Organizational diagnosis, the stepping stone to organizational effectiveness

Organizational survival, success and effectiveness depend on the ability of the organization to adapt to continuous challenges, competition and change. However, improving and changing organizations demand properly understanding and diagnosing them. So, where does diagnosis start and how can we measure effectiveness? Diagnosis starts with assessing key tasks, structure, people relationships, motivation, support, management leadership, attitude towards change and performance to identify gaps towards effectiveness. Effectiveness is evaluated in terms of the extent to which people have the right skills and competencies and are trained and strategically managed to enhance profitability (finance), the organization’s marketing strategy, operations/service and, measurement of the corporate/business development and growth achieved as a result of planned efforts to ensure organizational viability, stability and maturity. This study uses an integrated system evaluation process to diagnose the extent to which key tasks, structure, people relationships, motivation, support, management leadership, attitude towards change and performance impact on organizational effectiveness respectively. The population for the study comprised of all staff in a provincial trade and investment promotion agency in South Africa and a consensus approach was used through a cluster sampling technique, which secured an 85.4% response rate. In this quantitative, cross-sectional study data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results reflect that the diagnostic variables impact on organizational effectiveness in varying degrees. The important diagnostic dimensions and areas for improvement are identified and suggestions for corrective action are presented in order to enhance overall organizational effectiveness