Learn how to:

• Understand the theories and practical applications of organizational structure
• Work with your colleagues to select the right design team and cost effective approach to involving key stakeholders
• Develop the requirements for the design effort: principles, outcomes, and boundaries
• Link design to your organization’s strategy and value discipline
• Apply the nine tests of organizational design for a coherent approach to assessment and intervention

a) Introduction to Organization Design

According to academics Goold and Campbell, a good way to understand organizational design is to think of the human body. The basic skeleton represents the formal structure that allocates responsibilities to groupings and establishes reporting relationships; the connective tissue represents key linkages through which the units relate to one another; and the circulatory system represents the people and culture that bring the skeleton and tissue to life. All these elements comprise a healthy and effective organization. Working on the body of an organization, therefore, is not an ad hoc process but one that involves collaboration and a whole-systems perspective.

In this opening module, learn about:

• Gareth Morgan's six models of organizational structure
• Differences between mechanistic and organic structures, and the design challenges that each presents
• The relationship between environmental uncertainty and organizational structure

b) The Organization Design Workshop

A highly engaging half-day exercise will help you and your fellow participants get "real" about the pitfalls of poorly designed organizations and the challenges in determining the right fit for an enterprise's strategy. The workshop is designed to show how organizational structures enable or prevent information flow, responsiveness, and innovation.

You will play a role as top executive, middle manager, worker, or customer interacting in a fast-paced environment. Apply and discuss practical strategic frameworks, based on the work of Barry Oshry, that will help you connect the experience to your own organization.

c) Building a Model

Good design shapes the right behaviour, facilitates the right pattern of information processing, and achieves benefits of scale. Using the work of Nadler, Tushman, and Galbraith and a variety of case studies as a foundation, you will learn more about three key elements of design:

• Groupings: Do you group functions, positions, and individuals by activity, output, customer, or a combination? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option?
• Linkages: What are the formal and informal mechanisms that encourage information flow among disparate groups? What are the consequences of these linking mechanisms?
• Processes and Systems: In what ways are groupings and linkages supported or undermined by an organization's strategic, business, and support management practices? Are they creating the necessary alignment of these practices?

d) Diagnosing the Issue

Even before you get down to the nitty gritty work, you will need to determine the extent of the design initiative, and how narrow or broad it must be. Looking at your own organization, is there a need to modify structural elements, such as reporting relationships and groupings, or can informal means—clarifying values or norms of conduct—achieve the same ends?

Learn Goold and Campbell's nine tests of good design to help you answer that question and identify the bedrock issues that must be addressed. Apply these tests to a case study of a company that underwent a radical redesign of operations to create a "spaghetti" organization.

e) Following a Design Roadmap

A core element of all of our organization effectiveness programs is grounding in proper process. During this program, learn the 4-D design process.

• Define: Determine the precipitating need, who must be involved, and the roadmap going forward.
• Discover: Determine design criteria and issues.
• Design: Establish groupings, linkages, processes; create and test straw models; decide on the right design.
• Do: Create the implementation teams and a roll-out schedule, and define who will do what work.

You will see how the entire process works by exploring the life cycle of a major redesign initiative. And to make the process easy to execute, you will be given tools such as a stakeholder map and involvement scale, a design criteria template, a guide showing how to link design to your organization's strategic focus, and job descriptions for design team members.

Interactive learning

Participate in a dynamic organizational design “lab” to experience reorganization from a number of perspectives.

Takeaways

• Designing Organizations Toolkit

Organizational benefits

• Significant savings in bringing the design creation process in-house
• Successful restructuring based on a proven process and rigorous tools
• Structures and groupings that ensure the right work is done by the right people
• Wide-scale alignment of goals and actions

This program has been designed for people management practitioners, team leaders, and external and internal consultants who are involved in the analysis of organizational or divisional structure, or those managers looking to leverage structure-related benefits from a merger or acquisition.

Job titles and organizations of some recent attendees:

• Special Project Manager & Executive Assistant, Ontario Ministry of Revenue
• Section Manager, Bell Canada
• Senior Analyst, Public Works and Government Services Canada
• HR Manager Sales/Marketing, RIM
• Director of Residence Life, Queen's University
• Director - Talent Management, Ontario Power Generation
• Director, Employee Relations, Ontario Ministry of Government Services
• SVP Human Resources, MDS Diagnostics
• Senior Project Manager, Ontario Ministry of Labour
• Human Resources Manager, Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal
• Senior Human Resources Consultant, Ontario Ministry Of Finance
• Team Lead, Ministry of Finance - Corporate & Quality Services
• Business Manager, LYT Investment Inc.
• Channel Marketing Manager, Rogers Wireless Partnership
• Director, Steacie Institute for Molecular Science-NRC, National Research Council Canada
• Senior Technology Programs Advisor, National Defence
• Head, Human Resources, CIBA Vision Canada Inc.
• Consultant, Groupe Conseil Proxima
• Human Resource Business Advisor, Petro Canada
• Director of Health Protection and Clinical Services, Thunder Bay District Health Unit
• Manager, Human Resources, Town Of Richmond Hill Corporation
• Owner, Navigating White Water Consulting Services
• Director, Organizational Development, Assumption Life
• Director, Special Projects, McCarthy Tetrault
• Director, Human Resources, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
• Human Resources Manager, The Law Society of Upper Canada - Osgoode Hall
• Administrative Services, Canada Ontario Business Service Centre

Brenda Barker Scott

Brenda Barker Scott has extensive experience in all aspects of organizational development acquired over a twenty-year career in teaching and consulting. When working with leadership teams she combines strong theoretical knowledge with practical methodologies to ensure that the right people are engaged in the right conversations to design robust and workable solutions.

Brenda is an instructor on a number of the Queen's IRC programs including Building Smart Teams, Organization Development Foundations, Organizational Design and Organization Learning. A frequent presenter, Brenda has been a keynote speaker for the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Conference Board of Canada, the Human Resources Planners Association of Ontario and the Canadian Institute for Health Research.

Brenda is co-author of Building Smart Teams: A Roadmap to High Performance. She is a graduate of Queen's University and lives in Kingston with her husband and two sons.

Brenda presents at the following IRC program(s): OD Foundations, Organizational Design, Organizational Learning, Building Smart Teams

Wynne Chisholm

Wynne Chisholm is a seasoned executive, entrepreneur and change agent. Wynne leads the management consultancy firm, Wynne Chisholm & Associates, and has worked with business leaders in North America, UK, and Netherlands to achieve stronger and more sustainable business results. Service areas include strategic planning, organization design, executive coaching, meeting design and facilitation, and organization effectiveness.

Wynne's practitioner experience is substantial. She was vice president, human resources (and administration) for Trizec Properties Ltd. and held HR management positions at North Canadian Oils, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, and Credit Union Central of Alberta.

Wynne is a life member of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants, a Certified Human Resources Professional, and a Director of the Board of the Calgary Stampede. more...

David Weiss

David Weiss is president & CEO of Weiss International Ltd. David and his team of learning and organizational consultants lead innovative consulting and training projects that generate effective strategy, leadership, innovation, and HR solutions for leaders and employees throughout North America and Europe. He also is a highly sought after keynote speaker at conferences throughout the world.

Some of his most recent projects include facilitating strategic planning and team building sessions, developing the Leadership Excellence learning curriculum, identifying organizational designs to enable strategy to occur, enhancing employee engagement and team alignment, and coaching leaders and facilitating their development.

David is very committed to, and involved with, continuing education through major universities. He is an affiliate professor of the Rotman School of Management, a senior research fellow of Queen's University and a guest faculty member for the Schulich School of Business and the University College of Cayman Islands. He also is a member of the advisory board of the Canadian Society for Learning and Development and an Institute Certified Director (ICD.D) with the Institute of Corporate Directors. He also is a Senior HR Professional (SHRP) with the HRPA and a Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP) with CSTD. more...

Toronto: The Old Mill Inn (Mar 27-29, 2012)

Queen's University IRC is proud to present this program at The Old Mill Inn, located at 21 Old Mill Road, Toronto. Please contact the Inn directly for rate information and to book your accommodation. Phone 1-866-653-6455 or visit the Inn's web site at http://oldmilltoronto.com/index.php

Banff: The Banff Centre (Oct 30-Nov 01, 2012)

Queen's University IRC is pleased to present this program at The Banff Centre. The facility is located at 107 Tunnel Mountain Drive in Banff, Alberta. For your comfort and convenience, book your accommodations at The Banff Centre by calling (toll-free in Canada and the U.S.) 1-800-884-7574. For more information, go to: http://www.banffcentre.ca/