Why organisational development only makes sense when viewed holistically
Prinzipien und Muster der Soziokratischen Kreisorganisation in Bezug zu den sieben Wesenselementen nach Trigon©
Most changes in an organization start with an obvious problem. This is a good thing and makes perfect sense because this is where the energy and the will to change lie. Or, to put it another way: this is where the shoe pinches the most. But now comes the big BUT: an organization is a systemic structure consisting of seven elements. If one area is tweaked or changed, this inevitably has an impact on the other areas.
For example, a few weeks ago, we were asked by an SME with 300 employees to analyze and redefine its processes. We were very pleased to receive this inquiry. However, our response with initial ideas and sketches went far beyond process customization. Why is that the case?
We are happy to explain this with the help of the following list and the sketch above. As already mentioned, every organization consists of seven elements that always interact with each other:
- People & climate (social subsystem)
- Functions
- Structure
- Identity (cultural subsystem)
- Strategy
- Processes & procedures (technical, instrumental subsystem)
- Physical means
This means that if we only change the sixth screw, the processes and procedures, it will not work in the long term. This is because the processes have to do with the individual functions (no. 2), which need to be discussed and described anew, as well as with people & climate (no. 1), which now have new tasks and objectives, and possibly also with the physical resources (no. 7), because we still need to add new areas, etc.
If we only focus on the processes, we may be able to achieve a short-term improvement, but this is not at all sustainable and will not work. Because as you have already noticed above, we cannot adapt the processes without involving the functions and the people who carry out these functions and convincing them that this improvement makes sense.
And as you can see from the graphic, people and the climate are at the centre. If the employees, the heart of every company, do not understand the sense and necessity, they will never support this transformation. But if they do and put their hearts, minds and hands into it, everything will be easy and a great success.