The Future of Organisations And Organisational Behaviour

Schalk Grobler

Organisation

The mental maps of leaders and organisations need to change drastically for organisations to be successful and survive in the future. Increasingly complex and competitive environment. Impact on members of the organisation Skills, capacity Loyalty Trust Organisation theory: relationships, context, behaviour of people. Sense-making of realities: images or maps in the cognitive. Organisation theory: Prediction and Control Understanding organisation Model of self-determination Unique and different approaches for the future?
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Mental Maps

Assumptions, generalizations or images that influence how we understand the world and behave accordingly. Make sense of our environment to predict and control the future. Filter to process, make sense of and respond to information; guides our thinking and behaviour. Cognitive system reacts to input from the environment processed and expanded on to create map of environment determine response. Broader, more comprehensive map allow for appropriate new action/ direction. Individuals act according to the way they think may allow us to predict certain outcomes under certain conditions. Learning/ Expanding our mental maps enhances the ability to evaluate the future and act differently. Expanding and enabling our mental maps allow readiness for the changes we cant see yet, and successfully lead change in an increasingly uncertain and complex world.
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The Future Organisation

Industrial-age Organisation Rationality and Logic Rigidity & certainty Clearly differentiated positions, roles & responsibilities Specialized knowledge base Individual accountability Measurable outcomes Reactive, resolve as emerges Linear information flow Training Localised

The Future Organisation Abstraction; sense of direction Flexibility & continuous change Matrix arrangements, flexible positions & roles Interdisciplinary knowledge base Team Strategic objectives Proactive, anticipating issues Information networking Development Across boundaries and disciplines
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The Future Organisation

Concrete strategic plans & budgets replaced by responsive, flexible and abstract outcomes. Joint responsibility for success, including external interfaces. Flexible, adaptive and responsive. Larger community/ societal considerations. Sustainability Triple Bottom Line. Integrative culture, shared values.

Is it something we should aspire to, or is the future here and what we think we know already out of date?

Organisational Behaviour and the Future Organisation

How do we address the demands of the future organisation? Organisational Behaviour: Help interpret events and determine implications for Organisations; Identify causes for certain occurrences; Expand thinking & therefore mental maps of organisational leaders to more effectively meet future organisational demands.

Generational Theory
Membership to particular generation (age location in history) forms part of leaders orientation (mental map) and impact organisational outcomes and success. Generations: The Silent Generation (1925-1942) Baby Boomers (1943-1960) Generation X (1961-1981) Generation Y (1981-2001) Boomers currently run and manage many organisations: Idealistic, emphasises values and culture, results, process and efficiency, diligence, contrasted by Gen X: less idealistic, more materialistic, value-creating and outcomes-based, entrepreneurial and risk-taking. Gen Y: flexible work-schedules, more personal & vacation time, unconventional, multi-tasking, technology and social networking. Structures; Policies & Procedures; Systems & Processes, Retention, Performance and Reward mechanisms?
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Organisational Energy
Force with which a company operates interplay between emotional, cognitive and physical states. Drives intensity and pace of performance, adaptation and innovation. Positive (excitement, passion), or Negative (fear, anxiety, frustration). Energy Zones: Comfort Zone Resignation Zone Aggression Zone Passion Zone Strong emotions drive action. Indicate possible cause for certain organisational behaviour and performance: spur into action for achieving higher performance.

Leadership

Requisite Leadership attributes not the same as in the past. Industrial era command and control New requirements: Emotional Intelligence Cross-cultural understanding Multi-disciplinary Communication Networking New generations expectations: Authenticity Significance Excitement Community Developing leaders for the future organisation

Culture

Located in the behaviours and thinking of people. Shape culture by communications and visibility of behaviours. What leader spends time on, talks about, rewards, punishes encourage development/ maintenance of a particular culture. Future organisation: culture firmly embedded in values and beliefs that support flexibility and innovation; view change/ adaptation as continuous. Nurture and promote flexibility and change

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Our Mental Maps

Be open to differing views and perspectives; explore wisdom not necessarily mainstream. Capture peoples emotional drive, engage them meaningfully and create excitement about organisations vision and strategy. Values-based organisation, need to rebuild trust requires shift in leadership thinking and behaviour. Balance need for efficiency with need for flexibility Organisational Learning. To change how we think about change, and react to or enact it, becomes vital. Question/ challenge traditional hypotheses, explored questions and generate new thinking regarding: Organisational learning and development; Collective organisational knowledge and intelligence; Organisational memory; Unconscious drivers of behaviour;

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Our Mental Maps

The concept of trust; Cross-cultural influences and counterinfluences; The role of family; African leadership; The ethical and spiritual climate in your organisation; The role of norms and morals

Reflect on different perspectives; challenge our own assumptions and change our mental maps. Answers not always evident/ single-dimensional, may force us to think from the future as opposed to predicting based on the philosophy of history. Only by changing the way we think, interpret and make sense of our worlds will we be able to change the way we act: change how we think about change and change the thinking behind our thinking.
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Reorganize knowledge

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We dont see things as they are, we see them as we are

- Anais Nin (1903-1977)

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