New Logics of Organizing

Chapter 11: Working with Integrity

The text outlines that the underlying logic of organizing has changed. No longer can organizing be taken for granted or hierarchies be seen as natural. Empowerment must be taken into account. Nowadays there is a great need within organizations to understand how changes in diversity have created the need for new communications strategies. With a new flatter global economy and work teams that may be seperated by oceans and cultures, companies have had to evolve their strategies and change the way they organize.

Ian Lennie aruges that organizing management favorably compares to poetry. Like poetry, management needs to be organized less by literal language and rationality and more by story and metaphor.

I believe that this part of the chapter is significant because it offers a clear view of how the changing dynamics of the world have created the need to change the way we think. Interpretation here is key. Organizations must be aware that cultural differences and the changing deemographics of the work world have brought new interpretations beyond the classic organization as machine model. Modern managers must be aware of how relationships, issues, and challenges change interpretations within the office.

Strategic Alignment

Chapter 10: Organizational Alignment

Strategic alignment is when companies or organizations modify their processes, hierarchies, trainings, or reward systems to better suit their new competitive strategies. It is necessary for a company to pursue strategic alignment in order to convince the public, inside and out, that their changes are organizational-wide and represent a new "way of doing things" within the company. An organization can communicate their message on only a superficial level unless effective changes are made. Without strategic alignment, an organization's attempt to convince customers or members of their new emphasis on service may fall on deaf ears when human resources does not return calls to employees or customer service remains inadequately staffed.

My experience with strategic alignment has been almost exclusively within political campaigns. Ineffective press outreach and plodding field campaigns have been the most obvious reasons for campaigns to hire new staff, argue that they are changing the scope and direction, and putting out a press blitz to highlight their strategic alignment. This has normally followed complaints from "political insiders" who feel that they have no had enough say in the campaign's structure or direction. These strategic alignments have mostly caused changes in strategy, staffing, and structure leading outside figures to believe that major shakeups have created a new vision for a struggling campaign.

Habits of Mind

Chapter 9: Communicating Leadership

According to the text, habits of mind are "patterned ways of thinking that define how a person approaches issues and conceives alternative ways of resolving or dealing with them." This can be a tough concept to interpret but Robert Quinn does a good job at simplifying it. Simply put, a leader should be mentally and emotionally flexible. In his research he has found that the strongest leaders do not copy other styles yet are flexible enough to take in "outside signals or stimuli" and are able to adapt to changes. Once managers' are able to get past their comfort zones and begin to be results driven according to Quinn they can begin to "perform and communicate as a leader."

I don't think there is any doubt that the most effective leaders in an organizational setting are those that remain flexible. Effective leaders have a unique style but are also open to new ideas. If necessary they can leave their comfort zones in order to implement new methods of increasing productivity or improving morale. A great leader must have the patience to "suspend" and be able to sit back and analyze a problem. Avoiding the knee jerk reactions marks the great leader from the normal middle manager. An effective manager sees the proverbial forest from the trees and understands that reaching most organization-wide goals takes time and energy.