Erika Peterson

Assessments in Organizations
BIS 357
June 1, 2019
Culminating Project: Milestone One

Organizational Assessment
The term organizational assessment is an organized process and analysis of an
organization to obtain information about its progress and factors that affect its
performance (Organizational Assessments, n.d.). The purpose of organizational
assessments is to understand and document its present performance and plan for
improvements (Organizational Assessments, n.d.).
Organizational assessments are extremely necessary in organizations. This
process is complex and is an integral part of organizations. It provides information that
is not always visible by everyone; it is a deeper and more thorough process that
identifies areas where improvement is needed and highlights areas that are successful.
This provides the organization a great opportunity to examine its strengths and
weaknesses. Additionally, this offers the opportunity to foresee the growth of the
organization.
Assessments in organizations can be conducted at different levels and used to
measure more than just performance, for example internal and external threats, cross
industry comparisons, monitoring progress towards goals, and organizational
motivations (Perkins, et al, 2010). As members in organizations we see how
enterprises are now approaching improvements and transformations keeping in mind
culture, quality, stakeholder value, leadership commitment, process flow and
organizational learning (Perkins, et al, 2010). In addition to organizational assessments
it is vital that we understand what is important in our specific organization and that our
goals and transformation plans are in line and are a representation of the specific nature
of the business (Perkins, et al, 2010). There are different forms of assessment tools
and strategies that are available to organizations such as: Organizational Performance
Assessment (OPA), Baldrige Award, Good to Great, Shingo Prize, Lean Enterprise Self-
Assessment Tool (LESAT) (Organizational Assessments, n.d.).
In conclusion, organizational assessments help identify and provide input on
current performance and input for future decisions. They help address and detect
issues of concern for market share, motivation, profitability, morale, practices,
inconsistencies, engagement and behaviors, attitudes, opinions (Organizational
Assessments, n.d.) monitor and examine organizational effectiveness and progress
towards goals and creating baselines for comparisons with other organizations.
Different assessment methods and tools that can be used in organizations to provide
the needed information and should be selected based on the specific needs of such
organization (Perkins, et al, 2010).