Organization development: methods, technologies, tasks and goals

The ability to efficiently and rationally manage the development processes of the company in relation to its social, organizational, managerial, technological level is an important process for the functioning of modern Russian companies.

Concept

The development of domestic firms is understood as:

• the process of transition of the organization’s management from one level to another, which contributes to the strengthening of competitive positions, significance in the market;
• a system of changes within the organization that are holistic.

The presence in the company policy of a clear development concept provides it with the influence of a success factor. The development of such a set of measures is an urgent issue at the stage of crisis phenomena both within the enterprise and in the economy of the country as a whole. The mistake of many modern Russian companies is called the lack of a development strategy in the management of their activities.

The essence of the concept of "development of the organization" can distinguish the following key elements:

• mission;
• strategic concept;
• goals
• general strategy.

Mission - this is the main reason for the existence of the company, understanding of why it was created. The strategic concept involves the influence of a huge number of factors due to which the company can achieve its intended goals. Under the goal of the company understand the final results that the company expects to receive in the short and long term. The strategy is a system of measures aimed at achieving the company's final results.

Targets and goals

The development goals of the organization include social and economic, which provide increased competitiveness and sustainability of the company in the external environment. Among the main ones, one can distinguish:

• productivity increase;
• capitalization growth;
• achieving leadership in the market;
• access to foreign sites.

Goals can be specified by a number of tasks:

• achievement of high socio-economic indicators;
• implementation of organizational changes.

Technology of change as a basis for development

The technology is based on adaptation to customer requirements, that is, on the desire to satisfy his needs and expectations, which is one of the reasons for initiating the process of changes in the organization and the formation of a set of rules for managing the organization's development. At the same time, it should be noted that enterprises are constantly changing. They are the result of necessary actions taken to keep the company in the market in order to maintain or improve the position among competitors. In this case, it should be based on the search for new concepts, and not on the use of solutions already tested previously.

The main reasons for the attempts to adapt and develop the organization are the following external and internal changes:

• Demographic: changes in the age structure and number of employees, reaching retirement age, insufficient education of the existing workforce, employment of workers of other nationalities.
• Technological automation of procedures, computerization, new communication and environmental technologies.
• Market: changing consumer preferences, developing competition, integration, globalization.
• Socio-political: changing preferences of workers, the political situation, wars, the fight against terrorism.
• Associated with human resources: conflicts between employees, lack of job satisfaction, change of company management, absence of employees in the workplace for various reasons.
• Related to relationships in the organization: conflicts between management and subordinates, managers and owners.

Demographic Change and Development

Changes caused by demographic factors may necessitate:

• introducing new methods and tools to minimize losses associated with the departure of experienced and qualified employees;
• identify mechanisms for knowledge transfer and learning;
• automation and simplification of work to adapt to the level of staff qualification;
• new methods of communication as a result of opening foreign branches.

Technical changes

On the other hand, technological progress imposes the use of modern communication tools that automate or eliminate often complex procedures, allow other use of employees who were engaged in analysis and calculations. Changes caused by technological progress include not only machines and tools, but they have a significant impact on the structure of the organization, its culture and functioning.

Market changes

Market factors mean that leading companies must not only adapt products to customer preferences, but also create new needs in order to maintain their position in relation to their competitors. The speed of introducing new versions of products requires a complete change in approach to the organization of design, production preparation, product sales and delivery. Along with shortening the life cycle, organizations provide the customer with an increasingly wide range of opportunities for product adaptation, which entails a significant complication of the production process.

Changes caused by market factors also affect the socio-political situation to a certain extent, and this, in turn, forces enterprises to make changes, for example, to employee motivation systems, for which free time is becoming more and more valuable. Global trends associated with the risk of terrorist attacks or a sharp increase in e-crime also play an important role for the organization.

Personnel Changes

The lack of adaptation of personnel policies and management methods to the specifics of the organization and changes in the environment can also lead to the need to implement solutions that will increase job satisfaction, save valuable employees, reduce the absence and reduce the number of conflicts between management and the team.

Along with the need for change, there is a natural resistance to it, caused by fear of the unknown, failure, a climate of mistrust, the risk of losing status and security by employees, protecting the interests of groups of workers, changing leadership, disintegrating relations with employees, personal conflicts or the inappropriate pace of change. Certainly, the least resistance arises in the case of adaptation, and it increases with increasing degree of radicalism of changes and the uncertainty of their consequences.

Development models

The general model of the development of the organization was presented by L. E. Greiner, who pointed to the emergence of stages of growth and crises alternately in a certain order, which is reflected in the table below.

Stages of growth and crises in the organization according to L. E. Greiner:

Greiner showed that most organizations do not draw conclusions from their experience over time. They cannot or cannot overcome the crisis and remain at a certain stage of development. Using quality management tools and techniques can enable an organization to predict an upcoming crisis, while carefully moving between successive stages of growth.

Stages of development

Each company has its own specific cycle, defined as an organization development program. However, there are life cycle theories that show similarities in enterprise development.

The organization’s development strategy is based on the concept of a life cycle.

He is a concept in the field of control theory. The classic, most popular theory representing an evolutionary perspective is the life theory theory of the organization of the American theorist Larry Greiner.

The development of the organization was presented to him as a sequence of evolutionary periods interrupted by revolutionary events. The Greiner model indicates that any solution that seems perfect at the moment contains the germ of the crisis. A typical theory of the life cycle of organizations suggests that they develop in several stages. Most often, they begin as small creations. From the moment they begin to grow, the first problems appear. After the creation phase, organizational maturity follows, followed by the final phase, namely the decline of the organization. Each stage has its own center of gravity, and each stage ends with a crisis.

Economic development

In this area, the company has two tasks:

• the economic growth;
• financial stability and liquidity.

An indicator of the good condition of the financial sector of the company is the economic balance of the system, in which there is an optimal combination between the elements of equity and borrowed capital.

Staff development

At the initial stages of the organization's development, its staff is characterized by the absence of a clear specialization in the performance of labor functions. Underdeveloped personnel policy, system of motivation and training.

As the company develops, the number of its personnel grows, structures and departments are formed that create a diagram of the organizational structure of the company. There is a division of labor, regulations are being developed.

The most significant point is the development issues through staff training in the organization, advanced training.

Audit role

In the process of development of the organization, the process of control and audit plays an important role.

Internal audit is an independent advisory and verification activity aimed at optimizing the organization's operational activities and increasing its value. An organization’s internal audit helps it achieve its development goals through a systematic and methodological approach to monitoring a risk system. The main goals and objectives of the internal audit are presented below:

• assessment and improvement of the effectiveness of risks, control and management of development;
• independent consulting and verification activities aimed at improving operational efficiency and its value;
• independence and objectivity;
• systemic and methodological approach.

Audit Elements

The main elements of an internal audit in an organization are:

• Help the organization to achieve its goals, which are usually determined by what the company wants to achieve on time, using available resources. Success depends on achieving these goals. Therefore, they must have certain features, including measurable, clearly defined, relevant, real and time-limited.
• Assessment and improvement of the effectiveness of risks, control over them. All three processes are closely interconnected and aimed at achieving the goals of the company.

Organization management is a process carried out by management, which consists in the approval and direct control. A significant role at this stage is played by the existing organizational structure of the company, which allows the delegation of authority in the development process of the company.

Risk management is closely related to management, but this process is carried out by management to eliminate uncertain factors that may affect the ability of the company to achieve its goals.

Control is a process carried out by management to reduce the level of risk by the following methods:

• Independent consulting and verification activities aimed at improving the operational efficiency of the organization and increasing its value. These areas include an objective study of evidence in order to provide the company with an independent assessment of risk management procedures.
• Independence and objectivity. Independence refers to the status of the internal audit function in an organization. Objectivity, however, concerns the attitude of individual auditors and means that they can make an impartial, objective decision.
• Systemic and methodological approach. In order to improve the functioning of the organization, consultative and verification activities should be carried out in a special systematic manner using certain techniques.

There are three main stages of an internal audit:

• planning staff training in the organization;
• performance of tasks;
• information about the results of the study.