In response to competitive pressures, a growing number of corporate managers dismantling organizations and cultures, which were built on particular products and replacing them with new structures to be more responsive to customer needs. The impetus for restructuring around customers more than a new management fad. It is supported by the success stories of the company, including IBM, Cummins India, Fidelity Investments, and Imation. Companies are moving from products targeted at a customer-centered organizations progress along the continuum. They begin with an informal coordination to overcome the shortcomings of the product or functional silos, adding integration features (such as key management and customer segment, task forces) as necessary. Market logic is client-oriented often convincing. In surveying 347 companies, the author discovered that companies that have adopted this approach saw responsibility for improving customer relations and customer information was more readily shared. These companies were also easier to do business, according to customers. However, the author found that the transformation of the product at the center of a culture can be difficult and that the potential benefits do not necessarily lead to high performance. "Hide
by George Day Source: MIT Sloan Management Review 11 pages. Publication Date: 01 Oct 2006. Prod. #: SMR223-PDF-ENG
Related Case Solutions & Analyses:
Can You Measure Leadership
Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Brazil: Corporate Transformation (B)
PTC: Launching an Entirely New Product Platform
U.S. Food Aid: Cash or Commodities
Convertible Bonds of Countrywide Financial Corporation
Core Objectives: Clarity in Designing Strategy
VendQuest (B): Building the Management Team
ABB (A): The Barnevik Era (1988-2001)
Professional Services Module One: Introduction to the Challenges Facing PSFs
Making the Tough Team Call (A)
