The concept of organizational health was first put forward in 1969 by Matthew Miles. Miles suggested a model for organization health analysis of schools, and defined the healthy organization as one that does not survive only in the environment it exists, but also constantly develops in the long term, improves its coping and surviving skills.
In general, organization health is expressed as the capabilities possessed by an organization to adapt to its environment successfully, create cooperation between its members and achieve its targets. According to another definition; it is such an organization that supports organizational success, environment, employees’ welfare and happiness with its authority structure, values system, norms, reward and sanction systems.
The Organization Health Dimensions Developed by Miles
According to the model brought forward by Miles, dimensions of the organization health may be summarized as follows.
1. Task Needs Dimension
1. Objective-Focus: The objectives are easily understandable, acceptable and achievable by the organization members.
2. Communication Adequacy: An in-organization communication system preventing misunderstandings is available. Thus, the employees access correct information and increase organization efficiency.
3. Optimal Power Uniformity: Distribution of the power within the organization is relatively uniform. They always think that those at lower levels can influence those at the immediate upper level.
2. Survival Needs Dimension
4. Effective Use of Resources: Task distribution within the organization is done in the most effective way – neither less nor more than as required. There is a coherence between the demands and needs.
5. Organizational Commitment: The employees like the organization and want to stay there. They are influenced by the organization, and they make efforts for unity of the organization.
6. Morale: There is employee welfare and team satisfaction in the organization in general.
3. Growth and Development Needs Dimension
7. Innovativeness: The organization develops new procedures, sets new targets and constantly develops.
8. Autonomy: It is proactiveness in the organization. It shows several independent characteristics to the outer factors.
9. Adaptation: The organization has the skill of making the necessary changes in itself for growth and development.
10. Problem Solving Competency: The problems are solved with minimum energy expenditure. Problem solving mechanism is constantly supported and strengthened.
Organization Health Dimensions Developed by Hoy
Hoy and Feldman examined organization health in seven dimensions. These seven dimensions are as follows (Hoy&Feldman, 1987).
- Organizational Integrity: The organization’s ensuring integrity in its programs through its capability of adaptation to its environment.
- Influence of the Organization Manager: The organization managers can influence decisions of the senior system they are subordinate to. The ability to convince their decision organs, having reputation and not being blocked by the hierarchic impediments are important factors of the organization managers.
- Respect: This involves the friendly, supportive, overt and sincere behaviors exhibited by the organization managers to the employees. Such behaviors are important for increase of performances of the employees.
- Work Order: This involves behaviors of the organization manager relating to various tasks and achievements. Expectations from the employees, performance standards and polices are clearly expressed by the organization manager.
- Resource Support: This involves availability of sufficient machinery and equipment in the organizations, and procurement of additional resources when requested.
- Morale: This is the sum of friendship, openness between the organization members, and the senses of excitement and confidence they feel about the work they do. The employees treat each other tolerantly, they help each other, feel proud of the organization they work in, and completing the works make them happy.
- Importance of the work: This is about the organizations’ efforts for increasing work excellence. Work is started by setting high but achievable targets for the employees, and production activities are carried out in a serious and orderly fashion.
It is possible to group these dimensions as organization health dimensions at the institutional, managerial and technical level. Accordingly, Institutional Level consists of institutional integrity dimension, Managerial Level consists of the dimensions of work order, respect, influence of the organization manager and resource support, and Technical Level consists of the levels of morale and importance of the work.
Measuring Organization Health
Likewise, people who take their health for granted till some trouble appears, in the organization management also, managers usually do not measure organization health until they encounter a crisis. However, in order to achieve and sustain organizational health, a healthy organization structure should be formed beginning from establishment of the organization, measures should be taken against the problems that may occur, and organization health should be measured periodically. The measuring health of the organizations may reveal some weaknesses, but it may also give some clues to prepare improvement plans based on the obtained results. The organization’s being healthy or unhealthy is an evidence for need of change and innovation. But we need to determe what causes the unhealthy organization structure. Briefly, measurements set the conceptual basics in identification and solution of the problems. The strengths and weaknesses of the organization as well as the opportunities and threats it has are revealed through measurement of organization health.
Characteristics of Healthy and Unhealthy Organizations
It is required to know the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy organization so as to derive the desired benefit from organizational health. In the light of these characteristics, the organization should be analyzed, the revealed data should be interpreted, and solution of the problems leading to the unhealthy structure should be ensured.
| Sl. No. | Healthy Organizations | Unhealthy Organizations |
| 1 | Open to innovation and improvement | Not open to innovation and improvement |
| 2 | Its long-term effectiveness is high | Its long-term effectiveness is low |
| 3 | Employees are ensured participation in decision-making | Employees merely implement decisions made by top management |
| 4 | Organizational commitment is developed | Organizational commitment is not developed |
| 5 | Responsible towards the environment and employees | Not responsible towards the environment and employees |
| 6 | Proactive; preventive measures are taken | Reactive; corrective actions are taken |
| 7 | Work stress is low | Work stress is high |
| 8 | Work satisfaction and workplace peace are high | Work satisfaction and workplace peace are low |
| 9 | Importance is attached to employees | Importance is not attached to employees |
| 10 | Number of absences and employee resignations is low | Number of absences and employee resignations is high |
| 11 | Communication between employees and top management is strong | Communication between employees and top management is weak |
| 12 | Worker safety is ensured, and work accidents are rare | Worker safety is not ensured, and work accidents occur frequently |
| 13 | Employees work with high motivation and exhibit high performance | Employees work with low motivation and exhibit low performance |
| 14 | Unfavourable internal and external environmental conditions cannot damage the organization | Unfavourable internal and external environmental conditions can damage the organization |
| 15 | Team spirit is developed; employees act with a sense of “us” | Team spirit is not developed; employees act in their personal interests |
| 16 | Employees feel safe within the organization | Employees do not feel safe within the organization |
| 17 | Information flow is robust and timely | Robust and timely information flow is unavailable |
| 18 | Strategies are put into practice successfully | Strategies cannot be put into practice effectively |
| 19 | An open, trust-focused and encouraging organizational culture is present | A closed, retributive and unfair organizational culture is present |
| 20 | Problems are solved by identifying their root causes | Symptoms of problems are addressed, but the root causes cannot be identified |
| 21 | The organization is efficient and effective | The organization is neither efficient nor effective |
Enhancing the Organization Health
As in the human organism, healthy structure is hereditary in most of the organizations. According to Miles, the following five approaches are very important for increasing the organization health:
- Supporting personal development
- Placing importance on communication
- Strengthening information flow
- Establishing an open-to-change organization culture
- Specialist support