Organizational Systems in Many Respects,

Organizational Systems

In many respects, an organizational system is very similar to a jet engine, in that all components and inputs, from fuel and oil to environmental conditions, must all be favorable for launch and flight. It is much the same way with any organizational system. Allegorically speaking a jet engine that has been continually maintained, inspected and had preventative maintenance programs associated with it will be able to fly for decades. The same is true of high performance work systems and the organizational cultures they nurture and create (Hartog, Verburg, 2004).

Analysis of an Organizational Systems Using Propulsion as a Metaphor

Just as a jet engine must also have the necessary fuel, oil, hydraulics and care to function properly both within the actual casing and in a wide variety of external environments, the same holds true for an organizational system. The agility, reliability and safety of a jet engine is designed in for years before it flies. For organizational systems, this level of design is rare; instead an organizational system is more iteratively based in terms of its formation and maturity processes (Zhang, Hurst, Lenin, Ramaswamy, 2011). Yet like a jet engine, an organizational system must anticipate significant use on a variety of challenging, difficult internal and external environments (Martins, Terblanche, 2003).

An example of how one of the most critically important organizational systems, the accounting and financial system, broke down and could not pay suppliers accurately, shows how once a system becomes dysfunctional and fails to deliver, an entire business is in jeopardy. The accounting and financial organizational systems are the most powerful in defining the culture of any business as well, as they define the flow of funds, salaries and payments (Busco, Scapens, 2011). When the accounting and financial system quit working correctly in Accounts Payable. Suppliers immediately completed about their invoices being only partially paid. The suppliers also threatened to quit spending the materials, subassemblies and supplies critical for making the next generation of products for our company. The new product development efforts underway had to stop for weeks until this systems was straightened out.

Externally to the company suppliers were beginning to talk with the press, wondering out loud in the media if our company was still solvent. Soon, investors were calling our senior management asking if the company was having financial trouble. The accounting and financial organizational systems were nearly responsible for the company being audited when the problem didn't get fixed fast enough. The external impacts of these failed and faulty organizational systems were amplified due to stakeholder's concerns for the company's and their own financial security.