In the horizontal organization, hierarchal levels disappear, work is simplified, and information is universally available. Responsibility, authority, resources, information, and decision making are downloaded to the lowest organizational level. Hierarchal- functional workers evolve into process owners. Self-managed process or project teams do work simultaneously or concurrently. Specifications are jointly developed so everyone is familiar with …
What’s caused this concern about jobs? Part of it deals with increased competition, loss of trust between employer and employee, changing technology, changing work rules, and the inability to keep up with all the change. Part of it deals with the fact that many Brand U’s feel empowered not just to earn a living but …
The Internet has become a powerful symbol of society’s expectation about the future – a future of fast-moving, disruptive technology that is shifting the terrain not only in business, but also in politics and culture. New York Times
The Dilbert phenomenon and Handy/Hutchins work model speak to the larger issue that affects all of us, specifically creating a more balanced life. The problem is that many jobs are boring, inhumane, angst-ridden, or futile. Is meaningful employment with one employer then an oxymoron, something that may have worked 20 or even 10 years ago …
Coping with the Handy model is a huge problem for organizations as more workers see the handwriting on the wall and morph into Brand U’s. This started 15 years ago, but is now accelerating world wide. The Economist Magazine summed it up neatly: “Focusing on core competencies might mean outsourcing peripheral employees, but it also …
Some companies are going to extremes to focus on core competencies by ‘virtualizing’ most or all of their business. Remember when companies made things? In the future, some companies may end up with little hard assets. Their core assets will be intellectual capital: trademarks, brands, people, inspiration, knowledge, or business model. This is already practiced …
The Internet is a huge driver of the Handy model. Look at how Amazon.com reinvents itself and changes its business model. Amazon.com is the poster company of the ‘New Economy’ and for most ebusiness. Amazon.com started as an online bookseller but has morphed every month into a purveyer new goods and services.
The Handy/Hutchins work model is devilishly simple. It explains much of what’s happening in the workplace and provides the rationale for the Brand U trend. When Handy first proposed his vision of the corporate workplace, it was considered too bleak and radical. Middle managers were considered indispensable. Quality, information systems, accounting, training, industrial engineering, and …
Charles Handy, probably today’s smartest workplace guru, said more than ten years ago that work is fundamentally changing. He coined the notion of ½ by 2 by 3 rule of corporate fitness. This workplace is characterized by half as many people on the payroll, paid twice as much, producing three times as much. Innovation and …
The problem is that McDonald’s has to change due to changing customer tastes. McDonalds brought in a new person to be in charge of its 12,300 US stores. He wants to evolve its sacred menu, stress customer service, and personalize the customer experience. How? The company developed a new cooking system soon to be seen …