This document discusses reasons for success and failure in organizational design and change efforts. It provides 10 factors for success: 1) a clear focus on business results, 2) a winning strategy, 3) a compelling need for change, 4) clear change criteria, 5) distinguishing decision-driven from behavior-dependent change, 6) appropriate structure and systems changes, 7) relevant skills and resources, 8) engaged pivotal groups, 9) tight integration of initiatives, and 10) leader willingness to change. It also lists 7 common reasons for failure: 1) lack of communication on why change is needed, 2) differing agendas without proper communication, 3) insensitivity to those implementing change, 4) lack of leadership, 5) poor

1. SUCCESS AND FAILURES
IN ORGANIZATION DESIGN

2. ORGANIZATION
DESIGN
 Organization Design is a process for shaping the
way organizations are structured and run. It involves many
different aspects of life at work, including team formations,
shift patterns, lines of reporting, decision-making procedures,
communication channels, and more.
 In simple words, Organizational Design is the process of
designing, defining or adapting the organizational structure.

3. REASON FOR SUCCESS IN
ORGANIZATION 1. Clear performance focus
Success comes from a tight, clear connection between change
expectations and business results. Failures come when an organization
is overly focused on activities, skills and culture, or structural changes
without creating a tight linkage to business results.
 2. A winning strategy
Projects & organizations succeed when the strategies play to strengths.
Failure happens when there is an overestimation of strength(s) and/or
no ability to document concrete ‘wins.’
 3. A compelling and urgent case for change
Success happens because there is a widely accepted ‘felt’ need for
change. Failure occurs when there is no demonstrated commitment to
the need for change. There is no clear ‘pain’ for remaining in the status
quo.
 4. Specific change criteria
In successful efforts, the underlying performance criteria and change
requirements are clear, documented and not negotiable. If the ‘rules’
shift or evolve or can be negotiated, failure follows.

4.  5. Distinction between decision-driven and behavior-dependent change
Some change can be ‘decided’ – restructuring, purchases, hires/fires, etc. Other
change is ‘behavior-dependent’ – skills development, new processes,
implementing new accountabilities, etc. Organizations that over ‘decide’ and
under invest in ‘behavior’ changes fail.
 6. Structure and systems requirements
Structure and systems (particularly IT) changes may be required for change but
are almost always overused as either the answer or the excuse.
Overdependence on structure and systems results in confusion and sapped
energy, and is a great technique for stalling progress.
 7. Appropriate skills and resources
Successful change often demands new skills that are being created; requiring
some level of transition resources until new skills are fully functional. Lack of the
right talent (skills) and resources against an opportunity is certain failure; yet
organizations consistently repeat this shortcoming.
 8. Mobilized and engaged pivotal groups
Organizations that succeed tap critical internal influencers to champion the
change and actively engage staff in driving the change. Getting beyond basic
change rhetoric requires a compelling employee value proposition (“what’s in
this for me,”) achievable goals, tools and shared information.

5.  9. Tight integration and alignment of all initiatives
Major change inevitably requires dozens of initiatives (strategy projects,
re-engineering efforts, training, leadership development,
communications, technical redesign, new measurements, etc.). The
result is a massive integration challenge. Failure results from locally and
globally isolated projects, cross-project conflicts, resource competition,
and confusion as to how projects do or don’t relate.
 10. Leader ability and willingness to change
The ceiling on any attempt to change at the project, department or
organization level is set at the leaders’ willingness to embrace and
embody the change. Whatever behaviors individual project or leader
team members cannot adopt, become effectively impossible for the
organization.

6. REASON FOR FAILURE IN
ORGANISATION 1. Lack of Communication
No, it’s not that management fails to communicate what the change is or what it
should look like, but rather, they fail to communicate why the change is needed. The
reason why organizational failure occurs is because the case for making a change is
not adequately articulated to the troops, and therefore, is never fully embraced.
 2. Differing Agendas
Poor communication will have many children. One of those will be staff members
who resist the change due to ego and self-interest. Without a full understanding of
why a change is needed, some employees will be threatened by it and thus will
resist it out of perceived self-interest; they need to protect their little fiefdom.
 3. Insensitivity
Business It is a group of people united to create a desired, profitable result. Who is
tasked with implementing a change in that business? Yep, those same people.
If you want your team to buy into a change, then you need to make it in two ways:
First, to the extent possible, understand how important it is to involve, early on,
those who will be asked to implement the change. Get their thoughts and feedback.
Second, be sensitive to the fact that change is challenging and that it will cause
individual, personal stress.

7.  4. A Lack of Leadership
It is incumbent upon management to create an atmosphere where the troops
buy into the new corporate vision. But if employees feel alienated or otherwise
don’t trust their higher-ups, getting them to buy into any new direction will be
quite difficult.
 5. Poor Planning
Changing the direction of an organization requires forethought. If the change
is entered into willy-nilly, or too quickly, or without a proper plan, a likely
outcome will be a false start, resistance, and/or eventual failure.
 6. Lack of Commitment
If you really want to create a change in your organization, there has to be a
100% commitment on the part of the leadership. Once you have that, the
same commitment should be expected of everyone in the business. The
desired change must be considered a rule, not an option.
 7. Poor Processes
Finally, success will require that you give your team a means and process for
implementing the desired change; otherwise, their natural reaction to resist
will persist.
Author Rick Maurer puts it this way: Most people react to change by putting
up a wall of protection. It is the job of the leader in an organization to engage
with those people so they truly understand why the change is needed.