Organizational Effectiveness and the ″Expert″
| Pages | 3-6 |
| Published date | 01 January 1992 |
| Date | 01 January 1992 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000001442 |
| Author | David Taylor |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
AND THE
"EXPERT"
3
Organizational
Effectiveness
and the
"Expert"
David Taylor
T
he use of "experts" in problem solving
in an organizational situation — the
advantages and also the limitations.
Industrial Management & Data Systems. Vol. 92 No. 1. 1992. pp. 3-6
© MCB University Press Limited. 0263-5577
How
can management make the best use of
the
"expert"?
What are the alternative approaches that these "experts"
use?
Does the selection of the "expert" and/or the approach
determine the "solution"?
Introduction
This article will examine the manager's problems, when
seeking improvement in the organization's effectiveness,
in the selection of the "expert" and the consequential
organizational analysis approach, and what this selection
can mean in terms of the end results.
From
the viewpoint of
management,
organizational analysis
is
directly linked to possible improvement in the operation
of the organization, and is not to be regarded as an
academic exercise. Organizational analysis can be defined
therefore as "an attempt to examine an organization in
such a way as to enable some course of action to be
selected that will lead, with some predictability, to
improvement in one or more aspects of the organization's
effectiveness".
Let
us now
consider
the
types of approach
to
organizational
analysis which can be considered as the major basic
approaches available. The following summaries are meant
to be only outline sketches of the individual approaches,
not complete analyses.
Accounting Approach
This analyses the organization in terms of its financial
accounts, and can perhaps be split into two main areas:
(1)
Ratio analysis
approach[1].
This takes the view that
the "performance" of an organization can be
measured
by
the calculation
of
financial
ratios,
fund
flow analysis, etc. and then making comparisons
with similar organizations and over time. This
analysis can then be used for the internal
investment decisions of
management,
as well as for
the external investment/divestment decisions of
creditors, shareholders, etc. The approach there-
fore is to attempt to establish the "performance"
in various parts of the organization using financial
data.
(2)
Management control systems
approach[2].
This takes
the view that the "performance" of the
organization can be improved
by
examination of the
planning and controlling of
the
diverse activities of
the organization using money as the common unit
of measurement. The approach therefore is to
attempt to design, install and maintain accounting
systems and interrelationships between them and
other organizational control systems, so to enhance
management's knowledge of
the
organization, thus
leading to improved "performance".
Marketing Approach
This analyses the organization in terms of its marketing
mix
—
product, price, promotion, distribution
—
and is
sometimes called the market audit[3]. The approach
examines the "performance" of the organization by the
use of
ratios,
e.g. sales ratios, product ratios, conversion
ratios,
and by comparison of them with other "similar"
organizations/products, etc., as well as over time. In
addition, the organization is examined as to the present
and future financial viability of each product/group/
area/distribution method, etc., together with the longer-
term prospects of possible directions in which the
organization could move in terms of the products and
markets. The approach therefore is to attempt to evaluate
both the effectiveness of the marketing mix and the long-
term product/market strategy, leading to changes to
improve this effectiveness.
Behavioural Approach
This analyses the organization in terms of
the
interaction
of
the
people and groups of people within the organization.
It can perhaps be split into four major areas:
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