Finally, I will try to delegate part of my responsibilities to my subalterns in order to get to know them better, get the opportunity to work alongside with them, and by observing their results, increase my trust in their capabilities.
For the organization as a whole, the surveys revealed more generalized results. Otherwise put, just like the individual was able to identify his shortages and strengths, the organization was also able to recognize its limitations and core competencies. In this order of ideas, the management of the organization realized that the products and services were delivered at high quality standards and the relationship with the customers was excellent. Foremost, since they placed increased emphasis on respecting the regulations imposed by the federal organization, while also supporting the community's development, the company was well perceived by the general public. The employees were also generally satisfied with the way the organization was operating, mostly because all staff members were working on valid employment contracts and all of their rights were being respected.
The corporate officials had worked hard on creating a pleasant environment, where the employees would feel at ease and consequently creative. They had also worked hard on maintaining and improving the relationships with all stakeholders, including shareholders, business partners, suppliers and the general public. The results of the survey came to strengthen the company's belief that they were on the right...
And this came as quite a shock to the management. Most of the employees were financially unsatisfied. Despite the appreciation for the working environment, the friendly managers, the creative and challenging tasks and the family like corporate culture that made employees want to come back on the job, they found it difficult to get by with the rather low salaries offered. The corporate management was aware of the existence of the issue, mostly materialized in higher employee turnover rates, but they did not pay much attention to it, hoping it would resolve by itself. And since it will not, they should better prospect the market and align the employee wages to those offered by the competition.
All in all, I find the surveys taken to be a quite useful method to getting to know ourselves better and recognize and strengths and weaknesses. But even so, I must state my personal belief that peoples' and organizations' capabilities cannot always be quantified by multi-choice questionnaires. What the surveys can do is to briefly indicate some limitations and core competencies, but from here on, it is all up to the individual and the company.
References
Heifetz, R.A., July 1998, Leadership Without Easy Answers, Harvard University Press
House, R.J., Gupta, V., Dorfman, P.W., Javidan, M., March 2004, Culture, Leadership and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies, SAGE Publications
