Thousands of established businesses fail every year because of the way they are organised, or re-organised. Business survival can depend not only on whether its structures and reporting lines meet the needs of the market, but also whether they can adapt in the face of a rapidly changing business environment.
Yet managers seldom talk coherently about structuring or restructuring their operations, let alone take a systematic approach to this vital issue. Too often, companies are restructured for the wrong reasons - for example, because a new CEO wants to make an impact, or to work around a new IT system.
This revised and updated Economist Guide shows how leaders should think about and implement the design of a company, using five easy-to-use guiding principles:
- Design a company around its strategy and the operating context, not for ulterior or non-business reasons;
- Think holistically - don't restructure just one division without taking into account other operations;
- Consider future markets, customers and trends, not just what works best now;
- Invest time and resources: - a redesign can be complicated to implement and must be done without disrupting daily activities; and
- Go back to the basics of how the company operates and its market position; this is not a repair job to fix a short-term problem.
About the author
Dr Naomi Stanford is a consultant, teacher, and author in the field of organization design and development in all its manifestations. She has experience both as a corporate employee of large multinational companies, including Price Waterhouse, British Airways, Marks & Spencer, and Xerox, and as a consultant to a range of organizations in the government, non-profit and private sectors. She is the author of five books and her blog, www. naomistanford.com, showcases her interests.
Reviews
Praise for the first edition:'Risk of failure can be greatly reduced through effective organisational design that encourages high performance and adaptability to changing circumstances
- Personnel Today
...provides insights and practical help on how to avoid the common mistakes made in restructuring...well worth the price
- Business Executive Magazine
...contains a whole range of simple and effective tools and models
- Professional Manager
