Creating and maintaining a culture of excellence
Excellence is a virtue that is difficult to maintain but essential for the overall effectiveness of the organization. This paper shall discuss the creation and maintenance of a culture of excellence in the organization with the objective of achieving organizational objectives. The paper shall focus on the university organizational set up. In attempts to create a culture of excellence it is incumbent upon management of an organizational to develop definite paths that would be followed in the operation of the university. For starters, it would be essential to have an organizational plan. In the plan, all the expected activities should be outlined. All activities ought to be in line with the overall organizational objectives. Ordinarily, an excellence approach should entertain objectives that are smart. That is, the objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic and time bound. The latter relates to the fact that achievement needs to be tied down to a set time.
Secondly, the development of excellence should be premised on professional conduct of operations. Management needs to examine recent managerial theory and incorporate new models of management. One essential element of organizational management that should be included is the management by objectives (MBO). Under management by objectives, the manager sets objectives for employees. Each employee plays a specific role in the achievement of organizational objectives. In addition, performance measurement and evaluation is based on the achieved set of objectives that the employee had been charged with.
Third, it would be important to incorporate current managerial models in an attempt to create excellence. In this context, the plan would include a comprehensive risk management and external analysis for strategic purposes. In this approach, it would be the strategy of the organization to ensure that likely risks are considered and planned for in advance. Other than merely considering potential risks in the firm, the plan would also incorporate the results from external analysis. External analysis refers to the process through which the organization conducts market research in relation to rival firms. In this context, it would involve the monitoring and observation of the rival universities. Proper strategy then calls for the development of mechanisms to tackle evolving and recurring matters. In addition, the university must have a comprehensive research and development department that leads in the development of new models of operations and attempts to solve organizational problems and challenges.
It should be appreciated that the internal customer is the first candidate while in pursuit of organizational excellence. The internal customer in this case refers to the employees. A culture that respects and appreciates the role of employees is important. In that context, it will be the position of the plan that employees participate actively in the formulation and eventual implementation of the organizational plans. Consequently, it would be essential to incorporate brainstorming sessions, team work, and conflict resolution and employee feedback mechanism in attempts to ensure employees contribute positively to the organization. Finally, this section would briefly describe the university in consideration. Like any other university, the primal function is the delivery of education. However, this delivery is accompanied by a number of tertiary and support services. It is the overall delivery of all the services that enable the successful achievement of the university objectives. In conclusion, it is the position of this paper that organizational excellence can only be attained through an inclusive approach.
References
Ivancevich, J., & Konopaske, R. (2010). Organizational Behavior and Management. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies,Incorporated.
