Maturity is the result of consciousness and with it, the magic of logos and simple dialectics, brought into practice. (Salvatore Tarantino).
This is one of the topics that is never or almost never put on the table for reflection and analysis; The importance of knowing the maturity of the company in which we work is generally underestimated.
The origin of why is it not given importance? perhaps it lies in the simple fact of the enormous difficulty in being able to quantify it. This is a really complex variable when it comes to establishing a metric that allows its real quantification. Perhaps we should not handle it as a simple variable, rather it is identified and personified as a construct, a product of the contribution of other "variables", of other concepts as interesting as itself (organization, processes, quality, management, management, leadership, learning, innovation, results, etc., etc.).
Now, according to Dr. Alejandro Arellano-González and Mtra. Blanca Carballo Mendívil, in her support material for the "Elective I. Comprehensive Performance Diagnosis" course of the Master's Degree in Systems Engineering at the Technological Institute of Sonora "Maturity of Organizational Processes in Small Companies" (first version, 2012), doing reference to Albu, E. and Panzar, C., point out three models of maturity:
- Verweire and Van Den Berghe (2003), relate organizational maturity with organizational growth (Processes: for goal setting, operational, support, process control, and organizational behavior and structures) Hammer (2007) associates maturity with Organizational processes (Leadership: awareness, alignment, behavior and style; culture: teamwork, customer focus, responsibility, and attitude towards change; experience: people and method; governance: process models, responsibility, and integration) Booth (1997) simply talks about best practices (Right Decisions, Information Flow, Metrics and Rewards, Standards and Values).
As Blanca and Alejandro point out, we have more than 40 years of organizational growth stages, but the truth is that few models of organizational maturity are reported in the literature.
Here is a summary table of some of them:
Organizational maturity
From another angle, we can associate Maturity with Quality and this in turn with Excellence and thus, with the firm conviction and commitment to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of organizations, from multinationals and SMEs to universities and research institutes, They bet on quality, in fact, as an incentive, in favor of cultural change towards quality and efficiency in organizations, in 1951 the Deming Prize was instituted by resolution of the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers, in 1987 A group of experts from the United States gave rise to the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and in 1992 some European countries such as: Spain, Finland, France, England, Italy and Ireland, among others,Through the European Foundation for Quality Management they instituted the National Quality Award. We will leave the characteristics and details of these awards for another article.
Obviously, maturity is not achieved in a single movement and in fact, it is the product of “n” changes over time. Indeed, the Variation of Maturity is the derivative of Maturity with respect to time:
Maturity (t) = d (Maturity (t)) / dt
My dear manager, we are not magicians, we do not have the magic wand that allows us to change things with a single movement, unfortunately, we do not have a specific route to success, but all is not lost, the important thing is to start at the beginning and this is nothing more than being aware of where we are standing, of the moment in which we are and of the conditions we have, if we are not clear about these initial variables, it will be very difficult for us to obtain the desired results. It is like being in the middle of a desert, we have a vehicle, fuel and food, but where do we take? Not knowing where we are will result in any direction we take does not matter. Unquestionably, having the location coordinates will be essential to define the course: Where we want to go.
However, the maturity of an organization is fed and strengthened through the use of the best existing practices and this is achieved through standardization, the correct definition of processes, measurement, continuous improvement, monitoring and control, the correct interrelation and articulation of the organizational structure, the alignment of objectives, the correct definition of indicators and drivers, the correct management of projects, the technology and the correct and adequate administration of Human Talent.
We cannot finish without first mentioning the other ingredient of the elixir: Organizational Clarity, understood as the degree to which the worker perceives that there are precise and reliable action parameters in the organization, both at the macro and micro levels and effective communication. from them to their collaborators, that is, every worker receives the appropriate information about their work and about the operation of the company.
If we do not have Organizational Clarity (mission, vision, values, strategic planning, organizational structure, processes of each management and their interrelationships, publicly accessible to the entire organization, positions and functions clearly delimited with their unequivocally defined borders), sense of belonging, loyalty, etc., etc., it is really useless to talk about the possible benefits of a certain type of management, we would be inside a magic bubble and it would certainly be a fallacy to try to obtain positive results from any methodology to improve the productivity of the company.
References:
- (in Greek λóγος -lôgos-) "reasoning", "argumentation", "speech" or "discourse", can also be understood as: "intelligence", "thought", "sense" (from ancient Greek πρᾱξις = practice) means action, realization, is usually translated by "practical activity", is any action that goes beyond pure speculation, or contemplation. While a lesson is only used on an intellectual level, in a classroom, ideas are tested and experienced in the real world, aided by thoughtful contemplation. In this way, abstract concepts are connected to lived reality. The term is derived from the Greek verb "dialogizomai", which means to discuss, dialogue, reason together. Etymologically it means "art of conversation": reciprocity, exchange, word, discourse. Albu, E. & Panzar, C. (2010).A new tool for assessing maturity alignment: The enterprise maturity matrix. Performance alignment, 49: 35–47 Greiner Larry E. (1972). Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow. Harvard Business Review. Vol. 50 (4) Robert E. Quinn & Kim Cameron (1983). Organizational Life Cycles and Shifting Criteria of Effectiveness: Some Preliminary Evidence. Management Science, Vol. 29, No. 1, 33-51. Smith KG., Mitchell TR, Summer CE. (1985). Top level management priorities in different stages of the organizational life cycle. Academy of Management Journal 28 (4): 799-820. Kazanjian, RK (1988). Relation of dominant problems to stages of growth in technology-based new ventures. Academy of Management Journal, 31 (2), 257–279.Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow. Harvard Business Review. Vol. 50 (4) Robert E. Quinn & Kim Cameron (1983). Organizational Life Cycles and Shifting Criteria of Effectiveness: Some Preliminary Evidence. Management Science, Vol. 29, No. 1, 33-51. Smith KG., Mitchell TR, Summer CE. (1985). Top level management priorities in different stages of the organizational life cycle. Academy of Management Journal 28 (4): 799-820. Kazanjian, RK (1988). Relation of dominant problems to stages of growth in technology-based new ventures. Academy of Management Journal, 31 (2), 257–279.Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow. Harvard Business Review. Vol. 50 (4) Robert E. Quinn & Kim Cameron (1983). Organizational Life Cycles and Shifting Criteria of Effectiveness: Some Preliminary Evidence. Management Science, Vol. 29, No. 1, 33-51. Smith KG., Mitchell TR, Summer CE. (1985). Top level management priorities in different stages of the organizational life cycle. Academy of Management Journal 28 (4): 799-820. Kazanjian, RK (1988). Relation of dominant problems to stages of growth in technology-based new ventures. Academy of Management Journal, 31 (2), 257–279.Top level management priorities in different stages of the organizational life cycle. Academy of Management Journal 28 (4): 799-820. Kazanjian, RK (1988). Relation of dominant problems to stages of growth in technology-based new ventures. Academy of Management Journal, 31 (2), 257–279.Top level management priorities in different stages of the organizational life cycle. Academy of Management Journal 28 (4): 799-820. Kazanjian, RK (1988). Relation of dominant problems to stages of growth in technology-based new ventures. Academy of Management Journal, 31 (2), 257–279.
Hanks, S., Watson, CJ, Jansen, E., Chandler, GN (1993). Tightening the life cycle construct: A taxonomic study of growth stage configurations in high technology organizations (vol. 18 (2), pp. 5-30). Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
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