David E. Birren asks a lot of the tough questions I have been working on
at my company now for more than 3 years. I will give a journeyman's
answer that is too short to be insightful but may prompt the study, work,
etc. necessary to discover the answers he wants.
" How can an organization identify those areas of integration that it most
needs to concentrate on, while not building barriers between those that
have "natural" connections? "
Any organizational structure sets up territorial boundaries. Because the
management hierarchy is (usually) vertical, the goals, the reward system,
and member loyalty, will be vertical. Something has to be changed that
allows the participants to align with work processes (the natural
connections).
"How can an organization be set up to promote both vertical and horizontal
integration?"
Logical processes have to be formally recognized, without regard for
organizational boundaries. Crossfunctional members must be retrained to a
goal and reward system that supports the process, without competing with
their 'home' division.
"Grouping functional subunits within a major division promotes
communication and shared work processes; how do we know which ones to put
together, and are we able to get the ones that aren't together to work
smoothly together when they need to? "
Put together a team of about 5 knowledgeable people, each from a key unit,
to discover the natural processes as they exist today. Start the analysis
at the highest organizational unit you intend to influence and name that
entity 'The Enterprise". The Enterprise has a mission and a vision,
hopefully written. If not write it. Use a structured analysis process to
disaggregate the Enterprise into logical processes (and sub-processes)
that accept input, add value and produce a product for a customer. as
chartered by the vision and mission. Consciously ignore all
organizational relationships during the analysis. Define quality
attributes for each product. Measure, report, improve.
'Or is the whole question conceptually irrelevant, depending completely on
the details of the situation (such as the ability to work in teams,
improve quality, empower staff and develop partnerships with
stakeholders)?"
It is only irrelevant if there is no business need and no will to change.
"I'd like to know, first, what people think about the idea that horizontal
integration is more difficult than vertical; ....."
Of course it is harder; but it doesn't matter. See previous question and
answer.
"....and second, whether there are models of organizations that might help
determine an approach to working through this on a practical level."
Business literature is full of examples. These should be studied to
understand how varied the solutions are. I don't think any particular
example is likely to be a good model for your enterprise, unless the
example is borrowed from another organization that was like yours, culture
and all. Your analysis will tell you what the right process definitions
are for your enterprise. There are as many approaches to choose from as
there are consultants & authors. Your question seems to anticipate that
reorganization is necessary for implementation. It is important to point
out that the process orientation is in a different domain from the
organizational view. Defining and aligning processes does not require any
reorganization, although this is what most participants expect and fear.
Paul Lindsey
Tracor Aerospace
PEL@eng2.tracor.com
(512)929-2815