Page 70 - Managing Change in Organizations

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The value-added organization

Figure 3.3 Traditional depiction of organization

Increasingly, managers recognized the problems referred to above, and, in par-
ticular, problems of change. This led many to complement ‘top-down’ models of
change with ‘bottom-up’ models seen by some as particularly relevant in the field
of implementation. But both are ‘vertical’ models, i.e. the focus is on how the
organization arranges its internal affairs, how authority is used, how information
is transmitted.
If the concern is to create change designed to ensure value added for customers
and clients, the pyramid needs to be rethought because value added for cus-
tomers flows horizontally (see Figure 3.4).
This led many to ask how it was that we could think through the management
of change without thinking horizontally. From this some immediately reject the
inverted pyramid shown in Figure 3.5 in favour of depictions such as those set
out in Figure 3.6.
In both of these depictions the focus is on how or whether value is added
either to internal or external ‘customers’.
Many now conclude that we are in the midst of a paradigm or mind-set change
regarding views on how to organize economic activity. New forms of organiza-
tion are increasingly discussed and/or applied. Networks, virtual organizations

Value
added

Figure 3.4 Value added

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