homework 1

i need two answer, pls remeber it

Please write the Application Analyses follow this Performance Criteria.

1. looking for your complete response rather than a brief response. Each response must reflect the criteria and lessons in the text.

2. Responses are not to be reflective of your personal view of the situation but, rather, criteria and lessons from the text applied accordingly

2. Use the terms from the text in your responses. In addition, show the number of the page from which you sourced your answer. Do not show ranges of pages. Just show the page number and not an APA citation.

Failure to show the page number sourced to respond will earn zero points.

Please, you must show the page number as required

such as when you talk about the concept like ‘ground rules’ you need write which page (page 82) from the textbook talk about this. Page numbers are showing inside pdf ch12

Required: answer 1 to 1.5 pages.

Application Analysis 12.4 – Page 369 / Honeywell IAC’s “TOTALPLANT” Reeegineering Process (CASE12.4 on pdf named Ch12)

Identify and Describe the type of Change Intervention used here and the key roles employees played.

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Restructuring Organizations

learni

objectives

Describe the most common organization structures used today and
understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Present the process of downsizing.

Describe and evaluate the reengineering intervention.

I
n this chapter, we begin to examine techno-
structural interventions—change programs
focusing on the technology and structure of

organizations. Increasing global competition and
rapid technological and environmental changes
are forcing organizations to restructure them-
selves from rigid bureaucracies to leaner, more
flexible designs. These new forms of organi-
zing are highly adaptive and innovative, but
require more sophisticated managerial capabilities
to operate successfully. They often result in fewer
managers and employees and in streamlined work
flows that break down functional barriers.

Interventions aimed at structural design include
moving from more traditional ways of dividing the
organization’s overall work, such as functional,
divisional, and matrix structures, to more integrative
and flexible forms, such as process, customer-centric,
and network structures. Diagnostic guidelines help

determine which structure is appropriate for particular
organizational environments, technologies, and
conditions.

Downsizing seeks to reduce costs and
bureaucracy by decreasing the size of the organi-
zation. This reduction in personnel can be accomp-
lished through layoffs, organization redesign, and
outsourcing, which involves moving functions that
are not part of the organization’s core competence
to outside contractors. Successful downsizing is
closely aligned with the organization’s strategy.

Reengineering radically redesigns the organi-
zation’s core work processes to give tighter
linkage and coordination among the different
tasks. This workflow integration results in faster,
more responsive task performance. Reengineering
often is accomplished with new information
technology that permits employees to control and
coordinate work processes more effectively.

12-1 Structural Design
Organization structure describes how the overall work of the organization is divided into
subunits and how these subunits are coordinated for task completion. Based on a contin-
gency perspective shown in Figure 12.1, organization structures should be designed to
fit with at least four factors: the environment, organization size, technology, and

339

organization strategy. Organization effectiveness depends on the extent to which its
structure is responsive to these contingencies.1

Organizations traditionally have structured themselves into one of three forms: func-
tional departments that are task specialized; self-contained divisional units that are ori-
ented to specific products, customers, or regions; or matrix structures that combine both
functional specialization and self-containment. Faced with accelerating changes in com-
petitive environments and technologies, however, organizations increasingly have rede-
signed their structures into more integrative and flexible forms. These more recent
innovations include process structures that design subunits around the organization’s
core work processes, customer-centric structures that focus attention and resources on
specific customers or customer segments, and network-based structures that link the
organization to other, interdependent organizations. The advantages, disadvantages, and
contingencies of the different structures are described below.

12-1a

The Functional Structure

The most widely used organizational structure in the world today is the basic functional
structure, depicted in Figure 12.2. The organization usually is divided into functional
units, such as marketing, operations, research and development, human resources, and
finance. This structure is based on early management theories regarding specialization,
line and staff relations, span of control, authority, and responsibility.2 The major func-
tional units are staffed by specialists from those functions. It is considered easier to man-
age specialists if they are grouped together under the same head and if the head of the
department has been trained and has experience in that particular function.

Table 12.1 lists the advantages and disadvantages of functional structures. On the
positive side, functional structures promote specialization of skills and resources by

FIGURE 12.1

Contingencies Influencing Structural Choices

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340

PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

grouping people who perform similar work and face similar problems. This grouping
facilitates communication within departments and allows specialists to share their
expertise through standardized processes. It also enhances career development within
the specialty, whether it is accounting, finance, engineering, or sales. The functional

FIGURE 12.2

The Functional Structure

TABLE 12.1

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Contingencies of the Functional Structure

ADVANTAGES

• Promotes and develops technical specialization
• Supports flexibility of deployment and reduces duplication of scarce resources
• Enhances career development for specialists within large departments
• Facilitates communication and performance because superiors share expertise with their subordinates
• Supports the development of common processes

DISADVANTAGES

• Emphasizes routine tasks, which encourages short time horizons
• Fosters narrow perspectives by managers, not business metrics and broader criteria for decision making
• Processes cut across functions, which can make coordination and scheduling difficult (the “white

space” problem)
• Obscures accountability for overall outcomes; managers and employees may not have a line of

sight to the business
• Difficulty developing general management capability

CONTINGENCIES

• Stable and certain environment
• Small- to medium-size
• Routine technology, interdependence within functions
• Goals of efficiency and technical quality

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CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 341

structure reduces duplication of services because it makes the best use of people and
resources.

On the negative side, functional structures tend to promote routine tasks behaviors
with a limited orientation. Department members focus on their own tasks, rather than on
the organization’s overall value-added processes. This can lead to conflict across functional
departments when each group tries to maximize its own performance without considering
the performances of other units. Coordination and scheduling among departments, often
called the “white space” problem, can be difficult when each emphasizes its own perspec-
tive. As shown in Table 12.1, the functional structure tends to work best in small- to
medium-size firms in environments that are relatively stable and certain, although there
are exceptions. Cisco Systems claims to be one of the largest functionally organized com-
panies in the world. These organizations typically have a small number of products or ser-
vices, and coordination across specialized units is relatively easy. This structure also is best
suited to routine technologies in which there is interdependence within functions, and to
organizational goals emphasizing efficiency and technical quality.

12-1b

The Divisional Structure

The divisional structure represents a fundamentally different way of organizing. Also
known as a product or self-contained-unit structure, it was developed at about the
same time by General Motors, Sears, Standard Oil of New Jersey (now ExxonMobil),
and DuPont.3 It groups organizational activities on the basis of products, services, custo-
mers, or geography. All or most of the resources and functions necessary to accomplish a
specific objective are set up as a division headed by a product or division manager. For
example, General Electric has plants that specialize in making jet engines and others that
produce household appliances. Each plant manager reports to a particular division or
product vice president, rather than to a manufacturing vice president. In effect, a large
organization may set up smaller (sometimes temporary) special-purpose organizations,
each geared to a specific product, service, customer, or region. Many organizations use
the divisional structure to expand globally. Samsung Electronics, for example, structures
self-contained business units around particular product groups that are responsible for
their respective products worldwide. Colgate-Palmolive forms self-contained units
around geographic regions with each region responsible for the firm’s products in that
area. A typical division structure is shown in Figure 12.3. It is interesting to note that
the formal structure within a self-contained unit often is functional in nature.

Table 12.2 lists the advantages and disadvantages of divisional structures. These
organizations recognize key interdependencies and coordinate resources toward an over-
all outcome. This strong outcome orientation ensures accountability and promotes cohe-
sion among those contributing to the self-contained unit. These structures provide
employees with opportunities for learning new skills and expanding knowledge because
workers can move more easily among the different specialties within the unit. As a
result, divisional structures are well suited for developing general managers.

Divisional structures do have certain problems. They may not have enough specialized
work to use people’s skills and abilities fully. Specialists may feel isolated from their profes-
sional colleagues and may fail to advance in their career specialty. The structures may promote
allegiance to a specific product, service, customer, or region rather than to the organization’s
objectives. They also place multiple demands on people, thereby creating stress.

The divisional structure works best in conditions almost the opposite of those favoring
a functional organization, as shown in Table 12.2. The organization needs to be relatively
large to support the duplication of resources assigned to the units. Because each unit is

342 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

FIGURE 12.3

The Divisional Structure

TABLE 12.2

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Contingencies of the Divisional Structure

ADVANTAGES

• Recognizes sources of interdepartmental dependencies, reduces complexity
• Fosters an orientation toward divisional outcomes and clients
• Allows diversification and expansion of skills and training
• Ensures accountability by departmental managers and so promotes delegation of authority and

responsibility
• Heightens departmental cohesion and involvement in work

DISADVANTAGES

• May use skills and resources inefficiently: coordination, sharing, and learning across divisions is difficult
• Limits career advancement by specialists to movements out of their departments
• Impedes specialists’ exposure to others within the same specialties; hard to create common processes
• Puts multiple-role demands on people and so creates stress
• Line of sight is to business and may promote divisional objectives over organization objectives

CONTINGENCIES

• Unstable and uncertain environments
• Large-size
• Technological interdependence across functions
• Goals of product specialization and innovation

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CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 343

designed to fit a particular niche, the structure adapts well to uncertain conditions. Divi-
sional units also help to coordinate technical interdependencies falling across functions and
are suited to goals promoting product or service specialization and innovation.

12-1c

The Matrix Structure

Some organization development (OD) practitioners have focused on maximizing the
strengths and minimizing the weaknesses of both the functional and the divisional struc-
tures, and this effort has resulted in the matrix structure.4 It superimposes a lateral structure
that focuses on product or project coordination on a vertical functional structure, as shown
in Figure 12.4. Matrix structures originally evolved in the aerospace industry where chang-
ing customer demands and technological conditions caused managers to focus on lateral
relationships between highly specialized functions to develop a flexible and adaptable system
of resources and procedures, and to achieve a series of project objectives. Matrix structures
now are used widely in manufacturing, service, nonprofit, governmental, and professional
organizations.5

Every matrix organization contains three unique and critical roles: the top manager
(e.g., President or General Manager), who heads and balances the dual chains of com-
mand; the matrix bosses (functional and product or program vice presidents), who
share subordinates; and a few “two-boss” managers, who report to the two different

FIGURE 12.4

The Matrix Structure
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344 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

matrix leaders and manage workers deployed to the specific product or program.
In Figure 12.4, only the Software (SW) Manager and Hardware (HW) Manager have
two bosses. The SW and HW team members take their day-to-day direction from the
software and hardware managers but belong to the Engineering function.

Each of these roles has its own unique requirements. For example, functional matrix
leaders are expected to maximize their respective technical expertise within constraints
posed by market realities. Two-boss managers, however, must accomplish work within
the demands of supervisors who want to achieve technical sophistication on the one
hand, and to meet customer expectations on the other. Thus, a matrix organization has
more than its matrix structure. It also must be reinforced by matrix performance man-
agement systems that get input from both functional and project bosses, by matrix lead-
ership behavior that operates comfortably with lateral decision making, and by a matrix
culture that fosters open conflict management and a balance of power.6

Matrix structures, like all organization structures, have both advantages and disad-
vantages, as shown in Table 12.3. On the positive side, they enable multiple orientations.
Specialized, functional knowledge is integrated with a focus on a particular business or
project. New products or projects can be implemented quickly by using people flexibly
and by moving between product and functional orientations as circumstances demand.
Matrix structures allow functional expertise learned in one business or program to be
transferred to another product, program, or business. For many people, matrix structures
are motivating and exciting.

TABLE 12.3

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Contingencies of the Matrix Structure

ADVANTAGES

• Emphasizes cross-functional product or program focus and integration of functional excellence
• Uses people flexibly, because departments maintain reservoirs of specialists
• Permits functional learning to be carried between projects or programs
• Recognizes and provides mechanisms for dealing with legitimate, multiple sources of power in the

organization
• Can adapt to environmental changes by shifting emphasis between project and functional aspects

DISADVANTAGES

• Can be very difficult to introduce without a preexisting supportive management climate
• Conflicts between businesses and functions over methods, resources, priorities is always present
• Increases role ambiguity, stress, and anxiety by assigning people to more than one department
• Without power balancing between product and functional forms, lowers overall performance
• Makes inconsistent demands, which may result in unproductive conflicts and short-term crisis

management
• May reward political skills as opposed to technical skills

CONTINGENCIES

• Dual focus on unique product demands and technical specialization
• Pressure for high information-processing capacity
• Pressure for shared resources

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 345

On the negative side, these structures can be difficult to manage. To implement and
maintain them requires heavy managerial costs and support. IT managers must deal with
the often conflicting tensions between technical excellence and customer responsiveness.
When people are assigned to more than one department, there may be role ambiguity
and conflict, and overall performance may be sacrificed if there are power conflicts
between functional departments and project structures. People can get confused about
how the matrix operates, and that can lead to chaos and inefficiencies. To make matrix
structures work, organization members need interpersonal and conflict management
skills as well as some tolerance for ambiguity.

As shown in Table 12.3, matrix structures are appropriate under three important
conditions.7 First, there must be real outside pressures for a dual focus. For example, a
matrix structure works well when there are many customers with unique demands, on
the one hand, and strong requirements for technical sophistication, on the other. The
OD practitioner must work with management to determine whether there is real pres-
sure for a dual focus. Managers often agree, without carefully testing the assumption,
that both functional and product orientations are important. Second, a matrix organiza-
tion is appropriate when the organization must process a large amount of information.
Circumstances requiring such capacity are few and include the following: when external
environmental demands change unpredictably; when the organization produces a broad
range of products or services, or offers those outputs to a large number of different mar-
kets; when the relevant technologies evolve quickly; and when there is reciprocal interde-
pendence among the tasks in the organization’s technical core. In each case, there is
considerable complexity in decision making and pressure on communication and coordi-
nation systems. Third, there must be pressures for shared resources. When customer
demands vary greatly and technological requirements are strict, valuable human and
physical resources are likely to be scarce. The matrix works well under those conditions
because it facilitates the sharing of scarce resources. If any one of the foregoing condi-
tions is not met, a matrix organization is likely to fail.

12-1d

The Process Structure

A relatively new logic for structuring organizations is to form multidisciplinary teams
around core processes, such as product development, order fulfillment, sales generation,
and customer support.8 As shown in Figure 12.5, process-based structures emphasize lateral
rather than vertical relationships.9 All functions necessary to produce a product or service
are placed in a common unit usually managed by a role labeled a “process owner.” There
are few hierarchical levels, and the senior executive team is relatively small, typically con-
sisting of the chief executive officer, the chief operating officer, and the heads of a few key
support services such as strategic planning, human resources, and finance.

Process structures eliminate many of the hierarchical and departmental boundaries
that can impede task coordination and slow decision making and task performance.
They reduce the enormous costs of managing across departments and up and down the
hierarchy. Process-based structures enable organizations to focus most of their resources
on serving customers, both inside and outside the firm.

The use of process-based structures is growing rapidly in a variety of manufacturing
and service companies. Typically referred to as “horizontal,” “boundaryless,” or “team-
based” organizations, they are used to enhance customer service at such firms as Ameri-
can Express Financial Advisors, Healthways, Johnson & Johnson, 3M, Xerox, and
General Electric Capital Services. Although there is no one right way to design process-
based structures, the following features characterize this new form of organizing:10

346 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

• Processes drive structure. Process-based structures are organized around the three
to five key processes that define the work of the organization. Rather than products
or functions, processes define the structure and are governed by a “process owner.”
Each process has clear performance goals that drive task execution.

• Work adds value. To increase efficiency, process-based structures simplify and
enrich work processes. Work is simplified by eliminating nonessential tasks and
reducing layers of management, and it is enriched by combining tasks so that
teams perform whole processes.

• Teams are fundamental. Teams are the key organizing feature in a process-based
structure. They manage everything from task execution to strategic planning, are
typically self-managing, and are responsible for goal achievement.

• Customers define performance. The primary goal of any team in a process-based
structure is customer satisfaction. Defining customer expectations and designing
team functions to meet those expectations command much of the team’s attention.
The organization must value this orientation as the primary path to financial
performance.

• Teams are rewarded for performance. Appraisal systems focus on measuring team
performance against customer satisfaction and other goals, and then provide real
recognition for achievement. Team-based rewards are given as much, if not more,
weight than is individual recognition.

FIGURE 12.5

The Process Structure
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CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 347

• Teams are tightly linked to suppliers and customers. Through designated mem-
bers, teams have timely and direct relationships with vendors and customers to
understand and respond to emerging concerns.

• Team members are well informed and trained. Successful implementation of a
process-based structure requires team members who can work with a broad range
of information, including customer and market data, financial information, and per-
sonnel and policy matters. Team members also need problem-solving and decision-
making skills and abilities to address and implement solutions.

Table 12.4 lists the advantages and disadvantages of process-based structures. The
most frequently mentioned advantage is intense focus on meeting customer needs, which
can result in dramatic improvements in speed, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
Process-based structures remove layers of management, and consequently information
flows more quickly and accurately throughout the organization. Because process teams
comprise multiple functional specialties, boundaries between departments are removed,
thus affording organization members a broad view of the workflow and a clear line of
sight between team performance and organization effectiveness. Process-based structures
also are more flexible and adaptable to change than are traditional structures.

TABLE 12.4

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Contingencies of the Process-Based
Structure

ADVANTAGES

• Clear line of sight focuses resources on customer satisfaction
• Improves speed and efficiency, often dramatically
• Responds to environmental change and customer requests rapidly
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and integration
• Develops broad knowledge and increases ability to see total work flow
• Enhances employee involvement
• Lowers costs because of less overhead structure

DISADVANTAGES

• Changing to this structure can threaten middle managers and staff specialists
• Must learn to balance competing demands for fluidity and efficiency
• Can be difficult to supervise multiple functions, requires changes in command-

and-control mindsets
• Duplicates scarce resources, sharing learnings can be difficult
• Requires new skills and knowledge to manage lateral relationships and teams
• May take longer to make decisions in teams and result in internal focus
• Can be ineffective if wrong processes are identified

CONTINGENCIES

• Uncertain and changing environments
• Moderate- to large-size
• Nonroutine and highly interdependent technologies
• Customer-oriented goals

348 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

A major disadvantage of process structures is the difficulty of changing to this new
organizational form. These structures typically require radical shifts in mindsets, skills,
and managerial roles—changes that involve considerable time and resources and can be
resisted by functional managers and staff specialists. Managers must learn to balance
competing demands for organization fluidity and efficiency.11 Moreover, process-based
structures may result in expensive duplication of scarce resources and, if teams are not
skilled adequately, an overly internal focus and slower decision making as they struggle
to define and reach consensus. Finally, implementing process-based structures relies on
properly identifying key processes needed to satisfy customer needs. If critical processes
are misidentified or ignored altogether, performance and customer satisfaction are likely
to suffer.

Table 12.4 shows that process structures are particularly appropriate for highly
uncertain environments where customer demands and market conditions are changing
rapidly. They enable organizations to manage nonroutine technologies and coordinate
workflows that are highly interdependent. Process-based structures generally appear in
medium- to large-size organizations having several products or projects. They focus
heavily on customer-oriented goals and are found in both domestic and global
organizations.

Application 12.1 describes the process-based structure proposed as part of the struc-
tural change process at Healthways Corporation.

12-1e

The Customer-Centric Structure

Closely related to the process-based structure, the customer-centric structure focuses sub-
units on the creation of solutions and the satisfaction of key customers or customer
groups.12 As shown in Figure 12.7, these customer or market-facing units are supported
by other units that develop new products, manufacture components and products, and
manage the supply chain. A variety of organizations, including the Lord Corporation,
Dow, IBM, and Citibank, have implemented these complex structures. Also known as
front–back organizations, these structures excel at putting customer needs at the top of
an organization’s agenda.

Galbraith notes that globalization, e-commerce, and the desire for solutions have
greatly enhanced the power of the customer to demand organizational structures that
service their needs. These new structures highlight the radical differences between
product-focused organizations, like the function or divisional structure, and customer-
centric organizations as shown in Table 12.5. In a product-centric organization, the
goal is to provide customers with the best product possible and to create value by devel-
oping new products and innovative features. Product-centric structures have core struc-
tural features that include product groups and teams that are measured by product
margins. The most central process is new-product development.

Customer-centric structures have a very different look and feel. In a customer-
centric structure, the organization develops the best solution for the customer by offering
a customized bundle of products, services, support, and education. Their core structures
focus attention and resources on customers with market-facing units organized around
large individual customers or customer segment teams that attempt to maximize cus-
tomer profit and loss. These core units are supported by sophisticated customer relation-
ship management processes and integrating mechanisms that link the market-facing
units with the support units.

While any one of these differences may seem obvious, a careful look will show that
the product-centric dimensions represent important and deeply rooted assumptions in

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 349

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HEALTHWAYS’ PROCESS STRUCTURE

H
ealthways Corporation (HC) (www.
healthways.com) is a provider of specialized
disease management services to health
plans and hospitals. In fiscal year 2002,

HC had revenues of $122 million. The company,
founded in 1981 as American Healthcorp
(AMHC), originally owned and managed hospi-
tals. In 1984 it offered its first disease manage-
ment service focused on diabetes. Under the
name Diabetes Treatment Centers of America,
it worked with hospitals to create “centers of
excellence” to improve hospital volumes and
lower costs. After going public in 1991, it offered
in 1993 its first diabetes management program
to health plans—an entirely new customer seg-
ment. This shift in customer base was a key
event in the company’s history, and two new
disease management programs for cardiac and
respiratory diseases were offered in 1998 and
1999, respectively. By 2000, hospital revenues,
once 100% of the company’s mix, had dropped
to 38% as the health plan business grew.

The organization recognized that its cur-
rent structure would not support the expected
growth. As part of its structural change effort,
the initial organization design and development
task force (the ODD group) recommended a
process-based organization structure to the
senior leadership team. The organization was
described in terms of five core processes:
understand the market and plan the business,
acquire and retain customers, build value solu-
tions, deliver solutions and add value, and man-
age the business (Figure 12.6).

• The understand-the-market process was
responsible for scanning AMHC’s external
environment for business opportunities,
trends, regulatory changes, and competi-
tive intelligence. The process also was
responsible for generating new product
ideas, based on their environmental scan-
ning activities, and for developing and driv-
ing the strategic planning process of the
organization.

• Based on the outputs of the understand-
the-market process, the build-value-solutions
process was responsible for translating

business or product opportunities into repro-
ducible products. This included more fully
developing the business case initially identi-
fied by the understand-the-market process,
devising performance metrics, developing
new products and testing them, and creating
marketing materials.

• The acquire-and-retain-customers process
involved the sales and marketing organiza-
tion. It was responsible for finalizing market-
ing materials, identifying new customers,
selling and signing contracts, developing
relationships with key stakeholders, imple-
menting marketing plans, and responding to
requests for proposals.

• The deliver-solutions-and-add-value process
was responsible for delivering on contrac-
tual commitments, managing accounts
and upselling, maintaining product integrity,
and building delivery capacity.

• In the manage-the-business process, the
small corporate headquarters was respon-
sible for human resources, financial gover-
nance, information technology standards,
medical leadership, and corporate image
and branding. It was to act as a shared
services organization supporting the
value-adding process organizations.

Each process was to be staffed with an
appropriate mix of functional experts. The opera-
tional basis of the new organization was a cross-
functional team that could represent the different
perspectives at each stage of the business. For
example, the acquire-and-retain-customers pro-
cess included not only sales and marketing
expertise, but also functional expertise in
account management, information technology,
finance, medical and clinical specialties, and
product development. In recommending that a
core process be staffed with the appropriate
mix of functional expertise, the task force
also suggested that the structure within a
core process be team-based. The acquire-and-
retain-customers process could flexibly organize
cross-functional teams to address a specific cus-
tomer’s requirements and then recombine
resources to pursue a different customer.

350 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

most organizations. Deciding to execute a customer-centric organization is a substantial
undertaking.

As shown in Table 12.6, customer-centric structures have important strengths and
weaknesses. Customer-centric structures present one face to the customer. Divisional
structures, for example, can confuse customers when each division sends its own sales
team. When one team is dedicated to a customer or customer group, it develops a deep
understanding of the customer’s needs, preferences, and industry trends. This knowledge
supports the customization of solutions and helps to build a robust customer-satisfaction
capability.

In terms of weaknesses, customer teams can become too inwardly focused and lose
sight of the larger organization strategy. This can make it difficult to share learning from
successful innovation or customization with the rest of the organization. One of the most
important weaknesses of the customer-centric organization is its reliance on lateral

In addition, appropriate metrics for monitoring
the effectiveness of each process as well as the
relationships between any two processes in the
organization were specified. In terms of effective-
ness metrics, the key outcome for all processes
was customer satisfaction. The acquire-customer
process was judged primarily on the extent to
which it acquired customers and contracts that the
deliver-solutions-and-add-value process believed
could be managed. In terms of relationships, any

new business opportunities identified by the
understand-the-market process required certain
approvals by senior management before being
handed off to the build-value-solutions process.
This “go-no go” decision assured that the organi-
zation had sufficient investment resources to fund
new business or product development and that
good opportunities, not just a lot of opportunities,
were being forwarded to the build-value-solutions
process.

FIGURE 12.6

HC’s Proposed Process Structure

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 351

FIGURE 12.7

The Customer-Centric Structure

TABLE 12.5

Comparing Product-Centric with Customer-Centric Structures

Organizational Feature Product-Centric Customer-Centric

Goal Best product for customer Best solution for customer

Source of value New products, new features Customized bundles of products, services,
support, education, and consulting

Core structures Product teams, product reviews,
product profit centers

Customer teams and segments, customer
P&Ls

Core processes New-product process Customer relationship management
processes and integration/solutions

SOURCE: Adapted from J. Galbraith, Designing the Customer-centric Organization (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005).

352 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

mechanisms and relationships. To be effective, a customer-centric organization must
have strong lateral capabilities, including information systems, capital allocation pro-
cesses, resource prioritization systems, and the like, to integrate the front and back
end of the organization. Few organizations have developed this capability. Finally,
customer-centric organizations must decide where to put the marketing function. Should
marketing be done by the “front” or “back” of the organization? This is a question not
easily answered.

Customer-centric organizations work best in large organizations, where there are
strong and powerful customer forces in the industry and where technology and market
changes are highly complex and uncertain. In addition, as noted above, the organization
has to have a certain amount of maturity. It is unlikely that an organization can success-
fully implement a customer-centric structure without a strong lateral capability.

12-1f

The Network Structure

A network structure manages the diverse, complex, and dynamic relationships among
multiple organizations or units, each specializing in a particular business function or
task.13 Organizations that utilize network structures have been called shamrock organiza-
tions and virtual, modular, or cellular corporations.14 Less formally, they have been
described as pizza structures, spiderwebs, starbursts, and cluster organizations. Some of
the confusion over the definition of a network can be clarified by a typology describing
four basic types of networks.15

TABLE 12.6

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Contingencies of the Customer-Centric
Structure

ADVANTAGES

• Presents one integrated face to the customer
• Generates a deep understanding of customer requirements
• Enables organization to customize and tailor solutions for customers
• Builds a robust customer response capability

DISADVANTAGES

• Customer teams can be too inwardly focused
• Sharing learnings and developing functional skills is difficult
• Managing lateral relations between customer-facing and back office units is

difficult because some processes are split apart
• Developing common processes in the front and back is problematic
• Clarifying the marketing function is problematic

CONTINGENCIES

• Highly complex and uncertain environments
• Large organizations
• Goals of customer focus and solutions orientation
• Highly uncertain technologies

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 353

1. An internal market network exists when a single organization establishes each sub-
unit as an independent profit center that is allowed to trade in services and
resources with each other as well as with the external market. Asea Brown Boveri’s
(ABB) 50 worldwide businesses consist of 1,200 companies organized into 4,500
profit centers that conduct business with each other.

2. A vertical market network is composed of multiple organizations linked to a focal
organization that coordinates the movement of resources from raw materials to
end consumer. Nike, for example, has its shoes manufactured in different plants
around the world and then organizes their distribution through retail outlets.

3. An intermarket network represents alliances among a variety of organizations in dif-
ferent markets and is exemplified by the Japanese keiretsu, the Korean chaebol, and
the Mexican grupos.

4. An opportunity network is the most advanced form of network structure. It is a tem-
porary constellation of organizations brought together to pursue a single purpose.
Once accomplished, the network disbands. Li and Fung is a Hong Kong–based trad-
ing company that pulls together a variety of specialist supplier organizations to
design and manufacture a wide range of products.

These types of networks can be distinguished from one another in terms of whether
they are single or multiple organizations, single or multiple industries, and stable or
temporary.16 For example, an internal market network is a stable, single-organization,
single-industry structure; an opportunity network is a temporary, multiple-organization
structure that can span several different industries.

As shown in Figure 12.8, the network structure redraws organizational boundaries
and links separate organizations or business units to facilitate task interaction. The
essence of networks is the relationships among organizations that perform different
aspects of work. In this way, organizations do the things that they do well. For example,
a firm that is good at selling products might outsource manufacturing to other organiza-
tions that perform that task better than it does. Network organizations use strategic

FIGURE 12.8

The Network Structure

SOURCE: © 1992 by The Regents of the University of California. Reprinted from the California Manage-
ment Review Vol. 34, No. 4. By permission of The Regents.

354 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

alliances, joint ventures, research and development consortia, licensing agreements, and
wholly owned subsidiaries to design, manufacture, and market advanced products, enter
new international markets, and develop new technologies. Companies such as Apple
Computer, Benetton, Liz Claiborne, Nike, and Merck have implemented fairly sophisti-
cated vertical market and intermarket network structures. Opportunity networks also are
commonplace in the construction, fashion, and entertainment industries, as well as in
the public sector.17

Network structures typically have the following characteristics:

• Vertical disaggregation. This refers to the breaking up of the organization’s busi-
ness functions, such as production, marketing, and distribution, into separate orga-
nizations performing specialized work. In the film industry, for example, separate
organizations providing transportation, cinematography, special effects, set design,
music, actors, and catering all work together under a broker organization, the studio.
The particular organizations making up the opportunity network represent an impor-
tant factor in determining its success.18 Increasingly, disintermediation, or the replace-
ment of whole steps in the value chain by information technology—specifically the
Internet—has fueled the development and numbers of network structures.

• Brokers. Networks often are managed by broker organizations or “process orches-
trators” that locate and assemble member organizations. The broker may play a cen-
tral role and subcontract for needed products or services, or it may specialize in
linking equal partners into a network. In the construction industry, the general con-
tractor typically assembles and manages drywall, mechanical, electrical, plumbing,
and other specialties to erect a building.

• Coordinating mechanisms. Network organizations generally are not controlled by
hierarchical arrangements or plans. Rather, coordination of the work in a network
falls into three categories: informal relationships, contracts, and market mechanisms.
First, coordination patterns can depend heavily on interpersonal relationships
among individuals who have a well-developed partnership. Conflicts are resolved
through reciprocity; network members recognize that each likely will have to com-
promise at some point. Trust is built and nurtured over time by these reciprocal
arrangements. Second, coordination can be achieved through formal contracts,
such as ownership control, licensing arrangements, or purchase agreements. Finally,
market mechanisms, such as spot payments, performance accountability, technology
standards, and information systems, ensure that all parties are aware of each other’s
activities and can communicate with each other.

Network structures have a number of advantages and disadvantages, as shown in
Table 12.7.19 They are highly flexible and adaptable to changing conditions. The ability to
form partnerships with different organizations permits the creation of a “best-of-the-best”
company to exploit opportunities, often global in nature. They enable each member to
exploit its distinctive competence. They can accumulate and apply sufficient resources and
expertise to large, complex tasks that single organizations cannot perform. Perhaps most
important, network organizations can have synergistic effects whereby members build on
each other’s strengths and competencies, creating a whole that exceeds the sum of its parts.

The major problems with network organizations are in managing such complex
structures. Galbraith and Kazanjian describe network structures as matrix organizations
extending beyond the boundaries of single firms but lacking the ability to appeal to a
higher authority to resolve conflicts.20 Thus, matrix skills of managing lateral relations
across organizational boundaries are critical to administering network structures. Most
organizations, because they are managed hierarchically, can be expected to have

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 355

difficulties managing lateral relations. Other disadvantages of network organizations
include the difficulties of motivating organizations to join such structures and of sustain-
ing commitment over time. Potential members may not want to give up their autonomy
to link with other organizations and, once linked, they may have problems sustaining the
benefits of joining together. This is especially true if the network consists of organiza-
tions that are not the “best of breed.” Finally, joining a network may expose the organi-
zation’s proprietary knowledge and skills to others.

As shown in Table 12.7, network organizations are best suited to highly complex
and uncertain environments where multiple competencies and flexible responses are
needed. They seem to apply to organizations of all sizes, and they deal with complex
tasks or problems involving high interdependencies across organizations. Network struc-
tures fit with goals that emphasize organization specialization and innovation.

Application 12.2 describes how Amazon.com’s network structure was configured to
align with its strategy and how relationships are managed.21

12-2 Downsizing
Downsizing refers to interventions aimed at reducing the size of the organization.22 This
typically is accomplished by decreasing the number of employees through layoffs, attri-
tion, redeployment, or early retirement or by reducing the number of organizational
units or managerial levels through divestiture, outsourcing, reorganization, or delayering.

TABLE 12.7

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Contingencies of the Network-Based
Structure

ADVANTAGES

• Enables highly flexible and adaptive response to dynamic environments
• Creates a “best-of-the-best” organization to focus resources on customer and

market needs
• Enables each organization to leverage a distinctive competency
• Permits rapid global expansion
• Can produce synergistic results

DISADVANTAGES

• Managing lateral relations across autonomous organizations is difficult
• Motivating members to relinquish autonomy to join the network is troublesome
• Sustaining membership and benefits can be problematic
• May give partners access to proprietary knowledge/technology

CONTINGENCIES

• Highly complex and uncertain environments
• Organizations of all sizes
• Goals of organizational specialization and innovation
• Highly uncertain technologies

356 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

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2 AMAZON.COM’S NETWORK STRUCTURE

A
mazon.com (www.amazon.com) was
launched in mid-1995 as the “Earth’s Big-
gest Bookstore.” It offered more than one
million titles to online buyers, more than

three times the number offered at traditional
bookstores. Since then, it has evolved into a
powerful network structure involving both
other Internet retailers as well as more tradi-
tional retailers, including other bookstores.
Amazon also has expanded into information
services, offering a variety of network services
to firms under the banner Amazon Web
Services. At the center of it all is Amazon’s
massive website, Amazon.com. By pairing
Amazon’s state-of-the-art technology, built-in
traffic, and industry-leading fulfillment and
customer-service processes with its partners’
products and their own strengths, a complex
network of organizations is working together to
make everyone more successful.

The company went public in the first quar-
ter of 1997 riding the dot.com wave. Its reve-
nue grew from $147.8 million in 1997 to over
$61 billion in fiscal year 2012 and is predicted
to exceed $100 billion in 2015. Despite this
impressive sales growth, there has been
increasing pressure to deliver profits, which
occurred for the first time in fiscal year 2002.
From at least one point of view, the develop-
ment of Amazon’s network structure is an
important reason for this profitability.

From the beginning, Amazon operated as a
virtual organization and leveraged its network
structure. For example, it developed and oper-
ated the Amazon.com website to draw in custo-
mers and to learn about creating an effective
online customer experience. However, the com-
pany owned little or no inventory, warehouses,
distribution centers, or customer-service opera-
tions. Early on, order fulfillment was left to
Ingram Book Distributors, one of the largest
book wholesalers, who also contracted out
delivery to third-party vendors, such as UPS.

In June of 1998, Amazon began selling
CDs, and added DVDs and videos in November
1998. It added electronic products, toys, soft-
ware, and video games in 1999, and tools,

health and beauty products, kitchen products,
and photo services in 2000. It also expanded
internationally starting in 1999, opening up
markets in Canada, Europe, and Asia over the
next decade. Amazon’s first West Coast distri-
bution center was built in 1996 and an East
Coast distribution center was added in 1997.
In 1999, in anticipation of the Christmas rush,
Amazon built five warehouse and distribution
facilities and several customer-service centers
to improve its order fulfillment capabilities.

Amazon’s initial forays into a broader net-
work began in 1999 but were compartmental-
ized on the website. Non-Amazon products,
such as used books or individuals auctioning off
different products, were not allowed to infiltrate
Amazon’s millions of book, CD, and DVD pages.
Third-party products were put under “tabs” that
roughly described the kind of commerce to be
conducted, such as the “auction” tab or the
“zShops” tab, which contained a variety of ven-
dor products. Thus, traditional Amazon products
were separated from products offered by others.
Continued profit pressure, however, forced the
organization to look at relationships differently.

Jeff Bezos, company founder and CEO,
stated as follows:

“We realized that what was most important
to the marketplace sellers was demand—
access to prospective buyers. So, the idea
of the “single store” was to give them a
level of access equal to our own—listing
their goods right alongside ours.”

With the “single store” strategy, Amazon.
com transformed itself from an Internet retailer
to a platform for commerce. Small businesses
and individuals, which used to be in the Auctions
or zShops sections, were given the opportunity
to place their products on Amazon’s most visited
sites. In exchange for this visibility, Amazon
developed a contract that included a fee sched-
ule and described the responsibilities and activi-
ties that each organization would perform.
Amazon quickly expanded its network to include
partnerships with large companies as well as
partially- and fully-owned affiliates, gaining over

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 357

In practice, downsizing generally involves layoffs where a certain number or class of
organization members is no longer employed by the organization. Although traditionally
associated with lower-level workers, downsizing increasingly has claimed the jobs of staff
specialists, middle managers, and senior executives especially during the recent economic
turndown.

An important consequence of downsizing has been the rise of the contingent work-
force. In companies like Cisco or Motorola, less expensive temporary or permanent part-
time workers often are hired by the same organizations that just laid off thousands of
employees. A study by the American Management Association found that nearly a
third of the 720 firms in the sample had rehired recently terminated employees as inde-
pendent contractors or consultants because the downsizings had not been matched by an
appropriate reduction in or redesign of the workload.23 Overall cost reduction was
achieved by replacing expensive permanent workers with a contingent workforce.

Few corporations or government agencies have escaped the massive downsizing
brought on by the recent global recession. In the United States, for example, layoffs
reached a yearly peak of over three million workers in 2009; although declining in sub-
sequent years, almost 8% of the workforce was unemployed in 2012.24 In addition to lay-
offs, organizations have downsized by redeploying workers from one function or job to
another. When IBM’s business shifted from hardware to software and services in the
1990s, more than 69,000 people were laid off, yet the size of the total workforce
increased by 16,000 employees.25

two million third-party sellers by 2013. It leveraged its
state-of-the-art transaction-processing systems and
networking capabilities to provide sellers with access
to an immense customer base and rapid, low-cost
sales and order fulfillment. Driven by a “culture of
metrics,” Amazon was able to provide its sellers
with access to unprecedented amounts of real-time
data on customer product preferences and purchas-
ing behavior.

Amazon also engaged in more traditional mar-
keting arrangements where the Amazon.com web-
site served as a marketing vehicle for other
companies. From the Amazon website, users were
transferred over to the vendor’s website and Amazon
received a fee based on the number of customers
exposed to the vendor’s marketing message or on
the number of customers referred. Amazon made
its first set of partnerships with Drugstore.com,
Living.com, and Wine.com among others. As
Amazon affiliates, they paid Amazon placement and
referral fees for advertising on the Amazon website.
This was called the Amazon Commerce Network.

Given the vast scale of the information storage
and computing infrastructure needed to run
Amazon’s marketplace, Amazon Web Services
was launched in 2002 to sell excess infrastructure
capacity as well as information services to other
companies. This logical extension of Amazon’s
network grew rapidly into over 25 proprietary
Web-based services that have attracted over
300,000 developer customers, making Amazon
the market leader in cloud computing worldwide.
Amazon Web Services is expected to have reve-
nue of $3.8 billion in 2013 and could be worth up
to $30 billion if it were a standalone company.

By excelling at particular aspects of retailing in
the Internet environment, Amazon has been able
to leverage those competencies into a powerful
network of alliances and partnerships. It has been
able to expand its business beyond the Internet
marketplace to the information services arena.
The network structure is one important reason
Amazon has been one of the few Internet start-
ups to actually post a profit.

358 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

Downsizing is generally a response to at least four major conditions. First, it is asso-
ciated increasingly with mergers and acquisitions as redundant jobs are eliminated to
gain labor efficiencies. Second, it can result from organization decline caused by loss of
revenues and market share and by technological and industrial change. As a result of fuel
oil prices, terrorism, and other changes, nearly a quarter of U.S. airline jobs were lost in
the first decade of the twentieth century. Third, downsizing can occur when organiza-
tions implement one of the new organizational structures described previously. For
example, creation of network-based structures often involves outsourcing work that is
not essential to the organization’s core competence. Fourth, downsizing can result from
beliefs and social pressures that smaller is better.26 In the United States, there is strong
conviction that organizations should be leaner and more flexible. Hamel and Prahalad
warned, however, that organizations must be careful that downsizing is not a symptom
of “corporate anorexia.”27 Organizations may downsize for their own sake and not think
about future growth. They may lose key employees who are necessary for future success,
cutting into the organization’s core competencies and leaving a legacy of mistrust among
members. In such situations, it is questionable whether downsizing is developmental as
defined in OD.

12-2a Application Stages
Successful downsizing interventions tend to proceed by the following steps:28

1. Clarify the organization’s strategy. As a first step, organization leaders specify cor-
porate strategy and communicate clearly how downsizing relates to it. They inform
members that downsizing is not a goal in itself, but a restructuring process for
achieving strategic objectives. Leaders need to provide visible and consistent support
throughout the process. They can provide opportunities for members to voice their
concerns, ask questions, and obtain career counseling if necessary.

2. Assess downsizing options and make relevant choices. Once the strategy is clear,
the full range of downsizing options can be identified and assessed. Table 12.8
describes three primary downsizing methods: workforce reduction, organization
redesign, and systemic change. A specific downsizing strategy may use elements of
all three approaches. Workforce reduction is aimed at reducing the number of
employees, usually in a relatively short timeframe. It can include attrition, retirement
incentives, outplacement services, and layoffs. Organization redesign attempts to
restructure the firm to prepare it for the next stage of growth. This is a medium-
term approach that can be accomplished by merging organizational units, eliminat-
ing management layers, and redesigning tasks. Systemic change is a longer-term
option aimed at changing the culture and strategic orientation of the organization.
It can involve interventions that alter the responsibilities and work behaviors of
everyone in the organization and that promote continual improvement as a way of
life in the firm.

Case Construction, a manufacturer of heavy construction equipment, used a
variety of methods to downsize in the mid-1990s, including eliminating money-
losing product lines; narrowing the breadth of remaining product lines; bringing
customers to the company headquarters to get their opinions of new-product design
(which surprisingly resulted in maintaining, rather than changing, certain preferred
features, thus holding down redesign costs); shifting production to outside vendors;
restructuring debt; and spinning off most of its 250 stores. Eventually, these changes
led to closing five plants and to payroll reductions of almost 35%.29 The number of

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 359

jobs lost would have been much greater, however, if Case had not implemented a
variety of downsizing methods.

Unfortunately, organizations often choose obvious solutions for downsizing,
such as layoffs, because they can be implemented quickly. This action produces a
climate of fear and defensiveness as members focus on identifying who will be sepa-
rated from the organization. Examining a broad range of options and considering
the entire organization rather than only certain areas can help allay fears that favor-
itism and politics are the bases for downsizing decisions. Moreover, participation of
organization members in such decisions can have positive benefits. It can create a
sense of urgency for identifying and implementing options to downsizing other
than layoffs. Participation can provide members with a clearer understanding of
how downsizing will proceed and can increase the likelihood that whatever choices
are made are perceived as reasonable and fair.

3. Implement the changes. This stage involves implementing methods for reducing
the size of the organization. Several practices characterize successful implementation.
First, downsizing is best controlled from the top down. Many difficult decisions are
required, and a broad perspective helps to overcome people’s natural instincts to
protect their enterprise or function. Second, specific areas of inefficiency and high
cost need to be identified and targeted. The morale of the organization can be hurt
if areas commonly known to be redundant are left untouched. Third, specific actions
should be linked to the organization’s strategy. Organization members need to be

TABLE 12.8

Three Downsizing Tactics

Downsizing Tactic Characteristics Examples

Workforce reduction Aimed at headcount reduction
Short-term implementation
Fosters a transition

Attrition
Transfer and outplacement
Retirement incentives
Buyout packages
Layoffs

Organization redesign Aimed at organization change
Moderate-term implementation
Fosters transition and, potentially,

transformation

Eliminate functions
Merge units
Eliminate layers
Eliminate products
Redesign tasks

Systemic redesign Aimed at culture change
Long-term implementation
Fosters transformation

Change responsibility
Involve all constituents
Foster continuous improvement and

innovation
Simplification
Downsizing: a way of life

SOURCE: K. Cameron, S. Freeman, and A. Mishra, “Best Practices in White-Collar Downsizing: Managing Contradictions,”
Academy of Management Executive 5 (1991), 62.

360 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

reminded consistently that restructuring activities are part of a plan to improve the
organization’s performance. Finally, communicate frequently using a variety of
media. This keeps people informed, lowers their anxiety over the process, and
makes it easier for them to focus on their work.

4. Address the needs of survivors and those who leave. Most downsizing eventually
involves reduction in the size of the workforce, and it is important to support not
only employees who remain with the organization but also those who leave. When
layoffs occur, employees are generally asked to take on additional responsibilities
and to learn new jobs, often with little or no increase in compensation. This added
workload can be stressful, and when combined with anxiety over past layoffs and
possible future ones, it can lead to what researchers have labeled the “survivor
syndrome.”30 This involves a narrow set of self-absorbed and risk-averse behaviors
that can threaten the organization’s survival. Rather than working to ensure the
organization’s success, survivors often are preoccupied with whether additional lay-
offs will occur, with guilt over receiving pay and benefits while coworkers are strug-
gling with termination, and with the uncertainty of career advancement.

Organizations can address these survivor concerns with communication pro-
cesses that increase the amount and frequency of information provided. Communi-
cation should shift from explanations about who left or why to clarification of where
the company is going, including its visions, strategies, and goals. The linkage
between employees’ performance and strategic success is emphasized so that remain-
ing members feel they are valued. Organizations also can support survivors through
training and development activities that prepare them for the new work they are
being asked to perform. Senior management can promote greater involvement in
decision making, thus reinforcing the message that people are important to the
future success and growth of the organization.

Given the negative consequences typically associated with job loss, organizations
have developed an array of methods to help employees who have been laid off. These
include outplacement counseling, personal and family counseling, severance packages,
office support for job searches, relocation services, and job retraining. Each service is
intended to assist employees in their transition to another work situation.

5. Follow through with growth plans. This final stage of downsizing involves imple-
menting an organization renewal and growth process. Failure to move quickly to
implement growth plans is a key determinant of ineffective downsizing.31 For example,
a study of 1,020 human resource directors reported that only 44% of the companies
that had downsized in the previous five years shared details of their growth plans
with employees; only 34% told employees how they would fit into the company’s new
strategy.32 Organizations must ensure that employees understand the renewal strategy
and their new roles in it. Employees need credible expectations that, although the orga-
nization has been through a tough period, their renewed efforts can move it forward.

Application 12.3 describes how the City of Menlo Park, California, successfully
responded to a serious fiscal downturn through effective downsizing initiatives.33 It
demonstrates how straightforward communication and active engagement with key sta-
keholders can inform downsizing decisions, gain commitment to implementing them,
and mitigate their negative consequences. The application also shows the complexity of
downsizing in the public sector where there are often multiple competing interests and
that even a relatively small organization can mount a sophisticated and effective down-
sizing intervention.

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 361

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3
DOWNSIZING IN MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA

M
enlo Park is a modest-sized city of
around 32,000 residents located in the
San Francisco Bay area. Like many
California municipalities, Menlo Park ex-

perienced challenging fiscal problems well
before the global economic crisis erupted in
2008. In 2004–2005, the city had an operat-
ing budget of $29.2 million and 230 full-
time equivalent (FTE) employees. Over the
previous four years, Menlo Park was forced to
reduce spending in line with declining revenues.
Sales-tax revenue had dropped about 50% in
two years (from $12 million to $6 million) and
the state of California had diverted local govern-
ment revenue to help balance its budget. Worse
yet, the city’s costs had been rising significantly
primarily because of retiree benefit expenses.

According to Audrey Seymour, the Assis-
tant City Manager at the time, Menlo Park
moved strategically to remedy these fiscal pro-
blems. It trimmed more than $4 million from its
annual operating budget and reduced its work-
force by about 13%, the equivalent of 30 FTEs.
To minimize the negative impact of these
changes on the city and its employees, Menlo
Park’s elected officials and administrators imple-
mented the following downsizing initiatives:

• Involve employees early and often. All-
employee forums were used to communi-
cate to members and to listen to their reac-
tions and suggestions. These meetings
helped everyone clearly understand the
magnitude and causes of the city’s fiscal
problem. Then, action teams were formed
in each city department comprised of
employees from all levels. The teams
were given guidelines and support and
asked to devise plans to streamline opera-
tions, cut costs, and enhance revenues.
The city also used suggestion boxes and
the intranet to solicit ideas from employ-
ees. To keep everyone abreast of what
was occurring, the city manager used
both personal and electronic forms of com-
munication, frequently holding employee
briefings and sending emails. After cuts
were implemented, informal debriefing

sessions were held and counselors from
the city’s employee assistance program
helped employees deal with the impacts
of the changes on their lives.

• Work with unions to achieve common goals.
Cost cutting started with reducing expenses
and eliminating vacant positions, and then
moved to filled positions. The city worked
closely with union representatives to find
ways to avoid layoffs while still reducing
the size of the workforce. The union offered
several ideas and worked with the city to
develop a voluntary separation process that
offered employees in service areas targeted
for reduction early retirement, enhanced
severance, or shorter hours.

• Seek community input. Because the down-
sizing efforts would adversely affect city
services, Menlo Park started an initiative
called “YourCity/YourDecision.” This pro-
gram included sending a survey to commu-
nity households asking residents to rank
order the importance of city services.
From a total of 15,500 households, more
than 1,000 surveys were returned. As a
follow-up to the survey, interactive commu-
nity workshops were conducted across the
city to gain further input into specific ideas
residents would recommend to balance the
budget in line with the priorities identified in
the survey. In addition, each of the city’s
commissions was asked for suggestions
to simplify policies and procedures to save
money. The feedback from all of these out-
reach efforts helped the City Council make
tough choices about which services to fund
and at what level. The information also
guided city staff in developing budget-
balancing strategies.

• Keep elected officials in the loop. City
administrators held a half-day retreat and
a series of meetings with City Council
members to discuss the details of the fis-
cal problems and to get guidance about
high-priority service areas and possible
cost reductions. Council members were
asked to rate city services and these

362 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

12-2b Results of Downsizing
The empirical research on downsizing is mostly negative.34 A review conducted by the
National Research Council concluded, “From the research produced thus far, downsizing
as a strategy for improvement has proven to be, by and large, a failure.” A number of
studies have documented the negative productivity and employee consequences. One
survey of 1,005 companies that used downsizing to reduce costs reported that fewer
than half of the firms actually met cost targets. Moreover, only 22% of the companies
achieved expected productivity gains, and consequently about 80% of the firms needed
to rehire some of the same people that they had previously terminated. Fewer than 33%
of the companies surveyed reported that profits increased as much as expected, and only
21% achieved satisfactory improvements in shareholder return on investment. Another
survey of 1,142 downsized firms found that only about a third achieved productivity
goals. In addition, the research points to a number of problems at the individual level,
including increased stress and illness, loss of self-esteem, reduced trust and loyalty, and
marriage and family disruptions.35

Research on the effects of downsizing on financial performance also shows negative
results.36 One study examined an array of financial-performance measures, such as
return on sales, assets, and equity, in 210 companies that announced layoffs. It found
that increases in financial performance in the first year following the layoff announce-
ments were not followed by performance improvements in the next year. In no case
did a firm’s financial performance after a layoff announcement match its maximum
levels of performance in the year before the announcement. These results suggest that
layoffs may result in initial improvements in financial performance, but such gains are
temporary and not sustained at even prelayoff levels. In a similar study of 16 firms that
wrote off more than 10% of their net worth in a five-year period, stock prices, which
averaged 16% below the market average before the layoff announcements, increased on

data, along with the community survey results,
were used to determine service-area cuts.
Council members also spent time discussing
which criteria were most important to consider
when weighing potential budget cuts. Follow-
up activities included periodic phone calls to
Council members to update them on the
downsizing process and to answer any ques-
tions. This kept members informed in case
they had to respond to questions from employ-
ees, union leaders, or the press. The city also
brought in a panel of experts to give projec-
tions on the regional economy, thus providing
information about what the fiscal future might
hold for Menlo Park. All of these activities
made the difficult decision-making process
and the adoption of the city budget easier.

As a result of these downsizing initiatives,
Menlo Park was able to bring its operations and
spending in line with tough fiscal realities. It did
this in a way that mitigated damage to community
services and to workplace morale. The city was
better able to prioritize community services and
to allocate funds accordingly. Because the down-
sizing process had wide involvement from the
union, City Council, the community, and employ-
ees, the city gained the necessary guidance and
commitment from these stakeholders to make
tough decisions and to continue to deliver on
core community priorities. In the end, Menlo Park
was able to reduce the size of its workforce with-
out having to make any layoffs. It was able to trim
its operating budget without having to reduce
essential community services.

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 363

the day that the restructuring was announced but then began to decline steadily. Two
years after the layoff announcements, 10 of the 16 stocks were trading below the market
by 17–48%, and 12 of the 16 were below comparable firms in their industries by 5–45%.

These research findings paint a rather bleak picture of the success of downsizing.
The results must be interpreted cautiously, however, for three reasons. First, many of the
survey-oriented studies received responses from human resources specialists who might
have been naturally inclined to view downsizing in a negative light. Second, the studies
of financial performance may have included a biased sample of firms. If the companies
selected for analysis had been poorly managed, then downsizing alone would have been
unlikely to improve financial performance. There is some empirical support for this view
because low-performing firms are more likely to engage in downsizing than are high-
performing firms.37 Third, disappointing results may be a function of the way downsiz-
ing was implemented. A number of organizations, such as Florida Power and Light,
General Electric, Motorola, Texas Instruments, Boeing, and Hewlett-Packard, have
posted solid financial returns following downsizing.38 A study of 30 downsized firms in
the automobile industry showed that those companies that implemented effectively the
process described above scored significantly higher on several performance measures
than did firms that had no downsizing strategy or that implemented the steps poorly.39

Several studies have suggested that when downsizing programs adopt appropriate OD
interventions or apply strategies similar to the process outlined above, they generate
more positive individual and organizational results.40 Thus, the success of downsizing
efforts may depend as much on how effectively the intervention is applied as on the
size of the layoffs or the amount of delayering.

12-3 Reengineering
The final restructuring intervention is reengineering—the fundamental rethinking and rad-
ical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in performance.41

Reengineering transforms how organizations traditionally produce and deliver goods and
services. Beginning with the Industrial Revolution, organizations have increasingly frag-
mented work into specialized units, each focusing on a limited part of the overall produc-
tion process. Although this division of labor has enabled organizations to mass-produce
standardized products and services efficiently, it can be overly complicated, difficult to
manage, and slow to respond to the rapid and unpredictable changes experienced by
many organizations today. Reengineering addresses these problems by breaking down spe-
cialized work units into more integrated, cross-functional work processes. This streamlines
work processes and makes them more efficient with faster cycle times and better informa-
tion handling capabilities. Consequently, work processes are more responsive to changes in
competitive conditions, customer demands, product life cycles, and technologies.42 Reengi-
neering has been applied to work processes in manufacturing and service industries, in
business firms, not-for-profits, and government agencies; and in diverse global settings,
such as Australia, India, Ireland, Turkey, and South Africa.

As might be expected, successful reengineering requires an almost revolutionary
change in how organizations design their work structures. It identifies and questions the
often-unexamined assumptions underlying how organizations perform work and why do
they do it in a particular way. This effort typically results in major changes in thinking
and work methods—a shift from specialized jobs, tasks, and structures to integrated pro-
cesses that deliver value to customers. Such revolutionary change differs considerably
from incremental approaches to performance improvement, such as continuous

364 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

improvement and total quality management (Chapter 13), which emphasize small, yet
constant, changes in existing work processes. Because reengineering radically alters the
status quo, it seeks to produce dramatic increases in organization performance.

Reengineering seeks to leverage the latest developments in information technology
to enable significant change in large-scale business processes, such as supply-chain logis-
tics.43 It can help organizations break out of traditional ways of thinking about work and
embrace entirely new ways of producing and delivering products. For example, the most
popular software systems, SAP and PeopleSoft, standardize information flows and help
to integrate data on a range of tasks and to link work processes together. On the other
hand, many existing information systems do not provide the data needed to operate inte-
grated business processes.44 Such legacy systems can make reengineering difficult if not
impossible to implement because they do not allow interdependent departments to inter-
face with each other; they often require new information to be entered manually into
separate computer systems before people in different work areas can access it.

Reengineering has been associated with downsizing. Reengineering can result in pro-
duction and delivery processes that require fewer people and fewer layers of manage-
ment. Conversely, downsizing may require subsequent reengineering interventions.
When downsizing occurs without fundamental changes in how work is performed, the
same tasks simply are being performed with a smaller number of people. Thus, expected
cost savings may not be realized because lower salaries and fewer benefits are offset by
lower productivity.

Reengineering also can be linked to transformation of organization structures and
work design. Its focus on work processes helps to break down the vertical orientation
of functional and divisional organization structures. Reengineering identifies and assesses
core business processes and redesigns work to account for key task interdependencies
running through them. That typically results in new jobs or teams that emphasize mul-
tifunctional tasks, results-oriented feedback, and employee empowerment—
characteristics associated with motivational and sociotechnical approaches to work
design (Chapter 14). Regrettably, reengineering initially failed to apply these approaches’
attention to individual differences in people’s reactions to work to its own work-design
prescriptions. It advocated enriched work and teams, without consideration for the
wealth of research that shows that not all people are motivated to perform such work.45

12-3a Application Stages
Early reengineering interventions emphasized identifying which business processes to
reengineer and technically assessing the workflow. Efforts that are more recent have
extended reengineering practice to address issues of managing change, such as how to
deal with resistance to change and how to manage the transition to new work
processes.46 The following application steps are included in most reengineering efforts,
although the order may change slightly from one situation to another:47

1. Prepare the organization. Reengineering begins with clarification and assessment of
the organization’s competitive environment, strategy, and objectives. This effort
establishes and communicates the need for reengineering and the strategic direction
that the process should follow. For example, preparing for reengineering at the U.S.
Veterans Administration (VA) health care system was made easier because everyone
agreed the health care delivery process was broken. Veterans’ groups were outspo-
ken in their complaints of quality care, the system was publicly ridiculed in the
movie The Fourth of July with Tom Cruise, and many patients were figuratively

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 365

“falling through the cracks.” The old way of doing business, reinforced by years of
government protection and a long period of peace, seriously saddled the organiza-
tion with high costs, old systems, and siloed processes.48 The VA’s leadership, led
by Kenneth Kizer, recognized that the keys to the health care system’s success were
low costs and customer satisfaction. Consequently, they set dramatic goals of
increasing patient visits while holding annual cost per patient steady. Defining
these objectives gave the reengineering effort a clear focus.

A final task in preparing the organization is to communicate clearly—through
words and deeds—why reengineering is necessary and the direction it will take.
The VA’s preparation included not only traditional communications through
speeches, newsletters, and meetings, but visible commitments such as reorganizing
the pharmacy organization and making substantial technology commitments to an
electronic medical record system. Thus, senior executives were careful to communi-
cate, both verbally and behaviorally, that they were fully committed to the change
effort. Demonstration of such unwavering support seems necessary if organization
members are to challenge their traditional thinking about how business should be
conducted.

2. Fundamentally rethink the way work gets done. This step lies at the heart of reen-
gineering and involves these activities: identifying and analyzing core business pro-
cesses, defining their key performance objectives, and designing new processes.
These tasks are the real work of reengineering and typically are performed by a
cross-functional design team that is given considerable time and resources to accom-
plish them.49

a. Identify and analyze core business processes. Core processes are considered
essential for strategic success. They include activities that transform inputs into
valued outputs. Core processes typically are assessed through development of a
process map that identifies the three to five activities required to deliver an
organization’s products or services. For a health care system, the core processes
include the intake of patients through the primary care physician, inpatient and
outpatient services, and medical records and billing.

Analysis of core business processes can include assigning costs to each of the
major phases of the workflow to help identify costs that may be hidden in the
activities of the production process. Traditional cost-accounting systems do not
store data in process terms; they identify costs according to categories of expense,
such as salaries, fixed costs, and supplies.50 This method of cost accounting can
be misleading and can result in erroneous conclusions about how best to reduce
costs. For example, most traditional accounting systems suggest that salaries and
fringe benefits account for the largest percentage of total costs—an assessment
that supports workforce downsizing as the most effective way to lower costs. An
activity-based accounting system often reveals a different picture—that rework,
errors, and delays during the workflow are major sources of unnecessary cost.

Business processes also can be assessed in terms of value-added activities—
the amount of value contributed to a product or service by a particular step in
the process. For example, early in the VA’s process, senior managers learned
that only 10% of the patients covered by the VA had a primary care physician.
By assigning a primary care physician to each veteran patient, the total cost of
care was greatly reduced. Patients saw one physician who could address many
issues rather than making multiple visits to a variety of specialists. Conversely,
organizations often engage in a variety of process activities that have little or no
added value.

366 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

b. Define performance objectives. Challenging performance goals are set in this
step. The highest possible level of performance for any particular process is iden-
tified, and dramatic goals are set for speed, quality, cost, or other measures of per-
formance. These standards can derive from customer requirements or from
benchmarks of the best practices of industry leaders. For example, at Andersen
Windows, the demand for unique window shapes pushed the number of different
products from 28,000 to more than 86,000.51 The pressure on the shop floor for a
“batch of one” resulted in 20% of all shipments containing at least one order dis-
crepancy. As part of its reengineering effort, Andersen set targets for ease of
ordering, manufacturing, and delivery. Each retailer and distributor was sold an
interactive, computerized version of Andersen’s catalog that allowed customers
to design their own windows. The resulting design is then given a unique “license
plate number” and the specifications are sent directly to the factory. Four years
later, new sales had tripled at some retail locations, the number of products had
increased to 188,000, and fewer than 1 in 200 shipments had a discrepancy.

c. Design new processes. This task involves designing new business processes to
achieve breakthrough goals. It often starts with a clean sheet of paper and
addresses the question “If we were starting this company today, what is the
most effective and efficient way to deliver this product or service?” Each essen-
tial process is then designed according to the following guidelines:52

• Begin and end the process with the needs and wants of the customer.
• Simplify the current process by combining and eliminating steps.
• Use the “best of what is” in the current process.
• Attend to both technical and social aspects of the process.
• Do not be constrained by past practice.
• Identify the critical information required at each step in the process.
• Perform activities in their most natural order.
• Assume the work gets done right the first time.
• Listen to people who do the work.

An important activity that appears in many successful reengineering efforts
is implementing “early wins” or “quick hits.” Analysis of existing processes
often reveals obvious redundancies and inefficiencies for which appropriate
changes may be authorized immediately. These early successes can help gener-
ate and sustain momentum in the reengineering effort.

3. Restructure the organization around the new business processes. This last step in
reengineering involves changing the organization’s structure to support the new
business processes. This endeavor typically results in the kinds of process-based
structures that were described earlier in this chapter. Reengineered organizations
typically have the following characteristics:53

• Work units change from functional departments to process teams.
• Jobs change from simple tasks to multidimensional work.
• People’s roles change from controlled to empowered.
• The focus of performance measures and compensation shifts from activities to

results.
• Organization structures change from hierarchical to flat.
• Managers change from supervisors to coaches; executives change from score-

keepers to leaders.

The VA’s experience reflects many of these features. As suggested earlier, the key to
a reengineered organization is often its commitment to and development of an

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 367

integrated information system. During the VA’s reengineering, it was an electronic med-
ical record system that integrated nearly every step in the patient care process. The fol-
lowing examples support how the information system radically transformed the way
patient care was delivered:

• A physician gets a computerized reminder that one of his patients in the hospital, a
44-year-old diabetic, is due to have an eye exam. Through the system, the doctor
asks the floor nurse to send the patient to the eye clinic on the second floor, where
an ophthalmologist administers the test. An alert soon flashes on the doctor’s moni-
tor saying the exam has been completed.

• A nurse on a different floor uses the same computer network to make sure she’s
giving the right medication to a 60-year-old patient with high blood pressure. With
a handheld device, she scans a bar-coded bracelet on her patient’s wrist and then a
bar code on the drug bottle. A nearby computer linked to the hospital pharmacy
confirms that she’s giving the right drug to the right patient.

• In the Tele-Health unit, a nurse reads the vital statistics of a 57-year-old patient that
were sent to her computer via an electronic system that the VA has rigged at the
patient’s home. Today the news is worrisome: The patient, who is suffering from
heart disease, has gained three pounds overnight, indicating that he’s retaining
fluids. After a few quick phone calls to the patient and his doctor, the nurse tells
him to double his diuretic medication today. “We caught him before his condition
got worse,” she says with satisfaction.

Application 12.4 describes the reengineering efforts at Honeywell’s Industrial Auto-
mation and Control business. It highlights the importance of mapping current processes
and aligning the rest of the organization to support the change, especially information
technology.54

12-3b Results from Reengineering
The results from reengineering vary widely. Industry journals and the business press reg-
ularly contain accounts of dramatic business outcomes attributable to reengineering. On
the other hand, the best-selling book on reengineering reported that as many as 70% of
the efforts failed to meet their cost, cycle time, or productivity objectives.55 One study
polled 497 companies in the United States and 1,245 companies in Europe, and found
that 60% of U.S. firms and 75% of European firms had engaged in at least one reengi-
neering project. Eighty-five percent of the firms reported little or no gain from the
efforts.56 Despite its popularity, reengineering is only beginning to be evaluated system-
atically, and there is little research to help unravel the disparate results.57

One evaluation of business process reengineering examined more than one hundred
companies’ efforts.58 In-depth analyses of 20 reengineering projects found that 11 cases
had total business-unit cost reductions of less than 5%, whereas six cases had total cost
reductions averaging 18%. The primary difference was the scope of the business process
selected. Reengineering broad value-added processes significantly affected total business-
unit costs; reengineering narrow business processes did not.

Similarly, performance improvements in particular processes were associated
strongly with changes in six key levers of behavior, including structure, skills, informa-
tion systems, roles, incentives, and shared values. Efforts that addressed all six levers pro-
duced average cost reductions in specific processes by 35%; efforts that affected only one
or two change levers reduced costs by 19%. Finally, the percentage reduction in total unit
costs was associated with committed leadership. Similarly, a survey of 23 “successful”

368 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

a
p
p
li
ca
ti
o
n
1
2

4 HONEYWELL IAC’S TOTALPLANT™ REENGINEERINGPROCESS

H
oneywell (www.honeywell.com) is a diver-
sified technology and manufacturing orga-
nization that serves customers worldwide
with aerospace products and services;

control technologies for buildings, homes, and
industry; automotive products; and specialty
materials. Its industrial automation and control
(IAC) business unit in Phoenix, Arizona, is
responsible for the design, manufacture, and
configuration of world-class process control
equipment marketed as the TDC 3000X family
of systems. IAC’s customer base includes
refineries, chemical plants, and paper mills
around the world.

In response to declining performance
results, IAC management set out to implement
an ISO 9000 certified quality program named
TotalPlant™ as part of an effort to optimize
global customer satisfaction. The objectives of
this initiative were reducing defects, minimizing
production cycles, and optimizing resource
management. The TotalPlant™ initiative was a
business process reengineering intervention
based upon four principles: process mapping,
fail-safing, teamwork, and communication.
Cross-functional multiskilled teams were cre-
ated and given responsibility for an entire mod-
ule or product line. Each team member was
then trained in each of the principles and
empowered to enact them to create improve-
ments within their work groups.

Process mapping is a methodology that
converts any business activity into a graphical
form. It creates a common visual language that
can be used to enhance an employees’ ability
to see beyond the boundaries of their work
process. It is also the basis of radical change
in business processes. As part of the Total-
Plant™ initiative, process mapping consisted
of eight major stages.

• The first three stages were to select the
process to be reviewed, identify all custo-
mers, and set the boundaries of the pro-
cess. Through consensus decision making,
these simple steps kept the participants

focused on the process being mapped. In
addition, the team reviewed its composition
to ensure that all appropriate functions were
represented.

• Fourth, the team developed an “as is” map.
This required members to outline and docu-
ment the existing process. By creating a
visual map the team was able to identify
the flow of both the product and the informa-
tion related to the process. Cross-functional
decision points and dependencies became
visually apparent through the process. Fifth,
the “as is” map was used by the team to
calculate cycle times, the elapsed times
between the start of a process and the con-
clusion of a process, as well as the distance
the product travels during that cycle. Both
the mean and the range were calculated
for each process cycle time.

• Sixth, the team identified areas of improve-
ment that did not require additional costs or
resources. Non-value-added steps, extended
approval processes, and processes with
highly variant cycle times were analyzed
and either streamlined or completely elimi-
nated. Following this step, the seventh
stage was to develop a “should be” map
that described the improved process.

• Finally, the eighth step directed the team
to develop a process implementation plan,
establish confirmation from a steering
committee, and then implement it. New
goals were established and results tracked
for each of the process steps.

The second major component of the Total-
Plant™ process was the fail-safing process. Fail-
safing is a five-step process intended to create a
product that is defect free by identifying and
analyzing defects, and understanding their root
causes. A root cause has three characteristics:
(1) it is defined as being the cause of the defect;
(2) it is possible to change the cause; and (3) if
eliminated, the defect will be removed or at
least significantly reduced. Once the root
cause is identified, a set of alternative solutions

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 369

is developed to eliminate the defect in future
products. Each alternative is evaluated for ease of
implementation, cost, and time to implement.

Once a solution is agreed upon, the team imple-
ments the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) process to
move the solution forward. Planning includes devel-
oping a full implementation plan, which includes
areas impacted, timing, resource requirements, and
costs. This becomes a living document outlining the
action items needed to implement the change.
“Doing” consists of executing against the imple-
mentation plan. Once the new process has been
implemented, the results are “checked” to ensure
that they are in line with the desired results. Finally,
the team must “act” to determine the next steps for
continuous improvement.

Teamwork was the critical third piece of the
TotalPlant™ process. Honeywell realized that the
transition to a team environment needed to happen
gradually. Through the process mapping and fail-
safing process, they gave people real problems to
address and systematic tools with which to solve
them. With the addition of education and training
around teams, these “hard-skill” activities became
the fertile soil for team development. As team
members were asked to own the whole process,
an environment that fosters teamwork was created.
Creativity, innovation, and risk taking were rewarded
and the values of the organization moved to trust,
respect, and empowerment. Managers were
trained to support the teams, not to run them, in
order to further enrich the team environment.

The final and foundational element of the
TotalPlant™ process was communication. Top man-
agement’s successful communication of the Total-
Plant™ paradigm shift was pivotal to the initiative’s
success. Through their everyday actions, top man-
agers lived the values of open communication
throughout the organization. In addition, teams were
given training in conflict resolution, problem solving,
and listening skills to enhance the overall effective-
ness of communication within the teams. The crea-
tion of a positive, open environment became critical
to the success of the change initiative. Top manage-
ment understood that the environment needed to
shift to consistently support teamwork, creativity,
and “new thinking.” The major challenges within the
process took the form of middle-management resis-
tance. The new team concepts made managers, who

had been functional or process experts, move outside
their comfort zone by requiring them to look at pro-
cesses across functions and to broaden their view of
success. Top management was required to move
from command and control to a more facilitative and
empowering approach to support this type of behavior
change.

In addition to the four major components of the
TotalPlant™ process, Honeywell made significant
changes in the technology strategy to support the
business strategy. The information systems group
was converted into an information technology
shop where all technology was developed in direct
support of the ICA business unit and its operations.
All systems were fully integrated to optimize the
timeliness and accuracy of information.

After three years, performance results indi-
cated a reduction in defects of 70%, customer
rejects declined by 57%, and there was a 46%
reduction in inventory investments. Honeywell’s
execution against its vision is what set this busi-
ness process reengineering apart from others.
Top managers did not just speak the vision, they
lived and supported it through active participation
in the entire change process. Another critical com-
ponent was that the organizational structure was
redesigned to align with the new processes and
strategies. Top management at Honeywell under-
stood that change of this magnitude takes time
and therefore was able to set the organization’s
expectations accordingly. Additionally, it commit-
ted appropriate levels of training and financial
resources to make the initiative a success.

The Honeywell case provides some excellent
learning for making a reengineering initiative suc-
cessful. First, people are the key enablers of change.
They must be trained, developed, and rewarded to
support the change process. Second, people must
be able to question all of their assumptions. Nothing
can be sacred as each process is deconstructed and
then rebuilt. Third, process mapping provides people
with a systematic process for analyzing and improv-
ing existing systems and processes. Next, manage-
ment must be able to create dissatisfaction with the
existing process and allow the teams to own the
solution. An environment conducive to change
must be created and supported by management’s
attitudes and behaviors. This includes active partici-
pation at all stages of the process.

370 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

reengineering cases found that they were characterized by a clear vision of the future,
specific goals for change, use of information technology, top management’s involvement
and commitment, clear milestones and measurements, and the training of participants in
process analysis and teamwork.59

SUMMARY

This chapter presented interventions aimed at restruc-
turing organizations. Several basic structures, such as
the functional, divisional, and matrix structures, domi-
nate most organizations. Three newer forms, process-
based, customer-centric, and network-based structures,
were also described. Each of these structures has corre-
sponding strengths and weaknesses, and supportive
conditions must be assessed when determining which
structure is an appropriate fit with the organization’s
environment, strategy, technology, and size.

Two restructuring interventions were described:
downsizing and reengineering. Downsizing decreases
the size of the organization through workforce reduction
or organizational redesign. It generally is associated with

layoffs where a certain number or class of organization
member are no longer employed by the organization.
Downsizing can contribute to organization development
by focusing on the organization’s strategy, using a vari-
ety of downsizing tactics, addressing the needs of all
organization members, and following through with
growth plans. Reengineering involves the fundamental
rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to
achieve dramatic improvements in performance. It seeks
to transform how organizations traditionally produce
and deliver goods and services. A typical reengineering
project prepares the organization, rethinks the way work
gets done, and restructures the organization around the
newly designed core processes.

NOTES

1. P. Lawrence and J. Lorsch, Organization and Environment:
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“Organization Design,” in Handbook of Organization Devel-
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2. L. Gulick and L. Urwick, eds., Papers on the Science of Admin-
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However, while support and participation
from the top is important, implementation
should take place by empowering decision
makers at the level where the work is being
done. Honeywell also demonstrated that re-
engineering must be a business-driven and
continuous process. Initiatives like fail-safing
demonstrated the need to challenge the status

quo continuously. Stretch goals must be set
throughout the process to keep employees
motivated. Finally, the most critical component
of a successful reengineering initiative is the
ability to actively implement and execute against
the plan. By keeping its eye on the end goal,
Honeywell was able to successfully optimize
its customer satisfaction through this process.

CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 371

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372 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

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CHAPTER 12 RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATIONS 373

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55. Hammer and Champy, Reengineering the Corporation.
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374 PART 4 TECHNOSTRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS

Homework 2

Name
Institution Affiliations
Professor
Date

Homework 2

Human Process Intervention
Human Process Intervention is evident when Honeywell decides to employ process mapping (page 369). It enhances the employee’s ability to explore and think of more ways of improving beyond the known boundaries. It enabled the team to identify the areas that did not need additional resources, yet they could improve (Page 369 and Page 203). This intervention was also important since it made the employees develop an implementation plan. Additionally, the company also established a steering committee that had the objective of ensuring the entire change process runs smoothly without interference. The committee was also crucial for tracking results and establishing goals (Page 369).
Techno-structural Intervention
This is also another important intervention that ensures the change is actualized. This was evident when the company applied the fail-saving process (Page 369 ). The process was that analyze the defects and the root causes of the defects. The company ensured that its employees were trained and developed to achieve this goal (Salman-fuu, 2017). This is intervention is also evident in sustaining change ar RMIT university Library (Page 202).
Human Resource Management Intervention
As a form of improving staff morale, the company also rewarded its employees (Page 370). It is a form of human resource management. It boosts the quality of work produced and the employees’ energy into an assigned task. Additionally, a conducive environment should accept the incoming change and fit the employees. Honeywell ensured that a conducive environment was embraced to support both the employees and the implemented change.
Strategic Resource Intervention
It acts as a link between the internal functioning of an organization and the external environment. Honeywell made sure that they incorporated this type of intervention for the success of the implemented change. For example, they focused on customers’ satisfaction to make more profits.
References
Salman-fuu. (2017, July 19). Techno structural interventions. Share and Discover Knowledge on SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/salman-fuu/techno-structural-interventions#:~:text=
%E2%80%A2%20Techno%2DStructural%20interventions%20are,Highly%20adaptable
%20Organizational%20Development%203

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