3.1 Introduction to leadership: theories and styles
3.2.2 The CVF and organizational effectiveness
Organizations are purposeful systems that exist to achieve certain goals (Chaffee, 1988) and attend to many other demands, which are assumed to be simultaneously important. Organizational effectiveness has been one of the most sought out yet elusive of research subjects since the early developments of organizational theory (Rojas, 2000). It has however been considered a critical concept in organizational theory and has been commonly defined as the extent to which organizations accomplish their goals or missions (Densten & Gray, 2003). Organizations and systems need to address three kinds of effectiveness: goal achievement, resource acquisition and constituent satisfaction (Chaffee, 1987) which have to be accompanied with strategy whose basic premise is that organizations and their environments are inseparable.
Chaffee (1987) identifies three main approaches to organizational strategies for effectiveness: linear strategy, adaptive strategy and interpretative strategy. Leaders who are linear strategists believe that effective action results from rational decision making, gathering and analyzing data, formulating alternative actions, projecting
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outcomes and focusing on internal factors and giving less attention to the environment. The adaptive strategists align their organizations with the environment, monitor the environment for threats and opportunities, and change their organization’s programs into new environmental niches. The interpretative strategists on the other hand are concerned with how people see, understand and feel about their organizations. They try to shape the values, symbols and emotions influencing individual behaviours by explaining and clarifying organizational purpose (Chaffee
& Tierney, 1988).
The CVF developed initially from research conducted on the major indicators of effective organizations. Quinn (1988) characterised organizations as complex, dynamic and contradictory systems in which managers had to fulfil many competing expectations and adapt suitable strategies to attain organizational effectiveness. This is illustrated using the four quadrants of the CVF which indicate that different organizational values become associated with different organizational forms (Cameron & Quinn, 1999: 32). It outlines the critical management competencies that are typical of effective managers and is thus a useful diagnostic tool for effective leadership.
The CVF portrays the contradictions that face organizations and their managers or leaders within the quadrants and juxtaposes them comprehensively to arrive at the different models of organizational effectiveness. The quadrants present the four general perspectives in organizational theory literature that have traditionally been regarded as mutually exclusive schools of thought regarding what ‘good’
organizations are and what ‘good’ managers do (Quinn,1988). These are presented as the human relations model, the open system model, the rational goal model and the internal process model. They are not to be considered in isolation but as a comprehensive framework that identifies those managerial activities and environmental factors that influence effectiveness in organizations (Quinn &
Rohrbaugh, 1983).
The Human Relations Model on the top left quadrant emphasizes people leadership functions such as trust and belongingness with the targeted outcomes being participation, discussion, and openness as ways to improve morale and achieve organizational commitment. It encourages information sharing and participative- decision making, cooperation amongst members and a sense of belonging (Cameron
& Quinn, 1999). The Open System Model on the top right quadrant sees organizational effectiveness as based on adaptability, flexibility, external focus, readiness for growth and resource acquisition. These processes lead to innovation and creativity with people being inspired and not controlled. Leadership in this model facilitates adaptation and change and at the same time absorbs uncertainty by monitoring the environment (Cooper & Quinn, 1993; Quinn, 1988; O’Neill &
Quinn, 1993; Dunk & Lysons, 1997). Complexity and dynamism are seen as the main dimensions of the environment and could contribute to uncertainty as the factors considered are always under rapid change (Duncan, 1972).
The Rational Goal Model presented on the bottom right quadrant emphasizes control and external focus as the key factors for organizational effectiveness. It views planning, goal setting, and efficiency as key to productivity and focuses on profits, achievement, outputs and economic goals (Cooper & Quinn, 1993). Finally, the Internal Process Model presented at the bottom left quadrant is based on hierarchy and management control. It emphasises on internal focus, information management, communication, stability and control (Dunk & Lysons, 1997). Maintaining organizational stability and equilibrium requires managers to monitor and coordinate the activities of their units (Cooper &Quinn, 1993) while the influence of the external environment is often ignored.
In summary, each of the quadrants has two complementary and one contrasting quadrant. The rational goal model, for example, contrasts with the human relations model, as does the open system with the internal process perspective (Quinn, 1988).
Irrespective of these contrasts between the quadrants, none of them comprises the
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range of perspectives on effectiveness provided by considering them wholly or comprehensively as part of one framework. The models are thus viewed as closely related, interwoven and as part of a larger construct for explaining managerial and organizational effectiveness. Taken together, they summarise the unseen values over which people, programs, policies and organizations live and die (Quinn, 1988;
Quinn & Cameron, 1999). CVF utilises the integrated model that takes into consideration all the four quadrants with the assumption that successful organizations satisfy this competing and even contradictory criteria.