Organization Design

Talented individuals cannot contribute to their full capacity and potential in a top-heavy organization that stifles initiative. Why is the crucial connection between effective organization design and successful leadership development often ignored?

Organization design involves the creation of roles, processes and formal reporting relationships in an organization. One can distinguish between two phases in an organization design process: Strategic grouping, which establishes the overall structure of the organization, its main sub-units and their relationships and operational design which defines the more detailed roles and processes.

It is important to distinguish between organization design and organization theory. The latter is a descriptive discipline, mainly focusing on describing and understanding organizational functioning. Organization design is a more normative, design-oriented discipline that aims to produce the frameworks and tools required to create effective organizations.


Key Concepts in Design of Organization

Span of control: the range of employees who to report to a managerial position

Authority: the formally-granted influence of a position to make decisions, pursue goals and get resources to pursue the goals; authority in a managerial role may exist only to the extent that subordinates agree to grant this authority or follow the orders from that position

Responsibility: the duty to carry out an assignment or conduct a certain activity

Delegation: process of assigning a task to a subordinate along with the commensurate responsibility and authority to carry out the task

Chain of command: the lines of authority in an organization, who reports to whom

Accountability: responsibility for the outcome of the process

Line authority: the type of authority where managers have formal authority over their subordinates' activities. The subordinates are depicted under the manager on a solid line in the organization chart, departments directly involved in producing services or products are sometimes called line departments

Staff departments: the type of authority where managers influence line managers through staff's specialized advice; departments that support or advise line departments are called staff departments and include, e.g., human resources, legal, finance, etc.

Employee Engagement - time to think about it !

Almost every employer expects employees to perform their best endeavor and go for extra mile while employees also want to have good work – the jobs that are worthwhile and turn them on. It seems like that more and more organizations are looking for a win-win solution that meets their needs and those of their employees. Many companies already know that wages and benefits are important to employees, but compensation alone is not enough to keep the highly skilled, motivated and experienced workforce your business needs to excel.

What is employee engagement ? It can be seen as a combination of commitment to the organization and its values plus a willingness to help out colleagues. It goes beyond job satisfaction and is not simply motivation. The primary behaviors of engaged employees are speaking positively about the organization to coworkers, potential employees and customers. They will have a strong desire to be a member of the organization and exerting extra effort to contribute to the organization’s success.

You may see that many organizations work so hard to develop and nurture engagement. However, the employee engagement process requires a two way relationship between employer and employee to help deliver the improvement in business performance. When employer delivers on their commitments by their actions to meet or fulfill employees’ expectations, this reinforces employees’ sense of fairness and build trust in the organization that will generates a positive psychological attachment between employer and employees.

Employment Engagement and its impact
An organization’s capacity to manage employee engagement is closely related to its ability to achieve high performance levels and superior business results. Engaged employees will stay with the company and contribute to bottom line business success. Engaged employees normally perform better performance and are more motivated and there is a significant link between employee engagement and profitability. Employee engagement is critical to any organization that seeks not only to retain valued employees, but also increase its level of business performance and capacity.

The first step is to measure employee attitudes to determine employees’ satisfaction. Most employers are conducting regular employee attitude surveys. A customizable employee surveys will provide you with a starting point towards your efforts to optimize employee engagement.

It is essential to pay close attention to the feedback from your employee. When management listens to their voices and concerns, employees respond by becoming more engaged. The information your employees supply will provide direction, identify problem areas so management has to make a plan and take action towards improvement. This result helps increase productivity and also benefit employee retention since engaged employees are much more likely to be satisfied in their positions, remain with the company, be promoted and strive for higher levels of performance. It would be very discourage to employees if they see no movement towards resolution of their concerns. The smallest actions that have been taken to actions, your staff will see that their input is being valued by the company. This will definitely boost up their morale, motivate and encourage their future contribution.

Organization Assessment and Survey

Organization Assessment

Organization assessment is a critical first step for any organization that seeks to understand its strengths and challenges to help increase its effectiveness. Accurate and timely information is a requirement for successful organizational change. It provides the basis for solving problems, addressing issues and making decisions.

Organizational Assessments are powerful tools for identifying an organization's strengths and weaknesses. They are the critical starting point for initiating any type of organizational change. Effective Organizational Assessment will sift through the symptoms and identify the actual issues that need to be resolved in order to move your company forward.

One-On-One Interviews and Focus Groups interview with members of the management team and a cross section of employees will be the first step to assess the problems or issues. Hence, the interview will provide your employees with an opportunity to be involved in the development of strategic interventions and thereby increase their interest and buy-in.


Employee Survey / Satisfaction Survey

Satisfaction Survey or Employee surveys can help diagnose issues and overall organizational climate anticipate potential problems assess teamwork and management style problems and measure the effects of organizational change. Management can assess and survey their employees to assess working conditions out of curiosity, or to relieve their anxieties about everything being ‘all right’.

Normally, surveys raise expectations by those who take them and those they tell. When expectations of change remain unfulfilled, employees can become more demoralized than before the survey. Thus, management must decide what actions are possible and what are not, even before the survey group gathers the data. When employees raise concerns, management needs to communicate that they understand their concerns.

Reliability is how consistent the survey is over time and the consistency of survey items with each other. If a survey is unreliable, survey statistics will move up and down without employee opinions really changing. What may look like a significant change over time may be due to the unreliability of the survey methods used.

How to win your dream job !!

Confidence - You don’t always see it, but you can feel it. It’s the magic ingredient that coupled with people skills and a proven work ethic, can help you land that dream job.

But in job-hunting – where the door of opportunity open and close very quickly, the interview usually gives you an average of only 30 minutes or up to two hour to impress the recruiter with your winning personality. To be warned - HR managers who interview hundreds of people everyday don’t have time to waste. You simply can’t show up for a job interview, hoping to breeze through by faking it.

Yes, you have to come prepared to get their attention the minute you arrive. In job interviews, first impressions last !! It is very important to DRESS to IMPRESS, make sure you are properly dressed. That means smart corporate attire, high heels are recommended. Your wardrobe does not have to be expensive but it must look neat and clean. Conservative colors are in, screaming hues are out. If you like, you can wear understated jewelry to soften your look.

No-No: Do not come in casual attire, even if you’re applying for a creative post - for example artist in a media or advertising company. Comfortable clothes in the workplace – like flexible working hours – are privileges granted to you after you have proven yourself - they are the exception, not the rule.

Come on time, tardiness, even if only for a few minutes, can cost you. Being punctual tells the interviewer that you are serious about the job and demonstrates proper respect for the person you will be doing business with. Traffic, ongoing construction in your area, the weather – none of these are acceptable reasons for tardiness. If you live a significant distance from the office which hold the job interview, leave an hour earlier if necessary. Coming early will also give you time to fix yourself and make sure that you look presentable.

Confidence comes from self-knowledge !! Do your homework days before the interview. Nothing is more frustrating to the interviewer than awkward silences. You have to know why you’re applying – beyond the obvious fact that you need the job. Moreover, you must be able to tell the recruiter why you are the best person for the position and why they should hire you instead of someone else.

NEVER bring out salary concerns during the first interview. Though recruiters understand your financial concerns, they must not see that it is your primary motivation – your desire to improve yourself and contribute to the well-being of the company must predominate.
If the recruiter does ask it, do not pad your present salary – recruiters can check this out. However, ask that you would like more considering that the pressure of the current position you are applying for is greater.

Once the interview is over, politely smile and say a word of thanks. Good luck everyone !!

Need advice ? Please send us an email to info@thePriority1.com

A good resume - your marketing tool to win your dream job

Resume - What is it ?
A resume (CV or Curriculum Vitae) is the first step to present yourself to a potential employer. It opens the door to a job interview. Thus, it is very important that you summarize all the relevant qualifications, experiences, skills and achievements in your resume.

Thousands of resumes are received by an employer everyday, thus they might only have 2minutes or so to browse your resume. How to excel yourself within the limited time becomes a key issue. It is unwise to pour every little detail into your resume as if it is a track record of your life!

What should be included in your resume ?

Personal Details
Your Full Name, Address, Contact no., mobile no., E-mail

Career Objective
A well-defined career objective helps the employer to relate your working experiences, qualifications to the applied job.

Photo
It is optional and please make sure that you are formally dressed.

Educational background

Employment History

Extra-curricular activities

Skills

References

Date of availability


Style and Format of Resume
Tailor-make your resume for the applied position, instead of using the same resume all the times. Arrange your qualifications, past experiences and etc in a reverse chronological order. State your achievements with facts, do not exaggerate. Begin sentence with action words and avoid using personal pronouns like “I”. Do not include all the attended courses and grades into the resume, but those relevant or with distinguished results. Organize the resume in a neat and tidy manner; highlight your attractions with headings, indentations. Use simple English and be concise, never write in casual or fancy tone. Make sure that your resume has been proofread with no typing and spelling mistakes.


Use of action words
It is essential to use action words to market your skills in resumes for it transforms your accomplishments in a more dynamic and readable manner.


Make Your Soft Skills Known
In addition to technical knowledge, an increasingly common requirement is for candidates to demonstrate an ability to add value to the business. The key way to do this is to demonstrate that you can hold your own in the corporate world. So rather than creating a CV that solely addresses your technical skills, elaborate upon your operation and commercial skills. For example, have you completed process improvements, been part of system implementations or improvements, managed projects or secured new clients? Focus on what you have done to make a difference and consequently demonstrate your commercial acumen.

Please remember that the key element employers are looking for is how you added value through these projects. It is not enough to simply state your financial or management skills, or say you were involved in a system implementation. Thus, you need to demonstrate how you have added value in your role, in your organisation and through your involvement in projects.

It is essential to demonstrate your ability to liaise with clients and nurture a business relationship. Communication across departments, the management of teams, human resources and project skills are all viewed very highly by employers and should be demonstrated accordingly on your CV and sought out in your current role to advance your career in the long term. This change from a pure technical focus has come about through the evolution of accountants themselves. With an increase in candidates who can demonstrate a more commercial focus and who will get involved in process improvements, system implementations and project management while demonstrating increasing management skills, employers have begun to seek out this type of accountant. For example, the accountant needs to hold their own and ensure their own development in a constantly evolving industry.

If the opportunity arises, it is certainly advantageous to become involved in special projects, which provide the opportunity to learn and develop your skills. In terms of your long-term career objectives, it will certainly help to take every opportunity to become involved in the commercial aspect of the business - even if this is not a required function of your current role. Good time management skills are also valued since an ability to meet deadlines is an ongoing requirement in financial cycles. Additionally, employers also look for candidates who can be a good team player, are innovative, and who possess a positive working attitude.


Writing a Resume - Tips
Follow the tips below and prepare a resume that is able to market yourself to potential employers. Human resources professionals usually receive huge number of job applications every day. So a resume that is clear and precise will certainly make you stand out from others. Even though there is no limitation to the length of a resume, one or two pages are desirable and the maximum is three pages.

If you want to give as much information as possible within two pages of your resume, you should only give information relevant to the job. Avoid personal details such as hobbies, marital status, weight, height or number of children you have.

Achievements - To distinguish yourself from other applicants, do not just list out job responsibilities in the past. Instead, try to highlight achievements especially quantifiable ones.

Normally, llarge organisations scan resumes by looking for key words of certain industries or skill sets. Therefore, use key words such as contract negotiation, project management, network support, product development and etc.

Proofread your resume again and again to avoid any typos. Misspelled words will give an impression that either you do not know the spelling or that you do not put effort in preparing your resume.

The design is as important as the content. Make your resume easy and comfortable to read. Highlight your strengths clearly and DO NOT print it on fancy coloured paper. Even if you apply jobs in the same industry, different firms have different requirements. Tailor your resume to employers’ needs. When your resume reaches the the human resources department, it may stay there for only 10 seconds. So, make it a useful marketing tool to help you win your dream job !!

Need advice ? Please send us an email to info@thePriority1.com

Company culture and values reinforcement

As companies in South East Asia attempt to rebound from the economic woes and scandals that many have experienced over the last 18 months, reshaping corporate culture will be a key issue on the plates of executive leaders everywhere.

Dictionary corporate culture definition: the professional atmosphere of a company, along with its values, customs, and traditions; Expanded corporate culture definition: it encompasses ethical and behavioral standards and how they are communicated and reinforced.

As an example of a company where bad corporate culture was a primary culprit for negative outcomes, Siemens AG, which found itself in major trouble for bribery and corruption late last year. Siemens’ culture encouraged employees to seek and accept bribes. As the company now tries to rebound, priority #1 is to change the culture that led to the negative behavior. Their new culture change is toward a more values-based leadership, where people don’t need to look at the rule book, where they know intuitively what the right thing to do is!

Many mortgage generators, credit card companies, and investment banks are examples of types of companies who, in general, have experienced recent failure in part because of their inability to develop healthy corporate cultures.

It is the responsibility of CEOs and the senior executive team to understand a company’s current corporate culture and what changes may be required for improvement. more...

Coping with the economy downturn

Managers in Asia have always treated their staff with a touch of paternalism. Companies were not meant to be simply places of work, but big, happy families. In parts of north Asia, especially Japan and South Korea, employees spent more time with their co-workers, either at their desks slaving away until late at night or in regular evening drinking fests, than with their own families. Layoffs were considered unseemly. In many Asian countries, a social contract of "lifetime employment" guaranteed full-time employees they would have jobs until retirement. In China, communism brought the "iron rice bowl" and institutionalized cradle-to-grave employment with state-owned companies.

The spirit of lifetime employment has stayed alive even amid the worst economic crisis in memory. As unemployment rises throughout Asia Pacific, government officials and executives are scrambling to find ways to minimize layoffs. Part of the urgency is to reduce the risk of social unrest as the number of jobless escalates. But part of the motivation is a very Asian perception of corporate responsibility. For each employee, the workplace exists not only for earning a living, but also for making friends, growing up and making a contribution to the society!

Asia's approach to layoffs contrasts with attitudes in the US, where staff cuts are considered to be a standard corporate coping strategy during business downturns. In January, for example, US employers eliminated 598,000 jobs—the most in any month in 34 years—but there was scant public debate over whether the layoffs were necessary or justified. Then again, laid-off US and European workers are usually entitled to government support in the form of unemployment insurance and other financial aid. In Asia, governments have traditionally seen worker welfare as the purview of the company and family, not the taxpayer. Social security nets are far less developed. But because of the scale and severity of the global recession, companies appear to be fighting a losing battle. As losses mount and order books shrink, mass layoffs are necessary for survival.

Still, analysts expect extraordinary efforts to save jobs will continue. Asians "can't be as ruthless as in the West," says Pawan Budhwar, a professor of international human resource management at Aston University in Birmingham. "People are more sensitive in making these kinds of cuts. They will explore other options." As the global recession deepens, that's the best workers in Asia can hope for.