People and Structure:A Model for Sustainable Innovation

Organization can be viewed as value-delivery networks and structure as a vital resource. While companies might have an intended strategy, the strategy that actually emerges can be very different. This happens because there are forces that shape strategy in unintended ways and one of the key forces is people and structure. It represents an important building block because it is the actual collectivism of commitment and their relationship; the processes and its direction, which propel an organization. Manpower without 'structure' rarely delivers. A guiding structure is required which is more informal and flexible rather than formal and rigid.

In traditional organizations, the employees and moreover the management and directors were far less multi-cultured. They were less gender-mixed. The organizations were run more by positional authority; people knew their places and compliance was often gained by reminding them of their places. Very few ever questioned the wisdom of decisions or the authorities making them. The structure was simpler. The problems were more easily defined and the confidence that our formal leaders would do the right thing was higher. In this seamless, borderless world there is little opportunity to reflect on and integrate different points of view; therefore it requires structures and systems, which enable organizations to enhance their company's potential.

In other words, it is imperative that 'structure' should form a vital part of strategy planning and not only implementation. Maximizing your company's potential-and ultimately your results-depends on accelerating the alignment of organizational models and people. Organizational growth and success requires that people with the right profile and motivation find your company to be an environment that is conductive to flawless execution. The knowledge and expertise of people are the key resources for growth. In the new millennium, competitive advantage will flow from the creation of value, which leads, to knowledge-not from its appropriation from rivals.