The Congruence Model

1. The Congruence Model

2. The Congruence Model • The critical first step to successfully lead large-scale organizational change is to understand the dynamics and the performance of the enterprise. • The tried and true managerial tricks do not always work. The new, a unique set of problems watched through the old, well-worn filters might leave the real issues undetected.

3. The Congruence Model • The congruence model is a useful tool that helps leaders fully grasp the interplay of social and technical forces that shape the performance of each organization. • It suggests that the starting point for analyzing organizational performance is to first understand the organization as a system. • The organization consists of a basic set of elements: input, strategy, output, and the transformation process.

4. Basic organizational components - Input • Three main categories of input: • The environment • Imposes demands • Imposes constraints • Provides opportunities • Resources • History (Ex.: Xerox)

5. Basic organizational components - Strategy & Output • Two levels of strategic questions: • Corporate strategy • Business strategy • Markets • Offerings • Competitive basis • Three levels of output: • The total system • Units within the system • Individuals

6. Basic organizational components - The organizational transformation process • The heart of the model • Four key components of the organization: • Work • People • Formal organizational arrangements • Informal organization

7. The concept of fit • The organization’s performance rests upon the alignment of the components (work, people, formal org., informal org.) • The tighter the fit - the greater the congruence, the higher the performance. • The interaction between each set of organizational components is more important than the components themselves. • Normally, managers only have to do the necessary adjustments, but some situations call for radical, large-scale change. (Ex.: Xerox)

8. Analyzing the organization’s problems • The congruence model gives a conceptual framework to solve the organization’s problems: • Identify the symptoms • Specify the input • Identify the input • Identify the problems • Describe the organizational components • Assess the congruence • Generate hypotheses about problem causes • Identify the action steps

9. Using the Congruence Model • Make sure the new strategy fits the organization’s resources and environment! • Be sure the strategy fits the formal structures, systems, and processes! • Constantly be on the lookout for inappropriate fit among all the internal components of the organization!

10. Give practical examples of how the manager can follow the 8 steps mentioned above to solve the organization’s problems!