How to effectively address Organizational Problems

Company executives are once in a while confronted with problems that will challenge their decision making abilities. What must they do to ensure that they will properly address/ solve the problem?

There’s no assurance that the action that will be made by them would solve whatever organizational problems that they have. But there are steps that they must follow to at least assure them that whatever decision that they will be making will not be made in haste. We all know that decisions made in haste in any field of endeavor are usually wasted decisions because of the haste factor. As they say: "Haste makes waste."

To avoid this tragedy the ff: actions must be undertaken.

1. Find out then pinpoint the problem.

2. Create measures or plan of actions that will help solve the problems.

3. Create a process of elimination among alternatives then pick the best alternative.

4. Apply the best alternative and carefully monitor its implementation until such time that the problem has been solved.

Marino J. Dasmarinas

Does it pay to become a Socially Responsible Organization?

The law of Karma states that the effect of a one’s actions is looked upon as an influential factor in one’s destiny. Having said this, what if your organization stands alone by itself. Without any concern for its immediate surrounding environment, will it soon be doomed? Or will it continue to grow and prosper?

There is no substantive studies that say that those socially responsible organizations are more successful than those who are not. But if we play it by observation we will discover that those organization that gives back to their communities or donate to various charitable organization are the ones that are more financially successful than the others who don’t give.

Let us take for example some big corporations who endow sizeable amount to their favored charitable organizations.  Their endowment is linked to their success; the more that they are successful the more that they give back.

There are many more organizations that are socially responsible. They always see to it that a certain percentage of their profit goes back to charitable organizations or non governmental organizations.

For the reason that they believe that it really pays to become a socially responsible organization. Being socially responsible also help create a positive self image for an organization this eventually translates to more customers and profits.

Does it pay to be a Socially Responsible Organization? Yes of course! _ Marino J. Dasmarinas

Commentary on Motivation: The Motivational Process and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Do you know how to motivate?

Motivation is an integral part of human behavior in organization. Without motivation workers in organization would not be able to function properly. So what motivates them to work hard and to achieve their goals? Early motivational studies points to money as their prime motivational instrument, then their need to belong and their need for responsibility.

The motivational process contains three interacting and interdependent elements namely: Need, Drive and Incentive. A need is a psychological imbalance that needs to be satisfied; a drive pushes an individual towards achievement of a goal or task. An incentive is something that can lighten a need and decrease the intensity of the drive. For example, a worker needs to earn so that he can pay for the basic necessities of living, so the need to earn is the imbalance that must be satisfied. 

The psychological drive will push this  worker to achieve the goal of earning money for his basic necessities. Due to his hard work he will now receive money, this in now the incentive that will alleviate his needs and somewhat decrease the intensity of his drive to earn. This motivational process is a cycle that stops for a while and is reignited again the moment an individual or group of individuals finds a vacuum that needs to be satisfied.

Another Motivational tool is Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, this is a five step ladder hierarchy which says that a lower level need must be satisfied first before it proceeds to the next higher level.

This is illustrated by a triangle, the lowest or the first level need that occupies the triangle is the Physiological needs or Basic needs. These are needs to sustain life such as: air, water, food, sleep etc… according to Maslow if such needs are not satisfied then one’s motivation will arise with the aim to satisfy them. Higher needs are not felt yet until he is fully satisfied with his basic needs.

Assuming that physiological needs has been satisfied we will now come to the second higher order need that occupies the triangle it is called Safety and Security needs, this is the need to be free from the threat of physical and emotional harm. These needs would be meet by working or living in a safe place and by having job security.

The third need in the hierarchy is the Need to belong or Social needs, this is the need of individuals to interact. As they say no “man is an island” we cannot exist by ourselves we need to interact because we are social beings. We need friends to whom we can trust our emotions, we need to be in a group wherein we will feel comfortable.

The fourth need is Esteem needs, this is the need to be respected by your peers, subordinates and Managers it is human nature for us to want respect and recognition. Esteem needs fulfills this wants.

The last and the highest need in the triangle is Self-Actualization needs, this addresses our need for purpose in life. The need to be honest and truthful in all of our dealings with our co workers. The need to have a job that fully satisfies an employee’s purpose in his organization.

Closely looking at Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs we will find out that these stepladder needs somewhat goes hand in hand with the progression of an employees life in an organization. A young and newly employed individual will first try to satisfy his Physiological needs or Basic needs then as he matures in the organization his needs goes up one at a time until such time that he reaches the Self-Actualization level.

Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs tells us that if we want a well Motivated Human Resource we need to provide them with their basic needs such as reasonable salary scheme to help them defray for their physiological needs. There’s a need also to create a safe and secure working environment.

A need to create an environment of community amongst workers to address their need to socialize. A need to respect the individual rights of workers regardless of their standing in the organization so that their Esteem needs are addressed. The last need is to ensure that workers will eventually reach their full potential in the organization so as to have the feeling of fulfilment. (Self-Actualization) - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Corruption in Philippine Government: A hopeless case?

Is a corruption free Philippine government possible? 

If we would conduct a survey why middle class Filipino families are migrating to other parts of the world. We will be surprised that one of the many reasons that they would cite is the shameless graft and corruption in the Philippine government bureaucracy.

Corruption scandals are dark shadows that have constantly tailed the Philippines since the Marcos regime up to the present government. Let us take for example the present  government. For almost a month now many elected government officials has been plagued by accusation of corruption labeled as the pork barrel scam.

The question that begs to be answered now is this: can we still slay the deeply ingrained culture of corruption in the Philippine bureaucracy? Yes we can still slay this evil in Philippine governance however it will be a pipe dream if we would say that we can exterminate this within the time span of five to ten years.

But all is not lost because there’s still hope and it rest on the shoulders of the present political leaders of this country. If only they will think of crafting a law that will make the evils of corruption and its corresponding punishments a permanent subject matter in our entire educational system. It will start during elementary up to the last year of college. So that strong value formation is inculcated against corruption in the minds of the future leaders this country.

Defeating this evil called corruption is not a hopeless case. This is actually a doable objective lets just give it a time frame perhaps twenty up to twenty five years. By then we will hopefully have a new crop of leaders with strong values formation against corruption. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

The true nature of Bureaucracy

What is the true nature of bureaucracy?

Bureaucracy emphasizes the call for an organization to operate in a rational manner that effectively responds to an organization’s needs. It doesn’t rely on the selfish whims and caprices of managers and business owners. 

An honest to goodness organizational bureaucratic setup has no room for nepotism, influence peddling and the like. For example, if a person wants to move upward or be promoted in the organizational hierarchy. Under the bureaucratic setup this person must work hard for that promotion. He/She must not employ anyone’s influence or help to be promoted.

According to Max Weber there are five (5) characteristics of an ideal Bureaucracy:

1.  Formal rules and procedures that would ensure organizational order and uniformity.

2. Specialization of Labor that ensures that workers know what are expected of them in their assigned jobs.

3. Impersonality, the hot stove rule applies here there’s no special treatment whatsoever; organizational rules regulations and disciplinary actions are impartially applied.

4. Career advancement is exclusively based on merit. Selection of personnel to be promoted are solely based on employees performance on the job and not based on their connections in  the organization.

5. Well defined hierarchy; every position is clearly defined so that it will establish responsibility and order since every worker in the organization will know where he belongs.

These five (5) are the true nature of a bureaucratic organization.

However, this is not always the situation be it in private or government organization. Because many of these organizations are being plagued by corruption and incompetence. Why? Because they violate with impunity every characteristics of an ideal bureaucracy.

However, it’s not yet late to make things right, if we want organizations to run effectively and be productive. We simply have to strictly follow Max Webber’s five (5) characteristics of an ideal bureaucracy. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

I provide custom-made Human Behavior related talks/lectures: Marino J. Dasmarinas

I provide custom-made Human Behavior related talks/lectures for Government and Private organization.  For more information feel free to get in touch with me. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

My email adds: mjdasma@yahoo.com  /  mjdasma@gmail.com

The Skills evolution of Managers as they ascend the Organizational Hierarchy

Managers are very busy individuals. They have great responsibilities in an organization, and a significant percentage of their organization's success or failure rests in their hands. Thus, it is essential for them to be equipped with key managerial skills as they advance in the organizational hierarchy. 

The First Skill: Technical Skills

This skill is crucial for a first-level manager (also known as a supervisor). It means that they must have a mastery of their job and understand every detail involved in achieving their desired goals. 

For example, if a first-level manager works as a supervisor in a car manufacturing plant, they must be well-versed in every technical aspect of car manufacturing within their sphere of responsibility. They should understand the step-by-step process required to complete their group’s assigned tasks. 

The Second Skill: Human Skills

It is often said, "No man is an island." We cannot exist by ourselves—we need to interact and communicate. This is where human skills come into play. Human skills are essential for building teams, creating networks, establishing linkages, and harmonizing the efforts of individuals under our responsibility toward achieving organizational goals. 

The Third Skill: Conceptual Skills

This skill involves critical thinking and strategic planning to guide the organization as it envisions its future. Top management—such as the CEO, COO, Board of Directors, and Company President—relies on this skill to a much greater degree, as the organization's future largely depends on their decisions. They must carefully and proactively analyze both the present and the future of the company.

In today’s globalized and technology-driven world, top-level managers must harness their conceptual skills and use them to their advantage to ensure their organization's survival. As a manager ascends the organizational hierarchy, their skill set also evolves. They use all three skill levels, albeit to different degrees. A first-level manager (supervisor) relies more on technical skills than on human and conceptual skills.

A middle-level manager depends more on human skills than on technical and conceptual skills. 

A top-level manager primarily employs conceptual skills because they oversee the organization’s direction. However, this does not mean they no longer require technical and human skills—both remain essential and are used whenever necessary. — Marino J. Dasmarinas