This page provides an introduction to tools that help to analyse the performance and behaviour of organisations. Organisations operate in an environment that constantly changes. The political, economic, technical socio-cultural environment influences the performance of the organisations. Organisations have also relationships with other organisations, e.g. financial institutions, competitors, trade unions, government, shareholders, consumers, suppliers, partners, etc. Many organisations may want to influence the behaviour of these other organisations. Furthermore there are national and international influences affecting the framework in which the organisation has to operate, like the dominant work ethos in society, legal framework and the fiscal policies.
The Institutional Setting page provides tools to analyse the environment in which the organisation operates and how it can influence the behaviour/actions of others.

Most organisations transform inputs into goods and services that are either sold or provided for free to consumers. The transformation process requires all kinds of supporting processes, like administration, strategic management, supervision and training. Transformation processes need people (workers, management, administration), tools, equipment and materials, but it usually also needs a structured organisation. All organisations have developed a culture; the shared values and norms of the people in the organisation. To learn about tools to analyse or improve the internal characteristics of an organisation click here.

The success rate of an organisation depends on the match between the internal organisation characteristics and the environment in which it operates. Every now and then organisations have to rethink their mission and develop strategies to ensure that their internal characteristics match with their environment. The better the match the more effective the organisation will be. Organisations that rethink on a regular basis and not just act when problem arises are pro-active in nature. Organisations that only rethink when a problem occurs are reactive.

The changing environment provides opportunities and threats to the organisation. The strengths and weaknesses of the organisation determine if the organisation will be able to cash in on opportunities or survive threats. So-called Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat (SWOT) analysis help organisations to develop strategies to overcome difficulties or capitalise opportunities. Click here for an introduction in SWOT analysis.

The document Institutional Development in Public Service Delivery presents an analysis of the frequent encountered unsustainability in public service delivery. It applies various institutional development tools for both analysing causes and remedies.