Guidance note on
Organizational Design
“Organizational design is the process of aligning an organization's structure with its vision
and mission. This means looking at the complex relationship between tasks, workflows,
responsibilities and authorities, and making sure these all support the objectives of the
organizational strategy and mandate. In the context of enhanced UN Coherence,
Effectiveness, and Relevance it refers to the alignment of the various structural
arrangement of the UN system in country with the overall vision, mission and defined
development outcomes. “
NOTE:
1. This tool/guidance has been developed by the Global Change Management
Support Team under the guidance of the Inter-Agency Task Team for
Change Management. It has not been tested at the country level and there
are no examples of its application from any country office at this time.
2. Expert team to implement BPR with the help of UNCT guidance.
Table of Contents
1
2
3
Definition and Introduction ................................................................................................. 3
Objective of Guidance Note ............................................................................................... 5
Organizational Design related Practices ............................................................................ 6
3.1
Programme Coordination Groups (PCGs) and Thematic Groups .................................. 6
3.2
Dialogue Structures ...................................................................................................... 7
3.3
Networks / virtual functional clustering .......................................................................... 8
3.4
Functional Clustering / Co-location ............................................................................... 8
4
Key Organizational Design Principles ................................................................................ 9
4.1
Principles of the Accountable Organization ................................................................... 9
4.2
Principles of the Reconfigurable Organization............................................................. 10
4.3
Effective Delegation Principles .................................................................................... 11
4.4
Principles of Matrix Management ................................................................................ 12
1
Definition and Introduction
Organizational design is the process of aligning an organization's structure with its vision and
mission. This means looking at the complex relationship between tasks, workflows,
responsibilities and authorities, and making sure these all support the objectives of the
organizational strategy and mandate. In the context of enhanced UN Coherence, Effectiveness,
and Relevance (CER) it refers to the alignment of the various structural arrangement of the UN
system in country with the overall vision, mission and defined development outcomes.
Good organizational design helps communications, productivity, and innovation. It creates an
environment where people can work effectively.
Looking at the way much of the work, collaborative efforts and coordination is organized at the
inter-agency level highlights that the agencies and funds – when working together – to a large
degree rely on relatively flexible arrangements such as clusters, teams, and networks.
Within each agency or fund guidance on job descriptions, reporting lines, decision-making
authorities etc outline the key accountabilities of the organizations. In the realm of the interagency work much of the collaboration takes place between staff members who are primarily
accountable to their individual agencies or funds. Today most staff members are funded,
accountable and subject to performance assessments from one organization only. This may
change with time. Meanwhile, it poses real creative challenges when it comes to promoting
coherence and alignment of the UN system’s work behind a common vision or mission –
creative challenges which the UN system at the country level on a day-to-day basis are trying to
create practical solutions to. Solutions and practices which this Guidance Note – with time –
hopes to become the main repository for.
Most of the existing types of solutions and practices which will be elaborated on in this
Guidance Note relate to efficient and practical ways of organizing the interagency collaboration.
Few address the fundamentals such as the incentives for individual staff members, although
some do. A separate Guidance Note on Performance Management [link] has been included on
the toolkit to underscore the importance of integrating UN related results into the staff job
descriptions and performance management reviews – and through this provide staff with clear
support and incentives to dedicate substantial time and effort to work beyond their own
agencies and funds.
It should be mentioned that there is growing body of guidance around the established governing
bodies such as the UN Country Team (UNCT) and the Operations Management Team (OMT).
Dispute settlement mechanisms and Codes of Conducts are being introduced for the UNCT –
and various tools, such as the integrated business and operations strategy, are being developed
to help the UNCT better manage and oversee it priorities. Basic governance principles have
been provided also for the OMT. As material related these governing bodies is provided
elsewhere on the toolkit, this Guidance Note instead focus on ways to strengthen the less
formalized collaborative efforts.
2
Objective of Guidance Note
The objective of this Guidance Note is to support CER by helping improve the way we structure
and organize our work, whether it happens in the context of formal structures, matrixed teams,
theme groups, dialogue structures, networks, etc. To make this as practical as possible focus
will be on sharing:
-
existing organizational design-related practices of particular relevance to CER
key organizational design principles
3
Organizational Design related Practices
As mentioned above staff working on inter-agency efforts are usually reporting exclusively to
managers within their own agency or fund, i.e. within their own organizational structure.
Practically this means that a lot of the day-to-day inter-agency work relies on so-called overlay
structures such as coordination groups, thematic groups, working groups, etc. Whilst these
overlaying structures are commonly used within both all agencies and funds to complement the
primary structures they often become “primary” structures in the context of inter-agency work.
3.1 Programme Coordination Groups (PCGs) and Thematic Groups
The structure of PCGs and Thematic Groups are examples of overlay structures where the
members have dual accountability to 1) their respective Organization and 2) to the Programme
Coordination Group or Thematic Group.
PCGs help deliver programmatic results in a more coordinated and effective manner. PCGs aim
at enhancing efficiencies, improving coherence and reducing transaction costs for the UN
system and other stakeholders in the long run. The objectives of PCGs also include high quality
coordination, institutional learning (across Organizations) and staff development.
Thematic groups help deliver results on cross-cutting issues such as gender, HIV, human rights
based approach, etc.
The PCGs/Thematic groups will be diverse in nature, size, structure, management and
coordination modalities. Refer to sample TORs [link] for more guidance.
3.2 Dialogue Structures
To ensure coherence in the dialogue with the Government, donors and other key stakeholders
dialogue structures are typically agreed upon between the agencies and funds to ensure that
there is a common and shared understanding on which organizations participate in which
dialogue groups e.g. Health, Education, etc. The structure works as a reference for all the UN
organizations in terms of delineating the division of labour.
The illustrative example below shows the dialogue structure organized by Sector Working
Groups and Thematic Groups.
X
X
X
X
Macroeconomic Management
X
Monitoring System
X
Governance (including Public Service Reform
Programme and Local Government Reform
Programme, domestic accountability, anticorruption)
Gender
Public Financial Management
Monitoring System
Social protection
X
Environment
X
HIV/AIDS
Monitoring System
Employment
Humanitarian Assistance & Refugees)
Legal (including Public Safety and Home Affairs,
Thematic Groups
Water (including Sanitation)
Education
Health
X
Lands and Human Settlements Development
X
Infrastructure (including ICT and Transportation)
Development)
X
Natural Resources and Tourism
X
Energy and Minerals
FAO
Industry and Trade (including Private Sector
Agriculture (including Livestock)
Sector Working Groups
IFAD
ILO
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
UNAIDS
UNDP
X
X
X
X
UNESCO
X
X
X
X
UNFPA
X
X
X
X
UN-HABITAT
UNHCR
UNICEF
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
UNIDO
UNIFEM
WFP
WHO
UNEP
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
While some inter-agency groups are established solely for exchange of information, other
groups are established to exercise joint oversight of joint programme activities (e.g. a joint
HIV/AIDS Programme) or provide joint operational support to programmatic or other activities
(e.g. Protocol issues, office procurement etc.) A common trait of this second group of interagency teams is that the sharing of information, knowledge, systems and skills will contribute
substantially to the teams’ ability to deliver results.
3.3 Networks / Virtual Functional Clustering
To facilitate collaboration many inter-agency teams and/or groups make use of virtual network
and email groups. These vary in scope from sharing a common email address, e.g.
health_wg@un.org to participating in an email based knowledge network with an associated
repository such as the cpn@groups.undp.org
Several elements make for successful networking subject to the specific goal for the network:


Facilitation – used to identify topics of interest, bring the network together, etc.
Facilitation should not be used to dictate/censor the network since this will be
counterproductive to the free flow of information.
Common Interest – for networks to function it is critical to form around topics that people
care about and for which they see an interest in contributing.
3.4 Functional Clustering / Co-location
Where possible it should be considered to co-locate staff whose major work tasks are related to
such interagency teams. The term Functional Clustering is frequently used for such co-location
actions.
Co-location will be facilitated by common premises. Even if the related teams are not located in
one office – for example an open plan office – it may still have real benefits if they are located
on the same floor of a building.
If it is possible it should be considered whether a modern open plan office environment would
be a desirable option. Under the right circumstances – e.g. when combined with meeting and
quiet work space options – open office plans positively facilitates sharing of information,
knowledge, systems and skills.
If a decision is made to use functional clustering it will be important to give due consideration to
how to arrange the physical workspace to make it conducive for team work, information sharing,
meetings, etc.
4
Key Organizational Design Principles
This section has cherry picked a few of the many organizational design principles one can find
in the literature. Emphasis has been on focusing on what is particular relevant for the
interagency work with its emphasis on overlay structures rather than primary structures based
on dedicated staff resources.
4.1 Principles of the Accountable Organization






Structure should support vision: It is essential that the organization be designed to
enable it to pursue its vision. For example, if the vision is that 50% of the UN’s work in a
country should be collaborative then probably would want to revisit the incentives for
staff, the results definition in the performance management systems, the job
descriptions, etc.
Clarify workflows and interdependencies: Clarify exact roles within processes and
weed out overlaps of responsibilities between jobs to avoid confusion and increase
efficiency. For example, clearly defining who takes the lead within each Working Group,
what the obligations related to taking the lead are (e.g. in terms of consultation, reporting
back) at the outset will help the collaboration going forward.
Doable roles: Ensure that number and level of responsibilities is balanced with skills,
competencies and time made available for the people in the role. If there is a lack of
balance (e.g. interagency activities all become in addition to a full time agency job), it
becomes unreasonable to expect all responsibilities to be met and the accountability
structure suffers.
Empowerment: Provide explicit decision-making authority commensurate to
responsibilities in order to empower people to be innovative and take an appropriate
level of risk. For example, the UNCT could enable the OMT to decide on certain work
plan items related to business operations.
Clear definition of shared accountabilities and what to do if there is disagreement:
Make sure it is clear who makes decisions, who shares decision-making and who
provides input into decision-making processes. Also, clarify how disagreements or deadlocks in decision-making processes will be settled.
Teams and Working Groups are also held accountable: As teams and WGs also are
accountable, the five principles above also apply to them.
Clarity and accountability underpin sound organizational design – when good people know what
to do and are held accountable, they achieve results. This applies irrespective of the
organizational structure.
4.2 Principles of the Reconfigurable Organization
The reconfigurable organization is able to quickly combine and recombine skills, competencies,
and resources across the organization to respond to changes in the external environment.
Every office needs an organization that is dynamic as the environment it is operating in. In order
to keep up with multiple initiatives from within the UN system many UNCTs are spending a lot of
time and effort on “change management”. This task and effort can be made less difficult and
less time-consuming if some of the change effort is focused on designing a more flexible set-up
from the beginning. If change is constant, why not design the interagency arrangements to be
constantly and quickly changeable?
The reconfigurable organization is characterized by:





Active Leadership: The reconfigurable organization has a leader and leadership team
that believe their organization can be the source of competitive advantage. They see
their task as designing and improving their office or unit, choosing and rewarding people
who can contribute, and enabling them to deliver excellence. Organization redesign is
considered to be a core competence.
Knowledge Management: The reconfigurable organization is based on knowledge.
Success depends on its ability to collect and share knowledge across organizational
boundaries. It has the mechanisms and culture that allow people to convert data into
useable information and knowledge.
Learning: For organizations to be dynamic and able to change easily, learning is
essential. It starts with selecting people who have learning aptitude, who are resourceful
and motivated to take on new challenges. It continues by providing them the feedback
and tools that allow them to measure their performance against internal and external
standards and share the responsibility for increasing their own capabilities. The
reconfigurable organization rewards those who build, share and use knowledge.
Flexibility: The reconfigurable organization is built on the assumption that there will be
change. As routine tasks are handled more efficiently, more work is becoming projectbased and focused around teams, deadlines and deliverables. People may often
participate on multiple teams simultaneously. Networks are actively fostered and valued
to allow teams to form and reform around functions, clients, practices, service lines,
projects, etc. The reconfigurable organization attracts people who have a high tolerance
for ambiguity, change, and unpredictability.
Integration: The reconfigurable organization assumes that people will move around the
organization. If they are specialists, they will be expected to apply their talents in many
different arenas. If they are generalists, they will rotate through jobs and roles, learning
how to operate in a variety of functions and businesses. People will understand how
different parts of the organization works and they will feel part of a whole.


Employment Commitment: In exchange for less job security, people want their work
contribution to be recognized and rewarded appropriately. In addition, they want to be
given the opportunity to learn skills that will be valued in the internal and external market
place (i.e. stay marketable). They also want colleagues who are trained and capable of
performing at high levels. The reconfigurable organization enables its employees to
deliver excellence to its clients by providing the right tools, skills, and information. As a
result, employees believe in the organization, recommend it as a good place to work,
and choose to stay longer with the organization.
Change Readiness: Change is difficult for everyone. Even when people acknowledge
that change is necessary and that the end result will be better, the process can be
demoralizing and stressful. Often, despite good intentions on the part of managers,
people don’t understand why change is occurring or why certain decisions have been
made. It’s not merely a communication problem. People are often told the reason why
change is occurring. In the reconfigurable organization, employees understand the
underlying assumptions and are involved in the improvement process. When changes
inevitably have to be made again, the mechanisms are in place to have the
conversations, debate the options, and move forward with decisions.
Source: Adopted from Designing Dynamic Organizations: A Hands-On Guide for Leaders at All
Levels, Jay R. Galbraith (AMACOM, 2002)
4.3 Effective Delegation Principles
When you have to manage in a team based environment based on projects build around
resources from different functions and programmatic areas, it is very important that you manage
to delegate with a high level of clarity. Good management practice suggests that there are five
steps to effective delegation:





Desired results – identify and communicate clearly what is to be done and when
Guidelines – specify the parameters (policies, principles, etc) within which the results are
to be accomplished
Resources – identify the human, financial, technical, or organizational support available
to help accomplish the results
Accountability – set up the standards of performance and the time of review
Consequence – specify, good and bad, natural and logical, what does and will happen
as a result of the review
In addition to this, good basic principles of management suggest:
a) That delegation of responsibilities should be paired with delegation of authority to make
decisions necessary to accomplishing the task.
b) That where possible the full task should be delegated rather than parts of the task as this
empowers people to feel responsible and at the same time clarifies accountability issues.
c) We should work together on the basic principle of always trusting our colleagues whilst
keeping in mind that documentation may have to be present for audit purposes.
d) Managers and team leaders should stand right behind staff on external conflict issues
and take responsibility for mistakes made within the unit or team as this is essential to
building trust and enabling staff to feel they can be innovative and creative without being
punished.
4.4 Principles of Matrix Management
Dual accountabilities, or matrix management, is a common feature of much of the interagency
work where staff members invariably report both to their agency or fund supervisor and to
someone within the interagency make-up.
Matrix relations introduce complexity, but if managed well can provide for greater flexibility and
cross-functional opportunities whilst facilitating an effective and broader use of specialized
resources. In the tips section you will find information on how to effectively manage within a
matrix set-up and in the tools section you can find different tools that will help you plan and
manage the matrix.
Proponents and opponents of matrix management highlight the following advantages and
disadvantages of matrix management.
Advantages of a matrix organization
Enhances communication and
commonality of purpose among managers
and staff - it forces managers to discuss
and agree on strategic and operational
issues
It permits flexible use of an organization’s
resources
Offers organizations a way to respond
quickly to changing environment –
enables decentralization
Disadvantages of a matrix organization
It can create confusion around
responsibilities, authority and
accountability
Upward delegation due to lack of clarity of
roles and responsibilities
Places stress on individuals who must
respond to two bosses within the matrix
The two-bosses concept may increase
ambiguity and resulting in operational
tension
Encourages innovation
Tendency towards group decisionmaking, resulting in decision inertia, and
larger overheads
Guiding Principles for Successful Matrix Management
Issue
Find common ground and
common goals
Best practice solutions
Make clear how work supports UN strategy and focus on
work that adds value
Practice joint priority-setting and resource allocation with
cascading goals and metrics, i.e. divide goals into sub-goals
and accompanying objectives, performance metrics and
resources
Measure matrix performance – a common way is to use a
process guardian or a committee to review performance
Communicate the above with staff and other units
Clarify roles & responsibilities
As the goals should cascade (be broken down into subgoals) – so should the accountabilities connecting each task
to the bigger picture
Provide: 1) Clear guidelines and ToRs, 2) Accountability
framework, 3) Single point of contact for approvals, 4)
Method for information sharing
Link to incentive programs – define expectations as related
to the matrix, measure and reward performance
Hold teams accountable
Keep the jobs doable with realistic numbers of
accountabilities
Appropriate level of freedom to act and take measured risk
Clarify internal, cross-agency
partnerships
Cross-agency partnership agreements are recommended to
clarify and smooth relationships between management and
staff of the various agencies. The overarching objective is to
make it easier for each of the partners to ask the other for
something and to get it done.
Jobs and processes should be designed to support the flow
of work facilitating coordination and collaboration
Improve the capacity of
personnel assigned to the
A variety of on-the-job and other training approaches are
needed to ensure that adequate staff capabilities are
available to the emerging matrix organization. This is critical
matrix
Support cultural transitions
to partner satisfaction, and to the satisfaction of both
management and staff. Areas to provide training in might
include:
o
Matrix Management: Roles & Accountabilities
o
Negotiation Skills
o
Management Skills
o
Service Skills
The benefits of matrix involvement should be stressed with
success stories shared early and often. Knowledge transfer,
shared practices and best practices should be spread among
matrixed and non-matrixed staff.