The budget issue of Jamie magazine is wonderful having so many recipes to choose from and so many cheap cuts to cook because they are considered the best cuts!!!!! So check it out!
The Burke Litwin Model February 25, 2012
OA Tool 6 : Burke Litwin Model described in the following webpage
http://www.childhope.org.uk/wcore/showdoc.asp?id=553
The “Burke-Litwin model” has been developed to examine organisational change and
performance. It provides a link between an assessment of the wider institutional context
and the nature and process of change within an organisation. It makes the following key
points:
• The external environment is the most powerful driver for organisational change
• Changes in the external environment lead to significant changes within an
organisation – its mission and strategy, its organisational culture and its leadership.
• Changes in these key factors lead to other changes within an organisation – changes
to structure, systems and management practices. These are more operational factors
and changes in them may or may not have an organisation-wide impact
• Together these changes affect motivation, which in turn impacts on individual and
organisational performance
• The model describes 12 organisational variables (incorporating the 7 variables of the
7-S model) and the relationships between them. Each of the variables interact and a
change in any one of them can eventually impact on the others. This is useful in
explaining not only how organisations perform, but also how they can be changed.
How do I use it?
• Gather data on relevant boxes based on desk research and interviews with key
stakeholders throughout the organisation
• Summarise findings in a report for senior staff. This report can then be used as a
basis for identifying which boxes relate to which executives and managers, and can
be useful in helping them understand the complex performance and change issues
they are trying to manage
• Key questions to include are summarised in the table below.
Dimensions of Model Key Questions
1. External Environment
What are the key external drivers? How are these likely to
impact on the organisation? Does the organisation recognise
these?
2. Mission and Strategy
What do top management see as the organisation’s mission
and strategy? Is there a clear vision and mission statement?
What are employees’ perceptions of these?
3. Leadership
Who provides overall direction for the organisation? Who are
the role models? What is the style of leadership? What are
the perspectives of employees?
4. Organisational Culture
What are the overt and covert rules, values, customs and
principles that guide organisational behaviour?
5. Structure
How are functions and people arranged in specific areas and
levels of responsibility? What are the key decision-making,
communication and control relationships?
6. Systems
What are the organisation’s policies and procedures,
including systems for reward and performance appraisal,
management information, HR and resource planning, etc?
7. Management Practices
How do managers use human and material resources to
carry out the organisation’s strategy? What is their style of
management and how do they relate to subordinates?
8. Work Unit Climate What are the collective impressions, expectations and
feelings of staff? What is the nature of relationship with
work unit colleagues and those in other work units?
9. Task and Individual Skills
What are the task requirements and individual
skills/abilities/knowledge needed for task effectiveness? How
appropriate is the organisation’s “job-person” match?
10. Individual Needs and Values
What do staff value in their work? What are the
psychological factors that would enrich their jobs and
increase job satisfaction?
11. Motivation
Do staff feel motivated to take the action necessary to
achieve the organisation’s strategy? Of factors 1-10, which
seem to be impacting most on motivation?
12. Individual and Organisational Performance
What is the level of performance in terms of productivity,
customer satisfaction, quality, etc? Which factors are critical
for motivation and therefore performance?
The three basic assumptions of I/O
Assumption 1:
B= f(P.E)
Behavior is a function of PERSONALITY AND ENVIRONMENT.
Assumption 2:
(McGregor’s Employee Motivation theory)
- Theory X: Boss is authoritarian , no freedom for employers so no motivation. Objecitve is money: Scientific Management
- Theory Y: Boss trusts each individual and optimizes working condition so that motivation is always there: HUMAN RELATIONS
ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING IT:
theory x (‘authoritarian management’ style)
- The average person dislikes work and will avoid it he/she can.
- Therefore most people must be forced with the threat of punishment to work towards organisational objectives.
- The average person prefers to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is relatively unambitious, and wants security above all else.
theory y (‘participative management’ style)
- Effort in work is as natural as work and play.
- People will apply self-control and self-direction in the pursuit of organisational objectives, without external control or the threat of punishment.
- Commitment to objectives is a function of rewards associated with their achievement.
- People usually accept and often seek responsibility.
- The capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving organisational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.
- In industry the intellectual potential of the average person is only partly utilised.
Assumption 3: The organization as a Metaphor to the Human Body
The cells are the people, the organs are the groups and the body or person is the organization.
So, what is Institutional/ Organizational Psychology? ..A definition
The definition is “the application of the principles and methods of Psychology to the work place” (Jex and Britt,2008).
February 15, 2012
This article is a great way of rethinking entrepreneurship. It should be easy , not complicated!
“So, are you here to work or to study?”
I get this question almost every day and it’s really a tough one to answer. It’s been 60 days since I got any real, tangible work accomplished, but January’s revenue is almost double what it was last January. I can’t say I’m proud of my obsolescence – I love being productive – but the results speak for themselves. As you may already know, I’m in Argentina indefinitely and I’m taking Spanish classes to improve my somewhat limited communication skills. I skipped class the other day to catch up on work – the pangs of guilt finally put the perpetual hangover in the backseat – and I sat down at my desk to plug away at the next big task.
There was just one problem: there wasn’t anything major for me to do. You see, 18 months ago, I read the 4-Hour Work…
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My new passion is Education and Music February 10, 2012
I am going to be adding a new post about Education and Music . As you all know I am a Musician and I am studying Psychology. I loved my Educational Psych class at Barnard and therefore I am going to be posting everything related to Music Therapy, Music in Education, Music as a tool for relaxation and many more topics
Flowers all around October 16, 2011
I had to l
ook for beautiful flower arrangements on Google Images and then sent the florist in Corfu my ideas. He came up with the most beautiful and simple arrangements and the one that wowed me was the one on the entrance of the City Hall !
Try not to get spray glue on the flowers (it avoids them to fall appart)
because the confetti stuck on it and that was a little bit ackward and it
never fell off. 😦
70 days to go April 11, 2010
We decided to hire a wedding planner
And that will make everything much more relaxed!
She will the contact between me and my provders (who still do not answer the phone etc)
She will take care of
the nanny for my nephew
the dj
flower ideas
brunch
coktail at a Taverna
and the Tours for our Guests around town.
Wedding invitations March 29, 2010
So after looking at some invitations I found out that I like pink!
Yes I am getting married in Corfu, Greece!!! March 20, 2010
So I decided to get marrid in Corfu!
1.- In Corfu 3 months of avanced organization does not work. They will tell you in a charming manner: “There is plenty of time Miss!”
2.- Not many pages offer services for weddings so most of them are through Travel Agents
3. I have to act as a Travel Agency because everybody asks me where to stay, what to do etc!
4.- I do not care about a perfect wedding due to the circumstances mentioned in points 1-3!
The important thing for me is the occasion and everything else will be secondary!
I also want my sister to be there even though she will be 6 months pregnant so hopefully everything will go smoothly!
Around the world wedding Blog 
