Creating Agile Organizations: A Systemic Approach

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Agile Organizational Design

The organization is not an end in itself; it is simply a vehicle for accomplishing the strategic tasks of the business.

—Amy Kates and Jay R. Galbraith¹

Organizational design is a topic about which writings could fill an entire library. Even so, we decided to include it in this book because it strongly influences the level of agility in an organization. Many decisions in an Agile transformation affect the organizational design—from product definition, team composition, and roles and responsibilities to the appraisal system. However, an Agile setup probably isn’t needed everywhere in the organization—Agile is not a silver bullet. Instead, we recommend evaluating a focus and practice that are appropriate for an organization’s ...