Organization Design Challenges

Read this article for a practical look at the challenges consultants hired to redesign an organization face. The consultants did not focus on what model they should choose but more on the process or phases of the major steps in the redesign. Any company that wants to redesign its organization will face the same challenges and decision-making points. Thus, it will help to consider how the redesign is undertaken. The first step is to analyze where the organization is currently and then consider whether a new organizational model is needed or if the current one needs to be adjusted.

Conclusion

We have described the results from a survey of 176 organization design consultants. The survey contained 25 items covering the four main phases of the organization design process - from the preparation of the project to implementation of the selected model. The results have implications for both research and practice. First of all, they remind us of the high level of skill that organizational design practitioners need. They need to be able to build trust with the client and other stakeholders, but also challenge their thinking and help them imagine alternative realities. They need to master analytical tools and use a fact-based approach, but also understand and manage the emotional reactions to change. They need to be strategic while at the same time consider how concepts and ideas are going to be operationalized and implemented.

For internal and external consultants, the study could be used to structure training programs. We believe that all of the 25 items are potentially important in a re-design process and should be covered in training programs; however, the highest scoring items in this survey may be singled out and receive the most attention as they indicate what the main challenges are. The results also have implications for the development of better tools and techniques. New methods may be needed to aid practitioners in scoping complex projects with high uncertainty and many interrelated elements and for mapping interdependencies and informal relations between units. Finally, the results of this survey should inform academic research. Our study may provide a starting point for business school faculty who want to help build a knowledge base to support evidence-based organization design practice.