Programme overview
Technical depth: Conceptual · Practical mode: Case study
Introduction
Restructures are among the most expensive decisions a leadership team makes, yet many redraw reporting lines without first defining what the structure must achieve. The result is duplicated functions, slow decisions and accountability gaps that reappear after the next reorganisation. This Core Concept course equips executives to commission, judge and approve a structure review using recognised design models and governance principles. Working through cases from several sectors, participants leave with a Structure Review Recommendation for their own organisation, setting out design criteria, options, decision rights and a transition approach.
Course Objectives
- Diagnose whether structural symptoms in an organisation stem from strategy, structure, process or people misalignment
- Evaluate structural archetypes and design principles against the strategy the organisation must deliver
- Judge alternative structure options against explicit design criteria and governance principles
- Allocate decision rights and accountabilities between the corporate centre, business units and functions
- Anticipate the cost, culture and transition risks of a restructure and set the oversight to manage them
- Present a Structure Review Recommendation that a board or executive committee can decide on
Target Audience
- Executives accountable for the structure and performance of a business unit, division or agency
- Senior HR and organisational development leaders advising executive committees on restructures
- Senior leaders responsible for strategy execution and transformation portfolios
- Senior operations leaders deciding how functions, sites and teams are organised
- Board and executive committee members who approve and oversee major reorganisations
- Senior finance leaders assessing the cost and control implications of structural change
Course Outline
Day 1: The Case for a Structure Review
- Structural Symptoms: Duplication, Slow Decisions and Unclear Accountability
- Strategy-to-Structure Alignment Using the Galbraith Star Model
- Diagnostic Evidence from Leadership Interviews and Pulse Surveys
- Spans and Layers Benchmark Interpretation
- Design Criteria Derived from Strategic Priorities
Day 2: Design Models and Governance Principles
- Mintzberg’s Organisational Configurations
- Structural Archetypes: Functional, Divisional, Matrix and Network
- Goold and Campbell’s Nine Design Tests
- ISO 37000 Governance Principles for Accountability and Oversight
- Corporate Centre Roles Using the Parenting Styles Framework
Day 3: Judging Structure Options
- Options Appraisal Matrix Scored Against Design Criteria
- Decision Rights Allocation with the RAPID Framework
- Leadership Accountability Mapping with RACI
- Headcount and Management Cost Impact Review
- Human Capital Metrics for Design Decisions Using ISO 30414
Day 4: Risks, Trade-offs and Transition
- Restructuring Risk Oversight Aligned to ISO 31000
- Matrix Failure Modes and Interface Management Mechanisms
- Informal Network Impact Using Organisational Network Analysis
- Transition Options: Big-Bang, Phased and Pilot Implementation
- Post-Implementation Structure Review and Benefits Tracking
Day 5: Case Work and the Structure Review Recommendation
- Diversified Group Case Study: Rebalancing Centre and Business Unit Roles
- Public Agency Merger Case Study: Consolidating Duplicated Functions
- Design Criteria Scorecard Applied to the Participant’s Organisation
- Structure Review Recommendation Drafting
- Executive Panel Challenge and Recommendation Defence
Skills You Will Gain
- Organisational Alignment Analysis
- Design Criteria Definition
- Structural Options Appraisal
- Decision Rights Design
- Governance Oversight
- Workforce Impact Judgement
- Restructuring Risk Oversight
Why Attend This Course
- Return to work with a Structure Review Recommendation for your own organisation, tested before an executive panel
- Ask the questions that expose a restructure built on reporting lines rather than on strategy
- Hold consultants and internal teams to explicit design criteria when they propose a new structure
- Compare structural choices with senior leaders from other sectors and countries
Conclusion
A structure is a means of executing strategy, and it succeeds only when design criteria, decision rights and accountabilities are clear before the organisation chart is drawn. This course moves from diagnosing structural symptoms, through the principal design models and governance principles, to judging options and overseeing the risks of transition. The final day turns that judgement into a Structure Review Recommendation that participants take back to their board or executive committee as a defensible basis for decision.