Thursday, October 30, 2020 at 10 am Eastern Time (2pm GMT)
Many leaders believe that the level of internal complexity is too high and would like to simplify their organization. But before we can simplify, we need to identify the sources of complexity. In this webinar, Prof. Nicolay Worren will briefly review three perspectives, all rooted in systems theory, that point to different sources of complexity: Conflicting goals and functions, lack of alignment between the work processes and the formal structure, and an inappropriate number of management layers. Methods for mapping complexity will be demonstrated by the use of simplified examples/cases. Alternative strategies for simplification will then be discussed.
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Objectives:
- Present a systems approach for understanding organizational complexity.
- Demonstrate some practical tools (including software) that can be used to map the current level of complexity.
- Discuss how analyses of these data can be the starting point for efforts at simplifying the organizational structure.
- Share references to relevant literature for those who would like to delve further into the topic.
Introduction of the Speaker:
Nicolay Worren is an associate professor in the School of Economics and Business at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. He is also the co-founder of Reconfig, a firm that develops organization design software. Prof. Worren holds a master’s degree from McGill University and received his doctorate from Oxford University. Before entering academia in 2015, he worked as a management consultant for 18 years, and participated in more than 25 organization re-design projects for clients in multiple sectors, including engineering, IT, and consumer goods, and in the public sector. In 2019, he taught course modules on organization design at business schools in four different countries. He is the author of Organization Design: Simplifying Complex Systems, published by Routledge in 2018, and also writes a blog: www.organizationdesign.net
