Cisco Systems (2001): Building and Sustaining a Customer-Centric Culture Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Customer focus has been an important part of the culture at Cisco Systems since its inception. While part of this is due to the values established by the founders and subsequent management is saved, it is also closely intertwined with its institutional architecture, which confirmed these values. Until 2001, Cisco has a decentralized organizational structure with three business units organized around each of the three main types of clients: Service Provider, Enterprise and commercial. Each unit is designed and marketed a full range of products for specific customer groups further confirming their faith in the central of different clients. A number of other systems, structures and behavioral mechanisms have confirmed the importance of customer focus. In 2001, the market downturn, however, brought new challenges as Cisco had to lay off 18% of its staff and to review its organizational structure, which was costly due to duplication of the activities of each of the three customer business units. In the end, Cisco Systems decided to transform the company from a decentralized to a centralized organization. Recognizing that a centralized, functional structure was needed to avoid layoffs products and resources, it also threatened to Cisco, client-orientation in that centralization R & D and marketing has made them more distant from customers Cisco. To overcome the perceived imbalance between its structure and culture, Cisco introduced a number of initiatives as customer Focus (CFI), to ensure that while the structure, turning from customer focus, beliefs and actions of the employees claimed that focus. At the same time, management has made the probability of displacement between its structure and culture, and to find ways to compensate for this perceived gap. "Hide
by Ranjay Gulati Source: HBS 21 pages. Publication Date: 06 January 2009. Prod. #: 409061-PDF-ENG