about truly sums up the importance of having a great organizational culture.  Going from good to great means just this for an organization.  Having healthy, happy employees will lead to a higher performance rate, which increases costumer’s satisfaction with the company.  Our group for the Organizational Project is using this as a driving force behind our work ethic.  Having positive attitudes allows us to work better together, as well as interview workers for the Collegiate Times in a more beneficial manner.   

Along with the Organizational Culture of a company, comes change.  Managers are the primary change agents in most organizations. Organizations have to keep up with their competitors by bringing more innovative and better ideas to the table.  If an organization’s culture cannot adapt to changes, then there will be no growth in that organization.  Having that low stress level of staying on top allows companies to strive higher and perform better at their jobs.  However, long-term stress plays a toll on the employee’s and can lower performance.  This applies to our Organizational Group Project because we keep our stress level lower to allow us to perform better as a team.  For tips on lower stress at work go to http://helpguide.org/mental/work_stress_management.htm.  

This unit, as well as the guest speaker, has really helped me in thinking about what kind of organization I want to work for.  I now know how important the culture of a company is, and that this will play a significant factor when I’m out interning and looking for a job in the future.  I am also applying the knowledge of the different structures of organizations to our team dynamics so that we can have a high performance out come.