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Organisation structures – a framework for thinking

Organisation structures are living organisms that grow, develop, mature, age and atrophy, and then start all over again, questioning its purpose, reinventing itself and evolving. Shani Naidoo shares eight truths that govern the life cycle of organisation structures.

by Shani Naidoo, MD - Group HR, Foschini

The copyright of this article belongs to Shani Naidoo.  None of the text may be used without the explicit permission by the author. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shani Naidoo has spent the last 20 years in Human Resource Practice. She joined the Foschini Group in 1990 and developed competence in Recruitment and Selection; Psychometrics; Counselling and Training and Development. She then joined BMW South Africa as GM Human Resources.  During her career she has led small, medium and large teams, worked across multi-level international and national organisations, and led projects from Performance Management to Remuneration and Transformation. She rejoined the Foschini Group in 2005 as GM of the HR Division and was appointed to the board as MD HR in 2006. She is known for her well-developed technical expertise in Human Resources, her vision in developing world-class solutions and pursuing a sound understanding of the business she works in to deliver these solutions. As a senior Industrial Psychologist, she mentors psychology internships candidates and continually pushes the boundaries of HR practice in business. Not willing to wait and see what business requires, her motto is to predict and develop solutions before it is needed in business.  She has served three years as the Chairperson of the Retailers’ Association, which is a body comprising large retailers in South Africa. Her work with the Retailers Association involves developing sound HR practice in retail, and engaging retail stakeholders on transforming business and HR policy.  For further information, please contact Shani  Naidoo at ShaniN@foschini.co.za .

This is not an article intended to address the best architecture for organisation structures, and neither is it about the key principles of organisation design. This is an article about the meta-thinking around organisation structure. It is about the stuff that goes on in the system, in which the structure lives, in the new organisation, in the mind of the architect, in the hearts of the people who inhabit the structure and the things that happen between the cracks.  And given that this is what this article is about, it cannot be exhaustive or comprehensive, it takes an aerial view of a fascinating subject, it is about the nexus between the individual and the organisational psychology, and it is about the organisational structure and its ability to regulate itself. It borrows from biology, from organisms in nature and applies some of this to the structures we create in our organisations.
                                                            
As a manager, the task of having to restructure your organisation is never easy. There are so many variables to consider and often when you are the manager or the HR manager in a new role you will find that there are more questions than answers even if your organisation has restructured before. The thoughts shared with you in this article come not only from experience in advising managers dealing with a restructure or a re-organisation situation, but also from experience restructuring my own organisation. 

Let’s take a closer look at the living organism we inhabit called the organisation structure created by us, impacted by us, shaped by us, and in turn, shaping us. Like living organisms, it starts off infantile and superficial, and if in a favourable environment, develops confidence and strength and is capable of producing great organisational impact. It matures and groans, it ages and atrophies, it’s alive and then it starts all over again, questioning its purpose, reinventing itself and evolving … It is a circle of life. 

So what are the truths governing the life cycle of organisation structures? What should be in the game plan and the mind of the architect of organisation structure?

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