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Research into finding ways to effectively assess organizational effectiveness over the last fifty years has been hampered by a lack of consensus in its definition and on how it should be measured. This has led academics to suggest that it is difficult to research organizational effectiveness in a meaningful way.
A research paper by Sharma and Singh (2019) aims to present a unified model of organizational effectiveness bringing together the disparate elements put forward by previous researchers to provide a comprehensive framework which can be used to guide future research taking the organizational context into account. The existing literature on research into organization is reviewed and a critique given.
Definitions and models of organizational effectiveness
Being able to measure organizational effectiveness is a key concept in the study of organizational behavior and management. However, a lack of objectivity has led to multiple and diverse definitions over the years with academics having different perspectives on what they see as important to achieve this aim. Four models are identified as being the most popular approaches within the existing literature. Firstly, the goal model which views organizational effectiveness as the extent to which the organization achieves its targets with output being considered the most important factor. Secondly, the system resource model which views organizational effectiveness as the propensity to obtain resources which are scarce and of value, the key element being efficient input resource exploitation. Thirdly, the process model which examines the efficiency of internal procedures and processes to determine effectiveness with a focus on transforming inputs into outputs. Finally, the ecological or participant satisfaction model which views organizational effectiveness in terms of how well the needs of key stakeholders are met such as investors, customers, employees, community and regulatory bodies.
The differing perspectives of the first three models compartmentalize inputs, outputs and the transformation...