Question

What is so great about S.O.P’s?

The so called S.O.P (Standard Operating Procedures ) to justify managerial actions Two situations have been discussed; the first is the story of John Riordan of Citibank in disobeying his chairman’s directives to evacuate Saigon and Oscar Nunoz, the CEO of United Airline who has to apologize to the public for the roughing up of David Dao. We also discussed about other incidents in the airline industry and even on the tragic death of the 6 Bomba officers who drowned while searching for a missing teen – and that incident was justified (no wrong doing was detected) due to following the S.O.P. Currently, with Covid 19 pandemic, the usage of S.O.P.’s are accepted as the new normal.

What is the validity in using SOP in justifying its use in getting organizational staff to obey management directives with especially in view of a popular Organizational Behavior concept of empowerment in decision making?

What is wrong with the use of S.O.P. in view of the fast changing dynamic external environment?

What is so great about S.O.P’s?

The so called S.O.P (Standard Operating Procedures ) to justify managerial actions Two situations have been discussed; the first is the story of John Riordan of Citibank in disobeying his chairman’s directives to evacuate Saigon and Oscar Nunoz, the CEO of United Airline who has to apologize to the public for the roughing up of David Dao. We also discussed about other incidents in the airline industry and even on the tragic death of the 6 Bomba officers who drowned while searching for a missing teen – and that incident was justified (no wrong doing was detected) due to following the S.O.P.   Currently, with Covid 19 pandemic, the usage of S.O.P.’s are accepted as the new normal.

What is the validity in using SOP in justifying its use in getting organizational staff to obey management directives with especially in view of a popular Organizational Behavior concept of empowerment in decision making?

What is wrong with the use of S.O.P. in view of the fast changing dynamic external environment?

Answer 1

1. Validity of using SOP by organisations - Standard Operation procedures are used by organisations in order to achieve efficiency, quality output and adherence to legal compliances. Some manufacturing companies insist on following SOPs to prevent safety related incidents and near misses.

In an organisation a manager depends on various inputs to arrive at a right decision. Consideration of the end result in sight will give him few cues on steps to be taken for that process. The decision could vary from person to person and it also depends on the type of personality and leadership skill he possess. Hence as there is a greater influence of personality traits aiding the decision making process, the decision could be varied and so would be the end result. Hence if the entire process of decision making considers the laid down SOPs for that said process, decision making becomes much easier and quicker. Intervention of personality traits would be minimal and the end result will be more driven by the SOP. As well known SOPs are derived in order to focus on systemic improvements of the organisation.

2. In this fast changing environment where-in the technology is altering the pace of functioning of an organisation, an SOP should also undergo changes accordingly. Technology is making a process redundant in 2 years. A processs which is valid today may not exist 2 to 3 years from now. Hence SOPs should be dynamic and should adapt the fast changing landscape. A periodical review of SOP should be undertaken by the organisation even if there is no change in process. Review of SOP s would be an opportunity to introduce better and efficient processes leading to improving operational efficiency of the organisation.