Week 4, post#3

Organizations as Brains, Computers, or Information-Processing Entities
The concept of having an organization function as a Brain, Computer or Information-Processing entity, seems rather far-fetched. Although I’m sure it can be modeled after these three structures, I doubt it can function for very long without running into issues that might make drastic changes.

Most organizations start out with an idea and it usually results in the production of a product or a service. In the beginning, the idea and the passion the owner has about this idea becomes the driving force of its continued success. Once the owner adds employees and increases production of this product or service he/she needs to develop a mechanism to coordinate and to communicate with all of its parts.

Communicating in the Brain structure would seem rather authoritarian. There would be one brain with one over-riding thought and moral process. Communicating in the Computer structure would require updates and adding new patches to help with breaches and virus. There would be a danger of continuing with ideas that start to fall behind the innovation curve. Communicating in the Information-Processing entity would seem rather mundane as the process of information is about the input and output of data.

Week 4, post#2

Rationality
Creating an atmosphere of rationality in the way business is conducted at my organization would be a feat unto itself. We would have to create a unit that would make the art of developing logical reasoning the order of the day. Actually, I have suggested the idea of creating an Ombudsman. I have listened to the Ombudsman for NPR radio and found the job fascinating. According to the NPR web site, the Mandate and Office of Ombudsman:

1. The Ombudsman is the public's representative to National Public Radio, empowered to respond to significant queries, comments and criticisms regarding NPR programming.
2. The Ombudsman will serve as an independent source of information, explanation, amplification and analysis for the public regarding NPR's programming and NPR's adherence to its programming standards and practices.
3. The Ombudsman is empowered to receive complaints from the public regarding NPR programming, and refer the complaints to relevant management for response.
4. Should a complainant deem a response from NPR management unsatisfactory, the Ombudsman is empowered to investigate NPR's standards and practices with regard to the matter raised, respond to the complainant, inform the management of findings and conclusion, and make public any conclusion(s) if the issue is relevant to people other than the complainant. The Ombudsman may also intervene if NPR management fails to provide a timely response to a complaint.
5. The Office of the Ombudsman is completely independent of NPR staff and management, reporting directly to the President and, through the President, to NPR's Board of Directors.
6. The NPR Ombudsman will identify issues and trends in contemporary artistic, editorial, and journalistic broadcast programming for the benefit of NPR's professional staff, member stations, and the public. The Ombudsman will use on-air broadcasts, and online and public discussion groups to present issues and suggest ways for NPR's practices to uphold the highest professional standards.
(There were a total of 9 mandates).
To me I liken the Ombudsman to the person who needs to be objective and reasonable in how they receive/deliver the communications. The independent nature of the position allows for the perceived objectivity that would be necessary to ensure a satisfactory resolution.

If this position would be created in the public safety arena I believe it would be a win-win scenario for all stakeholders. The community would benefit in having the opportunity to offer criticism, praise, or complaint about the agency, and/or the body that audits the agency. The agency would be able to use the comments garnered from the Ombudsman to strengthen their continued success of value added service. They would also benefit from the complaints and look at ways to reduce these negative comments.

The Auditor would benefit from the Ombudsman by increasing its value as a resource to the community member by utilizing the complaint process with a focused priority.

Both entities currently seem to have an adversarial relationship. The Ombudsman would benefit both groups by being the voice of reason and objectivity.

Week 4, post1

After reading the chapter on Organizational Structure and Process I couldn't help but reflect on my own organization. The organization that I work for is steeped in structure, hierarchy, authority, differentiation or specialization, and bureaucracy. This organization strives on the system of hierarchy and makes no mistake that the leader of this organization is a “chief”. This organization survives through the formalization of rules, regulations, and norms. This public safety entity requires structure to create communication from within the organization. The uniformed members require that the hierarchy be sound and non-wavering. The plain-clothes personnel also work in this hierarchy, but they are more lax in their show of formality. It’s interesting how the chapter ends with the notion that even though your organization may look sold, it may be that it is more fluid and what may seem malleable may actually be rigid. I can see how this dichotomy of structures might be present in this organization. I have been present where projects were affected by the lack of leadership in the hierarchy. This lack in leadership affected the outcome and process of the project. Regardless of the leadership in this particular process, the organization is large enough to absorb and to produce an outcome. As the organization gets larger the instances of the structure inhibiting the production of efficiency is greatly increased.

Adding the Class

Looking forward to catching up with all of you!