Both management and front-line employees today are overburdened by time-consuming and often conflicting roles due to the complex structures of departments, industry teams, major account teams and geographic locations.
That's why in modern businesses, the organisation IS the strategy: if the organisation functions smoothly, the firm will excel. If it creates barriers, the firm will stumble continually.
This week's free audio seminar, Competing through Organisational Functioning, discusses the diagnostic tools for a smoother functioning organisation:
5 Imperatives to structure your organisation for success
- Examine structure, process and people
- Recognise shifting priorities in structural design
- Establish mandates for each group
- Clarify agreements within the groups
- Choose the right group leaders
I also discuss how to create your own customised solution for managing a complex firm that goes beyond the motions of establishing "theoretically correct" structures and obtaining "false consent" from key players to effect real change.
A slightly modified version of this podcast (with the same title) will be posted as a new article on my website later this week. [Update: the article version of Managing the Multidimensional Organisation is now available on the site as both a screen version and a downloadable PDF.]
You can receive new seminars automatically with iTunes or other podcast players. (Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to subscribe.) My Business Masterclass audio seminars are always downloadable at no cost.
2 comments:
I re-read your article and Blog post on Multidimensional Organisations with interest after reading about Dr. Raymond Madden, the head of learning and professional development at the ICAEW, in Accountancy Age magazine who recently said, "The days of the chartered accountant keeping a low profile are long gone and good communication skills have never been more important, so why are we so bad at it? ... [and] the need for 'soft skills' development has never been more relevant to the job".
Mandates, processes, agreements et. al. are important, but the soft skills of a leader is what really carries the day.
To paraphrase Sun Tsu, people will follow those that they like and admire.
I recently blogged about this on http://redbeardmarketing.blogspot.com/
I missed Richard's paper when finishing my book "van unitmanagement naar multidimensionale organisaties" (Dutch), which appeared January 2008.
However, in studying a number of firms running a multidimensional organisation, e.g. IBM, Microsoft, Sabic Europe, ASML, I have arrived at completely different imparatives how to run a multidimensional organisation compared to those suggested by Mr Wood.
The rules are:
• Have one objective, based on one integrated economic model of the firm, this model must identify the dimensions in the market that are critical to the succes of the firm;
• Define the customer as profit centre in the accounting system of the organisation;
• Data on customers and transaction data should be corporate property (not unit) and be recorded in a multidimensional database
• Have a management information system that reports the same performance and situation information to all managers, on all dimensions: account, regional, product, application, distribution channel etc.
This management information needs to be generated from one single trusted source, and should result in absence of information asymmetry;
• Organise market opportunities seperate from resources;
• Select managers that are contribution oriented (not position oriented), are inclined to prosocial behaviour, and are motivated by reputation based on visible contribution, and have an attitude to understand the working of the firm and are resourcefull;
• Have key managers socialised that they know each personality, motivation etc.;
• Have a clearly defined management process for discussing and solving issues, and in which non-decision making is immediately detected and remedied;
• Reward the cooperation equitable, bonusses should be based on corporate performance, not on unit performance.
Details are to found in my book, an English version of its Executive Summary is to be found at www.strikwerda.org
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