Best Practices Part Ii

Best Practices Part II, Week Six Paper

MM/590 Ð'- Contemporary Issues in Leadership and Management

Claude Toland

May 26, 2006

Today's organizations face many challenges. Particularly as they relate to the various strategies, which can be employed in order to respond efficiently and competitively to growing and changing customer demands. Similarly, organizations are confronted by increasing pressures to value and manage information, specifically human intellect, and convert such knowledge into useful products and services.

This paper discusses five best practices in ensuring quality, speed, and flexibility as well as five best practices in managing information as an asset. An analysis of Naval Hospital Yokosuka's current condition in these two areas is also presented at the end of each section, with a view to apply the lessons learned from the best practices described in this paper.

Best Practices in Ensuring Quality, Speed, and Flexibility

What makes an organization competitively sustainable? Perhaps, the answer to this question may have something to do with the way an organization manages its resources, manufactures its products or provides services, or simply generates new and innovative ideas. These are just some of the effects of a responsive organization, one that is able to predict changes and adapt appropriately to changing demands.

Many of today's organizations exemplify best practices in ensuring quality, speed, and flexibility, all of which characterize a responsive organization which utilizes an organic structure. As evident in the following texts, the advantages of adhering to these organizational imperatives are numerous. The key is in ensuring that quality, speed, and flexibility are integrated into every process and system. There must also be a continuous monitoring of how these imperatives can be advanced to maximize customer value.

Best Practice #1 Ð'- Functional Flexibility: Altering work organization to foster innovation and improve flexibility

The ability to change and adapt to various trends requires flexibility. When there is less rigidity, employees are motivated more to "think out of the box" and generate creative ways of solving job-related problems. According to Georgsdottir and Getz , one of the ways to foster innovation and improve flexibility is by altering work organization (Georgsdottir, Getz , 2004).

An example of this is in applying teamwork across the organization and making it an integral part of an organization's culture. "By relaxing the boundaries between specialized individuals and having them work together, organizations can turn a group of rather rigid persons into a flexible team" (Georgsdottir, Getz, 2004). While this strategy offers more obvious benefits than disadvantages, managers should be aware that the differences in personalities and behaviors of individuals in the team are prone to cause conflict which can be detrimental to efficiency and productivity. Therefore, managing individuality may be as important as managing similarity in reaping the benefits of teamwork in an altered work structure.

An example of an organization which utilizes best practice in functional flexibility is Intel. The company encourages its employees, particularly its engineers to work in teams and collaborate with other colleagues in order to facilitate problem solving and bring about a wide array of ideas and perspectives. Georgsdottir and Getz sum it up by indicating that "such work within organizations increases the team's cognitive flexibility, which potentially facilitates innovation" (Georgsdottir, Getz, 2004).

Best Practice #2 Ð'- Numerical Flexibility and Externalization

The use of numerical flexibility and externalization pertains to an organization's tactics to reduce costs by altering its workforce, for instance, hiring temporary workers to perform certain functions typically performed by regular employees. In order for an organization to achieve financial objectives, they must understand how and when to utilize flexibility and externalized staffing arrangement. The weakness of this strategy, however, is the negative impact of externalization on the organization's regular employees. Mr. Kalleberg believes that:

Human resource management strategies that try simultaneously to minimize labor costs via contingent workers and to increase commitment and motivation of core workers may not be successful, since management's recruitment of temporary employees may give rise to conflict and tension between temporary and permanent workers (Kalleberg, 2001).

A number of United Nations (UN) agencies employ numerical flexibility and externalization for a variety of reasons. To hire workers in the most expeditious way possible while being cognizant in reducing organizational costs, UN agencies such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) capitalize on flexible contractual modalities. Which allow temporary personnel to perform core functions on a full time or part-time basis. Since the required administrative work in hiring such temporary personnel takes less time than in hiring regular employees. These UN agencies are able to respond better to challenges, by deploying people to even the most remote areas where expertise and aid are needed.

Best Practice #3 Ð'- Continuous improvement to ensure quality

One of the factors that contribute to a successful business is effective customer management. Knowing what the customers need at any given point, is critical in enabling businesses to develop, create, and produce products. Which not only deliver what customer require, but also provide quality and value for the money. "A company attains and retains competitive advantage by continuing to improve" (Bateman-Snell, 2003).

This practice is best exemplified by many Japanese companies particularly by Motorola. As a global leader in providing integrated communications and electronic solutions, Motorola engages all its organizational members to pursue its commitment in enhancing the quality of its products and services, with the desire to attain total customer satisfaction. The company desires its employees to recognize that quality is a way of life in a business, not an advertising term.

Best Practice #4 Ð'- Total Quality Management (TQM)

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