Processes

Drive to Flatten Organizations

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 […]

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Virtualizing Work

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

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Handy Work Model Implications

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

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