Reorganisation
What triggers a reorganisation, its forms (restructuring, merger and acquisition, outsourcing, process reengineering, project mode), the four types of change, its impacts and the consultation of staff representatives.
- 26 cards
- 5 topics
- Free
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Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.
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Reorganisation: what is it?
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A change to the structure of a company: who does what, who reports to whom and how work flows from one department to another.
It can affect the organisation chart, the jobs, the processes or the tools; it works when it acts on several of these levels at once.
An insurance company merges its two regional sites into one and cuts 40 support jobs because its sales have been falling for three years. Which form of reorganisation is this most likely?
- A restructuring
- A process reengineering
- An outsourcing operation
- A merger and acquisition
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A restructuring
The trigger is a difficulty and the answer a consolidation with job cuts: that is a restructuring. No activity goes to a third party, no company buys another, and the processes are not redesigned.
The four types of change cross two criteria: the pace, … or abrupt, and how it is decided, … or negotiated.
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The four types of change cross two criteria: the pace, gradual or abrupt, and how it is decided, imposed or negotiated.
Gradual and negotiated gives continuous change, abrupt and negotiated gives proposed, abrupt and imposed gives directed, gradual and imposed gives organised.
Restructuring: what is it?
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A deep reorganisation decided to face a difficulty: site closures, services merged together, jobs cut.
It often answers a drop in activity and brings duties to inform and consult the staff representatives.
Six months after two departments merged, each keeps its own tools, procedures and its former de facto head. What is the likely cause, and what should be done?
- Only the organisation chart changed, not the processes or tools: unify procedures and tools and make clear who decides
- Employees lack motivation: replace the former de facto heads with outside hires
- The merger was a bad decision: go back to two separate departments as soon as possible
- Communication was too abundant: space out the messages to let the teams adapt
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Only the organisation chart changed, not the processes or tools: unify procedures and tools and make clear who decides
A line on the organisation chart does not change the real work. As long as processes, tools and responsibilities stay separate, both teams carry on as before.