Continuity and Change: The organizational review

Terry E. Shoup
Board of Governors

The Organizational Review that was done as part of ASME's Continuity and Change initiative will enable ASME to execute the strategy and vision advocated by the Board of Governors last November and facilitate the results of the initiative's other elements: the marketing study and the Balanced Scorecard.

Arthur D. Little was hired by ASME to conduct the organizational review. A.D. Little is the same firm that helped the Society develop the organizational review that was conducted in 1980.

In the current review, the firm worked with a team of key volunteers and staff throughout the course of the study. The study included a detailed assessment of the current organization as well as a facilitated approach to constructing the organizational design.

Constructing an effective organizational design has many challenges that range from building a credible case for change, to creating a new design that will enable day-to-day operations to continue during the transition from old to new, to retaining elements of the organization that work.

These challenges are amplified in consensus organizations, such as ASME, that rely on an effective and trusting relationship between volunteers and staff.

Fortunately, ASME's volunteer/staff relationship is healthy. This relationship is the foundation on which the present organizational design is built. And it will be the foundation upon which any future organizational designs will be built.

Assessment: The Case for Change
To be credible, a sound organizational design must be based on a valid assessment of the current organization.

A.D. Little conducted a detailed assessment based on interviews, surveys, focus groups, reviews of internal documents, benchmarking and analysis. The assessment considered 12 organizational elements in four categories and provided focus for the other components of the organizational study.

Not surprisingly, the results of the assessment aligned with results of the marketing study and Balanced Scorecard initiative. The assessment validated the perception that ASME is slow to adapt to trends in the environment that could threaten ASME's future.

The assessment, along with the input from the parallel studies, formed the roadmap for the organizational design concept that was presented to ASME's Board of Governors at its meeting on Nov. 16, 2003. The assessment called for ASME to: anticipate rapid technological advances; foster learning and increase market focus; encourage innovation and entrepreneurship; strengthen strategic partnerships and alliances; create/strengthen/sunset programs and processes; leverage our volunteer/staff partnership; and meet emerging needs of industry, government and academia.

ASME is a complex organization with many facets. The organizational design needs to address the issues that have been outlined while maintaining the high-quality products and services for which ASME is known.

Organizational Design Concept
What follows is a simplified overview of the Organizational Design. For more detail, visit the Web site www.asme.org/change.

The Organizational Design concept strikes a healthy balance between "bottom-up," self-directed activities along with "top-down" activity driven by the strategic prerogatives outlined by the Board of Governors. This is achieved with three fundamental elements: Knowledge and Technology Enterprises; Services; and Strategic Management.

Knowledge and Technology Enterprises — the Core of the Model
The Knowledge and Technology Enterprises box represents the core of ASME's activity. It is where volunteers and interested members meet, collaborate and conduct the business of the Society.

Communities and Gateways represent the meeting ground for members who are interested in any aspect of the Society's diverse fields of interest, ranging from geographical sections to technical divisions and chapters, to volunteers organizing and participating in conferences and other activities.

Communities will be supported through ASME.ORG with tools to facilitate their interest and level of involvement. Many new groups are anticipated along with the revitalization of existing ASME activity. All of this will be achieved through improved tools that will lessen bureaucracy and enhance the opportunity to form groups and conduct business.

This area will also contain centers where members and the Society can address areas of importance such as diversity and outreach and pre-college education.

Institutes represent the important activity that takes place in existing institutes, such as the International Gas Turbine Institute and the Continuing Education Institute. This area will also be the home for new and emerging activity that needs to be nurtured, including areas such as nanotechnology, homeland security, fuel cell/hydrogen and other emerging trends.

ASME's Codes and Standards program represents the longstanding and excellent work of ASME.

Accreditation and Certification represent a new area of growth and opportunity for ASME beyond Codes and Standards-related conformity assessment programs. Please read future issues of ASME NEWS for updates in this area.

Services — The Support System
The Services area is intended to provide high-quality and efficient services and support to the activity in the Enterprise group. Services range from marketing and sales to meeting management and publications.

The Strategic Management is the critical link between the Board of Governors and the operation. The strategic management area maintains external communications and relations along with issues identification and program assessment.

What's Next?
The concept presented here is being refined based on feedback and input from stakeholders throughout the organization. The Board of Governors will formally accept a refined model in March that will include a more detailed implementation plan.

For more information and to offer thoughts and input, visit www.asme.org/change.

Thomas G. Loughlin, managing director, Engineering, contributed to this story.

 

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