Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
activities are common causes of degeneration of an organisation. The basic values,
the structure of the organisation, and the management and leadership styles alone
can make it responsive to change.
A strong and unique culture of its own gives an organisation and its people an
identity and a cause to rally around. Cultural identity is a uniting force of great
consequence and forms one of the most important underpinnings of sustainability.
Symbols, logos, slogans, legends, and history, along with unique values and work
culture, are hallmark of an organisation with a strong cultural identity. These must
be assiduously built, guarded, promoted, and preserved throughout the life span of
the organisation.
Tolerance of dissidence with an open mind is an important quality for an organi-
sation to ensure sustainability. Dissidence is not always defying authority or flouting
norms; it is also being creative, and an opportunity for self-assessment, often too
valuable to be discarded in the name of discipline and order. Orderly systems are
likely to be dead in no time; it is the dynamic ones that survive in the long run.
Managing dissidence is an art that should be a distinguishing characteristic with the
top management and leadership. It should be built into the value system of the or-
ganisation. One must be reminded, once again, that it is not the rules, the procedures,
the discipline, that is of ultimate importance; rather, it is the values and the goals of
the organisation that really matter.
An organisation must honestly and continuously assess itself on its performance.
Performance should be assessed relative to the basic goals, and should be judged
within the overall framework of the value system. Internal assessment should be
participatory within the organisation, giving opportunity to all its people to criticise
and suggest ways of improvement. An organisation should also make arrangements
with outside agencies for frequent external assessment which should be received
with an open mind. Acting sincerely and honestly upon such assessment will enable
an organisation to save itself from becoming stagnant, decadent, and eventually
moribund.
8.2.4
A People Orientation
All organisations are made of people. Few are dependent more exclusively upon its
people than those dealing with community-driven afforestation programmes. An or-
ganisation may be having excellent technological, material, and financial resources,
and a good work environment, and yet it may be a non-performer if its people are not
competent and motivated. In the ultimate analysis, it is the people who make things
happen; if they are not first-rate, or are not given opportunity to perform first-rate,
the organisation cannot be first-rate.
Motivation is the crucial challenge in people management. Volumes might have
been written on the subject of human motivation, centuries of research might have
gone into it, but the subject is still elusive. Mystery lies in the human nature. Humans
are not rational when it comes to themselves, even though they might have rational
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