Vector Group’s Organizational Scan Model©

Vector Group consultants conduct an in-depth and complete organizational diagnosis or assessment before moving forward on any initiative. We utilize our Organizational Scan Model© as a search grid so we overlook nothing. Each scan is different and we examine different factors with different client organizations depending on the current situation and challenges faced.

We designed this model after years of working with numerous organizations in numerous industries comprising mostly medium- to large-sized companies (500 – 1,000 and over 1,000 up to 60,000 employees).

Our consultants are highly experienced in conducting individual interviews with employees from the shop floor to the executive suite and in facilitating group interviews and focus groups from all functions. We call these probe questions because we probe for the business reality and we depend on your employees to tell us what that really is.

Sample Probe Questions for the Organizational Scan Model

Work Conditions — Resources (fairly exhaustive list)

1. What is the nature of the demands on people?
2. How varied are the requests?
3. What are the requirements/allowances related to delivery of products and services?
4. How predictable is the workload?
5. What are the objectives for each task/assignment and how are they expressed?
6. Where does the work originate? What are its sources?
7. How supportive is the physical environment? Do people have adequate and appropriate light, heat, ventilation, and space?
8. Do people have ready access to equipment, tools, and materials they need to get the job done? Are those resources adequate to the task, easy-to-use, typically in good repair?
9. Do resources and equipment meet health and safety needs of users? Are they user-friendly and learner-friendly?
10. Is information needed to do the work readily available? Clear? On time? Accurate? Up-to-date?
11. Are job aids-guidelines-documentation-references –readily available and user-friendly?
12. Are support personnel available when needed as a resource? Capable of providing adequate support? To what extent do they have recognized clear support roles?
13. How flexible are facilities and equipment? Quickly and easily adaptable to new products and services?
14. What is the availability/inventory of raw materials and component parts for the product and services?

Work Outcomes — Products and Services (partial list)

1. What products or services do the jobs/organization produce? Are they perceived as valuable or useful?
2. How is the work measured or evaluated? –Formally and informally?

People Conditions — Values and Beliefs (partial list)

1. How do workers typically describe the organization and the work?
2. What kinds of behavior does management typically value? How is that evidenced? What type of person is usually promoted?
3. How do organizational politics interact with and affect performance?