Organizational Development: A Manual for Managers and ... - FPDL

them. They do not need any particular product, any particular supplier, or any particular industry.
They should and will choose what is best for them, here and now. Survival of products,
organizations and industries is not the goal for clients - they seldom care about this.
Competition of organization
with itself
Competition among
suppliers
Competition among
products
Competition between industries
Picture 21. Four aspects of competition
To be appreciated by its clients, an organization must utilize its resources to develop products that
correspond to the needs of specific users, especially where the organization has the ability to meet
those specific needs. On the other hand, an organization should continually develop and improve
its products, or develop additional products within the same mission, or, if appropriate, even
change its mission for the sake of survival - though this is often not possible. However, some
organizations are adapting and changing their missions, even in the public sector.
Guess the mission of the health care system in your local government – is it keeping people
healthy or treating diseases? On the one hand, for the organization to survive it is better when
there are no diseases around; on the other hand, disease is the main precondition for its existence.
Which services does a local sports organization actually produce – bringing up champions, freetime
entertainment, keeping teenagers busy, or creating fun for fans? The answers would
determine how the corresponding organization should be built.
‚Building an organization from the outside‘- is a popular concept. It is valid in terms of any human
organization that intends to serve the needs of the external market or society. Unfortunately,
organization building and development is often the job of insiders – they tend to respond to internal
inconveniences rather than to external requests.
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