Workflow Interdependence - Case Study Example

Workflow Interdependence Affiliation: Workflow interdependence Critically analyze workflow interdependence among departments.Workflows in an organization and through its different departments in systematic nodes called the decision and process nodes. The process nodes are where solution is addressed immediately such as refunding while decision model requires much more specialized people to address the problem in the different departments. In order for work to flow properly and quickly, there is need for more staff, highly specialized technology and machinery as well as proper communication and coordination among the departments (Zeng & Zhao, 2005).

More resources such as those of materials, equipment, monetary among others should be available and quickly for that matter. The departments handling the processing can come together to increase the capacity as well as pool their resources together. They can network with one another in order to get experts to work in different departments to provide input and boost results as they all work for the same company. In order for proper interdependence to occur, it is necessary to limit the time used in the different departments for effectiveness.

The processing time for example should be shortened and this is only possible with increase in capacity of the workers handling the processing. Lack of interchanging ideas and frequent open communication is what is leading to slow processing as well as risking an increase in customer complaints affecting the overall performance of the company. More interdependence means more ultimate success for the supervisors, workers and customers (Bhatia, 2008).Consider how the company manages workflow issues in its current design and evaluate the effectiveness of the current design with respect to organizational effectiveness.

The workflow issues are not managed properly as there are problems with communication between departments as well as issues with the technology. If the current design can focus on their workflow technology, then their design problems can be a thing of the past. The problems with the current design are evident in the article from the point in which customers are returning the products, asking for refund and the long time it takes to correct the product (Chandan, 2009). The current design of the workflow relies on the reception department to place the products in the right departments.

Once each department is assigned a product, it is up to the supervisor to seek the workers to carry out assessment and those who will carry out the actual work on the product depending on their skills and knowledge of the product. This whole process consumes a lot of time which can be used in creation of more effective structures and design to minimize errors in future. Organizational effectiveness demands proper coordination of all the departments, use of latest technology in the market to create and correct designs, frequent and open communication among employees and supervisors as well as among departments as well as a constant exchange of resources (Avolio, 2010).

The exchange of resources enables improvement in design creation, reduces processing time and increases overall efficiency of the organization. The proper way for the company to increase organizational effectiveness through exchange of resources is by identifying the organizational structure and basing its design on it. This would allow quick sharing of resources, borrowing designs from other branches that seem to be working properly as well as learn how to handle problems that arise unexpectedly.

ReferencesAvolio, B. (2010). Full Range Leadership Development. New York: SAGE Publications. Bhatia, S. (2008). Managing Organizational Behavior: People Skills for Success. New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications. Chandan, J. (2009). Organizational Behavior. New York: Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd. Zeng, D. & Zhao, L. (2005). Effective Role Resolution in Workflow Management. INFORMS Journal on Computing, 17(3): 374-387.