Agility (management)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Agility is a characteristic of the management of an organization ( commercial enterprise , non-profit organization or authority ), flexible and, moreover, acting proactively , anticipatory and initiative in order to introduce necessary changes.

background

“Classic” (“stable”) organizational structures are either process-oriented (e.g. automotive industry, authorities) or project-oriented (e.g. construction industry, aid organizations ) or a mixture of these. In a turbulent, volatile environment, these organizational structures may not be able to keep up with change due to their hierarchy. "For a company, agility means the ability to operate profitably in a competitive environment that is characterized by constantly but unpredictably changing customer requirements."

Dimensions

Agility essentially has six dimensions:

This results in the demarcation from pure flexibility :

Agile target image

“Many companies start agile change processes in their IT areas. After a while, the question arises whether agility should only be understood at the project or product development level or at least for other areas of the organization. "

Management agility is already expressed in vision, mission and strategic corporate goals.

Customer-oriented organizational structure

“Traditional organizations are very self-focused. They think in pyramids and silos. Agile companies, on the other hand, align their strategy with the customer and strive to maximize customer benefit. "

Agile customer-oriented organizations are shaped by network structures instead of hierarchies . The focus is on the team-based process organization instead of the non-value-adding organizational structure .

Iterative process landscapes

"Agile companies (rely) on an iterative approach and delivery in increments, i.e. short-term results."

Agile customer-oriented organizations plan their processes, products and services iteratively instead of according to the waterfall model . This reduces the time required for planning and design. The customers receive the products and services in quick succession in smaller parts instead of in one piece after a longer period of time. “Agile processes are iterative and incremental. They focus on short-term results and enable quick adaptability to changed framework conditions. ”Errors are recognized early and can be corrected promptly.

Employee-centered understanding of leadership

"The manager puts himself at the service of the teams in order to create benefits for the customer more quickly together."

In agile organizations, the executives are not supervisors who control their employees and put pressure on their employees, but rather they transfer responsibility to the employee teams.

Agile personnel and management tools

Human Resources (HR) works “in dialogue with employees and managers (...) and (creates) values ​​with a clear customer benefit (...) HR is the decisive catalyst for agile transformation."

In agile organizations, employees are heavily involved in personnel planning. Employee development does not (only) take place on the basis of specifications, but (also) within the teams themselves (“peer feedback”).

Agile organizational culture

"Agile organizational cultures are characterized by transparency, dialogue, an attitude of trust and short-term feedback mechanisms."

In “classically” organized structures, there is often a culture of tight rules, standardized guidelines and little freedom of choice for employees. In agile organizations, knowledge is passed on openly, errors are addressed openly and constructively, and status symbols (“executive floor”, “carpet floor”) are omitted.

Values ​​of agility

The values ​​of agility were developed in agile software development. However, they are - appropriately adapted - transferable to agility in the management of organizations.

Preferred values ​​of organizations with agility Preferred values ​​of organizations without agility
Individuals and Interaction Processes and tools
Products and services Comprehensive documentation
Cooperation with the customer Contract negotiations
Respond to change Follow a plan

Agility weaknesses

In stable organizations, quality management (QM) is given high priority. "Classic" QM is strongly process-oriented. A QM system that is adapted to the needs of agile organizations has not yet been developed. Agility in the management of organizations may therefore come at the expense of the quality of products and services.

See also

Web links

literature

  • Steven L. Goldman (Ed.): Agile in competition: the strategy of the virtual organization for the benefit of the customer . Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York Barcelona Budapest Hong Kong London Milan Paris Santa Clara Singapore Tokyo 1996, ISBN 3-540-60644-0 .
  • Svenja Hofert : Leading more agile: Simple measures for better teamwork, more performance and greater creativity . 1st edition. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden 2016, ISBN 978-3-658-12756-5 .
  • Valentin Nowotny : Agile companies: only what moves can improve: focused, fast, flexible . 1st edition. BusinessVillage, Göttingen 2016, ISBN 978-3-86980-330-2 .
  • Michael Lang, Daniel Bartel, Stefan Scherber (Eds.): Agile Management - innovative methods and best practices . 1st edition. Symposion publ., Düsseldorf 2015, ISBN 978-3-86329-639-1 .
  • Benedikt Hackl, Fabiola Gerpott : HR 2020 - Human Resource Management of the Future: Implementing Strategies, Supporting Individuality, Enabling Agility . Vahlen, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-8006-4938-9 .
  • Stefan Scherber, Jens Coldewey, Michael Lang (eds.): Agile leadership: from agile project to agile company . 1st edition. Symposion Publ., Düsseldorf 2015, ISBN 978-3-86329-674-2 .
  • Stefan Scherber, Thomas Bergmann, Michael Lang (eds.): Success factors of really agile companies - field reports from practice . 1st edition. Symposion Publishing, Düsseldorf 2015, ISBN 978-3-86329-672-8 .
  • Günther Schuh (Ed.): Complexity and agility: is production stuck in a dead end? Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York Barcelona Budapest Hong Kong London Milan Paris Santa Clara Singapore Tokyo 1997, ISBN 3-540-63099-6 .
  • Alexander Zobel: Agility in dynamic competition: basic ability to cope with economic turbulence . 1st edition. Deutscher Universitätsverlag, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-8244-0846-5 .
  • Christian Ramsauer, Detlef Kayser, Christoph Schmitz: Agility as a success factor: Opportunities for companies in a volatile market environment . 1st edition. Wiley-VCH Verlag, Weinheim 2017, ISBN 978-3-527-50901-0 .
  • Savas Kahveci: Corporate strategies in times of crisis: Measures of agile companies . Diplomica, 2014, ISBN 3-95850-722-0 .
  • Andreas Aulinger: The three pillars of agile organizations : Ed. Andreas Aulinger, Markus Heudorf, IOM | Steinbeis University Berlin, Institute for Organization & Management, white paper, 2016

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Agility | Onpulson . In: Onpulson . ( onpulson.de ).
  2. ^ A b Steven L. Goldman (ed.): Agile in competition: the strategy of the virtual organization for the benefit of the customer . Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York Barcelona Budapest Hong Kong London Milan Paris Santa Clara Singapore Tokyo 1996, ISBN 3-540-60644-0 .
  3. ↑ a b c Agility and Quality Management, German Society for Quality, accessed on December 2, 2016.
  4. ^ A b Haufe-Lexware GmbH: Agile Management: Agility is more than flexibility . In: Haufe.de news and specialist knowledge . ( haufe.de [accessed on December 2, 2016]).
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Haufe-Lexware GmbH: Dimensions of agility: Becoming agile in six steps . In: Haufe.de news and specialist knowledge . ( haufe.de [accessed on December 2, 2016]).
  6. ↑ Manifesto for Agile Software Development. In: agilemanifesto.org. Retrieved December 4, 2016 .