Introduction:
Most organizations are divided into various departments, which have some, role to play towards the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. This, therefore, means that different departments in an organization have to work in partnership with each other for an organization to function efficiently. Many organizations also find themselves in situations where they are required to rely on the services or actions of other organizations in order to achieve some goals or objectives. However, face a lot of challenges when trying to achieve efficient interrelations. In most cases, the main cause of these challenges arises from their lack of a liaison officer whose job description is to foster good communication and efficient organizational interrelations.
The concept of having an administrative liaison officer as a method of achieving integration
In order to understand how an administrative liaison officer fosters integration, it will be important to analyze some of the roles they play within an organization. Administrative liaison officers have a number of responsibilities within an organization. For example, they are charged with the responsibility of identifying and informing an organization’s management on areas where the organization requires support and integration to foster efficient administrative and operational functions. This is because an organization’s managers are responsible for the overall administration of the entire organization and they may, therefore, fail to recognize instances within departmental operations where integration is required.
Liaison officers are also responsible for advising an organization’s management on how to prioritize its administrative and operational support needs. This is because liaison officers have better knowledge concerning an organization’s integration needs than the management. This, therefore, means that liaison officers are better placed to identify and come up with the order to be followed when addressing an organization’s integration needs. Once liaison officer advises an organization’s management on the order to be followed when addressing its support needs, he/she is responsible for coming up with an appropriate program to be followed when addressing the integration needs of an organization.
Liaison officers are also play a great role in facilitating the efficient utilization of an organization’s resources since they are better placed to identify the various resources that are available within various departments of an organization. They, therefore, help an organization’s management to come up with an appropriate strategy of maximizing the use of an organization’s resources, thereby increasing the level of integration within an organization while reducing wastage of its resources. Liaison officers also crucial to the integration of an organization in that they are responsible for coordinating and facilitating the exchange of information and services in between an organization’s departments.
It is, therefore, evident from the above analysis that the creation of the position liaison officer plays a very crucial role in fostering the success of a mutual adjustment strategy within an organization. This is because a liaison officer plays a crucial role in increasing the efficiency of communication and interaction within an organization by reducing the time and bureaucracy followed when one department intends to communicate with another within the same organization. The reduction in the time taken for inter-departmental communication can be explained by the fact that liaison officers are required to take a less formal approach when passing information from one department to another. Liaison officers, therefore, foster the mutual adjustment strategy within an organization by making it easy for different departments communicate with each other, therefore, increasing the level of integration within an organization.
How liaison officers achieve integration despite lacking proper forms of authority:
Most liaison officers within organizations have minimal authority to make any administrative decisions. However, it would be appropriate to say that liaison officers have the ability to influence the decisions made by organization’s management. This, therefore, means that although liaison officers lack authority, they are crucial members in the ensuring that an organization’s management makes decisions that foster some level of integration within an organization.
There are several ways in which liaison officers can influence the level of integration within an organization. For example, liaison officers are usually present whenever an organization’s top level management holds meetings. Liaison officers are usually required to make a contribution whenever an organization’s management is coming up with new operational strategies. Liaison officers are, therefore, in a position to advise and influence the decisions of organization’s management towards achieving some level of organizational integration.
Liaison officers can also bring about some level of integration by coming up with innovative ways of improving the efficiency within organizations. Even though liaison officers have no administrative authority they can come up with new ways and procedures that could be followed by an organization’s departments to enhance the level integration between them. In addition, liaison officers could introduce new systems that enhance the level of integration between different organizational departments.
The third way in which liaison officers can enhance the level of integration despite lacking authority in an organization is by identifying gaps and weaknesses within the system used the departments of an organization to communicate with one another. Liaison officers could come up ways of eliminating the loopholes and weaknesses in current communication systems without having to consult an organization’s top level management. This, therefore, shows another way in which liaison officers can improve the level of integration within an organization.
Qualities to look for when hiring liaison officers
In order for a liaison officer to become successful in improving the level of integration within an organization, he/she must possess certain qualities that will enable him/her to be efficient and effective in his/her operations. For example, it is important for liaison officers to have good interpersonal communication skills. This is because he/she will be required to pass information in between different departments within an organization. The ability of a liaison officer to pass on messages from one department to another will, therefore, depend heavily on his/her ability to communicate messages in a manner that different departmental heads will understand the message that the sending department intended to send.
It will also be important for liaison officers to have the ability being creative and innovative. This is because he/she will be required to come up with new ways improving the level of integration between different departments within an organization. The new methods of fostering integration will have to be viable and workable in accordance to the operations of different operations within an organization.
Finally, in order for a person to become good liaison officer, he/she will have to possess problem solving skills. These skills will be important in enabling him/her to identify weaknesses and loopholes within an organization’s departmental communication system. Once a liaison officer, identifies the weaknesses that exist within an organization departmental communication system, he/she will be expected to come up with ways of improving the organization’s inter-departmental communication system.
References:
Cartwright, S., & Cooper, C. L. (2012). Managing Mergers Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances. New York: Routledge.
Naidu, N. V., & Rao, ,. T. (2009). Management And Entrepreneurship. New Delhi: I. K. International Pvt Ltd.
Orrill, B. (2009, June 15). Liaison Officer Lessons Learned. A Lessons Learned Newsletter Published Quarterly, pp. 2-8.
Rainey, H. G. (2009). Understanding and Managing Public Organizations. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
System, N. O.-l. (2011). Instructions for Scholarships Liaison Officers (SLO), Liaison Officers (LO) and their Respective Assistants. Montreal: NSERC On-line System.
WILTSHIRE, G. A. (2000). Liaison Officer Manual. North Carolina: National Strike Force Coordination Center.
