In this article we will discuss about hardware and software restructuring of a company.
Hardware Restructuring:
This involves redefining, dismantling, or modification of the existing structure of the organization.
The major areas of the ‘hardware’ restructuring are as follows:
1. Identification of Core Competency:
This involves a detailed analysis of the inherent strengths of the company in area vis-a-vis the competitors, as the competitors will not take long time to enter into the area of another weak competitor.
2. Flattening of Organizational Layer:
To have the desired responsiveness of the company towards company policies or strategies, the organizational layers should be as less as possible.
3. Downsizing:
Over the years many organizations have accumulated fat in terms of overstaffing. A lean organization is the need of the hour to stay competitive in the market.
4. Creation of Self-Directed Teams:
These teams should be such that they will not wait for the direction from the higher-ups. They will have a kind of autonomy in functioning.
5. Benchmarking:
This is a continuous process of measuring the products, services and business practices of a company against the toughest competitors or those companies recognized as the industry leaders. It is the search for industry best practices that lead to superior performance.
Software Restructuring:
This involves cultural and process changes required to create the more collaborative environment needed for the renewal and growth of the company.
1. Communication:
By creating transparency in the organization and convincing each employee about the need for the restructuring exercise the same can be carried out in an effective way otherwise it will run into all kinds of problems.
2. Organizational Support:
The vertical and horizontal relationships through coaching, guiding rather than control. Competition and contention is a must for renewal.
3. Trust:
It provides confidence necessary for someone to let go of the security of business as usual and take a leap in the belief that he will get a supportive hand in the organization.
4. Stretch:
Stretch is the liberating and energizing element of managerial context that raises individual aspiration levels and encourages people to lift their expectations of themselves and others.
5. Empowering People:
The top-down decision-making practice has to give way to ideas from the bottom and decentralized decision-making. Replace the very concept of orders from the top with ideas from the bottom.
6. Industry Foresight:
This is different from vision of the company. Vision is generally very narrowly held by one or two people and the rest of the organization has to carry it. Foresight comes from a lot of hard work to understand what is changing such as a technology, demographics, regulations etc.
7. Training:
To weed-out the outdated ideas from the minds of people, a continuous training program has to be adhered to.