MUST KNOW OBJECTIVE OF AN ORGANISATION

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MUST KNOW OBJECTIVE OF AN ORGANISATION

Wednesday, 26 October 2022 | Vinayshil Gautam

MUST KNOW OBJECTIVE OF AN ORGANISATION

Checks and balances form the core of any robust dynamics

Probity cannot just be a matter of detection mechanisms for

irregularities. If designed sensitively and operated with care, many aberrations can be eliminated to enable joyful operation of

organisation.

The issue is of designing systems scientifically and operating them equally diligently. There is a well-known quote on the pitfalls of the concentration of power in the hands of a few — ‘Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. Systemic checks and balances are inherent and essential in the interest of fair play and equity. It is not sufficiently realised that checks and balances are a secondary level of prudence. The first level is the design itself. The design, irrespective of the statutory requirements, must be logically coherent, adequate and pro-active.

Pointing this out is not being obscurantist, but is a demand of common sense and fair play. Indeed, it is a pre-requisite and an essential requirement of any roll out processes. As an entity, a public system is often the object of some common fault finding, related to its emphasis on processes. It causes delay on some occasions by its attempt to keep the design of the organizational decision making coherent and consistently whole. The trouble, however, is not with the process but with the overdoing of the process.

In organisations where there are no ‘statutory’ governance

requirements, the system remains flexible, which by itself can be a virtue. However, this can be open to much abuse and diversion of funds for use as they were not intended. The risk of this becoming pernicious is large.

Each player tends to see the problem not just systemically but as a leeway he can derive to enhance his own convenience. This is something that is not only undesirable but can be dangerous. It is being called dangerous, because proprietary and financial assets can become surrogates for objectives which are not part of the organizational objectives processes. Much of these can be managed effectively, if a system of governance audit is voluntarily implemented in

Institutions, which apparently do not have a statutory obligation to observe formal norms of governance audit. To do this is both simple and complex. It is simple because truth, in its essence, is essentially a simple phenomenon, and to observe the truth requires no special skills other than recording the process with integrity. Later on, the narrative of the facts gets structured in a formal frame, often in a legal system and phraseology.

The complications arise because of a propensity to seek advantage in a public system. The ambience of an organisation should be so designed as to reduce this possibility and, if possible, eliminate it.

Absolute answers are always difficult to prescribe, and the contextual bias of a situation has its own role in the evaluation of an organization’s effectiveness. The above elaboration is meant to explain how fundamental simplicity is at the core of organisational effectiveness. Anything else can be an aberration. Shrouding it in a ‘public sector’ versus a ‘private sector’ debate only transforms an operational distinction to a judgmental platform.  Private-run organisations have an objective and raison d’etre, as public-sector organisations.

The way forward in organisation management would be to understand the objective for which the organisation was set up and then to choose the suitable systems and processes. It need not always be approached in an either/or mode. A hybrid mode may be worth a thought.

(The author is Chairman, DK International Foundation, 'Sharan')

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