Organizational development (OD) aims to enhance the performance of organizations through the effective management of people and processes. The OD is a “long-term effort, led and supported by top management, to improve an organization’s visioning, empowerment, learning, and problem-solving processes, through an ongoing, collaborative management of organization culture” (Hodges, 2017, p. 33). My current job situation might be described as a position with a prevailing problem-solving aspect of the OD. I am a Contract Administrator for HBO, and my job responsibilities include reading through complex contracts to assign proper rights allowed per each title offered by different studios. Additionally, my professional background includes 13 years of experience as a buyer. The position involved requesting quotes, negotiating prices, closing deals, requesting and approving contracts.
While working as a buyer, I acquired several essential problem-solving skills that I regularly apply at my current job at HBO. The buyer position required me to develop problem-solving skills of research and analysis to effectively investigate the market and assess the results to improve my commercial awareness and effectively negotiate prices. Giampaoli et al. (2017) claim that knowledge is particularly useful in problem-solving or decision-making processes since the concepts of “know what” and “know-how” allows individuals and organizations to achieve their goals (p. 2). Thus, closing deals and approving contracts depended on my decision-making contributions, as I had to rely on my findings and conclusions from the research to approve or disapprove the agreements before their execution.
My current job responsibilities also involve problem-solving activities, so my skills and experience as a buyer might contribute to my success as a Contract Administrator at HBO. My research and analytical skills help me to draft and manage licensing and marketing agreements while working under the supervision of the attorney. Darics and Koller (2019) argue that strong analytical skills, in addition to language awareness, serve as a foundation for effective business communication. Problem-solving is also essential for resolving organizational conflicts that negatively impact productivity, team functioning, and stability. According to McKibben (2017), “problem-solving, with manager mediation, can be successful in preventing escalation” (p. 102). I apply my problem-solving skills of communication and team-building while collaborating with the Networks Business and Legal Affairs team to prevent possible conflicts during the discussion of contract conditions. Creativity is another aspect of the problem-solving process that allows me to think about complex tasks in a new way and generate ideas when there are no instructions or ready-made solutions available. I manage marketing agreements concerning HBO’s domestic programming with the Domestic Distribution Team, and creativity impacts our productivity and contributes to the increase in the company’s profits via innovative ideas.
HBO employs organizational learning models to improve the problem-solving skills of its employees. According to Lau et al. (2018), organizational learning is often used by the management to “equip employees with practical skills for operational needs” (p. 107). The single-loop learning technique is appropriate for my workplace as it provides the strategies for problem-solving and utilizes collective intelligence to develop innovative solutions. Moreover, metacognition might be used to “empower and compel the development of meta-reflective strategies to reflect and implement greater problem-solving skills” (Lewis et al., 2017, p. 2). Since HBO is a globally-recognized company and provider of culturally-relevant content, its problem-solving aspect of OD should include metacognition. Overall, HBO is an organization oriented at problem-solving processes, so it requires the employees to use the relevant skills to deal with daily tasks and support the company’s improvements through effective OD.
References
Darics, E., & Koller, V. (2019). Social actors “to go”: An analytical toolkit to explore agency in business discourse and communication. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 82(2), 1–25.
Giampaoli, D., Ciambotti, M., & Bontis, N. (2017). Knowledge management, problem solving and performance in top Italian firms. Journal of Knowledge Management, 21(2), 355–375.
Hodges, J. (2017). Consultancy, organizational development and change: A practical guide to delivering value. London, UK: Kogan Page.
Lau, K. W., Lee, P. Y., & Chung, Y. Y. (2018). A collective organizational learning model for organizational development. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 40(1), 107–123.
Lewis, E., Boston, D., & Peterson, S. (2017). A global perspective of transformational leadership and organizational development. Journal of Research Initiatives, 2(3), 1–6.
McKibben, L. (2017). Conflict management: Importance and implications. British Journal of Nursing, 26(2), 100–103.