Od Interventions Case Study free essay sample

Organization Development has been defined as a process by which behavioral science knowledge and practices are used to help organizations to achieve greater effectiveness, including improved quality of life, increased productivity, and improved product and service quality. Its focus is on improving the organizations ability to assess and to solve its own problems to move the organization to a higher level of functioning by improving the performance and satisfaction of organization members. At Tata Consultancy Services Limited, (TCSL), too OD interventions have been instrumental in facilitating change management and bringing about competitive advantage. OD has contributed to redefining the organization’s relationship to its environment, its markets and key stakeholders. This paper briefly explores an overview of OD interventions at organizational level, and focuses in particular on the case of a large relationship within the organization wherein OD has brought about a paradigm shift especially in the cultural perspective. We will write a custom essay sample on Od Interventions Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The structural alignment and commensurate cultural changes thereof have been facilitated in a deliberate manner to improve the total system – the relationship and its parts in the context of the larger market environment. Introduction: TCS -An Organizational Perspective The Pre-OD Scenario: Our Strengths and Areas of Concern In the years 1998-99, TCS had grown into the largest Indian software company with revenues of over Rs. 600 crores and racing towards achieving its vision of being global top ten. As pioneers in the industry, TCS’s strengths included on time delivery, premier position in the industry in terms of revenues, focus on training programs, quality initiatives, use of good technical tools and procedures and encouragement of individual excellence in performance. However, TCS was also, at that point in time, grappling with a few areas of concern with regard to its operational paradigm. Mounting revenue pressures: The pressure to retain its strong premier position led the organization to tend towards short-term revenues, and relatively lesser efforts were being put into medium and long-term markets and activities (such as products and building up knowledge). Though TCS built relationships with individual customers, Relationship Managers investment on aligning to long-term objectives of customers. The approach, by and large, was of reactive project management and we were yet to espouse the approach of architecting proactive solutions for the customer. Selectivity in projects: There was a tangible tension at TCS, between generating revenues and organizing strategically, on basis of technology and business areas, impacting selectivity in projects accepted. Pressures from customers on schedules was resulting in faster delivery and hence, snowballing into further pressure on future schedules . Focus on specialization: There was diffusion of expertise and we were yet to focus on building strategic expertise in individual centers. Employees were rotated across domains and skills in the interest of learn ability as well as for meeting requirements. In a sense, there was heightened focus on Voice of the Customer, in comparison to the Voice of Employee. Efforts on Experimentation Innovation: The management at TCS felt that by and large, employees tended to go straight by the book. Though Dr. De Bono’s techniques were introduced and employees trained on these techniques to encourage innovation, there was a need to scale up on perceived rewards for experimentation. Rewards and Recognitions: The reward structure at TCS was, at this point in time, primarily focused on individual performance and we were yet to explore the institutionalization of team based rewards at the organizational level. Inter group co-ordination knowledge sharing: Sharing of knowledge was very centre-oriented, and although, informally, best practices spread by interaction and word of mouth, we were yet to evolve a formal system which would capture these for ease of replication across projects. Multiple centers and multiple projects within the same centre ended up resolving the same sort of issues, resulting in avoidable rework. Branding and PR: Image building endeavors were not yet an area of focus and, in a subtle way, this affected the sense of pride of employees. Among educational institutions, this meant greater difficulty in terms of attracting quality talent, which further aggravated stress among the few key performers in the organization. By the year 2002, management felt the conscious need to bring in changes in our approach to the aforementioned areas, in order to align more closely with the customer, business and market requirements at an organizational level. Alignment and Structure at TCS With respect to alignment, there was a need to create an environment of dialogue between system dynamics and human dynamics in the organization. Strategy comes from the market, form comes from structure; capacity from technology; and synergy from culture. The organizational design at that point needed to incorporate this holism and thereby bring in, a coherent organizational identity. The flow of philosophy to policy to practice and further to procedure in organizational design, needed to be re-looked at neutrally. In the interest of alignment of strategy and culture, the need for a dynamic process of dialogue between the â€Å"Generals and the Scouts† was also felt. Alignment and Attunement: As an answer to the above areas of concern, alignment and attunement were sought to be achieved through integrating and balancing out the four voices: †¢ Voice of Wealth †¢ Voice of Employee †¢ Voice of Customer †¢ Voice of Technology The Organizational Development interventions at TCS focused on balancing tensions arising from these four voices along dimensions ofstrategizing, valuing, serving, energizing, investing and improving. An internal organization workshop was conducted with top management for scenario building. This program focused at a larger level, on the â€Å"The TCS that can be â€Å". The idea was to challenge the conventional ways of thinking and to give shape to the key drivers of change through realistic listening and dialoguing. These workshops were followed by dissemination and communication of the scenarios with teams in order to develop a new language in the organization, consistent with the envisaged future scenario. As a fallout of this workshop, several representatives of senior management worked on building scenarios as for e. g. on TCS tools and approach to high end consulting. These looked at what we were and what we wished to be, our competition, changes and challenges with regard to our business models, technologies, products and support functions. Further, the factors that ould facilitate the desired change and focuses that needed to be redefined were clearly laid down. The OD Challenge: Creating order rhythm in the centrifugal and centripetal movements of the 4 zones Scenario Building Workshops: An internal organization workshop was conducted with top management for scenario building. This program focused at a larger level, on the â€Å"TheTCS that can be â€Å". The idea was to challenge the conventional ways of thinking and to give shape to the key drivers of change through realistic listening and dialoguing. These workshops were followed by dissemination and communication of the scenarios with teams in order to develop a new language in the organization, consistent with the envisaged future scenario. As a fallout of this workshop, several representatives of senior management worked on building scenarios as for e. g. on TCS tools and approach to high end consulting. These looked at what we were and what we wished to be, our competition, changes and challenges with regard to our business models, technologies, products and support functions. Further, the factors that would facilitate the desired change and focuses that needed to be redefined were clearly laid down. The scenarios addressed the nature of the struggle the organization would go through and etched out realistic possibilities based on present factors. The roles and context that would impinge on the following were detailed †¢ Wealth creation †¢ Factors which will enhance productivity and enhance the feeling of being valued †¢ Resource allocation and team-work †¢ Membership criteria and norms of the group Learning opportunities for individuals and teams Goal Alignment Balanced Scorecard: In the interest of better alignment, a need was felt to re-look at a few organizational processes and systems, as for instance, the performance management and appraisal system at TCS. A Teach-Train-Transfer workshop on Goal alignment was conducted, with help from expert OD consultants to build the context, to think through goal setting at TCS with a systems perspective to goal alignment to explore means of institutionalizing goal-oriented erformance management within the organization. The workshop further introduced the concept of the Personal Score Card, and clearly outlined what would define goals, outputs, performance management, Economic Value adds the ways and means for facilitating goal alignment. The Balanced Scorecard approach was proposed, introducing corporate goals, which touched upon the following: Voice of the Shareholder Financial Goals e. g. Wealth creation Vector of Technology – Technology Goals e. g. Quality, Cost, Delivery dimensions Voice of the Customer – Customer/ Market Goals e. g. Customer Satisfaction Voice of the Employee – Learning Development e. g. Employee Satisfaction Further the relevance of the corporate goal template at the relationship level was explored and the subsequent cascading to individual level (Organizational to Relationship to Personal Scorecard). Goal specification frameworks, derived from the key performance parameters of the unit were chalked out. While the goal was treated as a virtual entity, the measurement was extended to deliverables on a day-to-day basis (outputs). Further, workflow reviews were done with the objective of deploying an on-line regular review process and system to track individual performance against stated goals. The linkage with incentivesand value add drivers, was also thought through to determine the reward framework, based on published results as against goals. Hereby, strategic objectives and measures agreed upon by the function/ geography/ delivery and relationship heads would be cascaded to subsequent roles as appropriate, ensuring performance in alignment with the larger vision of the organization. Identification of talent for higher responsibility was also seen as a key focus area, highlighting the need to have a focused Career Planning and Mentoring process. The process of role alignment was further thought through, as well as the need for assessment and coaching for role transitions. Towards employee satisfaction and towards ensuring sustained availability of sufficient managerial and leadership talent, the need to create succession plans at all levels and to track and reward high fliers was brought out. This further, lead to the formulation of career paths in TCS global services, consulting and products, supported by HR processes, tools and support staff. This structure was designed to enable a fair degree of flexibility in rotating at appropriate levels, which would provide avenues for individual growth. Besides, there was an exercise to bring out new role definitions in Human Resources (HR), focusing on alignment, energizing and task facilitation through HR. Business leaders dialogued to evolve the mission and expectations and further, to design enablers for continuous change, team work, and individual growth. PROPEL – The Intervention: Culture Building at TCS PROPEL was introduced as a revolutionary intervention with the dual objectives of facilitating the exchange of ideas and helping in immediate problem solving, while also encouraging bonding and self-development among and within teams. As the organization and its relationships grew, it brought its own challenges, whereas change remained a constant. PROPEL was introduced as a platform and a tool to help bring about this change, in consonance with the TCS belief of â€Å"Let us make it a joy for all our stakeholders†. Promoting continuous improvement at a cross-functional level was one of the envisaged objectives. Change management was enabled through alignment with growth strategy; by creating platforms for dialogue on the current and emerging experience of the organization. PROPEL has helped the organization build a culture of collaboration,creativity and also networks of relationships through its two modes: 1. Confluences: Listening to the voice of the employee in a team scenario, by creating a platform for open sharing of thoughts on a relevant theme. This is achieved through a balance of fun, introspection and interaction, while evoking commitment to self-development. 2. Camps: Platform for problem solving, focus on the Quality, Cost and Delivery measures of throughput resulting in transfer and adoption of best practices within and amongst relationships in the organization. Further on, this paper explores the case of a large relationship which espoused PROPEL interventions to bring about effective quantifiable results in the interest of relationship robustness, market agility and a fine balance in the culture perspective. The case of a large relationship at TCS: Team Alignment through PROPEL framework Spiral Dynamics Team alignment was a PROPEL application initiated for members of this large relationship, to reflect on its own state, to build a coherent statement of current realities and to channel potent restlessness and dissatisfactions within the relationship, into a convergent blueprint of responsiveness and new levels of maturity. It looked at redefining desirable role behaviors, and hence conveyed responsibility for movement at the collective as well as individual levels, for the team. This was brought about through the following stages 1. Initiation: The Spiral dynamics framework was used to map the relationship in terms of its evolution. Tools were administered to a group of Project Managers to identify the gaps between where the team is (current state) and where it should be (desired state) and the steps to be taken to bridge this gap. Spiral Dynamics posits that the evolution of human consciousness can best be represented by a dynamic, upward spiraling structure that charts our evolving thinking systems as they arc higher and higher through levels of increasing complexity. The spiral in spiral dynamics contains the blueprints of patterns for sequential development of Cultures. The spirals first tier is a set of six memes (beige, purple, red, blue, orange and green) characterized by existence or subsistence, or the â€Å"survival-level† concerns. Second tier of yellow and turquoise works to create healthy forms of all the first tier systems, in the context of an information-rich, highly mobile global community. 2. Awareness sessions Workshops: Overviews on Spiral Dynamics and its application to achieve team alignment was shared with theteam.

Cardiovascular Diseases Medicine Essay Sample

Cardiovascular Diseases Medicine Essay Sample Cardiovascular Diseases: Causes and Prevention Essay Example Cardiovascular Diseases: Causes and Prevention Essay Example Cardiovascular diseases are a topic that is widely popular and constantly discussed among physicians. Cardiovascular diseases, colloquially abbreviated as CVDs, refer to those illnesses associated to both the heart and blood vessels (Bauer, 2011). As far as medical research is concerned, there are myriad of cardiovascular diseases, each with associated symptoms and causes. Common CVDs include hypertensive heart disease, stroke, ischemic heart disease, peripheral artery disease and rheumatic heart disease. There are associated cardiovascular illnesses that are not significantly dominant; these include atrial fibrillation, aortic aneurysms and cardiomyopathy. This paper examines cardiovascular diseases and their causes. The paper will broadly be divided into three sections: cardiovascular diseases, main causes and prevention techniques. The essay will subscribe to both scholarly articles and scientific literatures to offer a comprehensive coverage of the topic. Stroke, also called cardiovascular arrest, is the leading cardiovascular disease (Labarthe, 2011). Stroke occurs when blood supply to the brain is immediately interrupted. Strokes often appear in two ways. The first type involves the cases when blood vessels transporting blood to the brain might break leading to immense bleeding inside the brain. This type of cardiovascular arrest is called hemorrhagic and is mostly common in old people and those experiencing heart diseases and conditions. The second type of stroke is the ischemic stroke. This happens when a clot forms inside the blood vessel transporting blood to the brain abruptly stopping the supply of blood. The second type of stroke is the most common and usually proceeds due to a number of reasons including old age, shock and associated cardiovascular illnesses and conditions (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Often, stroke as a type of cardiovascular disease occurs as a result of blood blockage inside the brai n leading to death of important brain cells. When cells do not receive blood, they are not oxygenated, which means that they can easily die due to shortage of oxygen. More specifically, stroke occurs due to the failure of blood to reach the brain, which results into death of cells. The American Heart Association observes that strokes kill close to 130,000 people in the United States per year. This figure translates to one in every 20 deaths (American Heart Association, 2015). On average, the AHA states that in every four minutes, one American dies of stroke. Another statistic quotes that annually, more than 785,000 Americans are diagnosed with some form of stroke. Of all these victims, approximately 61,000 are first to the disease or completely new to some form of heart illness (Watson Preedy, 2012). Overall, medical sources and health research institutes are in unanimous agreement that stroke is the fifth leading cause of demise for the American population (American Heart Associat ion, 1997). Stroke Variance with Age Scientists who have conducted research in cardiovascular illnesses argue that stroke is the greatest and most dreaded form of the disease. The number of people who continue to die from strokes is overwhelming meaning that this condition is a national health disaster. Now, it has become a common phenomenon and principle that the chance to have a stroke increases with age. More specifically, older people are amenable to a higher risk than their young counterparts. A study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention observes that in 2009, 34% of patients diagnosed with stroke were 65 years and above (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). This means that three-quarters of stroke victims were more than 65 years in age. In such a way, it is clear that stroke is a condition that needs to be evaluated from the age-criterion. Geographic Distribution of Stroke Geographically, the southeastern part of the United States hosts the largest number of stroke victims. The prevalence of stroke across the United States is mostly attributed to the southeastern part (Smith, 2009). The states where the cases of strokes are multiple include Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Maryland, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and the District of Columbia. Statistically, these states represent the highest number of stroke victims meaning that a close analysis and evaluation of the population should be done. Geographic distribution of strokes has been researched to identify if environmental and social problems are potent factors influencing cardiac arrest or strokes. In addition, recording the number of victims in each state and determining the leading states with victims is an important step in the fight against this cardiovascular disease. Causes Stroke is a cardiovascular disease meaning that it affects the heart and blood vessels. However, stroke is not anonymous, and similar to many other health conditions, it comes as a result of certain causes. High blood pressure is directly linked to stroke, which makes it the leading cause. When the rate of blood flow is high, the plasma is likely to build a clot. Dr. Kenneth Bauer, the managing director of Harvard Medical School argues that enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX) influences blood clot; thus, taking aspirin may help inactivate this enzyme (Bauer, 2011). Stroke victims are prescribed aspirin-related drugs and substances to inactive the enzyme and minimize the formation of blood clot inside blood vessels. Aspirin drugs inactivate the enzyme making platelets less sticky and overall reducing their likelihood to clot. However, high blood pressure may activate the enzyme leading to stroke. Therefore, high blood pressure is likely to induce stroke. People, especially those who are ident ified to be amenable to strokes, should be cautious on conditions that may increase blood pressure (Spence, 2006). The second fold of causes for stroke is cholesterol. Cholesterol is a waxy and thick substance made in the liver and found in most consumed foods (Spence, 2006). Often, high amounts of cholesterol are perilous as they build around arties leading to slowed rate of blood flow. In such a way, cholesterol deposit in the artery narrows vessels, which leads to failure of blood flow towards the brain. In addition, cholesterol buildup slows down blood supply, which may become a precondition to a stroke and associated conditions of cardiovascular illnesses. The third fold of causes for cardiovascular diseases is connected with lifestyle. Most people are exposed to consuming take away foods and associated meals, which increases the risk of having a heart disease. Basically, red meat and junks pose the risk of heart diseases. More specifically, they cause such heart conditions as valve failures and irregular heartbeats. The cumulative force of these conditions leads to the overall comprise of blood flow into the heart. As seen above, stroke comes as a result of failure of blood to reach the heart and vessels’ complete destruction, which leads to blood deposit inside the heart. Therefore, it is clear that lifestyle and courtesy of consumed foods can result to increased chances of heart conditions leading to stroke. Physicians have pursued research that links diabetes to stroke. For example, Albini et al. in the study of cardiotoxicity argue that diabetes mellitus attracts conditions related to stroke (Albini, Pennesi, Donatelli, Cammarota, De Flora, Noonan, 2009). Indeed, diabetes leads to a stark shortage of insulin, an enzyme that is responsible for the transportation of sugar and glucose inside brain cells. Lack of transportation of sugar leads to a build-up of glucose inside the vessels. This thickens the blood making it very hard for a streamlined flow. Other causes associated with stroke include the sickle cell disease, salt, lack of physical activities and transient attacks. These causes are less sensitive than the ones mentioned above although some of them pose equally greater challenges for stroke. The International Journal for Nursing Studies observes that cardiac disorders are potent entry points for stroke. The journal advises that slight illnesses and diseases that have dominant connection with stroke should be taken seriously by physicians and medical experts. This should be done to minimize the greater risk of stroke, both hemorrhagic and ischemic arrests (IJNS, 2014). The next part of the essay examines signs and symptoms of stroke. This part of the paper will subscribe to medical journals and related publications to give a comprehensive coverage of symptoms that a typical for stroke victims. Signs and Symptoms of Stroke A sudden numbness on the face, hand and arm is the first characteristic of an upcoming stroke. Patients recently diagnosed of ischemic stroke report sudden dysfunction of these organs. The Center of Disease Control is in agreement with the Clinical Digest that stroke is likely to induce failure in movement of these body organs leading to a reduced flow of blood. Confused and slowed speech is another symptom. Patients attacked by stroke are reported to experience difficulties in understanding, communication and a stark inability for speech. There are reported cases of sight failure. Stroke patients experience trouble seeing and perceiving sight with both eyes. In a number of cases, one eye is open although the other fails to function. This failure is mostly attributable to the section of the brain that is subject to low blood supply. The inability to see ensues from the fact cells on this particular side of the eye are dead. Loss of balance and lack of proper coordination is another symptom of stroke. Patients stagger, tremble physically and fail to identify direction. This failure mostly comes as a result of the cerebrum damage. Lack of blood supply to the brain incapacitates the cerebrum, which is part of human’s brain responsible for movement, locomotion and balance. The International Journal of Nursing observes that stroke induces severe headache. Stroke victims experience continuous aches on the left side of the head. This is the section mostly hit by lack of sufficient blood supply (Esselstyn, 2007). Other sources argue that there are both acute and sub-acute cardiotoxicity on the brain, which leads to severe incidences of headache. The force of headache as a result of stroke is what leads to associated symptoms: confusion, dizziness and to some extent lack of speech. Prevention and Risk Minimization Similar to most cardiovascular diseases, stroke can be minimized and potentially prevented. However, due to genetic reasons, it is hard to prevent it at a later stage, especially for individuals whose families have encountered this CVD. The first fold of efforts to prevent stroke is to identify risk factors. These include previous heart diseases, high levels of cholesterol in food, lifestyle, conditions and signs of high blood pressure, diabetes and sickle cell illness. Identification of the above risk factors enables the physician notice the possibility of a stroke. Therefore, it is easy to prepare for a stroke through prescription of appropriate medication including aspirin (Bauer, 2011). Another risk minimization technique is exercises. Physical activities burn excessive fats and oils. This makes it hard for cholesterol to deposit inside the walls of blood vessels. Physical activities and exercises also increase the rate of heart beat allowing cardiac muscles to range with the unprecedented pace. More specifically, when the heart continuously pumps due to exercise, there is a significant increase in the strength of valves and tendons. These components of the heart become strong and do not fail due to an unexpected shock. In a publication to counter the risk of cardiovascular arrest or stroke, the Harvard School of Medicine observes that lowering blood pressure by eating low quantities of salt is important. The source also supports loss of weight and consumption of adequate water as imperative towards preventing stroke (Bauer, 2011). Water burns cholesterol, fats and oils inside the human body minimizing deposits in cardio-vascular walls. Also, behavior has an impact in the formation of stroke-related conditions. Smokers are twice more likely to experience cardiac arrests than other people. Smoking also accelerates the formation of clot in myriad ways. It heightens the build-up of plaque and thickens the blood. Dr. Smith of the Harvard School of Medicine notes that smoking cessation is among the leading lifestyles that will help smokers reduce the risk of stroke (Smith, 2009). The final effort to prevent and minimize the risk of arrest involves medication. The Journal Cardiotoxicity of Anticancer Drugs argues that it is more likely for a patient to suffer from both cancer and stroke. These diseases are related, and, therefore, there is a growing need to put special emphasis on antitoxic medications that are likely to counter initial effects. Doctor Bauer attaches critical significance to aspirin prescriptions in efforts to minimize the effects and attack of stroke. More specifically, aspirin inactivates enzyme cyclooxygenase, which hinders the formation of blood clot. Therefore, aspiring should be prescribed on a continuous for patients with potent signs of cardiac arrest. However, in cases of surgeries or when patients are likely to undergo a surgical operation and exercise, aspirin intake should be monitored or completely eliminated. Failure to do this might lead to a rebound effect, which is a phenomenon that increases the chances of having stroke twice . Thus, as much as prescriptions should be leveraged to counter adverse risks and conditions, they should be monitored on individuals depending on previous medical records. The above efforts represent the overall collective fight with stroke and the majority of cardiovascular illnesses. Observing the above measures will not only save a patient from stroke. It will equally assist them to prevent an array of CVDs: hypersensitivity, peripheral artery disease, rheumatic heart disease, atrial fibrillation and aortic aneurysms. Fight against Cardiovascular Illnesses – The American Heart Association The efforts of the American Heart Association (AHA) in making heart disease an important topic for Americans cannot be overlooked. The association drives critical cardiovascular models, systems and changes all over the United States. This is done to achieve the best practice in healthcare. By visiting the association’s website, one will be impressed by the number of initiatives, campaigns, researches and studies going on in the creation of lifestyle and health awareness on CVDs. The American Heart Association represents the collective efforts towards fighting cardiovascular illnesses. Obviously, it is high time to unite and implement the efforts that have been channeled in making healthcare a priority. The American Heart Association is not a building, as well as it is not a structure. Neither is it an erection or a fabrication. The association is a body of concerned Americans willing to champion the well-being of the nation. The large body of professionals, volunteers and supp orters incorporated inside the AHA is what moves the nation closer to the American dream. This represents the collective fight towards cardiovascular illnesses, in particular, stroke and associated heart diseases. The essay has described the phenomenon of cardiovascular illnesses. The paper has dissected into three primary sections: causes of cardiovascular illnesses (the most dominant which is stroke), signs and symptoms of stroke and associated heart diseases, and prevention and risk minimization techniques. The essay examines myriad academic sources and medicine journals to offer an expansive and critical view to the topic. Of special concern for the paper was to examine the current and future fight towards cardiovascular diseases. Here, the paper has identified the American Heart Association as the greatest body of advocacy and awareness against cardiovascular illnesses. The above analysis surmises the paper adding knowledge and creating insight into the threat of cardiovascular illnesses.