Organizational Flexibility
Every organization operates within a framework that is geared towards enabling it to achieve efficiency and productivity, which, in turn, influence an organization’s success. Organizational flexibility is required in creating a conducive work environment within an organization especially with ever-changing economic and social issues. Organizations are actively recognizing the need to be more flexible by helping employees enhance their ability to perform different jobs and participate in decision-making responsibilities. Organizations have also engaged in the use of modern technology and corporate restructuring as well as in achieving diversity in labor markets (Kalleberg, 2002).
Flexible project management capability aids organizations in becoming more adaptive. This is because flexible management ensures that projects adapt to dynamic priorities of an organization. It also ensures that projects drive change within an organization. Therefore, flexible project management capability helps organizations become adaptive by creating instruments and facilitators of flexibility (Olsson, 2006).
Organizational flexibility helps in project management because projects goals do change depending on environmental circumstances. Therefore, when organization becomes flexible, project management becomes easy to handle due to availability of a framework for handling changes.
Organizations need to become more flexible because of the changes that happen in their operating environment such as financial changes, market constraints, and competition. Organizations can be flexible by implementing dynamic planning processes and adopting sophisticated analytics and frameworks for resource allocation.
Adaptation
Organizational adaptation is very important for success of a business. It has been found out that ability of organizations to adapt to their work environment is positively related to success that an organization can achieve. Organizations that respond more appropriately to changes that occur in their working environment become more effective in the long-term. However, for organizational adaptation to occur, organizations must first understand the processes through which environmental changes occur (Milliken, Dutton & Beyer, 1990).
Organizational adaptation might be observed when an organization is seen to focus on changes that emerge from external environment. Adaptation occurs when an organization focuses on sources or conditions of change coming from external environment. It is different from planned change that focuses on alterations motivated by factors within an organization (Cameron, 1984).
In the area of organizational adaptation, both tacit and explicit knowledge must be managed. Tacit knowledge in the area of organizational adaptation can be achieved through organizational change that reflects values of an organization such as diversifying experience of employees and tips on dealing with environmental changes. Here, human resource management departments should reflect issues that support organizational adaptation through aspects such as constant training, refreshment courses, and additional staffing when required. In terms of explicit knowledge in the area of organizational adaptation, work procedures must be changed to fit new environmental conditions such as market changes. In addition, adaptation must be done by introducing new codes of conduct that respond to the needs of an organization in the light of environmental changes. Human resource management must provide information and resources to employees when changes have to be made and facilitate the process by linking with other departments in an organization (Choo, 2000).
Organizational adaptation helps organizations realize their potential and achieve success. Adaptation enables organizations to be successful because it ensures that changes are made to fit organizational situations with respect to environmental aspects that determine organizational performance. For instance, when the number of staff has to be increased or reduced, human resource department should be able to do this to adapt to present situation (Milliken, Dutton & Beyer, 1990).
Decline of Strategic Planning
In the modern world, strategic planning in organizations has declined significantly because of ever-changing organizational environments that render strategic planning in organizations unsuitable. Traditional planning strategies do not address new challenges such as financial challenges, market changes, unhealthy competition, and unavailability of raw materials (Bryson, 1988).
Due to its unsuitability, strategic planning is being replaced by scenario planning. This is because scenario planning responds to a present issue at hand rather than to the unknown future. Structure can be applied in this case in terms of current organizational structure determining principles and manners in which scenario will be applied. If a structure of an organization is large, scenario planning will be more complex. Scenario planning allows different organizations to respond uniquely to challenges they face instead of applying universal controls offered by strategic planning (Godet, 2000).
Scenario planning is relevant because it addresses a current issue that an organization is facing and offers a solution that ensures that the issue is being addressed effectively and adequately. Scenario planning is specific for every organization and does not work based on already established procedures. It allows for new information to be used for the benefit of an organization. It is also relevant because it focuses on a specific issue of concern as opposed to an organization as a whole (Blyth, 2005).
There are similarities between decline of strategic planning and improvisation in projects in a sense that both reflect failure. Decline of strategic planning represents a failure of strategy while project improvisation represents a failure of project goals. Secondly, both of these practices reveal the need for better ways of handling organizational challenges.
Do they happen for the same reasons?
All of the aforementioned aspects happen for the same reasons. These reasons are based on striving for organizational success. They are meant to ensure that an organization raises above all challenges posed by environment such as unfair competition, diminished raw material supply, and financial crunches, thereby achieving its desired goals and objectives (Volberda, 1997).
