Performance Management and Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Performance Management and Organizations - Essay Example Mullins (2005) contends that organizations comprise 'people, objectives, structures' and 'management'. Managing human resources, keeping the shareholders in good humor, organizing funds for new business ventures, planning out marketing strategies are all parts of the management which require more than the copy book style of management. External: These are the factors on which an organization may not be able to exert much of its control. These include, the legal and political scene prevailing within the state/ country of its operations, number and types of competitors, suppliers in the market, terms and conditions from financial institutions, alternative products available in the market, newer technological innovations etc. Strategists are supposed to take care of these factors by planning appropriate responses. Worthington (2006) places greater importance on political developments occurring at different levels - local, national and international. Organizations resort to strategic planning to take care of these factors and Organizations learn a lot from there environment and prevailing circumstances. But the strategic intent alone cannot be planned all in advance. It has to be a continuous evolutionary process depending upon the experiences. Henry Ford said, "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently"1 Organizations too adapt their strategies according to the prevailing circumstances and the overall business scenario. Organizations and their management are not supposed to indulge in politics and the power-game. But the management is at the same time required to carry the organization through the ups and downs of the times. Butcher & Clarke (2003) state that 'managers often seem to struggle with their role'. There are times when managers are confronted with paradoxical situations. Under such circumstances, the theories and relevant prescription might appear to be insufficient for their needs. Such circumstan ces require some amount of political acumen on the part of the management. Globalisation has in fact provided wings to MNCs for exploring newer vistas of business opportunities, dealing with newer sets of customers and governments. In order to leverage the economies of scale some MNCs prefer to outsource their services from Europe and US to countries like India, China (Bracken, 2004). This type of business is full of risk as it involves handing over a crucial task to people who are nowhere near the customs/ cultures of the organization, involves taking political risks both at home as well as in foreign lands. Quite a few political objections have been raised against the outsourcing decisions by some companies; as such steps are resulting in an increase in unemployment in those countries from where these services are being outsourced. On the other hand this step is resulting in more employment generation in the countries which are the outsourcing destinations. Such voices have also b een 'managed' well by the management of the companies in outsourcing business, which could not have been done without some first hand experience of political maneuverability. The political establishment is