Free Custom «Organizational Management » Essay Paper

Decision making is a process which is demanding and involves a lot of cognitive experience from the decision makers. In particular the entire process is intangible but the end results of the decisions made are visible. The whole process of decision making is therefore an important task that needs the intelligence of the management. Various organizations have different ways of making decisions. The processes involved in making these decisions vary from company to company based on the diversity of the leadership in the organizations and also with the business functions and trends within different organizations.

In the organization the top management makes the critical decisions. They base their focus mostly on the external forces that may directly affect the organization. They critically look at the competition from other organizations that are in the same business and dynamically make decisions aimed at countering the aggressive competition and the rapid change in the supply and demand of products and services. On the other hand, decisions also involving the internal functions of the organization are also put into consideration for effective productivity. The areas that require expansive care in decision making are the human resource and planning, quality assurance and operations management divisions within the organization as they form the basis of day to day activities.

What are the organizational barriers and environmental barriers in an organization that impact the decision-making process?

In every organization, there are always some barriers that affect the making of any decisions in that organization. The first organizational barrier is resource management or financial management. In the contemporary world where communication both intra and extra organization is dynamic, there is a big challenge posed to the management especially the financial manager to mitigate the costs of operations and at the same develop strategies that will take advantage of the dynamic nature of international business and effectively manage the risks that may be involved in doing business.

The second barrier involves communication and relationships at the workplace. Though it is an essential requirement that professionals communicate effectively both internally and externally, there is a possibility that the outcome of this may not be satisfactory. The involvement in cross-boundary relationships may turn out to be impenetrable and stressful at the same time, with unwanted outcomes.

Finally, there is a barrier regarding ethics. Every culture business or otherwise has set standards, values and objectives. Though there is an agreement of the values that are good or bad, it is not always that every one agrees with these values. As a result there has been a divergence between the publics and the business entities creating an increase in unethical behavior within the organizations in the contemporary society. Due to this change in behavior, there has been a lot of emphasis given to creating professionalism and ethical business etiquette.

What actions might be taken to address organizational and environmental constraints on decision-making?

As regards the barriers involved in organizational decision making it could be imperative to structure actions that may be taken to address the barriers. First, as regards the financial management barrier, the dynamic changes in communications and technological advancement can be used to counter poor financial management. With the advancement of technology there has been a reduction of costs and an increase in efficiency in delivering services thus resulting to increased revenues and a slight decrease in the risks involved in trying to make the organizations more attractive.

The second action in countering the constraints is the proper definition of the goals and objectives of the company. It is important for all organizations to place the required importance in the service to the clients, return on investments made, resources employed, welfare of the staff and customer loyalty to the organization. In essence, this could be written down so as to clearly define them. A code of conduct also needs to be adopted by an organization so as to maintain a standard and ethical way of running the business. Such codes of conduct should delve in addressing leadership issues, rights of the employees, employee development and the formulation of polices among other areas of operation.

As regards communication, the countering solution would be creation of strategies that involve all the stakeholders in the organization. There should be enhanced laid down policies that ensure the involvement of all parties within and outside the organization. This is generally because; communication forms a backbone of the decision making process within the organizations. In essence, it is imperative to engage the entire business fraternity with weekly meetings so as to involve all the stakeholders such as employees, customers and the well being of the business before making any major decisions.

The ultimate counter for any barriers that affect decision making regards the leadership. If the leadership has well qualified and competent individuals, then the decision making process becomes easier. This is because the decisions made will be competent and will match the international business standards.

What techniques can be used for improving the decision making process? For coming up with more creative solutions?

The strategies that may be used to improve decisions making procedures are various. The strategies however, should be designed to make the process of decision making easier, faster and more efficient.

One such strategy is the optimizing strategy. This strategy helps the manager determine the expected costs that surround a certain solution and the benefits that also surround this. However the strategy consumes a lot of time and costs since it involves technological advancements. Examples of the strategy are decision analysis and forecasting.

The satisfying strategy is also one that can be used to improve the decisions making process. This is not as time consuming and costly as the optimizing strategy. In this, the manager comes up with several alternatives and chooses one that will satisfy a minimum set of criteria, putting in mind the costs and the benefits that will arise from the solution.

Is my organization a learning organization?

Learning organizations are the organizations that facilitate the training and advancement of its employees. In these organizations, each member of staff is continuously expected to transform and advance himself in the field that they specialize in. In a learning organization, there are critical features that determine its operations; thought of systems, individual expertise, mental models and team learning.

In my organization, there is a learning environment. The organization facilitates the advancement of each member of staff in the field they specialize in. for instance, refresher courses are offered in every department and thus every individual is always on toes on their fields of specialization.

What are the characteristics that define it as a learning organization?

A learning organization is one that has the ability to diversify the mindset and the behavior of its members of staff. In such an organization the development of its staff in their respective fields of expertise is primary. A frequent update is maintained and the performance levels thus go up.

Learning organizations also consider the provision of support to its members of staff rather than giving the staff pressure. In such an organization, the members of staff have a strong relationship network, and always get the support they need when required.

Thus for learning organizations, it is imperative that all the activities engaged in the business are up to date. The organizations that are learning organizations always have their vision and objectives tied to universal principles.