The organization is an
instrument for accomplishing a set of business goals and strategies. A
well-designed organization will usually outperform one that has just
evolved or was designed on the back of a napkin.
Below are some situations that
should trigger you to rethink or at least recheck your organization
design.
- Business goals and/or strategies have changed
- Substantial growth has occurred or is expected
- You are starting a new business or a new group inside a
business
- Changing technology permits different ways of
doing things
- You are not satisfied with performance and
think that the organization design is in some way responsible
- Your organization has never really been
carefully designed to support business goals and processes; it has just
evolved
- You are expanding or changing geographical
locations, going global, etc.
- There is lack of clarity or disagreement around
organizational roles or how things should be done or how decisions
should be made
- The need exists to realign along processes instead of,
or in addition to, functions
- Mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures have
occurred
Organization design is not just
structure. It includes business processes and practices; structure;
teams, jobs, and skill sets; cultural variables; external linkages; and
results measurement. It must include alignment with business goals and
strategies, values and cultural norms, technology, and external
interfaces. Designing an organization is designing a complex system, and
the rules of systems architecture apply.
I use a systematic process to
lead Design Teams through designing their own organization. My metaphor
is the architect and building committee metaphor. I tell the team to
think of themselves as the building committee, which represents the owner
and is charged with designing a building that meets the real needs in a
practical and politically acceptable way. I am the architect who knows
the process and the architectural rules for sound buildings. The general
process goes something like this:
- Analyzing to clearly define the business
context, present and future, and to identify needs that the
organization design must meet
- Defining specific requirements that the
organization design must satisfy
- Trying out alternative designs and testing them
against the requirements
- Testing the selected design with important
constituencies and making changes
- Planning the implementation and communication
- Managing the communication and implementation
and making design corrections as needed
A well-designed organization is
simple enough for people to understand, implement, play their assigned
role, and maintain in the face of change. It is politically and
culturally acceptable. It meets the design requirements (some
compromises are usually necessary). And, it is resilient enough to
withstand external and internal changes through evolution for at least
three years without requiring another major design effort.
