Community II - A Glipse into Stategy Discussions ...

Thursday, May 3, 2012. Community involves our colleagues and the world of business and work, which we live in day by day. In fact, it takes most of our time - eight hours and more every day. The community around our workplace is an important part of our network of community.

Strategy in big organisations …

I have been browsing through a big pile of strategy documents this morning. Our institution is currently renewing its 10-years-strategy. So the senior management board formulated a general strategy with some guidelines, and now all other parts of the organisation break it down to individual specific strategies for key business processes. This includes scientific-technical strategies in the area of research and development, organisational strategies in the human resources area and various strategies in customer services and international affairs, public relation management etc etc.

One might think: here the organisation generates a big pile of paper, but it has no practical meaning. But that is not true. Our behaviour is strongly influenced by the strategy decisions. It determines where resources go. It controls the flow of cash in the organisation. It determines where positions go and thus it also influences the individual perspectives, for example when our scientists who are on a temporary contract look for a permanent employment!

In many specific strategy documents we talk about optimisation and efficient processes. But unfortunately it much easier to talk about it than to set up really efficient processes. Our travel management is trying to unify 26 different parts of the government - but as a result they basically double and triple the work I have with any individual travel, with the consequence that I need to cut down my activities strongly, just because it is no longer possible to manage it due to new and enforced rules. Strategic steps can backfire - and often it does!

God's role? …

What is God's role in the strategy development? There is no direct influence, we basically follow the rules set by the senior management board. How does my faith influence my behaviour within the big organisation? What can I do?

First of all, I can pray and bring things to the Lord. He knows all parts of the organisation. He knows every human who is working there. He even knows what would be best for us. Second, I can ask God to help us. We need to find a way how to manage the organisation such that its key goals can be fulfilled. That is a non-trivial challenge! Usually administration tends to put more and more administrative steps into the production lines that they basically cease to function. But it is a reasonable goal to have a well-functioning organisation which provides the services it is set up for.

Often, we do not count on the possibilities of the Lord. But we should. He has shown that he can even raise the dead. He can influence things in a way we cannot plan. But he is the eternal Lord, full of unlimited possibilities today and tomorrow! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts