More on the five organizational systems....
The Expert System
This expert system helps leaders diagnose the root causes of their organizational concerns. It's based on NDMA's decades of research on the systems within organizations.
Beginning with a symptom (such as dissatisfied clients or unhappy employees), you can "drill down" through a series of successively more specific symptoms until you find a suspected root cause -- a systemic dysfunction in the organization.
Even if you don't see precisely the issues that are on your mind, this tool will certainly demonstrate the organizational root-cause analysis process, and it may suggest solutions that are relevant to your issues.
Note: This expert system is focused entirely on organizational issues, not on individual performance problems. It's based on the following premise:
If an organization is not well designed, good people will appear to be poor performers; and firing them will only bring in a new batch of good people who will also perform poorly because of the unhealthy organizational environment around them.
Of course, this expert system is not a clairvoyant "answer book." Every organization is unique, and must be carefully analyzed by the leaders who best know it.
The purpose of this system is only to:
- demonstrate the concept of root-cause analysis,
- give leaders practice in thinking about systemic root causes, and
- provide thought-starters for discussion within a leadership team.
This tool is not intended to stand alone. It a companion to the book, How Organizations Should Work. We encourage you to read the book before any serious use of this expert system.
Key Terminology: organization, client, customer....
An "organization" is any group of people working together to achieve a common and ongoing purpose (line of business) that benefits people outside their profession. It may be a corporation or a company, a government agency, a family working on their farm, a volunteer association, or a union. It may seek to make a profit, or it may be not-for-profit.
We use the term "client" differently from the term "customer."
A client is someone outside your organization who consumes the organization's products and services.
When clients buy from you, they are acting as your "customers."
In addition, a group within an organization may sell its products and services to other groups within the organization. When they do, their "customers" are internal, not clients.
In short, "clients" are people outside the organization. The term "customer" includes clients as well as others within the organization.
How to Operate this Tool
Once you start the expert system, look over the list of symptoms, and select the one that best describes your concern (i.e., "click" it to follow the link).
Then, read the discussion that follows.
After the discussion, you may see a list of more specific symptoms. Select one and continue the analysis.
Alternatively, you may see a suspected root cause. Following this link will bring you to a discussion of that organizational system.
Of course, you may always back up and follow another path or analyze another symptom of concern to you.
