“Why does your organisation look the way it does, and does it reflect the present most efficient structures and processes for your company’s activities, or are they only relics from the past?”
Our Perspective
Gradual adaptation to changes in the corporate internal and external environment is often desirable. An evolution of the corporate organization is often preferable, and the same goes for changes in the R&D organization. Drastic changes in the corporate R&D organization, which we usually call re-engineering as opposed to continual improvement, may sometimes be necessary but it is something that should, if possible, be avoided (Lager, 2010).
There are, however, unfortunately no such things as good or bad organizational solutions, but rather organizational solutions that have certain advantages but also some disadvantages. Depending on the organizational setting, what you would like to improve within your R&D organization, solutions that can be expected to deliver those outcomes are sought (Bergfors & Lager, 2011). The purpose of the R&D organization is to facilitate work – not to hinder it (e.g. functional silos). It is thus vitally important that selected solutions and changes are well accepted by the people who work in the organizations, and because of that it is advantageous if all employees actively participates in the organizational change process.