Decoding Context of Organization

The first requirement clause in any newly published ISO standard is “Context of Organization”. This clause has created a lot of confusions for the organization implementing the standard. More than 95% organization the clause is poorly implemented. I won’t be going in details on how to implement this clause but will summarize briefly what is required to be done.

What is Context?

‘Context’ should guide your strategy and should be a pivot point to deciding the actions you will take. Context is an understanding of the environment that your business is operating in; and the pressures it exerts and scope it allows. The organization context involves its “Operating Environment.” It is important to understand the unique context of organization before starting the strategic planning.

What is Organization Context?

In the most basic sense, organizational context may be understood as the “background” or “environment” (not physical, but very real) in which the organization operates.?And when we speak of background or environment or atmosphere, we are pointing to organizational culture.

Simplifying Context of Organization?

The “roof” and the “foundation” can be understood as the organizational context – who we are, where we’re going, why we’re going there and how we’re going to treat each other along the way.?In the foundation, we find the organization’s “come from” – the solid purpose for being, the mission, the core values, the key standards, value propositions and roles and rules of engagement.?And in the roof, we find the “go to” – the vision pulling us toward the desired future, the goals, the objectives and priorities.

And the middle of the house represents the organizational content – the human beings who are collaborating and communicating and coordinating with each other… and are doing so in a way that’s guided by the foundation and in service to the roof.

"Good Order is Foundation of All Things"

Imagine having a poor foundation of management system will collapse the entire management system.

The Need for Context Focus

So which aspects of context are most relevant to your strategy process and context? When looking at the various elements, think about their current and potential impact on the actions of your organisation, the industry and international factors. From here, you can start to understand the context that’s important for your organisation to focus on, and take steps to build a strategy based on this.

Need Support

You can connect with me to explore the topic further. I can help you to organize a customized training to define the context for your organization. Needless to say context of organization is foundation of any management system and need to be given the respect it deserves.?