OGL 357

Lindsey Lorette

Culminating Project Overview

Organizational assessment is the understanding of how the organization acts

based on the situational scenario at hand; especially in regards to how the organization

is successful throughout the process (Lusthaus 2002). There are many pieces

associated with the entirety of an organizational assessment. Based on the textbook,

Organizational Assessment - A Framework for Improving Performance, there are many

layers to the organizational assessment of a company or subject which impacts the

overall success entirely. The enabling environment mentioned in Module one brought

forth the resources that correlates the success of an organization based on the steps

they take during the initial beginning of the business (Lusthaus 2002), . We can see clear

examples of this while reading the Harvard article of how Southwest Airlines was able

to capitalize based on the gaps of other competitors (Pfeffer & O’Reilly). An enabling

environment focuses on understanding and explaining the forces that help shape the

character and performance of organizations ((Lusthaus 2002). These factors include

many key aspects including: describing and assessing the formal framework of the

organization, describing the institutional ethos in which the organization operates, and

also the capabilities in which it operates (Lusthaus 2002). Another large aspect to an

organization's success is strategic planning. Following the key aspects of strategic

planning is the biggest factor of initializing a project; more importantly, following the
introspective correlations of the organization spectrum to focus on the future work is

one of the largest priorities to succeed. A great example of this is how Southwest

Airlines was extremely innovative in their analysis of the external and internal factors to

ensure organizational success. They evaluated the external and internal resources and

capabilities of how they would be unique to other rival businesses (Pfeffer & O’Reilly). I

also learned that organization capacity has a lot to do with the organization’s success.

All of the key aspects mentioned within the Organizational Assessment were the

deriving factors that can determine the substantiate of how an organization will flourish.

We saw this come to fruition within the Southwest Airlines article as well as the

Berkshire Hathaway article. Berkshire Hathaway was a great example on how

organizational management is extremely prevalent (Anand, B., & Jayanti, S. 2009).

It is necessary to follow these steps because of the key aspects mentioned

within both Chapter 1 and 2 of the textbook (Lusthaus, 2002). As we saw examples

within the Southwest Airlines and Berkshire Hathaway articles, the planning and

prioritizing aspect of starting the businesses was more than necessary to further the

company’s success. Without the introspective work that both CEOs, Buffett and Kelleher

did with diving deeper into the full understanding of the steps needed to derive a

successful company, both of these businesses would have failed. A key piece that I felt

was most important in these two individuals was the fact that they had extensive loyalty

and engagement with not just their direct reports, but also their management and

leadership throughout their companies (Anand, B., & Jayanti, S. 2009; Pfeffer & O’Reilly).

Many up and coming businesses focus too much on the shareholder value and fall
through with the true correlation of company success: the management involved.

However, these CEOs ensured that they placed an importance on not just the external

factors but also the internal drivers of their businesses.

The biggest takeaways that I got from these chapters was about the thorough

learning and knowledge gained by both CEO’s, based on previous research and analysis

to further future investments (Anand, B., & Jayanti, S. 2009). Personally, starting

businesses of my own, I have seen that I need to work more on developing my

knowledge on the past experiences of others’ to further my development and be more

successful. Kelleher and Buffett were known for having transparent views of their

investments that allowed them to redirect and redeploy their businesses in the right

direction (Anand, B., & Jayanti, S. 2009; Pfeffer & O’Reilly). Another takeaway that I got

from the textbook was in regards to the Niche Management. Although we haven’t

discussed this much in the previous and current modules, I feel as though this has a

large correlation to the progress of both companies; Berkshire Hathaway and Southwest

Airlines. I enjoy correlating both CEO’s with what they did that I found successful;

including Niche Management. If one looks closer, we can see that both Buffett and

Kelleher focused on what would set them apart from their competitors; identifying and

concentrating on a competitively valuable capability (Lusthaus, 2002).

In summary, organizational assessment is so important because it correlates

with the structure, environment, and processes in which an organization uses and puts

forth to ensure success (Lusthaus, 2002). I enjoyed learning about these introspective
pieces because it allowed me to reflect on the areas within my professional and

personal life that I can dive deeper to create a more successful path for my businesses.

Sources:

Lusthaus, C. (2002). Organizational assessment: a framework for improving

performance. Inter-American Development Bank.

Anand, B., & Jayanti, S. (2009). Berkshire Hathaway. Harvard Business Publishing

Education. Retrieved 26 May 2021.

Pfeffer, Jeffery & Charles O’Reilly Professor. (n.d.). Southwest Airlines (A). Stanford

Graduate School of Business.