Shape of the Org Chart LO5829

John Zavacki (jzavacki@epix.net)
Sat, 24 Feb 1996 11:26:27 -0500

Replying to LO5784 --

Jan Lelie writes:

> Thank you for your reaction. I agree with your ideas. One question. You
> wrote:

> > The way we draw an organizational chart should mirror the way we
> > simulate a process: it should show all relationships with an eye towards
> > optimizing the overall functionality of the process, IF we intend to
> > improve the process. A functional organization chart once showed me that

> Why the if? Why written IF? What if we intend to improve the process but
> still draw a 'standard' functional chart? (I agree with you, but more
> often than not, my client (the manager who is going to pay the bill), who
> says he wants to improve their processes, start out by drawing the charts.
> Sometimes i said: "don't bother", but this seemes to disturb them.)

> Kind regards,
> Jan Lelie <100730.1213@compuserve.com>

The IF comes from my last corporate position. I was the Director of
Planning and Improvement and spent six months researching and developing
an organizational structure which would have given us an immensely
effective organization. The CEO pro-tem thought it a marvelous idea, the
time for which had not yet come. It still hasn't, and the company has
destroyed its relationships with some major (and wonderfully easy to work
with) customers. So my IF is not a fear, or a nervousness, or an
uncertainty, it's an admonition. Don't spend money talking about change
and the summum bonum unless you intend to deliver.

On the same topic, I recently completed an assignment with a firm that
knew it needed a quality system. Together we developed the documentation
and procedures for a thorough, but easy to manage system. Our work
uncovered inadequacies in the cost accounting system and a burning need
for more human resources in quality and engineering. After countless
hours trying to establish dialogue with the CEO, the staff, line
management, and I gave up and went to a fall-back position which is
suboptimal and increases consumer risk.

IF you don't want to do it right, don't get people's hopes up.

--
John Zavacki
The Wolff Group
900 James Avenue
Scranton, PA  18510
Phone: 717-346-1218  Fax: 717-346-1388
email: jzavacki@epix.net

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>