Advanced Organisation Design

What does this programme cover?
If you are a manager who becomes involved in planning, directing or supporting organisation change, you will have been frustrated by the lack of rigour and excessive politics in decisions about organisation structures, appointments and roles.

Organisation Design and Internal Collaboration will ease these frustrations. The programme is built round a rigorous framework for making organisation design decisions and for working on issues of internal collaboration. This is an opportunity to raise your skills in an area most companies under manage.

What will I learn?

• The process of organisation design - the steps of analysis, who should be involved, how long it should take, how changes should be communicated.
• The tools of organisation design work - organisation charts, a language of organisation roles and relationships, process engineering, the nine tests of good organisation design, job descriptions and job briefing.
• A framework for understanding internal collaboration.
• The behaviour disciplines needed for effective collaboration - identify stakeholders, define the shared prize, break large distant prizes down into smaller more immediate goals, build relationships, etc.

Who is it for?
The programme is suitable for HR professionals and OD specialists, especially those who are "business partners", working closely with a division or business unit. It is also suitable for line managers with organisation challenges. Finally, it is appropriate for consultants and other professionals whose work involves organisation change.

How will my business benefit?

• You will know how to lead an organisation project.
• You will be able to help your colleagues reduce politics and avoid inappropriate changes.
• You will be able to guide managers towards more effective collaborative relationships.

Programme Content

• A language for describing organisation roles and relationships
• Nine tests of good organisation design
• A process for managing an organisation design project
• The RAPID framework for analysing decision and allocating responsibilities
• Other tools of organisation design such as process engineering
• A framework for understanding collaborative relationships
• Seven behaviours needed to make collaborations work.

Programme Structure

This is a four day residential programme. The tools are presented to participants, then used on short exercises focused on participants' own organisations. The tools are then used again in a broader contect when participants are working on specific issues in their own organisations.

Syndicate groups are used to help participants distance themselves from their personal situations and learn about other organisations.

Action learning groups are used to help participants develop new perspectives on their current issues.

Each participant leaves with a tool kit and has access to a working website to help him or her after the programme.

The Ashridge team are available by email, telephone and in person to help participants when they are back at work.