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There are various analogies can be recognized to biological “laws” and concepts with the organizations and industrial processes and to improve their effectiveness. Like how businesses exist in “ecosystems” similar to biological organisms and how businesses evolve in response to changes in the “environment”. Genetics is at the core of most biological processes and as the term indicates that its gives all information about heredity and variation about the organism. On the same line organizational genetics focus on insight of an organization what we called the building blocks. Some people like to call it as the DNA of organization. This DNA is the base or unit of construction, may it be organism or organization. As in the process of central dogma of life the DNA become channels in to protein which is the building blocks, so as in organizational central dogma also the organizational core competencies are conveys towards the organizational objectives. So every organization has unique products, services or processes that define its\’ mission and competitive advantage. Whether the organization is an automobile manufacturer, a system integrator or a developmental organization the one thing they all have in common are business processes that require unique talents to produce a quality product or a satisfied customer. This uniqueness that differentiates the organization, sometimes known as the organization\’s core competencies or best practices, is what we are referring to as Organizational DNA.

Webster\’s dictionary defines DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) as the molecule that encodes genetic information in the nucleus of cells. DNA carries the instructions for making all the structures and materials needed for the cell to function. DNA is a double-stranded molecule that determines the structure and behavior of a cell. In Organizational DNA, the knowledge and skills required for the organization to function are the double-stranded helix of instructions that must be encoded and conveyed to each individual contributing to the success of the organization. These elements of knowledge and skill must be organized in a way to enable access at the moment the information or process instructions are required to support performance. In addition, these elements must be comprehensive enough to meet the performance need and granular enough to be useful at the moment they are requested. The execution of a successful succession plan will require that measures be in place to determine which individuals are best prepared to perpetuate the organization\’s DNA code.Today\’s leaders in both the private and public sectors are finding that they are experiencing rapid change and reorganization, accompanied by shifting priorities, which lead to new organizational goals and objectives. The key to any organization’s success is the right people in place to lead tomorrow immersed in the organization’s values so they can sustain the culture.

Execution is woven deeply into the warp and woof of organizations and is embedded in the management processes, relationships, measurements, incentives, and beliefs that collectively define the “rules of the game” for each company. Question arise that how and why the inherited traits of organization influence and predict the action of individual with in it. Organization is not merely a monolithic entities rather it’s a synergy of individuals within it are aligned with one another, and with the overall strategic interests and values of the company. Performance is the sum total of the tens of thousands of actions and decisions that, at large companies, thousands of people, at every level, make every day. Because individual behaviors determine an organization’s success over time, the first step in resolving dysfunctions is to understand how the traits of an organization influence each individual’s behavior and affect his or her performance. These individuals makes decisions everyday that are bounded by their assess to information and their anticipation to censure and reward. The challenge lies in motivating superior performance and then designing an organization that align individual action with that of firm’s objective as a whole everyday, at every level demand which required a right formula.

Using this familiar metaphor of DNA to attempt to codify the idiosyncratic characteristics of a company. Just as the double-stranded DNA molecule is held together by bonds between base pairs of four nucleotides, that combined in myriad of ways and defining the organism’s unique trait or whose sequence spells out the exact instructions required to create a unique organism, we describe the DNA of an organization as having various bases that, combined in various ways, to give the organization its uniqueness. That formula is nothing but the right alignment of codes/building blocks like decision right, information, motivatiors and structure and these on different alignment and forms constitute the “Organizational DNA”

All companies have DNA, even small ones. As soon as a company gets big enough that the founder can no longer make every decision on its own, the founder has no choice but to start creating DNA. To succeed, companies must create a DNA that fits their business model. Some innovation efforts fail because a company\’s weaknesses are simply the flip side of its strengths.

An organization that is hard-wired for success in one business is highly unlikely to succeed in a much different one. Unless, that is, it creates a subunit with an entirely different DNA.Thus, once leaders choose a set of innovative ideas to invest in, there must be two separate tracks for converting those ideas to reality – one set for implementation within the existing organization, and a second set of strategic innovations that only have a chance within a distinct subunit that is carefully constructed from the ground up.

There is no exact science to choosing in which track a given idea belongs. To give at a rough analogy, if you are trying to make a swimmer into a faster swimmer, leave the project within the existing organization. But if what you are trying to build is a completely different kind of athlete, it must be taken out of the existing organization. You cannot easily turn a world class swimmer into a professional baseball or football player. This “a completely different kind of athlete,” is nothing but the strategic innovation? There are a few fundamental questions that define what a business is. Who are the customers? What value can be offered to those customers? By what processes that value can be delivered? What areas of expertise are needed to deliver that value? Finally, how much uncertainty is there in the business-that is, how accurately do you feel that you can predict results two years out? Answering these questions is of utmost importance. With innovative idea or by innovating the organization DNA can be better helpful in answering the questions.

Organizational DNA and biological DNA have some similarities. They both are difficult to observe directly, and have powerful impacts on behavior. But there are crucial differences, too. Biological DNA is inherited at birth, and cannot be changed. Organizational DNA is created early in life, and can be changed, albeit with some effort. Mapping the Organizational DNA is a living system approach to Organization Transformation. Once the genetic map of a company had been created, predictions about problems it might face as well as its strengths should become more reliable. These predictions can assist the company in cloning itself when necessary.

Saswat Barpanda
HR officer cum faculty GIET Gunupur

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