Organization design using SD

[Bill Harris]

rahmanra@ind.sharif.ac.ir wrote:

> Involved in the process of designing a research organization, we want to base
> the process initially on SD to investigate and design growth and learning
> feedbacks for the system, before planning the physical organization.
> I am looking for resources discussing this approach in the design of a system.

Hazhir

Whats worked for me is to define my goals for the organization, lay
out a high level strategic model that can achieve such a goal, and use
the information paths that were necessary for the models success as
templates for the information paths in the real organization. When I
have had to deviate due to real-world constraints, Ive on occasion
gone back to the model to verify that the changes still worked in the
model context.

In a bit more detail, Ive treated the organization as the "plant" and
the information systems (manual or automated) as the feedback in a
control theory sense.

Of course, you start with the organizations objective and, if you are
correcting an existing problem, the picture of the existing problem.
Lay out the flow of work product as a stock and flow. If you are
fixing an existing problem, do all the usual stuff of verifying the
model can exhibit the problem behavior. If you are starting from
scratch, you may not yet be able to execute more than a stable flow
through the process, as the feedback is largely missing.

Then look for what seems like sensible information feedback paths.
Add them to the model and see if you get the behavior you want. If
you do, see if the model is realizable. If not, iterate on the
feedback or the "plant" until you succeed.

In my experience, a key benefit is a better linkage of the information
fed back to the goals of the organization. The informal "Its obvious
we need to measure X, Y, and Z" is replaced with "The system doesnt
care whether we measure X or Y or not. It works well enough if we
only measure and make decisions based on Z, but we have to do that at
least monthly [or whatever] or we get instability."

Hope this helps.

Bill
From: Bill Harris <bill_harris@facilitatedsystems.com>
--
Bill Harris 3217 102nd Place SE
Facilitated Systems Everett, WA 98208 USA
http://facilitatedsystems.com phone: +1 425 338-0512

[Alexander F Leus Jr]

Hi rahmanra,
For designing an organization from the beginning I am suggesting an eight step
process. 1. You may model the interrelationships between and within the
processes. This maybe SD or you can start out by doing basic flow charts. In
other words model the work flow and establish measures within the process and at
the end. 2. Put together a decision grid that covers who approves what, who offers
input etc, 3. look at team work design and shared objectives. 4. Write Job
Descriptions. 5. detemine Pivotal Job Design, who is close to the customer etc.
6. Put together detailed design of organization from the preceding steps. 7.
Final resource analysis, cost and personnel savings and 8. Key differences
between detailed organization and current design, look at new mental models
needed, skills etc.

If you are interested in this approach let me know and I will send more detailed
info to you.
sincerly,
alex

leusa@dteenergy.com
313-235-6538

[rahmanra@ind.sharif.ac.ir]

Dear friends

Involved in the process of designing a research organization, we want to base
the process initially on SD to investigate and design growth and learning
feedbacks for the system, before planning the physical organization.
I am looking for resources discussing this approach in the design of a system.
I think this is something like the underlying provcess which has led to Prof.
Forresters " A new corporate design".
I highly appreciate your guiding me with any suggestion, resource or comment.

Best Regards

Hazhir Rahmandad
rahmanra@ind.sharif.ac.ir
Industrial Engineering Department,
Sharif University of Technology

[Alan Graham]

3 suggestions:

There has been an ongoing stream of work for the London Underground which
has guided their reorganization and privatization. The methodology is quite
general (which is why I suggest it for R&D), starting with qualitative
reasoning based on the causal diagramming. Subsequent simulations tested
alternative organizations and measurement and incentive systems. The
methodology is described in the proceedings of the Systems Thinking In
Action Conference, 1998 from Pegasus Systems, talk B01 "Gaining Strategic
Leverage at London Underground" by Martin Callaghan and Rick Park. More
recent published work reports focus on asset management--not as relevant to
R&D. Much the same methodology has been applied to issues surrounding how
to organize aircraft development, where much of the performance revolves
around who learns what when.

The original work in the field: Ed Roberts thesis work at MIT, published I
believe as "Dynamics of Research and Development"

Not system dynamics, but very systematic and a classic: a book by a former
Bell Labs manager titled "Organizing for Innovation."

cheers,

alan


Alan K. Graham, Ph.D.
Pugh Roberts Associates, a Division of PA Consulting Group

Alan.Graham@PA-Consulting.com
(US) 617 - 864 - 8880, x230, Fax 617 - 864 - 8884
41 William Linskey Way, Cambridge, Mass. 02142 USA

http://www.strategicsimulation.com/
http://www.pa-consulting.com/about/serv ... s_mod.html
http://www.pa-consulting.com/about/serv ... /proj.html