organisational diagnostic

The organisational diagnostic focuses on an under-performing or troubled Business Unit.

It is conducted by Tony McCaffrey, an experienced industrial psychologist. He probes the dysfunctionality of the Unit and identifies actions that should be taken to improve organisational effectiveness.

Working closely with the commissioning client Tony and his team agree:

• the context within which the Unit operates: its aims, objectives and linkages with other Units
• terms of reference for the Diagnostic: identification of issues and dynamics, format, presentation and timing of reporting.
• a programme of work comprising: administration and preparation, interviewing within the system, observations of the system in action, benchmarking against similar or related Units, milestone review meetings, reporting and presentation of results

The organisational diagnostic combines an examination of the explicit structural features of the organisation with an exploration of the more implicit, tacit aspects: the cultural underbelly. In practice, seemingly intractable problems at the manifest level of structure are often driven by dysfunction at the latent or hidden levels of the organisation.

To examine these issues Tony approaches the Unit as an anthropologist might approach a new tribe to focus on three separate levels of meaning:

1. The Official Version
   This is the narrative that the Unit managers, or the joint commissioning group, might give in presenting the work of the Unit to the outside world. It may be represented by written material such as pamphlets.
2. The Folk Version
   This is the staff response to the question "What is really going on here?" This is the unofficial version. Staff imagine that this response is the unvarnished "truth" about the organisation; their own slant on the reality of life in the organisation, warts and all.
3. The Subterranean Version
   At this final level, the question is addressed as to what is actually going on in the Unit. This is accessed by observation of the actual interaction of staff and clients in the course of the working day; by discussion, where appropriate, with clients; and by discussion with outside parties dealing with the Unit who might find the doings of the Unit incomprehensible. This level is often beyond the consciousness of the staff team.

A key part of the methodology is the use of milestone meetings with the members of the commissioning subsystem. As the work progresses, data is collected and fed back into the milestone meetings. Here hypotheses are generated, with the commissioners playing their part. These hypotheses inform the subsequent stages of the probe and can allow adjustment to the programme as it is undertaken.

Ownership of the work is located therefore, not just with the consultant, but across the consultant/commissioning system.

Results

In applying this approach Tony is able to disentangle complex problems in organisations and make concrete practical recommendations for change.

The close involvement of all parties during the course of the project provides the opportunity for all parties to buy-in to greater organisational effectiveness within and around the Unit.

For more details contact tony.mccaffrey@peternewhouse.com

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