Increasingly, companies are spreading “knowledge work” tasks – such as research and product development – overseas as a means to increase competitiveness, reduce costs, access new talent pools and establish a presence in emerging markets. Yet many struggle to achieve the performance to which they aspire.
This paper describes how a structured approach for understanding the link between decision-making (how work is governed) and workflow (how work is organized) can help global businesses structure their organizations effectively for knowledge work. We propose a typology of organization models comprising two dimensions: the degree of workflow across locations and the structure of decision-making responsibilities. We also present several case studies that depict organizations at different points in their journeys.
The framework we present can serve as a starting point for you to understand how strategic choices between the structures of your organization’s decision-making and workflow can help you address organizational design questions and, ultimately, achieve more positive outcomes in your global knowledge-work initiatives.
Authors: Bhushan Sethi, Frederick D. Miller, Vivek Sethia
Source: Deloitte
Subjects: International, Knowledge Management
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