Issues involved in Organization Design

Organizational design is a strategy to help the enterprise reach its objectives;

design helps translate strategy into operations. There are contrasting views on
how to design organizations so that they can both explore as well as exploit. These
views differ in the locus and timing of the exploratory innovation in the
context of the firms exploitative innovation. Some things to consider when getting
the right organization in place are: function, people, stakeholders, effective
communication, and flexibility.
1. Analyzing Function: Function is a great place to start, but don't get stuck on
it. At the most basic level you need to identify which functions need to be staffed.
Consider the core and support operations. The core operations are the actual
production processes. It contains activities like purchasing, operating machines,
assembling, sales and shipping. Support operations facilitate the core operations.
To decide which the best approach for your organization is, make sure you are
aligning the functional structure with the organization's goals and business goals.
If you are not sure what the organization's goals are, stop reading, and make
determining these goals the highest priority with your team Once you have aligned
the basic functional set up of your organization with your goals, draw out a
sample organizational chart or two. You will start to see the pieces falling into
place.
2. Assess the environment: The second step in organization design is analysis of
present and future circumstances and environmental factors. Environmental
elements (economic, political, legal etc.) and organization design are linked in a
number of ways. Burns and Stalker found that organizations in stable
environment tended to have a different kind of design than did organizations in
unstable environments.
3. Develop implementation plan for preferred structural option: A detailed
timeframe and project plan will be developed for implementation of the preferred
structural option. The plan will cover roles and responsibilities, training, skill
requirements, downsizing, evaluating progress, establishing standards, and costs.
The plan will describe the activities and tasks to implement the organizational
structure. For example, such tasks could include communicating the structure to
staff, preparing more detailed work descriptions, revising job classification levels,
staffing leadership positions, matching existing people to the new structure,
implementing earning/transition programs, and relocating staff.
4. Getting Feedback: Test it out. This is a critical step. It is important to get
some feedback from each of the following groups of people: The key players and
influencers on your team (start here to ensure the basic structure and people will
work well with the team, and that the structure makes sense overall), your HR
support team / person, your boss, your peers, and your business partners. As
part of this process, you need to be clear about confidentiality both to encourage
honest and direct feedback and to convey that the new structure is not yet ready
for broad or public communication. Finally, make adjustments based on the
feedback you receive.
5. Be Flexible: Ok, now that you have figured it all out, tested it with great
feedback, communicated it, you still have to leave yourself some room for
adjustment. No matter how much you plan and think ahead, there will be some
things that do not work quite right. Do not be afraid to fix it, re-communicate,
and move forward. Don't think you have to stick to your original plan forever.
6. Implementation and Evaluation: At T-minus two minutes and forty seconds
and counting, the first American astronaut, Alan Shepard, heard that dreaded
word, Hold, from the control tower again. It seemed there was a little computer
problem. Growing frustrated, he yelled, Ive been in here more than three
hourswhy dont you just fix your little problem and light this candle? In other
words, you have analyzed, designed and pondered, and now it is time to act.
Finally monitor and evaluate the implementation process.