1. Organizational Assessment
Assessing the organization and its leaders facilitates
growth and greater outcomes.
In OGL360 Assessment of Leadership Effectiveness we had the opportunity to explore our own effectiveness as leaders. We furthered our knowledge of ourselves through personal reflection, participation in experiential activities, and working with peer coaches.
The One-on-One coaching sessions were a large part of this course. Participation in them helped me develop a coaching mindset; it taught me to think in terms of motivation and growth. As a result of this course I have been more hands on with my team. This includes setting up biweekly one-on-ones to check in and discuss their needs. Throughout the session there were challenges coordinating with my different coaches, but it has helped me learn to deliver constructive criticism.
Our first assignment in this course was to utilize household items to define leadership. The tree in the attached picture represents the growth process Leadership is often defined as the action of leading people in an organization towards achieving goals and the drawing mannequin is a somewhat literal representation of people.  The phone is a symbol of communication. Leadership often requires that we take a deeper more meaningful look at our teams, our processes, and ourselves; the magnifying glass signifies that contemplation.
Text: The Leadership Challenge, 5th edition (2012), by
Kouzes and Posner: ISBN  
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2. Organizational Assessment
Part of assessing organizations involves determin-ing their financial solvency. In OGL260 Resource Allocation in Organizations we assessed the Five Principles that form the foundations of finance:
Cash Flow Is What Matters
Money Has a Time Value
Risk Requires a Reward
Market Prices Are Generally Right
Conflicts of Interest Cause Agency Problems
Hi Jim
Home Depot is rich in dedication to the consumer; from in store workshops to one-on-one trainings, they provide the complete do-it-yourself experience.  One of their most significant philosophies is that their employees need to be able to show the customer how to complete the desired task, not just tell them about it (Story Begins, 2016).  This is what separates them from other hardware supply stores; my personal experience with Home Depot confirms that their employees are very knowledgeable and willing to help.  The success of the organization illustrates that the founders, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank, were committed and uncompromising in establishing their vision for Home Depot.
I agree that Home Depot survived some tough times in the early 2000s when we experienced a bear market due to the housing bubble bursting. It was a time when many people could not afford to spend money on do-it-yourself projects and the construction industry was at an incredible low.  Home Depot; however, proved that they were built to last and as their income statements indicate they have been steadily increasing their net income over the last several years.  In 2017 they reported a net income of $7,957,000 (HD Income Statement, n.d.).  While the income statement is a valid way to evaluate the financial health of an organization it is based only on accrual basis accounting and does not tell the whole story.  In order to gain a more accurate picture of a company’s solvency we must also look at the cash flow statement.  This document depicts an organization’s cash flow and operating income (Keown, 65-66).  In 2017 Home Depot had net cash flow of $330,000 an $861,000 increase from 2014 (HD Cash Flow, n.d.).  This is a strong indicator that Home Depot is headed in the right direction.
As a result of this course I gained a clear understanding that it is the manager’s job to help the organization be more profitable; they work for the shareholder not their staff. This is different than most other courses that focus on relational leadership. From this I have determined that the pinnacle of success is the proper meshing of individual and organizational goals.
Text: Keown, A. J., Martin, J. D., & Petty, J. W. (2014). Foundations of finance: the logic and practice of financial management (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
This discussion board response post is a demonstration of a resource based assessment.