Organisation culture – Part 5 When we hold directors and managers accountable for a problem with organisational culture, we affirm that culture is a product of choices made and actions taken (or neglected). Consequently, it cannot be fixed and immutable. While it may be consistent (and sometimes even seems ossified), it is amenable to reshaping.… Continue reading Ways of knowing and being in organisational culture
Tag: risk management
Organisational ‘personality’
Organisational Culture – Part 4 The personality metaphor ‘Organisational personhood’ refers to the legal concept that an incorporated entity, like a non-profit or for-purpose organisation, as distinct from its associated people (i.e. directors, managers, or employees), has some of the legal rights and responsibilities enjoyed by ‘natural persons’. (A ‘natural person’ in this sense is a human… Continue reading Organisational ‘personality’
Choosing an organisational metaphor? Choose wisely!
Organisational Culture – Part 3 A cautionary note Beware the power of metaphor. The metaphors used to describe your organisation can exert a strong influence on your team and stakeholders – for good or ill. I recently heard of an organisation in which some of the members had started referring to the entity as “The… Continue reading Choosing an organisational metaphor? Choose wisely!
Multi-focal Views of Organisational Culture
Organisational Culture – Part 2 Gaze Awareness In sociology, critical theory, and psychoanalysis, ‘the gaze‘ refers to the awareness and perception an individual or group has of other individuals, other groups or themselves. In literary criticism, for example, the gaze of the writer and the gaze of the reader are often the subject of comment.… Continue reading Multi-focal Views of Organisational Culture
Working ‘on’ or ‘in’ your organisational culture
Organisational Culture – Part 1 When we read about an association’s or charity’s culture in the media, all too often it is not a ‘good news’ story. They don’t generally give out Walkley or Pulitzer awards to journalists for stories about innovative, caring, or ethical cultures. The news focus, therefore, skews towards corrupt, risky, toxic,… Continue reading Working ‘on’ or ‘in’ your organisational culture
Are we there yet? Evaluating NFP outputs, outtakes, outcomes & impact
Evaluation – Part 2 Evaluation is one of the central elements in the EDM (Evaluate, Direct, Monitor) Governance Model, but its role in governance (and management) is often obscured by the use of other terms, like ‘problem-solving’ or ‘decision-making’. The importance of evaluation in non-profit governance is highlighted in the extracts from AICD’s NFP Governance… Continue reading Are we there yet? Evaluating NFP outputs, outtakes, outcomes & impact
The Scales of Governance: Weighing options, arguments, evidence & consequences
Evaluation – Part 1 We use the term ‘on balance’ as a shorthand way of saying that we have come to a decision or choice after considering the power, influence, or ‘weight’ of both sides of a question or issue. This invokes metaphoric reference to a set of balance scales – as in the ‘scales of justice’ (see header image). Evaluation skills, sometimes… Continue reading The Scales of Governance: Weighing options, arguments, evidence & consequences
The choice between insightful and inciteful words
Civil society and civility Non-profit organisations often characterise themselves as being part of ‘civil society’. Civil society has been defined and redefined over many years, but it broadly refers to “a wide array of organisations: community groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), labor unions, indigenous groups, charitable organisations, faith-based organisations, professional associations and foundations” (World Bank). As… Continue reading The choice between insightful and inciteful words
Getting on board with employee engagement
Starting a new job is a little like being a tourist visiting another country, where they speak another language and have different customs. Learning the language and understanding the culture are just parts of the process of onboarding, which is itself only one aspect of the organisation’s talent management and employee engagement system. A basic… Continue reading Getting on board with employee engagement
Conflict Governance: Managing Role Conflict, Strain & Ambiguity
While ‘conflict of interest’ is generally understood to relate to directors needing to separate their board responsibilities from self-interest (especially financial benefit for themselves or those close to them), role (or goal) conflict, role strain, and role ambiguity tend to be less thoroughly addressed in non-profit governance mechanisms. Social scientists tell us that the term… Continue reading Conflict Governance: Managing Role Conflict, Strain & Ambiguity