Sadly, there is no universally accepted definition of the term “Organizational Design.” Generally, it means the organized and analytical process to achieve a greater possible outcome for the business, employee, and customer. After all, being satisfied with the status-quo leads to complacency and eventually receding profit margins.
Oh look at me all thinking deep and stuff. OOOoooh.
Properly using the best practices of organizational design changes the way your company uses technology, brain storming processes, and ways to create new ideas within your company. With a little bit of effort on the planning and commitment up front, the company can actually pave the path to greater success.
Form Follows Function
Consider your company’s strategy when considering your organizational design. Remember, form follows function. For an easy example, take a hand gun. The form of a hand gun follows its function, to shoot a projectile from a barreled weapon with a single hand. It makes sense that a hand gun is not a field cannon or rifle. Consider your company’s function before considering its organizational design.
On of the best practices for the overall design is to determine internal structure versus external wants, such as releasing new products and determining if those products are in high demand in today’s market. If your company is going to release a number of new products or re-engineering of old products, it may do your company good to reorganize the design of the company to have a larger R&D department as well as a marketing department to handle social networking and other types of ad campaigns.
Under-Performance of your Company or Employees
One of the main causes of some company’s low points are internal conflicts slowing production and so slowing profits. If your company is made of several departments, as many are, then it is vital to make sure that the departments are on the same page and are communication properly. They must be working to achieve the same goal, not individual goals regardless of the others success.
Under-performance of one or more departments may call for your company to reconsider the design for your company in order to guarantee success in today’s consistently changing world. Internal conflict is the main cause for redesigning your company’s inner organization. Recognizing these conflicts and addressing them is one of the keys to master for a successful layout that can benefit your company, your employees, and the satisfaction of your customers.
Strong Growth Influencing Your Business
Just like under-performance, a strong growth can also influence your company’s overall structure. If the company is growing faster than expected, then it must be decided which departments need more help and more employees to keep up production and keep the company’s profits flowing steadily and keeping employees busy without having people standing about without work on hand.
To do this, it takes a constant eye on all the departments by the factory or company manager. One department can be brought to a complete stand still if the others fall behind on work that has overflowed the working capabilities of another department. If this is the case, an thorough redesign is important and perhaps the only thing that can get the company back on target without costing the company more money in department while it waits for work to be completed in another.
Some of the best practices to keep in mind are:
- Form will always follow function
- Keep good communication between departments
- Establish company-wide discipline by using a Project Manager that understands the basic principles of PM
- Realize organization design is more than numbers and employees, but profits and people
- Technology, organization, overall processes including department to department and brainstorming
Your Design Can Work With a Little Work
If you follow these tips and tools, then the best practices your choose for your organization’s design will be the tools that will push your company to the forefront of your market. This is also the best way to make sure people and profits will never be forgotten in the everyday muck that can cloud the sea of personal and company-wide success.