Hierarchical organization and the era of fading away
Hierarchical organization is the product of the era of scientific management, which began at the beginning of the twentieth century and widely recognized by enterprises. The form of the organization is like a pyramid. The hierarchical organization is based on centralization and division of labor, control and collaboration system, not only to ensure the high efficiency of the division of labor, but also the pursuit of centralized control system. This organizational model has outstanding advantages, at the same time, also has the inherent disadvantages.
Advantages of the hierarchical organization:
First, the scale efficiency is outstanding, high labor productivity;
Second, the structure is stable, hierarchical;
Third, the division of labor is clear, the responsibilities are clear;
Fourth, the external dependence is relatively small, the implementation of decision-making is strong;
Fifth, the talent is abundant, there are a large number of managers who are familiar with this management concept.
Fifth, there is a wealth of talent and a large number of managers who are familiar with this management concept.
This organizational model is particularly suitable for small varieties, large batches and high degree of standardization of product manufacturing. The typical representatives of this model to the extreme, such as Ford Motor, General Motors and Foxconn.
Disadvantages of hierarchical organization:
First, focus on vertical professional development, horizontal synergy mechanization;
Second, high standardization requirements, individual constraints, not conducive to the emancipation of individuality, the staff is more like a screw, the physical workers can still be accepted, but for the knowledge workers is a kind of suffering;
Third, the division of responsibilities on the
Third, the division of responsibilities between "internal affairs" and "external affairs" is clearly distinguishable;
Fourth, there are many levels of management, high management costs, long decision-making cycle, slow response to the market, easy to produce "only for the top not only the actual
Fourthly, many layers of management, high management costs, long decision-making cycle, slow response time to the market, easy to produce the problem of "only for the top and not for the real", only pay attention to the leadership idea, and pay insufficient attention to the actual situation and the actual needs;
Fifthly, the departments are working separately, and it is difficult to collaborate with the cross-departmental departments, and it is very difficult for them to cooperate with the multi-disciplines and flexibly respond to the changes.
In summary, a hierarchical organization is more rigid than flexible, more professional than synergistic.
In the era of mobile Internet, the conditions and theoretical foundations of the hierarchical organization have begun to shake, competition has intensified, customer demand has escalated, and knowledge workers have gradually become the mainstream of the enterprise only to maintain a high degree of sensitivity to external changes, and also to be able to have an organization, a system, and the flexibility to meet the market demand, in order to continue to survive, Obviously, this seems to be a simple requirement for the hierarchical organization is a difficult challenge to overcome. The organization is a difficult hurdle to cross, the transformation and upgrading of the organization is imperative.
Taking the bearing manufacturing enterprise as an example, the enterprise is the leading enterprise in the bearing industry, as a product of many years under the system, the characteristics of its hierarchical organizational model is obvious, in the middle of the rules and regulations, step by step production of products. However, with the changes in the market, personalized customization and the intensification of the demand for system solutions, from the point of view of the business model of the enterprise, the existence of two distinct modes, one is around the standard product (standard products) business model, emphasizing specialization, standardization and scale, planning; the other is around the customized products (non-standard products), emphasizing the quick, personalized, customized, small batch and dynamic extremely strong! , both models coexist and there is a market for both types of products. With the passage of time, non-standard products occupy an increasingly large proportion of the original applicable to the standard products of the sectional system of organization model appeared a variety of maladaptation, the organization responsible for the coordination of production and marketing within the department of the workload and the content of the work has increased dramatically, and in the original organizational model, based on the standard products of the business model has resulted in a large number of structural processes, inventory remains high, and the organization of the machine can not be stopped at all, in a "Drinking hemlock to quench thirst" business state, the imbalance between production and sales within the enterprise phenomenon is prominent, the original "planned economy" as the dominant sectional organizational structure, in the "market economy" in front of the In the face of "market economy", the original "planned economy"-led hierarchical organizational structure is not satisfactory, and the need to seek organizational change and top-level design is becoming more and more urgent. Under such circumstances, I was invited to act as a consultant for the company. However, the difficulty of promoting organizational change in such a situation is beyond words, and only those who have experienced it can know the sweetness and sourness of it.
Second, the networked market organization represents the mainstream direction of the future
In the Internet era, the hierarchical organizational model will evolve to what kind of organizational model? I think, in its place should be "networked market organizations", networked market organizations have the following new features to adapt to the times.
First, market-oriented, customer value as the core, this orientation must be implemented to the organization, and can not stay in the slogan and ideas, value and efficiency is the eternal theme of the organization, either to create a new customer value, or to create a new operational efficiency.
Second, the organization of networked, flexible resource integration, no fixed form, the evaluation criteria is the only , that is, how to create customer value faster and better.
Third, the team fights, the form of multi-variable, rapid resource aggregation and dispersion, strong purpose, high effectiveness.
Fourth, the existence of any organization within the team to performance evaluation, performance is the evaluation of its survival and development of the quasi-routine, no performance team there is no reason for existence.
Fifth, the rigid division of functions and flexible organizational synergies in the same, clear organizational boundaries, but the interface is rich, and there is no obstacle to mutual cooperation, there is very little worthless control links and unnecessary "traffic lights", the back office and the management of a large number of resources will be tilted to the front line.
"Networked market organization" and "controlled organization" as two different ways of resource integration, "controlled organization" key points are: responsibilities, budgets, plans, goals, layers of responsibility. The key points of "Controlled Hierarchical Organization" are: responsibility, budget, plan, target, hierarchy and standard, etc.; the key points of "Networked Marketing Organization" are: customer, collaboration, sharing, demand, team, task, flexibility and capability, etc. The differences between these two models are originated from the following. The differences between these two models stem from three core reasons.
First, the "power source" is different
The "power source" is shifted from internal to external, from "push" to "pull". The "power source" from internal to external, from relying on "push" to relying on "pull" change, from "administrative orders" to "customer advocacy" change, the power gradually from the leadership to the front line to change, to break the bottleneck of decision-making.
In the face of unlimited and changing market demand, even if the market is subdivided, a single, standard product has been unable to meet customer demand, the rigid "control-style organization" can only exacerbate the contradiction of structural surplus, but can not fundamentally alleviate the structural contradiction in the process of integration of the relationship between supply and demand. In the limited organizational capacity and unlimited customer demand between the expanding contradiction between the Internet era, innovation between the enterprise and the customer links between the way has become more and more important, "control-style organization" obviously can not well meet this requirement, self-indulgence can only be self-defeating in the market, and around the customer needs of the The "networked market organization" will gradually become the mainstream of the future with its flexible organization and market-oriented collaboration mechanism.
Second, the "evaluation of value" is different
"Evaluation of value" is shifting from "leadership" to "customer". The reason for the existence of any organization, team or individual is one and only one, that is, to create value, and the evaluation standard is only how much value has been created, how many problems have been solved, and how much improvement has been achieved, rather than how many products have been produced, how many things have been done, and how many documents have been prepared.
Employee value evaluation is broadly divided into two categories, one is how much contribution to the creation of value for the customer or how much customer value created, the other is how much preparation for the creation of future customer value, a clear guide, but also clear management ideas.
Third, the "outputs" are different
"Outputs" are changing from "standard products" to "non-standard products", from "standard products" to "non-standard products", from "standard products" to "non-standard products". "Marketing" change, the organization's internal function adjustment, the sales department will be replaced by the marketing department. For industrial products, the technical content of the marketing department personnel greatly increased, and for fast-moving consumer goods, the marketing department staff of the product brand planning capabilities will require higher. Enterprise outputs are also gradually transforming from low value-added standard products to high value-added non-standard products or systematic solutions. Value output becomes the core, the voice of the market will penetrate the organization, around the final output of the efforts will become the main theme of the work of all positions or departments.
Three, "open platform organization" instead of "closed bureaucratic organization"
Readers who have an understanding of organizational behavior will know that the bureaucratic organization is not a term full of pejorative connotations, but refers to the emphasis on vertical control of the organization.
First, rapid and unpredictable change;
second, increasing scale;
third, the complexity of modern technology;
and, third, the need for a new, more efficient, and more efficient bureaucracy. complexity;
and fourth, a new concept of power based on cooperation and reason.
In the face of the dynamically changing external environment of the Internet era, the closed bureaucratic organizational model, which emphasizes unity of government and neatness, is being replaced by an increasingly open organizational form.
"Closed" is the biggest feature of the bureaucratic organization, the main purpose of its organizational model is to contain the risk, rather than looking for opportunities, the organization is often internal iron plate, it is difficult to enter the external resources, even if the entry is difficult to digest, the enterprise to respond to the market demand is mainly rely on the internal resources of the self-circulation. This closed feature is not only in the integration of organizational resources closed, often lack of impact in business operations, personnel thinking and philosophy is even more closed characteristics, many outstanding talent in such organizations after a period of "training", gradually lost the perception of the market, good at dealing with internal relations, and lack of external
These are the first time I've ever seen a company like this one.
There is a strong relationship of dependence and subordination between superiors and subordinates, and loyalty is much more important than ability, and the handling of interpersonal relationships is an important indicator of key career matters such as promotion and salary increase. The company's business model is based on the idea that the company's business model is a "one size fits all" approach to business, and that the company's business model is a "one size fits all" approach to business, and that the company's business model is a "one size fits all" approach to business.
This kind of organization is an invisible "cage" for innovative talents and knowledge workers who advocate freedom and equality, and it is a repression of its human nature and constraints, but for people who are used to doing things by the book and good at interpersonal relationships, it's a rare "paradise". "We can't favor one over the other, we can't ignore the importance of rules because we emphasize innovation, and we can't belittle the value of interpersonal relationship because we emphasize freedom and equality. However, as an enterprise manager, interpersonal relationship should have degree, but innovation is endless, therefore, in the exploration of innovation, enterprises must be guaranteed in the organizational mechanism. From this point of view, the platform-type organization has a unique advantage.
The best example of a platform-based organization is undoubtedly Qingdao Haier. Haier's organization has formed a three-tier management body, respectively, the first line of management body, platform management body and strategic management body.
The first line of business mainly consists of R & D, production and marketing three types of business, this type of business directly facing the market, end-to-end to create user demand and value, classification is in accordance with the end-to-end process to carry out, in each of the major categories of business under the business will be divided into a number of small business, these business independent accounting, to fully stimulate the first line of business of the innovation and entrepreneurial passion. The platform management body mainly includes financial, strategy, corporate culture, human resources, supply chain and other platform type management body, this kind of management body division is based on its management function, in Haier internal called FU platform, each main function module is subdivided into different management body.
The platform management body is the resource platform, process platform and specialized service platform of the first-level management body.
The strategic management body mainly consists of Haier's top-level decision-makers led by Zhang Ruimin, whose mission is to create global user resources and realize the first competitiveness goal. Its main responsibilities are internally responsible for synergizing, operating and developing the operating body, and externally discovering new strategic opportunities. It is mainly responsible for formulating strategic directions, solving internal synergistic problems and discovering new market opportunities, and at the same time, allocating resources for the operating body to help the first-line operating body and the platform operating body to achieve their goals.
Haier especially emphasizes the need to connect the lines between the various levels of operation, that is, "vertical and horizontal connection". Vertical connectivity refers to linking the second and third levels of operation, the third level of operation should be integrated into the second level of operation, and the second level of operation should be integrated into the first level of operation; horizontal connectivity is to link employees and customers, the first level of operation needs to be rooted in the customer's soil. Combined with Haier's HOPE platform and COSMO platform, Haier will ultimately build into an open platform organization with a customer interaction platform, an internal creator platform, and an integrated global resource platform.
A classic case similar to Haier is GE, short for General Electric Company, founded by Thomas Edison in 1878, which had operations of $146.8 billion in 2013, a net profit of more than $13.6 billion, assets of $685.3 billion, and a workforce of about 300,000 employees, and ranked 24th among the world's Fortune 500 companies.
GE has operations and offices in more than 100 countries around the world, with businesses in plastics, medical systems, engines, transportation, power, lighting, information services, and financial services, among many other areas. It is one of the world's largest manufacturing companies, with the world's largest turnover and market capitalization in the manufacturing industry, and a 27.4-fold increase in company assets compared to 1981.
In 1981, when Jack Welch, GE's 8th president and chairman, took office, the company's total assets of $25 billion, annual profits of $1.5 billion, GE seems to be an enviable, financially healthy, normal operation of the company. However, in Jack Welch's view there are many problems, the most serious of which is the staff organization is bloated, complex management levels, too many levels, low flexibility, rigid bureaucratic atmosphere more headache for him. Bureaucracy devours the organization's sense of smell of change, it makes "GE put on cement shoes to compete with rivals race".
Jack Welch, from the beginning, has been committed to breaking down this bureaucracy and transforming GE into a truly borderless organization. Specific measures are to eliminate all the barriers between the various functional departments, engineering, production, marketing and other departments can be a free flow of completely transparent; integration of domestic and foreign business; the external walls down, so that suppliers and users become a single process of the composition of the department; down those not easily visible race and gender fences; the position of the team to the front of the individual to achieve "Work-Out" program, which promotes teamwork and team spirit. Ultimately, this differentiates GE from other large companies around the world.
Organizational model to open the "platform +" mode, the platform as a support, service and core operational management functions of the unit, to support the maximization of the efficiency of the value creation unit. The platform not only has the function of internal resource activation, but also has a strong ability to integrate external resources. Many people talk about platforms, will mention the organizational model of Haier, Ali and other enterprises, but the differences between platforms and platforms are often huge, even in the same field, due to the different business models, the knowledge and understanding of the platform is also different. Focusing here, in the B2B e-commerce market, there are several typical platform-type organizations, such as Ali Retail Tong, Jingdong Palm Treasure, and Zhongshang Huimin. Among them, Ali Retailtong adopts a model similar to Alibaba's, setting up its own stage and others singing, with a light-asset operation model, establishing a trading platform between manufacturers and small terminals, despite its heavy build-up of the Cainiao network, which is nothing more than a service for the trading platform; Jingdong's Palm Bao, with a model similar to Jingdong Mall's, adopts a self-owned logistics system and warehouse management system, with direct procurement of commodities from the self-supporting, which belongs to the Typical heavy asset operation mode; Zhongshang Huimin, targeting urban community supermarkets, focusing on urban community convenience stores, through a strong distribution capacity, to provide distribution services for urban community convenience stores. It can be seen that even in the same field, different positioning and business model, the definition of the platform is a huge difference.
Four, "convergent organic organization" instead of "discrete mechanical organization"
"Discrete mechanical organization" concept formed for a pharmaceutical company to do Management consulting process, the company is a listed company, after the listing of the enterprise's capital surplus, the enterprise is more bold in strategy, and constantly carry out vertical mergers and acquisitions, has acquired a number of upstream supplier enterprises (medical equipment, packaging materials, etc.), however, in the strategic analysis of the enterprise, found that a number of subsidiaries under the jurisdiction of the company to their own way, the lack of effective articulation and linkage between them, the parallel juxtaposition of branches, and even the lack of effective linkage between them, and the lack of effective linkage between them. The parallel juxtaposition of the branches, and even in the resources of each other to compete, the overall company did not form an effective system around a core, which is undoubtedly a great waste of resources, and does not achieve the original purpose of the merger and acquisition.
How should such an organization be adjusted? I think it must be towards the aggregation of organic organizations, it can be said that the integration of resources is easy to aggregation is difficult. When we look at the whole enterprise, especially the group type enterprise, not only if the organic, but also if the polymerization of organic organizations, this kind of reference, I think more suitable for this era.
This idea is put into the enterprise, we can understand it as the organization's operating efficiency, coincidentally, I do consulting services to a medium-sized truck manufacturing enterprises in the process of benchmarking research, but also once again verified the importance of the organization's operating ability. In Europe and the United States in the heavy truck business, can in the dramatic industry cycle fluctuations in more than 70 consecutive years of profitability of the enterprise only two: Parka and Scania. Further analysis reveals that these two companies have adopted completely different strategies, with Paccar's business strategy being a low-cost strategy of business specialization and efficient management. The "asset-light" model integrates industry chain resources and realizes "quick turnover", ensuring that the truck business maintains a gross profit margin of 12% to 14%. Scania, on the other hand, adopts a very different business strategy: a highly synergistic vertical integration strategy, which enables it to have the highest gross profit margin among mainstream heavy truck companies through industry chain integration synergies and differentiated products. Comparison reveals that although Paka and Scania have adopted completely different paths to success, the two companies share the same characteristic of efficient and synergistic internal operations. Obviously, if we can't operate efficiently within the company, how can we integrate resources and talk about organizational effectiveness?