The Boundaryless Organization: Breaking the Chains of Organizational Structure

by Ron Ashkenas, Dave Ulrich, Todd Jick, Steve Kerr

Overview

In 1995 The Boundaryless Organization showed companies how to sweep away the artificial obstacles-such as hierarchy, turf, and geography-that get in the way of outstanding business performance. Now, in this completely revised edition of their groundbreaking work, management experts Ron Ashkenas, Dave Ulrich, Todd Jick, and Steve Kerr offer an up-to-date version of their comprehensive guide to help any organization go "boundaryless"-and become a company with the ability to quickly, proactively, and creatively adjust to changes in the environment. With new examples, a new commentary on the developments of the last five years, and illuminating first-hand accounts from pioneering senior executives, the authors once again show why "boundaryless" is a prerequisite for any organization trying to succeed in the economy of the twenty-first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780787959432
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	01/23/2002
Series:	Jossey-Bass Leadership Series , #5
Edition description:	Revised and Updated
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.18(w) x 9.28(h) x 1.18(d)

About the Author

Ron Ashkenas is a managing partner of Robert H. Schaffer & Associates in Stamford, Connecticut. A leading consultant to CEOs on organizational transformation, his articles have appeared in Harvard Business Review and other leading business publications. His clients have included General Electric, GlaxoSmithKline, the World Bank, and numerous other public and private sector firms.
Dave Ulrich is professor of business administration at the University of Michigan. He was named by Business Week as one of the world's top ten educators in management and the top educator in human resources.
Todd Jick, formerly a professor at Harvard Business School, is a managing partner with the Center for Executive Development in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has consulted with numerous companies in the United States and Europe including Merrill Lynch, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Novartis, and Cadbury Schweppes.
Steve Kerr is chief learning officer and a managing director of Goldman Sachs. A former dean at the University of Southern California and former professor of management at the University of Michigan, he was the first chief learning officer for General Electric.

Table of Contents

Foreword by: C. K. Prahalad.
Foreword by: Lawrence A. Bossidy.
Preface.
The Authors.
* A New World Order: Rising to the Challenge of New Success Factors.
Stepping Up to the Line: How Boundaryless Is Your Organization?
Part One: Free Movement Up and Down: Crossing Vertical Boundaries.
First Person: Cesar Guajardo, General Director, Praxair Mexico.
* Toward a Healthy Hierarchy.
Stepping Up to the Line: How Healthy Is Your Organization's Hierarchy?
* Rewiring and Retuning the Hierarchy.
Part Two: Free Movement Side to Side: Crossing Horizontal Boundaries.
First Person: Daniel Vasella, Chairman and CEO, Novartis AG.
* Beyond Turf and Territory.
Stepping Up to the Line: How Congruent Are Your Organization's Horizontal Boundaries?
* Integrating Resources to Serve the Customer.
Part Three: Free Movement Along the Value Chain: Crossing External Boundaries.
First Person: Jim Madden, President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Exult.
* Toward Partnership with Customers and Suppliers.
Stepping Up to the Line: How Well Linked Is Your Organization's Value Chain?
* Strengthening the Value Chain.
Part Four: Free Global Movement: Crossing Geographic Boundaries.
First Person: Mieko Nishimizu, Vice President, World Bank South Asia Region.
* Toward the Global Corporation.
Stepping Up to the Line: How Far Along the Path to Globalization Is Your Organization?
* Actions for Global Learners, Launchers, and Leaders.
* Conclusion: Leading Toward the Boundaryless Organization.
Stepping Up to the Line: Are You a Boundaryless Leader?

Notes.
Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Winner of the Executive Leadership Award

"If your organization is ready for transformation, TheBoundaryless Organization will provide a simple but provocativeframework either for getting started or for accelerating thepace."
— from the foreword by Lawrence A. Bossidy, chairman andCEO, Honeywell Corporation

"This is the best book on globalization and the seamlessorganization that I have read."
— David H. Komansky, chairman and CEO, Merrill Lynch &Co., Inc.

"A very important contribution."
— from the foreword by C. K. Prahalad, coauthor ofCompeting for the Future

"Attacks the very core of traditional management structure, withall of its walls, boundaries, and limitations."
— Quality Progress

"Outlines how companies can make the change from rigidstructures to ones where ideas, resources, and information can flowfreely."
— HR Strategies & Tactics

"A refreshing guide to innovative ways to do business . . . .Each part includes a questionnaire that readers can use todetermine where they stand on a continuum between boundaried andboundaryless status."
— Journal of Management Consulting

"Recommended reading."
— CIO

"Outlines how companies can make the change from rigidstructures to ones where ideas, resources, and information can flowfreely."
— HR Strategies & Tactics

"A refreshing guide to innovative ways to do business . . . .Each part includes a questionnaire that readers can use todetermine where they stand on a continuum between boundaried andboundaryless status."
— Journal of Management Consulting

"Recommended reading."
— CIO

Editorial Reviews

Most solutions being recommended today for improving corporate performance prescribe reducing hierarchy by changing organizational structure, altering boundaries, and overcoming barriers within the organization. The authors go much further, calling for a "boundaryless organization," and they consider much more than the traditional and the obvious boundaries that exist within organizations. This book grew out of work done by the authors as consultants hired by General Electric's CEO Jack Welch, who first approached them with the concept of a "boundaryless organization." Applying what they learned in the effort to transform the way GE did business and from numerous" other examples, they consider the vertical, horizontal, external, and geographic boundaries that exist for organizations. The authors provide tools to help measure the degree to which boundaries exist, demonstrate the consequences of boundaries, and identify steps to eliminate them.

David Rouse