Strategic Organization

Poised on the eve of the next century, we are witnessing a profound transformation in the very nature of our business organization. Historic forces have converged to fundamentally reshape thescope, strategies, and structures of large, multi-business enterprises.

Ihe Organization of the Future:

Strategic Imperatives and Core Competencies for the 21st Century

DAVID A. NADLER MICHAEL L. TUSHMAN

P

oised on the eve of the next century, we are witnessing a profound transformation in the very nature of our business organizations. Historic forces have converged to fundamentally reshape the scope, strategies, and structures of large, multi-business enterprises. Driven by new competitive demands and fueled by an abundance of capital, companies have massively rearranged their portfolios, adding and discarding businesses to sharpen their strategic focus. Those discreet and dramatic portfolio plays, characterized by the high-profile mergers and acquisitions of the past three years, have provided a constant flow of front page news. But beyond the headlines lies a more subtle story, one with greater longterm significance than the acquisitive appetites of auto makers and telecom giants. Heading into the new century, the most important business development is the pursuit of competitive advantage in an uncertain world through new approaches to organization design. These new approaches should lead those of us concerned with the theory and practice of organizational design to reconsider those

ideas still grounded in the post-War, preIntemet world that lasted through the 1980s. As this remarkable decade draws to a close, it's appropriate to reflect on the state of organization design and to distill those timeless ideas that will guide us in designing the effective organization of the future. Our purpose here is first to present our perspectives on the most relevant lessons of organization design. We'll then examine the challenges of the new environment and their...