Human beings know all too well the importance of going to the doctor periodically for a check up. Some of us visit our doctor as part of a preventive schedule - we just want a check up to know that everything is OK. Others wait until they are noticeably ill (system malfunction) before going to the doctor. Whom would you rather be, the person practicing preventive care, or the person practicing reactive care for themselves? With preventive care we want to check our blood pressure, our cholesterol level, our motor skills, our reflexes, our vision, our breathing, our hearing - all the major systems in our body. We want the comfort of knowing we have a few years ahead us. All too often we practice reactive care, and in many cases, the damage that has already been caused is irreversible.Businesses and other organizations bare an uncanny similarity to the human organization (or human being). Each organization is made up of a set of interacting systems working together to achieve a set of objectives/goals. The major difference is that the human organization is a lot more sophisticated than the others, and it often has a much wider set of objectives - wanting to ride a bike, planning a good vacation, making a cake, preparing for a marathon, etc. Business organizations for example, simply want to make profit, and perhaps be considered a "good corporate citizen" to help them make even more profit.
When any system within the organization malfunctions, the entire organization suffers. When our nervous system malfunctions, for example, we lose coordination. When our breathing is difficult, we can't climb a hill. Business organizations are no different. Think of where you work. I am sure you can find a system malfunction, and I am sure that you are, at least to some degree, aware of its impact on the entire organization. For example, if shipments always arrive late, then promised delivery dates are always violated. As a result, the business may lose customer loyalty as well as its competitive advantage. My fundamental question, therefore, is, how many businesses, not-for-profit corporations, and governmental organizations undergo detail check ups from time to time? Ask yourself, when last did your workplace undergo a detailed check up? It doesn't matter how small the organization is. Babies need check ups too - in fact, very frequent (preventive) check ups!
Most organizations have a vision (stated or implied), a mission (stated or implied), a set of goals and objectives, and a number of systems which include: a financial system, a human resource system, feed back systems, an operations system, a cultural system, and many others along with several sub-systems. These systems are crucial to the proper functioning of the entire organization.
I do not need to do somersaults to convince any one who could add two and two, that detailed periodic check ups (also called diagnostic studies) can be very useful in giving the organization an accurate picture of the status of its overall "health", not just its financial health, but that of operations, human resources, organizational culture, and so on. Then and only then can effective remedies be prescribed to heal potentially damaging ailments that currently exist, or to strengthen the organization's immunity to common ailments such as poor worker morale, lack of financial control, poor customer service, lack or proper communication, and so on.
So why do few managers perform detailed organizational check ups? Even worse, why do they practice reactive care more than preventive care? There are several possible reasons amongst others: 1) inertia - most organizations are so entrenched in their pattern of behavior that they fear having to deal with the changes that the truth will suggest, 2) laziness - it is too much trouble, we can't be bothered, 3) ineptitude - some managers just do not know what to do, 4) complacency - some managers are content with mediocrity and do not strive for excellence, 5) interruption of routine - some managers have a routine they would not want to interrupt, 6) lack of faith - some managers do not believe that the exercise would yield any benefits, 7) lack of a holistic focus - some managers are contented to look at the organization one little piece at a time, and 8) insecurity - some managers are afraid to find out that they may not be managing as effectively as they think.
Any organization that is interested in being efficient, flexible, responsive, competitive, lean, proactive, and believes in and is committed to excellence, must undertake periodic (perhaps yearly) holistic self-study. The check up must be complete, and the prescriptions for better health must be followed. Eventually, "cardiac arrest" will befall those organizations that fail to heed these words.
The check up must begin with an examination of the relevance and effectiveness of the vision and mission of the organization. A test of adherence to the vision and mission must also be conducted. Each major system within the organization must be studied by involving all of the stake-holders (employees and customers) that interact with that system. The study of each system must be a multi-level study involving the internal relationships among sub-systems and processes, and external relationships with other systems. For example, the human resource system can be studied looking at internal relationships involving employee feedback, worker morale, job satisfaction, availability of resources, employee participation, and work teams. The external relationship between human resources and operational effectiveness, for example, need to be studied.
The results of organizational check ups, when taken seriously will lead to corporate renewal and synergy. All precaution must be taken to ensure that the exercise does not become a blaming match. For a successful check up, the stake-holders must be willing to take full ownership of all of the problems and take responsibility for developing and implementing all of the corrective actions needed to work towards a clean bill of health.
