Organisation Design

10 Key excerpts on "Organisation Design"

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  eBook - ePub

  Creating Person-Centred Organisations

  Strategies and Tools for Managing Change in Health, Social Care and the Voluntary Sector

  • Stephen Stirk, Helen Sanderson(Authors)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Jessica Kingsley Publishers

    (Publisher)

  We start with a generic description of Organisation Design and some of its typical characteristics; think about what this means in terms of person-centred organisations; look at how to assess your current organisation and decide how to move forward to achieve the design you want. Throughout we illustrate how person-centred practices can be used, and end with exercises that can help you get started.

  What is Organisation Design, and what does it mean in person-centred organisations?

  In the last chapter we focused on vision, mission and values, and the overall process of business strategy development. With these in place, you need to ensure that your organisation is designed to achieve them.

  Here are a couple of definitions of Organisation Design:

  • The continual design and alignment of organisational structures, systems, processes and culture to achieve business objectives through people.46

  • The goal of Organisation Design is to fashion a set of formal structures and processes that, together with an appropriate informal operating environment, will give people the skills, direction and motivation to do the work necessary to achieve the strategic objective.47

  In a person-centred organisation, Organisation Design is the process of focusing the resources of an organisation on achieving its mission. As we saw in the last chapter, this could be expressed in different ways – for example, supporting people to have choice and control in their lives, or to live as citizens in their community; or working with people to achieve their aspirations and what is important to them on a day-to-day basis, and to support them in the way they want to be supported.

  When discussing Organisation Design in this chapter, we are referring to the process of deciding what the following aspects of an organisation need to look and feel like for the mission to be achieved.

  • The operating model – by this we mean what defines how an organisation will relate to people it supports, achieve its goals and operationalise its objectives. For example, this might be, ‘Do we operate on a supported living model, or some method of supporting people that may not be in their homes?’

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  Personnel Management N4 SB

  TVET FIRST

  • D Ristic-Schacherl Gemtrain(Author)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  An organisation’s structure and its design are closely linked, but they are not exactly the same. A company’s structure is its ‘shape’. The structure shows: • Which employees are performing the various functions and tasks, and how they relate to each other. • The ways in which authority and duties are assigned, controlled, and coordinated. • The ways in which communication takes place between the various levels of managers and employees. • How the company is operating and performing in reality (not how the company would like to operate and perform). Figure 1.7: An organisation’s structure shows how employees and their various functions relate to each other nutritious: products that help people to be healthy and strong, and to grow properly produce: fresh fruit and vegetables mould: a furry growth that often appears on damp or rotten things agriculture: the science of farming 11 Companies rarely manage to create a strong, effective, and lasting structure at the start – there is almost always room for improvement. They therefore need a plan of how the company would like to operate and perform. This is called organisational design. The goal of organisational design is to take the company from where it is now to where it wants to be in the future. A good design identifies all the tasks, functions, and goals of an organisation. Then it develops ways to group and coordinate departments, employees, and particular jobs to best achieve the organisation’s goals. An organisational design is usually presented in the form of a chart. This helps all the employees to easily see what they need to do, and who they must delegate and report to. Organisational structure in the context of human resources management It is the responsibility of the personnel department to provide tools that measure the internal and external environments and the current structure of the organisation.

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  Strategic People Management and Development

  Theory and Practice

  • Gary Rees, Ray French, Gary Rees, Ray French, Raymond French, Gary Rees, Raymond French(Authors)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • CIPD - Kogan Page

    (Publisher)

  flexible working – highlighted as an important theme within people management in the twenty-first century. In 2013, Gilmore noted that flexibility as a theme had permeated discussion about employment in general terms, and labour utilisation more specifically. The emerging concept of post-bureaucratic organisation is also underpinned by the idea of flexibility. The same author also noted that flexibility is associated with interesting tensions arising in the employment relationship, something that in the contemporary post-Covid-19 context often underpins debates and writing around the future of work and the employment relationship. These are not neutral or anodyne concepts. The 2020 Covid pandemic led to rapid consideration of the options that may or may not be available around hybrid and or remote working and flexible working practices and these concepts rapidly became part of everyday vocabulary.

  11.3 Key terms

  11.3.1 Organisational design

  Organisational design (OD) is defined as a planned activity in which designers, usually managers, maybe in conjunction with specialised consultants, attempt to adjust the formal shape of their organisation. There are many types of organisations and consequently many choices in organisational design. OD is defined by French et al (2015, p 189) as ‘the process of choosing and implementing a structural configuration for an organisation’. We see therefore that organisational design and structure are not synonymous but in a fundamental sense are linked concepts. OD creates organisational structure, defined as the intended pattern of tasks, responsibilities, lines of authority and networks of communication in an organisation.

  It can be seen from this categorisation of structure that we are in essence dealing with formalised features of organisations. The classic way to depict an organisation’s structure is by viewing it as a chart or other diagram, in effect taking an impersonal view of what should happen in that organisation. The term ‘informal organisation’, contrastingly, denotes what actually happens

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  Human Resource Management

  People and Organisations

  • Stephen Taylor, Carol Woodhams, Stephen Taylor, Carol Woodhams(Authors)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • CIPD - Kogan Page

    (Publisher)

  Many definitions of the term ‘organisation’ exist, and we won’t explore these in any great detail here. Connor et al (2012) provide a good overview of these, settling on one by Daft (2007, p10) who describes organisations as ‘(1) social entities that (2) are goal-directed, (3) are designed as deliberately structured and co-ordinated activities systems, and (4) are linked to the external environment’. Buchanan and Huczynski (2010) use a working definition of ‘social arrangements for the controlled performance of collective goals’. Most definitions typically contain some of the same reference points – that organisations contain people who are performing defined roles within a hierarchy or structure of authority, and all roles added together help the organisation to achieve a collective goal (Campbell and Craig 2005).

  Before we go into more detail on OD and ODV, let’s look at a quick definition of each area, and the headlines of their differences and similarities.

  Organisation Design is defined by the CIPD as ‘the process and the outcome of shaping an organisational structure, to align it with the purpose of the business and the context in which the organisation exists’ (CIPD 2015a). Marsh et al (2009) liken OD to creating an ‘architect’s blueprint’ – which provides the structure of the building and specifications to the builders on how to bring it to life.

  As well as the organisation’s structure, OD must consider several other important elements that must exist and operate within this – for example systems (such as IT systems), processes (such as how customer orders are processed and fulfilled), people, performance measures, communication, and culture. Various OD models exist that tie these elements together in different ways, and OD must ensure that they fit in the most efficient way possible, in order to optimise the organisation’s performance and maximise its ability to achieve its goals. This has to take place not only in the current environment, in the short term, but also in the long term. As OD aligns organisational structure with organisational goals, successful OD relies heavily on a truly robust and future-proof organisational strategy.

  Organisation Development

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  Management, 7th Asia-Pacific Edition

  • John R. Schermerhorn, Jr., Paul Davidson, Peter Woods, Aharon Factor, Fatima Junaid, Ellen McBarron(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  A good organisational design provides people with the supporting structures they need to achieve both high performance and satisfaction in their work. Modern management theory views people–structure relationships in a contingency fashion. The prevail- ing argument is that there should be a good ‘fit’ between organisation structures and the human resources. 57 An important human resource issue in organisational design is skill. Any design should allow the expertise and talents of organisational members to be realised to the full. High-involvement organic designs, with their emphasis on empowerment, are crucial. When IBM purchased the software firm Lotus, for example, Pdf_Folio:249 CHAPTER 10 Organising 249 the intention was to turn it into a building block for the organisation’s networking business, but Lotus was small and IBM was huge. The whole thing had to be carefully handled, or IBM might have lost many of the talented people who created the popular Lotus Notes and related products. The solution was to adapt the design to fit the people. IBM gave Lotus the space it needed to retain the characteristics of a creative software house. The organisation’s head of software at the time said: ‘You have to keep the people, so you have to ask yourself why it is they like working there’. 58 Another aspect of organisational design related to preserving competitive advantage, by keeping and developing talent, is how knowledge is governed or managed in the organisation. 59 For example, if the organisational structure does not effectively bring talented people together to collaborate on innovation, nor does it govern who owns or transfers knowledge, then employees are less likely to continue to transfer innovations to build the organisation’s competitive advantage. Employees feel that they have ownership and control of good ideas, eventually restricting organisational access to and utilisation of ideas.

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  Success Factor: Change Management

  Change communication and change marketing as key success factors

  • Reiner Czichos(Author)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Haufe

    (Publisher)

  [86] Organisation Design improves efficiency and effectiveness of an organisation, if …

  • the elements of an organisation are coherently aligned with each other and if they are supporting the company objectives.
  • the organisational processes allow and foster learning.
  • the external environment can influence people, processes and structures within.
  • processes and structures can adapt to the demands of the market, i.e., if the organisation is flexible in adapting and balancing the organisational elements as needed.
  • information is available where and when it is needed for flexible and timely accomplishment of tasks.
  • decisions can be made by those who have the best information.

  Professional Organisation Design requires that expertise on how to design processes and content-expertise for the tasks/projects considered is co-ordinated and works together. That is: Organisation Design cannot be done by experts in headquarters far away from the real processes on the „shopfloor“. Process owners, i.e. first line managers and their teams need to be actively involved.[87]

  Organisation Design has to satisfy the following needs of a company:

  • Clarity
  • Profitability
  • Vision, directive
  • Intelligibility
  • Ability to make decisions
  • Stability and adaptability
  • Survival and self-controlling

  3.4    Process thinking versus territory (silo) thinking

  The key processes in a company are cross-functional, i.e., they link together teams and departments. An example of a process showing the departments linked together is the process of selling and delivering a solution, e.g. to another manufacturing company: Sales – product development – order processing – delivery/logistics – installation – invoicing – share part delivery.

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  Competing for Influence

  The Role of the Public Service in Better Government in Australia

  • Barry Ferguson(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • ANU Press

    (Publisher)

  As noted, models of organisational design can be constructed around a mix of structural and contextual factors and, in addition to describing organisations in terms of layers, span of control and stacking of relationships between lines of business and/or functions, organisations can be described holistically in terms of their culture, their informal social networks and derived behaviours. Organisations can also be seen as a set of administrative systems and associated processes and an associated set of information technology systems that facilitate the information flows from these systems and processes; a family of functions and the associated skill sets at work; or, following Mintzberg, various collaborative mechanisms at work. 265 6 . oRGAnISATIonAL DESIGn Halligan’s chapter is a reminder to look to other (contextual) factors to explain organisational performance on a case-by-case basis. There may well be a formidable apparatus in place to steer whole-of-government strategy and performance, but if the organisational incentives and behaviours are not aligned with strategic and operational priorities – a common public sector problem – then ‘the right’ organisational structure will be of little value (See Halvorsen et al. 2005). As noted in Chapter 4, the designers of the Public Service Act may well have had good intentions in regard to independence of public service advice, but there is no protection for such public service action in the face of government indifference or hostility: on the contrary, unwelcome advice may readily be blocked and public servants shown the door (after due process of course). The UK National Audit Office report (NAO UK 2014) also invites consideration of incentives when collegiate behaviours are not being exhibited by the central agencies. Inadvertently enabling the wrong behaviours can readily undermine intentions to extract the right behaviours.

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  Organization Design

  Simplifying complex systems

  • Nicolay Worren(Author)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  8 Managing the organization design process Chapter overview Background • Leaders periodically initiate organizational re-design processes in order to improve performance. • The quality of the re-design process itself is an important predictor of the quality of the organ-izational model that is developed – and of its acceptance and implementation. Challenges • Unless managed skillfully, re-design processes can easily result in suboptimal outcomes: Omitting the link between functions and struc-ture may lead to misalignment between the organizational model that is developed and the strategy of the organization. A failure to fully consider the many interre-lated elements of organizational models may lead to incoherent designs. Lack of proper involvement of key stake-holders in the re-design process may lead to a withering of trust , which in turn reduces voluntary compliance with the new organiz-ational model Key question • How can we manage re-design processes in a manner that allows us to Align the organization with the strategy, create Coherent designs, while building Trust among key stakeholders (including employees affected by the change)? Proposed • Develop a structured methodology that leaders approach can use to plan, develop, and implement new organizational designs. • Ensure that the methodology addresses the challenges related to creating Alignment, Coherence, and Trust. Managing the organization design process 221 1 Although there is little research on organization re-design processes per se, management scholars have looked at planning more generally and found that the quality of stra-tegic planning processes is important and may research even predict corporate performance (Hart & Banbury, 1994; Dean & Sharfman, 1996).

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  Management

  • Ricky Griffin(Author)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  11-4c Organizational Functions The relationship between an organization’s functional strategies and its design is less obvious and may be subsumed under corporate or business-level concerns. If the firm’s marketing strategy calls for aggressive marketing and promotion, separate departments may be needed for advertising, direct sales, and promotion. If its financial strategy calls for low debt, it may need only a small finance department. If production strategy calls for manufacturing in diverse locations, organization design arrangements need to account for this geographic dispersion. Human resource strategy may call for greater or lesser Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 310 degrees of decentralization as a way to develop skills of new managers at lower levels in the organization. And research and development strategy may dictate various designs for managing the R&D function itself. A heavy commitment to R&D, for example, may require a separate unit with a vice president in charge. A lesser commitment to R&D may be achieved with a director and a small staff. 23 Manager’s Checklist Managers need to know how organization design relates to strategy. You should be fully aware of your organization’s corporate, business, and functional strategies and how they affect the design of your organization. 11-5 BASIC FORMS OF ORGANIZATION DESIGN Because technology, environment, size, life cycle, and strategy can all influence organization design, it should come as no surprise that organizations adopt many different kinds of designs.

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  Organization Design

  The Practitioner's Guide

  • Naomi Stanford(Author)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Not only is technology capable of rivalling humans on these core management tasks, it is already playing a pivotal role in helping humans to more effect-ively accomplish these tasks. (Chamorro-Premuzic & Ahmetoglu, 2016) As workplaces are increasing automated, their design will change correspond-ingly, although at this point it is difficult to predict how. What is organization design? 23 Design thinking Design thinking is an iterative process which seeks to understand the user, challenge assumptions, and redefine problems in an attempt to identify alternative strategies and solutions that might not be instantly apparent. At the same time, design thinking provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. It is a way of thinking and working as well as a collection of hands-on methods. It revolves around developing an understanding of the people for whom a product or service is being designed. It helps us observe and develop empathy with the target user through questioning: questioning the problem, questioning the assumptions, and questioning the implications. It is extremely useful in tackling problems that are ill-defined or unknown, by reframing the problem in human-centric ways, creating many ideas, and adopting a hands-on approach in prototyping and testing. Design thinking also involves ongoing experimentation: sketching, prototyping, testing, and trying out concepts and ideas. (Adapted from Dam & Siang, 2016) This design thinking approach is gaining ground in organization work of various types. As it does so, it is becoming apparent that OD is part of a ‘design family’. All members are informed by five basic principles: learning from people, finding patterns, defining the design, making things tangible and iterating relentlessly. These principles play out across the many types of design jobs in organizations – user experience design, service design, graphic design, product design, busi-ness design, web design, interaction design, and so on.

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