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Abstract
Purpose - Draws parallels between individuals and organizations, and notes the importance of having regular, periodic organizational checks to avoid incurring serious problems.
Design/methodology/approach - Suggests collecting and analyzing appropriate data, and getting a second opinion when necessary, as a strategy to better understand an organization's health.
Findings - Being clear about one's purpose, strategic initiatives, and/or goals - what one intends to learn, and how one plans to use the findings - is of uppermost importance.
Originality/value - Outlines the order in which data should be collected and how to use the information found.
Keywords Data analysis, Change management, Continuous improvement, Data handling, Organizational effectiveness
Paper type Viewpoint
Just as it is important to have regular, periodic medical check-ups to ascertain the current state of your physical and mental health, so, too, is it important to conduct systematic organizational check-ups to uncover any current or potential problems. You don't want to wind up, one day, in the Emergency Room (ER), or its equivalent, due to an unforeseen problem suddenly spinning out of control.
Parallels are drawn between one's personal health and one's organizational health in Stephen Krempl's recent book Leadership ER (Krempl, 2004). He notes that just as in personal...