Organizational Relationships

In the manufacturing age, the focus of most enterprises was on improving processes for competitive advantage. In the knowledge age, organizational improvement does not depend on processes - it depends on agility. Nothing fixed, like a process, can deliver agility; only people, using creativity, judgment and experience, can “make the rules by breaking the rules” to deliver that agility.

In an agile organization, the workforce is galvanized by a set of trust-based core principles and values. Knowledge-driven enterprises must tap into the power of their workforces to drive competitive advantage and continuous evolution. Respect, ownership and accountability are critical to build morale and spur innovation (Grigg & Gomolski, 2001).

Organizational competence is determined by the degree of alignment that exists between the enterprise and its workforce, its customers and its market. The focus of this portal is on capitalizing on organizational relationships.

Agile organizations revolve around relationships, as opposed to transactions.  There are three ways to identify a relationship-based enterprise:

1. Its guiding principles: Relationship-based enterprises revolve around trust and are inherently collaborative. Their values are rooted in respect, ownership, accountability, responsibility and integrity. These beliefs are deeply entrenched in the enterprise and are reflected in the way the organization and its workforce act. Relationship-based enterprises are known for putting their people and customers first, and for having an honest and direct style in terms of how they communicate (both internally and externally).

2. Its culture: Culture represents how the organization is viewed by the workforce. A relationship-based organization gets high marks from its people in terms of its core values, credibility, level of professionalism and ability to change effectively.

3. The motivation of its workforce: Relationship-based organizations are often distinguishable by the high morale, level of initiative and loyalty of their workforces. Not surprisingly, these employees tend to be extremely productive, working at 80 percent to 90 percent of their capacity at all times.

(Grigg & Gomolski, 2001)

The portal covers various topics in Organizational Relationships in two broad categories; Internal and External Relationships.

Topics covered in Internal Relationships include:

• Intra-Organizational Relationships
• Change Management
• Business - IT Alignment

Topics covered in External Relationships include:

• Customer Relationship Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Outsourcing