Category: Organization Development

Strategic/organizational analysis methods depend on the particular organization. A list of data sources is available for determining training and HRD needs. The list includes the following; human resource inventories (formerly known as manpower inventories), skills inventories, organizational climate measures, and efficiency indexes. Some of these sources, such as efficiency indexes are continuously monitored by many organizations as part of the normal control procedures and the data are readily available. Other existing organizational measures can be used as a basis for performance improvement and training efforts also. Such sources include employee surveys and interviews. For example, the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan markets two instruments – Survey of Organizations and Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire – that are supported by substantial reliability and validity data.

Here is an additional list of questions to ask during an organizational analysis:

1. Are there any unspecified organizational goals that should be translated into training objectives or criteria?
2. Are the various levels in the organization committed to the training objectives?
3. Have the various levels or participating units in the organization been involved with developing the program, starting with the assessment of the desired end results of training?
4. Are key individuals in the organization ready to accept the behavior of the trainees, and also to serve as models of the appropriate behavior?
5. Will trainees be rewarded on the job for the appropriate learned behavior?
6. Is training being used to overcome organizational problems or conditions that actually require other types of solutions?
7. Is top management willing to commit the necessary resources to maintain the organization and work flow while individuals are being trained?

As suggested, organizational analysis can be a critical component of an effective HRD effort. Although it would be optimal to conduct a complete organizational analysis on a regular basis, resource and time limitations often make this difficult. At the very least, HRD managers and professionals should continuously monitor the organization’s environment, goals and effectiveness by taking advantage of information already collected by the organization. This responsibility is increasingly expected of ALL managers and supervisors, as the environment becomes increasingly more turbulent and competition more fierce.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Enjoy!

Leigh

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

– Looking for an expert in training and development or human performance technology?
– Contact me: Leigh Dudley – Linkedin – 248-349-2881 or 248-277-2966
– Read my blog: Training and Development

Financial reward can be a powerful motivator. The potential for personal profit can provide intense focus and efficiency to almost anyone. Indeed, incentives drive entrepreneurs in their relentless search for success, overcoming obstacles along the way. Money might not be their only motivator, but dollars (the kind they get to keep) are always their favorite measure of success.

That’s mostly missing for most nonprofit social enterprisers. Why? Many folks in the nonprofit sector believe that incentives are not permitted by the IRS. In fact, if structured properly, incentives will not put your tax exempt status at risk. Sales people can receive part of their compensation through commissions; and managers can be incentivized as well — as long as it’s “reasonable.” (Caveat: I am not a lawyer; be sure to discuss with counsel.) Secondly, many nonprofits believe that making a difference in the world is all the motivation that’s needed to get the most from people.

Fair enough, but the fact of the matter is that incentives work. In public radio, where I worked for many years as an executive and now as a consultant, an important source of revenue comes from underwriting. Underwriting is a kinder and gentler form of on-air advertising that public radio stations are allowed to “sell” to companies that want listeners to hear their messages. Some stations incentivize their underwriting staff, others do not. Guess which stations tend to do a better (in fact much better) job of generating revenue to support the station?

I’m confident that many social enterprises would be more successful if they structured incentives that line up with their priorities. Don’t miss out on an important tool that firms in the for-profit sector never ignore.

Consider making greed part of your social enterprise creed. It works.

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Copyright © 2010 Rolfe Larson Associates – Fifteenth Anniversary, 1995 – 2010
Author of Venture Forth! Endorsed by the late Paul Newman of Newman’s Own
Read my weekly blogs on Social Enterprise and Business Planning

My twice-monthly newsletter, Crisis Manager, is distributed by email and then is archived indefinitely at my website, where the newsletter page gets brisk traffic second only to my home page.

I welcome guest authors who would like to get some promotional value out of being exposed to my readers. The criteria:

• The article must in some way be related to any aspect of crisis management — crisis prevention, crisis planning, crisis response, etc.
• Length — no less than 500 words, as long as 2,000 words
• Submit anytime to jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com

Familiarity with the ezine is important, of course, so peruse the Crisis Manager Archive, where you can also sign up as a subscriber.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

Finances Are Just a Symptom, Not a Solution

When people think of financial sustainability, they usually think of getting enough money to pay bills for the long-term. Then they focus on strategies to keep getting enough money. That’s the wrong approach.

1. Strategy for Sustainability — Be Realistic

If an organization is trying to do far too much, it will likely not have enough resources, including not enough money to do what it wants to do. The solution is not to keep trying to get more money, the solution is to do less. Yeah, that’s right, do less. Cut back on the number of goals and priorities to address OR extend deadlines in which to address them.

2. Strategy for Sustainability — Ensure High-Quality Programs

If your organization does not have high-quality programs and services, then clients’ participation will eventually decline as will funding. That’s why it’s so important to do a few things very well, rather than a lot of things not so well. The solution is not to keep trying to get more money to offset deficits. The solution is to pick which programs you can do very well, do them — and keep proving your strong results.

3. Strategy for Sustainability — Financial Planning

Two of the best practices are achieving a financial reserve and doing contingency planning. Many leaders even laugh when they hear suggestions to establish a reserve. Too often, that’s from a mindset that all money must soon be spent because that will accomplish even more positive results for the community. The irony is that that approach too often hurts the community because the nonprofit remains in financial crises, which can hurt programs and services.

4. Strategy for Sustainability — Think “Organizational Sustainability”

When Board members and other nonprofit leaders talk about sustainability, they’re ultimately worried about having enough money to continue to support the organization. So remind them that financial sustainability is really just part of organizational sustainability. Help them talk about being realistic, ensuring strong programs, and doing financial planning for reserves and contingencies.

What do you think?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

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Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD – Authenticity Consulting, LLC – 800-971-2250
Read my weekly blogs: Boards, Consulting and OD, Nonprofits and Strategic Planning.

Here is a little case study on HRD needs, I thought you might like to do a little challenge and see what answers/solutions you all come up with…Enjoy….

Opening case study – HRD programs can be key components when an organization seeks to revitalize itself and change its organizational culture. For instance, Cathay Pacific Airways is an international airline based in Hong Kong that serves over eighty-five destinations on five continents. In 2003, Cathay Pacific carried over 10 million passengers, and also maintained a considerable cargo operation. Worldwide, approximately 14,000 people work for the airline. A survey in the 1990s revealed that travelers felt that Cathay Pacific service was good, but not as warm and friendly as customers desired. Some even described the service as “robotic.” This led to a reexamination of how the company recruited, trained, and managed its employees.

One major change that Cathay Pacific made was in its in-flight training department. In the past, trainers devised and followed careful lesson plans. This was intended to provide a set standard of service on all flights. However, to increase customer retention, especially among business travelers, Cathay Pacific decided that something more was needed.

Questions: Assume you are a training manager at this airline. First, how would you go about designing a needs assessment for the airline? What methods would you use to design training that emphasized exceptional customer service? Second what type(s) of training would you recommend for flight attendants, if the new goal was to provide exceptional customer service? How might the training programs themselves have to change in order to promote innovation and collaboration among flight attendants, as well as from the trainers?

Have Fun, and Live Large and in Charge…

Leigh

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

– Looking for an expert in training and development or human performance technology?
– Contact me: Leigh Dudley – Linkedin – 248-349-2881 or 248-277-2966
– Read my blog: Training and Development

[This supersedes and is a greatly expanded version of a post originally published on May 14.]

Retaining someone to provide a service about which you know little yourself can always be tricky, whether it be an auto mechanic, a lawyer, a plumber, a computer tech or — the topic du jour — a media trainer.

Below are a list of questions to ask any potential media trainer. The answers should provide you with insights critical to making an informed decision about using his or her services.

1. Have you been a working journalist yourself?Good answer: Yes! It’s much harder to understand the workings of the media if you haven’t spent any time on the “inside,” at least at the collegiate and/or intern level.

 

1. If yes to #1, what type of journalist were you (e.g., anchor, investigative reporter)?Good answer: Investigative or feature journalists are much more used to “digging” for a story and hence ask more of the tough questions for which you need to prepare. Some anchors engage in investigative reporting as well, but not all, so be sure to ask if the answer is “anchor.” You want a trainer who knows how to “dig.”

 

1. If no to #1, what is the basis for your understanding of the media?Good answer: I made a point of spending part of my PR career actively networking with working journalists.

 

1. Does your training include how to deal with non-traditional media, e.g., social media?Good answer: Yes! If the answer is no, say goodbye. Traditional media is no more than 50% of the media that will impact you and/or your organization.

 

1. Do you teach us how we can maintain the skills we have learned from you? Be specific.Good answer: Yes. I do that by coming back to conduct refresher training twice a year, teaching you how you can practice on your own, etc. One or even two days of media training, alone, are insufficient to maintain the new skills you’re learning; practice is essential.

 

1. Does your training prepare us both for routine interviews and for crisis-level interviews?Good answer: Yes. We focus __% of the time on routine interviews and ___% on crisis-level interviews.Then you decide if that balance represents your needs.

 

1. How long have you been a media trainer?Good answer: 10 years (or more). That said, everyone has to start somewhere. You may find a very skilled trainer with less experience and correspondingly lower pricing, but check their references carefully.

 

1. Could you show me anything you’ve written about this topic, and/or articles in which you’ve been interviewed?Good answer: Yes, and I’ll get you copies or links right away. If someone’s really good at what they do, they understand that they need to both publish in that field and make themselves available as media interview subjects.

 

1. If the stuff hits the fan, can you also provide us with spot advice on what we can say?Good answer: Yes, I can help craft messaging as well. You want a trainer who is more than just a trainer, but someone you can call on when “the real thing” happens.

 

1. Are you an experienced media interview subject yourself — i.e. do you practice what you preach?Good answer: Yes.

 

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

Too Often, What We Call a Program, Really Isn’t

If you spent the day guiding old ladies across the street and someone gave you a dollar for doing it, would that mean you’re delivering a “program?” What many people call a program is too often just a sporadic set of disconnected activities — it’s not really a program.

So What’s a Real Nonprofit Program?

A program is:

• A highly integrated, ongoing set of activities,
• Aimed to meet a verified unmet need in the community,
• By accomplishing certain outcomes among clients and
• Using sufficient evaluation to verify that it’s meeting that need.

The quality of the program depends on

• How well resourced the program is with people, funding, facilities, etc.
• How well the nonprofit responds to results of evaluations to improve the program

A program closes the loop — it hears back from its clients to verify if the program is indeed meeting the needs of the clients AND the needs of the community.

What do you think?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

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Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD – Authenticity Consulting, LLC – 800-971-2250
Read my weekly blogs: Boards, Consulting and OD, Nonprofits and Strategic Planning.

We occasionally come across organizations considering franchising as a strategy for developing a social enterprise.

A franchisor is a company that has a successful product or service, business model and recognizable trade name (think chain stores), which it offers on a continuing contractual basis to other businesses (its franchisees), for a fee.

The advantage of participating in a franchise is that it allows an entrepreneur (social or otherwise) to focus their efforts on operating a business that already has a successful business model and track record.

In rough terms, franchising in the US accounts for more 750,000 establishments, ~10 million jobs, and more than $1 trillion in sales. And, for the nonprofit sector, Social Franchise Partners, an offshoot of Community Wealth Ventures, was created by Billy Shore to help more nonprofits become franchisors as a strategy for generating resources as well as social impact. A couple of years ago they published Streams of Hope, which provides extensive information and case studies on how franchising works and how to determine if it’s the right thing for your organization.

For a very small number of social enterprises, franchising might be the way to go. But for most others, the cultural gap is so great between the franchise model to pursue personal wealth at almost any social cost, and the social enterprise model to pursue both social and organizational financial stability, that we have seen more failures than successes on this path. Presently there are about 100 nonprofit franchisees in the US.

The Streams of Hope publication can be downloaded for free. So if you’re at all interested in franchising (or just curious), take a look and decide where to go from there. Franchising is not for everybody, but perhaps it’s just right for you….

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Copyright © 2010 Rolfe Larson Associates – Fifteenth Anniversary, 1995 – 2010
Author of Venture Forth! Endorsed by the late Paul Newman of Newman’s Own
Read my weekly blogs on Social Enterprise and Business Planning

I’ve had a fun day! Over at my Bernstein Crisis Management Blog, I posted an open letter to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the increasingly infamous teller of tall tales about his alleged Vietnam service. The shy title of my blog post?

Dear Richard Blumenthal: You’re a Liar

Practicing what I preach, I then Tweeted about it and also let some media who have interviewed me in the past know about it. In the context of “common causes make for strange companions,” one of those media outlets was the Laura Ingraham show, and they re-ran my blog post on their blog and are mentioning it in their ezine.

So far Mr. Blumenthal hasn’t called to indicate he accepted the challenge with which I closed the blog piece. What a surprise.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. He’s also a Vietnam-Era vet who chooses not to lie about his service experience.]

It used to be that there were essentially three choices: private, public, or nonprofit. Privately-held companies offer the most flexibility, without outside investors or the IRS constantly looking over your shoulders. A privately-held social enterprise can choose to invest some of its profits into achieving social impact without anyone second guessing those decisions. But if you’re ready to raise large amounts of capital, going “public” through an initial public offering is the usual way to go.

There’s a price for that, though. Publicly-held companies need to justify their actions to investors, who, as the legal owners, have the legal right to force management to do everything it can to increase profits, even at the expense of social impact. Public boards are obligated to sell the company if doing so would enhance “stockholder equity.” For that reason, Ben & Jerry’s went from being an independent company with a social purpose, to being part of an international conglomerate. Ben and Jerry didn’t have a choice in the matter, nor did their board.

That’s why many for-profit social enterprises tend to be privately held.

But the times they are a changing. A number of states have approved the Low-Profit Limited Liability (L3C) corporate structure, which attempts to bridge the gap between for-profit and nonprofit models. L3C’s must “significantly further the accomplishment of one or more charitable or educational purposes,” but can still have private investors and make a profit. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L3C

Another “hybrid” is a For-Benefit Corporation, or B-Corp. Based on an independent assessment, B-Corps receive a certification as socially responsible, and in so doing make it clear to investors that the company will consider other stakeholders, such as the community and the environment. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_corporation,

So as you consider how to get “organized” with your social enterprise, be sure to consider these other structures as well as the usual suspects including LLC, partnership, S and C corporations, and nonprofit.

Get some expert advice, and then pick the structure that best fits your purpose. There’s no one correct answer, just the structure that’s best for your purpose and your market. Form Follows Function.

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Copyright © 2010 Rolfe Larson Associates – Fifteenth Anniversary, 1995 – 2010
Author of Venture Forth! Endorsed by the late Paul Newman of Newman’s Own
Read my weekly blogs on Social Enterprise and Business Planning