Free Custom «Assessment Outcomes and Organizational Improvement Plans» Essay Paper

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the assessment outcomes and organizational improvement plans. In it, we will look at the goals that enhance authority and accountability within an organization. The paper also illustrates how these aspects are very vital for the growth of any organization. The illustration shows the relationship between accountability amongst the workers of the organization and the success of the organization. The paper will show how leaders can use the various aspects of assessment or evaluation, improvement plans and accountability to employ a highly effective style of leadership. This will be achieved through a brief introduction in each aspect, and the further discussing in depth. 

Importance of Assessment in an organization

This paper deals with evaluating assessment outcomes and organizational improvement plans. We will research deeper in order to come up with the real meaning of evaluation and how it is assessed in organizations. In most cases people think of evaluation as the analysis of an activity in organization and reporting of its failure or possibility. This is not the way evaluation should be. Actually evaluation should be viewed in a different perspective for it to have a meaning in the organizational plans.

Assessment takes into consideration the effectiveness of the organizational plans and activities. It provides the well running of the organization, and defines the effective programs that demonstrate the achievement of results. These results are derived from excellent management. An excellent is based on good decision making and this relies on good information. In order to have good communication there must be good data and careful analysis of data. All these are the vital elements of evaluation.

Simply, it means Assessment is the making sure all organization activities are well taken care of. This is to make the organization result oriented by the right evaluation of all necessary activities in an organization including the day-to-day activities and the evaluation of employees as well. It is not only the taking a snapshot of the results at the end of a certain program or the daily activities and providing a feedback of whether it worked well or failed.

Martinez (2005) further defines Assessment as the periodic process of gathering data and analyzing it. He further observers that it is done in a way that the resulting information can be used to determine if the organization or a certain program is effective. Also he says that assessment shows the level to which it is attaining its stated objectives and the expected outcome.

Having known what Assessment deals with, let us focus on its importance to an organization. Assessment will always make managers in organizations to make sound or sober decisions. Managers are required to carryout internal assessments of their organizations so that they get more information on their programs. With evaluation, the managers will know how to implement the decisions that they come up with. In the evaluation, the staff, other stake holders and the manager will be included. Besides easy decision making evaluation also enhances decision making process.

Assessment is also a very important tool towards, the development of the management and effectiveness of the organization. If a manger caries out evaluation in this company regularly, it will lead to perfection of the daily activities and as a result it makes the end product of the organization perfect. This will in turn make the management activity easier hence its improvement. On the other hand the employees within the organization will consider quality in their daily routine keeping in mind that assessment has to be done. This will now make them to mind their activities at any time and this will lead to effectiveness of the organization as a whole.

Assessment makes the organization to realize high productivity. All organization that are dedicated to proper evaluation, always improves their working skills, the choice of manpower and suitable working conditions. When these are put into consideration, the organization will achieve its goals. This is a result of organizational valuation.

Through proper evaluation, the organization can be reputable. Given that the evaluation improves quality of services and goods offered by an institution or organization, the organization will automatically make a good name to the customer or the consumers of its products. This means the organization will have build a good relationship with its consumer and this is a good reputation.

Assessment creates security for an institution or organization. An organization or institution can have its security threatened if evaluation is non put into consideration. When carrying out evaluation, we have seen that not only do we consider some factors but we deal with all important factors that build the success of the organization as whole. Evaluation will ensure the kind of information getting out of the organization. Actually security is a vital measure of an organization. It is an obligation of the manager to ensure assessment is done in order to protect poor information flow in and out of the organization. Surely most organization that have experienced security issues will give evidence that it was as a result of poor information flow in and out of the organization. For this reason, an organization manger should be determined to make evaluations in all the activities that take place within the organization.

Organizational Improvement Plans

After looking at the assessment of organizational activities, let us also consider the organizational improvement plans. It is important for an organization of any type to value improvement at any given time. Organization improvement plans are the plans than ensure the improvement of the organization. These plans can be strategic (long term) or short term (routine) plans. An organization manager will always decide and make such plans depending on the need and area of improvement in the organization.

There are many areas of improvement in an organization. Improvement is like growth, and you will realize that all areas in an organization will require continuous improvement. As days elapses new skills are discovered, the new skills makes improvement on what has been there. If a manager is not keen to know the new skills, he will not make the organizational improvement plans.

Organization improvement plan includes the organization development. Organization development is a planed organization effort to increase the organizational viability and effectiveness. Actually organization development is a response to change it is a multifaceted educational strategy that changes the attitude, beliefs, values and structure of the organizations o that they can improve and adapt to the new technologies, marketing and challenges. Organization development is a kind of processed change that introduces new improvements in an organization in order to come up with a desirable end result. Organization development involves the intervention of organizational process using behavioral science skill and organizational reflection, planning, system improvement and self analysis.

Importance of the Improvement plans

There are many reasons as to why an organization should take into consideration the need organizational improvement plans. For this reason let us discuss the importance of organizational improvement. Organizational improvement is something vital to all organizations. High productivity is the results of organizational improvement, if an organization dedicates itself to continuous improvement, it will have an attractive look to its customers or clients. With this, the organization will make high sells of it services and products, thus leading to high productivity.

Improvement plans makes the organization to maintain customer and employee relationship. With improvement, all sections of the organization is considered. This takes into consideration the employee relationship and the customer relationship. If the employees are treated with care, then they will in turn treat the customers with care. For any business firm or organization to achieve its goals, it should consider daily improvement on customer relationship. If the organizational improvement will not target the customers, then there will be a poor image of organization to the customers and this will lead to the downfall of the organization. Besides the customers being the first interest of the organization, the employees are as well very important, therefore the organization should consider these in the improvement plan.

Organizational improvement is important because it leads to organizational profitability. For sure, an organization that does not take into consideration organization improvement can’t be profitable. Organization profitability takes upon improvement. An organization should be able to analyze its functions and come up with its strength and weakness. On carrying out internal versus external analysis, an organization always discovers that it has strength and some weakness. All this are measured in the analysis, thereafter the weakness should be fixed and more improvement is made on the strength in order for it to compete favorably with other organizations.

After observing the organizational improvement, let us also consider the goals that enhance authority. The goals that enhance authority are the end results of all organizational activities that speed up authority. Leadership skill is a goal that enhances authority. According to businessballs.com, leadership is about skills and behavior.  If there is good leadership skill authority will be enhanced. We have to realize that authority is practiced by the leaders, for leaders to exercise authority in a good manner it is requited of them to have good leadership skills. This will therefore enhance authority in a given organization.

Another goal that enhances authority is leadership qualities. According to Hakala (2008) leadership is the ability to make others willingly follow. Sincerely a leader cannot be one if he/she can’t make people to follow the directives of an organization leadership qualities include the discipline to work towards the vision, ability to practice honesty, humility, openness, and fairness to the employees. If a leader practices these entire he be actually authority in the organization. This enhances authority in a way that it makes employees abide to the organizational rules that making leadership easy.

Accountability

Another aspect that we need to observe in this study is accountability; according to Anderson (n.d) accountability is acknowledgement and assumption for responsibility within a range of a role or a give post, taking the responsibility to report and being answerable for the consequences. He says, “In leadership roles, accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions within the scope of a role or position, encompassing the obligation to report, and be answerable for resulting consequences” (Anderson, (n.d)).  After observing this aspect let us have a close look at it.

Goals that Enhance Accountability

Accountability as well has the goals that enhance it. The goals that affect accountability are those aspects that make it easy for an individual or a leader to account for whatever position he/she holds in an organization. Some of these aspects include having creating accountability persons. Being a manager it is difficult to account for all organizational aspects. This will require that a manager have to look for partners to check his/her accountability in the areas that it does not require direct reporting to the organization.

Planning is another aspect that enhances accountability. A manager that comes up with clear plans to run the organization has no problem with accountability. Besides planning, the plans should be followed strictly. In so doing, the outcome becomes accountability because at the end of the day the desirable output is met. When an organization comes up with its desirable outcome, it means that the procedures have been followed in the right manner. The right manner of undertaking procedures means the organizational plan is effectively followed and this enhances accountability.

Organizational analysis is another important factor that enhances accountability.    Organizational analysis includes social arrangements which include the collective goals, the control of performance and has a boundary that separates it with its environs. This aspect enlaces accountability directly in a way that the organization managers consider the analysis of all aspects in the organization. After the analysis has been made the manager will automatically account for all the aspects. The analysis provides information that includes the downfall and the strength of the organization. It is now clear that the manager will be directly accountable for the weakness and the strength that has been realized in the organization at a particular financial period or any other time.

Accountability is not something done one and forgotten, it is also same to growth and it is therefore required that it is practiced in a continuity mode. We therefore have co learn about strategic initiative for accountability. Strategic initiative for accountability is the need to continue being accountable. At this point we are observing the long term basis of accountability in an organization.

Strategic Initiative for Accountability

An organization manager should come up with a long term plan that looks into contours accountability. Accountability is not a managers’ aspect only. All organization’s members should be held accountable for all their activities. For the management to ensure this, proper assessment of organizational activities should be put in place. This is close to organizational analysis. It will make the employees to mind their job and provide quality job.

An organization should also prepare rules and regulations that govern it. Rules and regulation are not meant to discourage employees but it provides directions and checks employee conducts. When these are put in place employees will learn to become accountable for everything they do. Such measures are very significant for the organizational improvement.

For long term accountability process a company should decentralize its authority. According to Crosby (1984) decentralization is the distribution of authority throughout the organization or held in the hands of a few. Decentralization therefore according to him is the distribution of authority throughout the organization.   The organization should have more than one manager e.g. the high level manager, middle level manager and the lower level manager. With this you will realize that accountability will now be practiced so easily because there are many reporting areas. The sequence will now be that the employees will report to the lower level manager, the lower level manager will then report to the middle level manager and the middle level manager will then report to the higher level manger will report to the company’s (CEO) chief Executive manager. This trend is actually long, the length of the trend is very important because it crates accountability among all the members of the organization.

Advantages of Accountability

After observing accountability to this far, let us observe its advantages. It is very important for organizational members to exercise accountability because of the following reasons, accountability enhances decision making in an organization. If accountability is practiced, decision making process becomes easy because every member have in mind all it takes of them. This provides clear records to all organizational aspects making it easy to come up with decisions.

It quickens organization analysis. This makes it easier to come up with the analysis because when all organization members become accountable it provides accuracy regarding the record keeping. You will note that accountability checks all the organizational procedures. This therefore clearly outlines the ease to come up with organizations analysis.

Accountability is a key to organizational productivity. If an organization practice accountability, all activities within it will be perfected. Accountability ensures the smooth running of the organization. With this smooth running of the organization the end product will be productivity.

Accountability is a tool of relationship in an organization context. Actually, to those whom you are accounted to in an organization will be build a relationship. This means it makes people to relate to one another. This will as well yield to public relation. As people continue to become responsible to one another, it makes them to learn how to relate publicly to one another. This will also shape the habits of organizational member. We should remember that employees are not only seeking a living from their employers but they also look for employment in order for them to meet with different kinds of people in the walks of life so that they can learn how to associate and appreciate one another. Accountability therefore, makes this possible to such kind of employees. 

Plans to Enhance Accountability

Accountability is a very important aspect in an organization and therefore necessary plans to enhance its continuity should be put in place. The necessary plans that can be put in place to enhance accountability are; practicing decentralized mode of organization management system. This makes all the organizational members to be held accountable for their activities. The long chain of management provides members the ability of making decision even without the approval of the higher management. Now that the members have the ability to make decisions, they are careful because they are conscious of the accountability upon all decisions made.

This essay has focused mainly on the followingitems; importance of assessment in an organization, organizational improvement plans, importance of the improvement plans, accountability, goals that enhance accountability, strategic initiative for, accountability, advantages of accountability, and plans to enhance accountability in an organization. These are the aspects that leaders need to adhere to in order to perfect their leadership style. In practicing these concepts, they will propel their organizations to greater heights of success.