Organizational Diagnosis: Functional & Cultural Approaches
Organizational Approaches to Diagnosis
The organizational assessment is divided into two main perspectives, functional and cultural, each with its own objectives, methods, and techniques. They complement each other and give rise to two types of diagnosis:
Types of Organizational Diagnosis
1. Functional Diagnosis
2. Cultural Diagnosis
Functional Diagnosis
Functional diagnosis (so named because of its functionalist perspective) mainly examines formal and informal structures of communication, communication practices that have to do with production, personal satisfaction, maintenance of the organization, and innovation. It uses a diagnostic process in which the auditor is responsible for almost the complete design and conduct (objectives, methods, and interpretation of results).
Objectives of Functional Diagnosis
- Assess the internal structure of the formal and informal communication system and various communication channels.
- Evaluate systems and communication processes at the interpersonal, group, departmental, and interdepartmental levels.
- Evaluate systems and external communication processes of the organization, including public and private entities with which there is interdependence.
- Evaluate the role, efficiency, and the need for organizational communication technology.
- Assess the impact of communication processes on job satisfaction, productivity, commitment, and teamwork.
Methods and Techniques
Within the functionalist perspective, the methods used are interviews, questionnaires, analysis of communication networks, group interviews, analysis of critical communication experiences, and analysis of the distribution of messages.
The techniques applied are:
- Interview: This technique is complemented by the questionnaire and allows for the collection of information that can be investigated in great detail in a personal conversation with members of an organization.
- Questionnaire: Makes it possible to gather information from many people faster and cheaper than other methods and facilitates statistical analysis.
- Analysis of Message Transmission: Consists of a specialized questionnaire that reveals the process of disseminating a message throughout the organization, from its point of origin to its reach to the different members. This method reveals the time it takes to spread a message, the communication process, those who block communication, informal communication networks, and how information is processed.
- Analysis of Critical Communication Experiences: Used to understand the positive and negative experiences that exist within the organization and their effectiveness or lack thereof.
- Analysis of Communication Networks: Examines the structure of an organization’s communication and its effectiveness. It assesses who communicates with whom, what groups exist in the organization, which members act as a bridge between the groups, the bottlenecks in information flow, communication content, and the amount of information disseminated.
- Group Interview: This technique selects several representative members of the organization to be interviewed as a group. The interview tends to focus on critical aspects of organizational communication.
Cultural Diagnosis
Cultural diagnosis comprises a series of actions whose purpose is to discover the values and principles of an organization, the extent to which they are known and shared by its members, and to maintain consistency with organizational behavior.
Objectives from an Interpretivist Perspective
- To evaluate the role of communication in creating, maintaining, and developing the culture of an organization.
- Assess the content of communication production and its meaning for its members, such as conversations, rituals, myths, philosophy, and values.
- Understand organizational life and the role of communication from the perspective of the organization’s members.
Diagnostic Categories of Cultural Analysis
The values and principles of an organization can be determined through the fields in which they arise, so that the more cultural events are analyzed, the richer and more accurate the diagnosis will be. Conceptual and symbolic manifestations consist of the following categories and items:
- Spiritual: Ideology/Philosophy, symbols, myths, and history.
- Behavioral: Language, nonverbal behavior, rituals, and forms of interaction.
- Structural: Policies and procedures, standards, systems of internal status, the power structure.
- Materials: Technology, facilities, furniture, and equipment.
Methods and Techniques
The cultural assessment process is supported by certain tools. In terms of implementation, we basically talk about two approaches: qualitative and quantitative.
With the first seeking accurate measurement of certain pre-established variables and further comparison, the second depends more on the acuity of the researcher’s perception to analyze the data.
Qualitative Techniques Applicable:
- Observation: To carry this out, the researcher can choose to become a member of the group (participant observation) or observe from the outside (non-participant observation or ordinary). The researcher must, in any case, gain the trust of the people they are going to study to achieve acceptance and avoid, as much as possible, their presence interfering with or disrupting the daily activities of the group.
- Interviews: It is very important that interviews achieve what is known as “sympathy.” This involves establishing a climate of mutual trust, understanding, and emotional affinity between the interviewer and the interviewee.
- Document Analysis: The researcher will gather a diverse collection of documents that need to be interpreted to extract the information they contain on the history and characteristics of the organization, which will lead to inferences about some important cultural aspects.
- Small Group Discussion: Group sessions with facilitated discussion.
- Dramatization: Provides data on the perception people have of certain roles, relationships, and work situations.
- Projective Techniques: Involve presenting a subject with unstructured material, with vague instructions, and asking them to organize it in their own way, something they cannot do without projecting their own personality structure.
Quantitative Techniques Applicable:
- Survey: The information collected by this technique can be used for quantitative analysis to identify and understand the magnitude of problems that are assumed or known partially or inaccurately. The method that can be used to conduct the survey is the questionnaire.