Leveraging Processes for Strategic Advantage

Reengineering efforts are sweeping the country as companies shift from purely functional organizations to those that better accommodate horizontal work flows. Broad, crosscutting processes such as product development and order fulfillment have become the new organizational building blocks, replacing narrowly focused departments and functions. Managers, in turn, have begun to develop new ways of working. But much remains to be learned about how these new organizations are crafted and led. The critical questions involve strategy and management practice. Which strategic purposes are best served by processes? How do the roles and responsibilities of senior managers change in these new organizations? What skills are required to manage through processes?