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 Return to Free Articles & Tools Index What causes organizational dysfunction? October 2007 I recently sat next to a younger gentleman at lunch (GenX). He worked for a real-estate company that represents tenants in their search for commercial real estate. As such, he worked for mostly larger organizations and told me that he was absolutely flummoxed (O.K., he didn’t say flummoxed, but I like the word and I couldn’t print the one he really used) at how dysfunctional many of the companies were. It is a bit harsh to say that all organizations are dysfunctional, but certainly many have “opportunities for alignment”. Between the salad and main course, we discussed why dysfunction and misalignment exist so often. Here were our observations: 1. Communication. Executives have a tendency to under communicate, assuming that information is received by all when it is not. Volume and frequency are important here and to communicate effectively, of course, you must have a… 2. Clear message of purpose and vision. Many do not. Guardrail to guardrail behavior is quite prevalent in many companies. Beyond a purpose and vision, strategies and tactics must also be fleshed out and communicated well. In my tablemate’s world, he finds that those who are responsible for site location are often pulled one way and then another with expectations changing for no apparent reason. (There might be good reason. See #1.) 3. The law of large numbers. When organizations get large, there are many opportunities for breakdowns in communication and consistency of expectations. This does not mean that they cannot be overcome, but it takes much work. I once worked for a CEO who had previously been a senior executive at Wal-mart and the CEO of Sam’s Club. He said that they were fond of saying that at Wal-mart, they could make a decision on Friday to put a red dot on the upper left-hand corner of the front door of all stores and have it done by Monday. That’s effective communication—even with large numbers. (Having your own closed-circuit satellite communication system helps!) 4. Sometimes people don’t care. This leads to great dysfunction. The lunch that I was attending with the young man was focused on generational differences in the work place. Gen-X and Gen-Y have a real need to understand what is in it for them and senior management needs to address this rather than fight it. We only came up with 4 before the speaker started. I suspect that with a few more minutes, we could have rounded out the “top 10”. Does your organization feel dysfunctional? Do you know why? If it is not, Do you know why? |
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