Case Study The organization design of the Valves and Controls business unit of Tyco Flow Control had outlived its time. The company decided to focus its attention on its core customer groups and to organize by the key industry segments that purchased its products, such as the oil and gas, mining, and water and chemical industries. The challenge was to develop an integrated global organization that could work together across significant geographic boundaries rather than relying on a distant headquarters organization to make all decisions. With 8,000 employees in more than 300 global locations, this was no small feat. A core team was identified (including HR, OD, strategy and line leadership) to manage the organization design process, and a broader expanded team was created to make design decisions. The expanded team's members represented a diverse group of skills and backgrounds as well as layers across the hierarchy. This decision to include broad involvement in the design was intended to role model what was expected out of the organization in the end, namely the ability to work in a collaborative and matrixed environment. The expanded team made several early foundational design decisions and decided to increase involvement even more. In a 3-day organization design workshop, 75 employees debated design alternatives and models. They discussed sensitive subjects of authority, power, and control while avoiding moving forward with decisions that might be politically attractive but wrong for the company. New leaders were identified of the new units, and the units were staffed through an open process over the following months that matched employees to the skill needs of the roles rather than the leaders' personal preferences or friendships. Six months into the new design, leaders came together to share problems and challenges with the actual versus the imagined design. This allowed leaders to work out problems of power and governance between regional and global roles and to assess and adjust the design as appropriate. Several significant results were achieved in the 3 years since the initial design discussions took place. An important customer who had wanted a global contract for 5 years (but had never been able to get Tyco to accommodate them) finally was able to negotiate a global agreement. A global product roadmap was created. The new global manufacturing operations saw increased efficiencies in facilities usage. Perhaps the most lasting impact was the development of the leaders who participated in the design work. Through a collaborative process, leaders were involved in changes that affected them as they learned how to engage in the process of strategic redesign (Rice & Nash, 2011). Questions What are some of the special challenges in large-scale changes like this one? What practices made this organization design project a success?

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Organization culture and design intervention
Case Study
The organization design of the Valves and Controls business
unit of Tyco Flow Control had outlived its time. The company
decided to focus its attention on its core customer groups and
to organize by the key industry segments that purchased its
products, such as the oil and gas, mining, and water and
chemical industries. The challenge was to develop an
integrated global organization that could work together across
significant geographic boundaries rather than relying on a
distant headquarters organization to make all decisions. With
8,000 employees in more than 300 global locations, this was
no small feat. A core team was identified (including HR, OD,
strategy and line leadership) to manage the organization
design process, and a broader expanded team was created to
make design decisions. The expanded team's members
represented a diverse group of skills and backgrounds as well
as layers across the hierarchy. This decision to include broad
involvement in the design was intended to role model what
was expected out of the organization in the end, namely the
ability to work in a collaborative and matrixed environment.
The expanded team made several early foundational design
decisions and decided to increase involvement even more.
In a 3-day organization design workshop, 75 employees
debated design alternatives and models. They discussed
sensitive subjects of authority, power, and control while
avoiding moving forward with decisions that might be
politically attractive but wrong for the company. New leaders
were identified of the new units, and the units were staffed
through an open process over the following months that
matched employees to the skill needs of the roles rather than
the leaders' personal preferences or friendships. Six months
into the new design, leaders came together to share problems
and challenges with the actual versus the imagined design.
This allowed leaders to work out problems of power and
governance between regional and global roles and to assess
and adjust the design as appropriate.
Several significant results were achieved in the 3 years since
the initial design discussions took place. An important
customer who had wanted a global contract for 5 years (but
had never been able to get Tyco to accommodate them) finally
was able to negotiate a global agreement. A global product
roadmap was created. The new global manufacturing
operations saw increased efficiencies in facilities usage.
Perhaps the most lasting impact was the development of the
leaders who participated in the design work. Through a
collaborative process, leaders were involved in changes that
affected them as they learned how to engage in the process of
strategic redesign (Rice & Nash, 2011).
Questions
What are some of the special challenges in large-scale
changes like this one?
What practices made this organization design project a
success?
Transcribed Image Text:Organization culture and design intervention Case Study The organization design of the Valves and Controls business unit of Tyco Flow Control had outlived its time. The company decided to focus its attention on its core customer groups and to organize by the key industry segments that purchased its products, such as the oil and gas, mining, and water and chemical industries. The challenge was to develop an integrated global organization that could work together across significant geographic boundaries rather than relying on a distant headquarters organization to make all decisions. With 8,000 employees in more than 300 global locations, this was no small feat. A core team was identified (including HR, OD, strategy and line leadership) to manage the organization design process, and a broader expanded team was created to make design decisions. The expanded team's members represented a diverse group of skills and backgrounds as well as layers across the hierarchy. This decision to include broad involvement in the design was intended to role model what was expected out of the organization in the end, namely the ability to work in a collaborative and matrixed environment. The expanded team made several early foundational design decisions and decided to increase involvement even more. In a 3-day organization design workshop, 75 employees debated design alternatives and models. They discussed sensitive subjects of authority, power, and control while avoiding moving forward with decisions that might be politically attractive but wrong for the company. New leaders were identified of the new units, and the units were staffed through an open process over the following months that matched employees to the skill needs of the roles rather than the leaders' personal preferences or friendships. Six months into the new design, leaders came together to share problems and challenges with the actual versus the imagined design. This allowed leaders to work out problems of power and governance between regional and global roles and to assess and adjust the design as appropriate. Several significant results were achieved in the 3 years since the initial design discussions took place. An important customer who had wanted a global contract for 5 years (but had never been able to get Tyco to accommodate them) finally was able to negotiate a global agreement. A global product roadmap was created. The new global manufacturing operations saw increased efficiencies in facilities usage. Perhaps the most lasting impact was the development of the leaders who participated in the design work. Through a collaborative process, leaders were involved in changes that affected them as they learned how to engage in the process of strategic redesign (Rice & Nash, 2011). Questions What are some of the special challenges in large-scale changes like this one? What practices made this organization design project a success?
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