Worldliness in Business: An Effective Approach to Management

An effective Approach to Management

What do most people think of when you say worldly? Most people think global. In fact, being worldly is quite different from being global. Managers of a global mindset think about business in generalities from their offices. Managers of a worldly mindset use practical real world experience to see the world in a detailed view of causes and effects.

Worldliness is key to effective management. Raphael , (2004), wrote that "the most interesting things ..happen on the edges.. the interface between the woods and the field." (pg.12). The worldly view allows the manager to manage the action that takes place on the edges (Gosling & Mintzberg, 2003). This view clearly defines the differences between the sides with an appreciation of why and how they are different. Without this knowledge of other worlds, the business will fail by focusing on their immediate environment or not being able to operate in surrounding environment. The concept of worldliness is one developed from having complete knowledge (Gosling & Mintzberg, 2003). Complete knowledge comes from the ability of the organization to diagnose itself and surrounding organizations, the application of the systems concept to effective management and the understanding of fit among components of organizational design.

One aspect of complete knowledge is knowing truly what is happening inside the organization. World l iness is being involved in every aspect of the happenings in an organization. Diagnosing the organization is the best way to see what is going on within the business. Diagnosis is crucial for organizational development and change management (Harrison, 2004). Diagnosing is only beneficial if the suggestions for recommendations are valid. The diagnosis should answer the following questions: How does the client view the main problem within the organization, how can the problem be redefined so that a workable solution can be made, what business unit, component or group is most affected/involved, what are the internal and external factors creating pressure, and what behavior or organization patterns can be most easily changed to invoke change (Harrison, 2004)?

The open system model seems to be the best diagnostic tool for organizations. It allows one to see analyze the impact of internal and external inputs and influences. The components to the open system model express the relationship or interdependence between the components. These relationships should be explored and organizations should understand how components affect each other. Relationship analysis can help management see how certain aspects of their business will be impacted if changes are made. Diagnosing inputs such as the people resources and environment help signal where change is needed (Harrison, 2004).

Worldliness in relation to Systems thinking is a crucial part of effective systems. Knowing what parts of system are essential and which are not, allow the management of an organization to focus on the essential parts. This concept fits into the re-occurring theme of "complete knowledge". Complete knowledge is acquired from knowing the ins and outs of your organization and the ones that you interact with. Complete knowledge also involves knowing the details of the environment in which you operate and the environments that operate around you and besides you.

Worldliness requires tools to gain this set of complete knowledge. Flow charts, system diagnosis, and application to the organic and open systems models. Flow charts are good visual tools to recognize where systems are failing, where there are delays from bottlenecks and where misalignments exist. Once these problems are identified the organization can be diagnosed for a solution. Inputs as well as other open system components are represented in flow charts. These charts show how each sub process interacts with other processes and departments. It shows how one action impacts other actions and processes (Ackoff, 1999).

The knowledge gained from diagnosis and research of systems is brought together to form a vision for the company. The vision statement contains the future of where the stakeholders want the company to be. It should also contain an enthusiastic definition of how the company is striving to get to the desired future. The vision statement is a good representation of the worldly mindset (Ackoff, 1999).

References

Ackoff, R. (1999). Re-Creating Corporation: A Design of Organizations for the 21st Century.

Oxford Press. PP.45-60.

Gosling, J. & Mintzberg, H. (2003). The Five Minds of a Manager. Harvard Business Review,

November , 54-63.

Harrison, M. (2004). Diagnosing Organizations: Methods, Models, and Processes (Applied

Social Research Methods) (3rd ed) Sage Publications.