Riordan
Manufacturing: Fifth Discipline’s System Thinking Model
PSYCH/706
Sean Delevan
4 September
2015
XXXX XXXX
“Riordan Manufacturing is a global plastics manufacturer with projected
annual earnings of $46 million” (Riordan Manufacturing, 2005). The organization
is currently seeking to exceed its previous year’s sales by $4 million dollars that will allow for the overall sales goal of
$50 million to be obtained. To achieve this particular sales goal, the
organization will need to improve upon a few operational and training
components. Riordan Manufacturing has been
presented with a Training Needs Assessment (TNA) recently which is a commonly
utilized “process of identifying training needs in an organization for the
purpose of improving employee job performance” (HR Guide, 2015). In the
absence of improved job performance and overall job satisfaction, achieving
financial goals such as this would arguably be unobtainable.
The
purpose of the information to follow is to describe how the Fifth Discipline’s System Thinking Model can
be applied to Riordan Manufacturing. In
this assessment will be the consideration of action learning and appreciative
inquiries as alternate approaches to achieving the aforementioned
organizational training and financial goals. Once applicability of these
components are explained and understood,
there will be a presentation of the most advantageous ways in which to
implement such approaches and their projected outcomes.
When
it comes to organizational success and performance improvement within an
organization, there are five learning
disciplines that should be considered
for application. In accordance with information
presented by Senge (1990), the five learning disciplines consist of “Shared
Vision, Mental Models, Personal Mastery, Team Learning, and Systems Thinking;
all of which are made up of a set of tools and practices for building and
sustaining learning leadership capability in organizations” (pg.1).
While each of these learning disciplines are effective in their own ways, it is suggested that Riordan
Manufacturing will see the greatest deal of success through increased focus on
Systems Thinking approaches to training.
Systems
thinking approaches to training is annotated to be a viable framework in which
managers and employees alike, can see how
inter-relationships succeed or fail in the midst of complex organizational
situations. One of the most sustainable
ways in which to ensure organizational success in the realm of training is
through experimentation. “Experimentation lends itself to objective systems
thinking, proactive planning, and organizational learning, leading to an
organization’s honest self-assessment” (Waclawski & Church, 2002,
pg.10/14).
The
need for organizational and employee training is imperative as customers are beginning to annotate the
transparency of inexperience within the organization. With this transparency
present, this will dramatically hinder the ability of Riordan Manufacturing as
they attempt to reach new sales and profit goals. Furthermore, if the Systems
Thinking Model is applied to
organizational training operations, this will ultimately result in employees
feeling more valued and efficient in their duties. When this occurs, the second
organizational goal presented by Riordan Manufacturing, improving employee
satisfaction by %15 will be achieved.
“From a systems thinking point of view, it is helpful
to identify which facilitating factors serve as leverage points for change in
particular groups and then to consider the team’s relative strength or
capability in the area” (DiBella, 2001, pg.4/12). One of the best ways
in which facilitating factors and their effect on organizational learning can be achieved through the implementation of
Systems Thinking Models would be to create a simplistic cause and effect chain.
When cause and effect are learned, the
consequences of the effects resulting from the newly pinpointed causes can be determined so that management can develop practical
options and solutions. Further research supports
that implementing this type of model during training “enables teams to unravel
the often hidden subtleties, influences, leverage points, and
intended/unintended consequences of change plans and programs and leads to
deeper, more complete awareness of the interconnections behind changing any
system” (Senge, 1990, pg.2).
There
is a chance that Riordan Manufacturing will need to hire new employees in order to achieve the profit and market share
goals listed in the Training Needs Assessment. If this is the case, a Systems
Thinking Model can also be applied to ensure sufficient
staffing is achieved. So long as it is implemented correctly, this
particular model will aid in the organization’s ability to see and understand
how different organizational segments are interconnected which will then lead
to a bigger picture rather than individual goals. “Systems thinking attempts to integrate the various
parts of a system in a way that optimizes, rather than maximizes, the
performance of each of its parts in order to achieve organizational effectiveness”
(Douglas & Kerfoot, 2008, pg.53).
There
are a number of different ways that
Riordan Manufacturing can implement the Systems Thinking Model that will
undoubtedly warrant success. First and foremost, Riordan Manufacturing needs to
invest in systems thinking education approaches that have proven to be viable
for other organizations in the past. In order to
ensure that the appropriate methods are
being utilized, management and all pertinent personnel need to ensure that the
problem(s) that the organization is faced
with is understood. Once this is achieved,
management should “draw upon resources in the organization that can contribute
to problem resolution; form interdisciplinary work groups; ensure that plans
include achieving measurable business goals; and, put in place and use
monitoring approaches that support analysis” (Douglas & Kerfoot, 2008,
pg.53).
In
conjunction with implementing the Systems Thinking Model, management at Riordan
Manufacturing should also consider alternatives to learning and teaching such
as action learning and appreciative inquiry. Explained by DiBella (2001), “a key process in promoting learning across
different teams is communication and the development and accessibility of
communications technology will simplify the dissemination of knowledge”
(pg.1/8). When action learning is applied,
and communication is at an acceptable standard, management at Riordan
Manufacturing will begin to see success in the transformation and development
of people working within the organization.
Action learning
approaches to training are most effective when individual employees work in
small groups on projects that are actually
needing to be done by the organization. Busy work,
that is not applicable to organizational operations will not furnish the same
level of learning results as those that work on projects that are necessary for
organizational success. Some of the notably more effective ways in which Riordan Manufacturing can implement action
learning would be through task-oriented strategies where people learn from the work they do, and development
initiative. So long as action learning approaches are presented and carried out
as they are designed to be, implementation outcomes will result in enhanced
learning and learning becoming the main
focus of organizational operations.
Finally, appreciative inquiry can be used as an alternative to the Systems
Thinking Model as this is annotated to be an “OD technique that encourages
reflection from the position that a glass can be half full but never half
empty, that there are as many if not more positive aspects of any situation as
there are negative ones” (DiBella, 2001, pg.2/17). When learning occurs, and success is presented, as a result, many may feel that appreciative inquiry
is boastful. This is an inaccurate assessment,
and if not encouraged, it could result in lessened employee performance and a
change in organizational culture. Therefore, as managers, it is important to
encourage learning and positive attitudes when a job is done well.
References
DiBella, A. J.
(2001). Learning practices: Assessment and Action
for organizational improvement. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Douglas, K.
& Kerfoot, K. (2008). Applying systems thinking model for effective staffing. Retrieved from http://www.mylawagnerpr.com/documents/systemsthinking.pdf
Human Resource
Guide (HR Guide) (2015). Needs analysis:
How to determine training needs. Retrieved from
http://www.hr-guide.com/data/G510.htm
Riordan Manufacturing (2005). Economic forecast for Riordan Manufacturing.
Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Riordan/Internet/index.asp
Senge, Peter M. (1990, revised 2006) The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice
of The Learning Organization New York: Doubleday
Waclawski, J., & Church, A. H.
(Eds.). (2002). Organization development: A data-driven approach to
organizational change. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
