OGL 357 | Milestone 1 | Module 3

Organizational Assessment
Joellen Leichner

Organizational Assessment – Milestone 1

Organizational assessment is a well-defined performance measurement process

that allows organizations and leadership to review the organization's performance. It

provides an in-depth view of what they are doing right, what isn't necessarily working,

where they can improve, and where there might be other new opportunities for the

organization to consider. (Lusthaus, 2014). It also provides benchmarks, or a starting

position, for future performance assessment now, during the change implementation, and

in the future. Finally, it allows an organization to reasonably compare similar business

ventures and models found locally to their own. (Lusthaus, 2014). An Organizational

assessment includes all expanses of the organization's environment such as technology,

economic, environmental, ecological, political, cultural, administrative & legal,

stakeholders/employees, and socio-cultural. (Lusthaus, 2014).

There are many types and strategies for organizational assessment. Over the

years, they have changed, and some have become more popular than others. Some of you

may be more familiar with are Six Sigma or LEAN. Others include Baldridge Prize,

Good-to-Great Diagnostic, Lean Enterprise Self-Assessment Tool (LESET), and Shingo

Prize for Operational Excellence. (Perkins, Nightingale, Valerdi, & Rifkin, 2010).

Organizations can be self-assessed, externally assessed, or a combination of the two.

Whichever type of assessment an organization decides is most useful for the information

they are seeking, it must include rational, structured, and effective ways of implementing

its findings. Whether by focus groups, interviews, questionnaires, or direct observations,

it helps an organization get a pulse on stakeholders. (Lusthaus, 2014). Most importantly,

1
 OGL 357 | Milestone 1 | Module 3
Organizational Assessment
Joellen Leichner

an assessment must have the commitment from leadership (Lusthaus, 2014); without their

cooperation and openness to the process and its discoveries, the tool would be highly

ineffective.

A thorough evaluation and measurement of an organization's capacity and

enabling environments can be one of the organization's most useful tools in remaining

relevant and innovative in today's increasingly competitive, global business world.

(Lusthaus, 2002). It allows an organization to review, update through necessary change

and elimination, and move forward with an effective strategic framework that will enable

them to successfully satisfy its stakeholders and organizational initiatives for the long

term. One area often overlooked and under-appreciated by an organization is its enabling

environment. These rules, ethos, and capability components help explain where the

organization started, the values that influenced behavior, and resources, where they are

now, and what needs to be adjusted to move forward successfully. (Lusthaus, 2014). As

the business climate changes and the needs of the business change, organizations must

continue to review and update their strategies to remain competitive in the global

marketplace. (Lusthaus, 2014).

2
 OGL 357 | Milestone 1 | Module 3
Organizational Assessment
Joellen Leichner

Resources:

Lusthaus, C., Adrien, M.-H., Anderson, G., Plinio, G., Carden, M. H., & Rey, D. M. N.
(2014). Organizational Assessment A Framework for Improving Performance. Ottawa:
International Development Research Centre.
Perkins, L. N., Nightingale, D., Valerdi, R., & Rifkin, S. (2010). 6.3.2 Organizational
Assessment Models for Enterprise Transformation. INCOSE International Symposium,
20(1), 809–823. doi: 10.1002/j.2334-5837.2010.tb01106.x