Academic Medical Center In the emerging healthcare environment, academic medical centers are particularly hard hit. Because of their multiple agendas of teaching, research, and patient care, and because their clients are often in need of more sophisticated, complex interventions, their costs are significantly higher than other healthcare institutions. Traditionally, their reimbursement process has been fee-for-service. The cost of their services and how they charge for those services needs to change dramatically. We worked with the senior executive team of one of the most highly regarded academic medical centers in the United States to design a comprehensive, collaborative approach that would:
The process was then implemented by a cross-functional design team. It included physicians from the major specialties and was led by a physician. The design team, with significant involvement from key stakeholders throughout the hospital, clinic, and medical school assessed the major opportunities and challenges in the business environment, analyzed the effectiveness of the major business processes (i.e., access, diagnosis, treatment, exit and follow-up), examined the needs and requirements of their multiple customers, and determined whether the hospital and clinic requirements were being met by their major suppliers. The results of their analysis led to significant changes in the organization's mission and vision and to major changes in the organization's strategy, work processes, structure, systems, and culture. These changes included:
This major gas and electric utility owned and operated a series of fossil fuel powered electric generating plants. Generating equipment in the plants was old and very inefficient when compared with then-current technology. As deregulation of the utility industry progressed and this company experienced a level of competition unparalleled in its history, the performance level and cost-effectiveness of these plants became increasingly critical.
Beginning in 1991, Gelinas As a result, the plant was runner-up for the utility's award for highest achievement in 1993 and recipient of the award in 1994. Global Branded Apparel Company The challenges of a rapidly shifting business environment and aggressive global competition caused this multi-billion dollar apparel company to undertake a comprehensive reengineering effort to build superior customer service capabilities. The highly profitable and growth-oriented Asia-Pacific division began a Customer Service Initiative, the ultimate goal of which was to achieve sustained competitive advantage through development of pre-eminent customer service. We partnered with the client over the course of a multi-year business transformation. The work began by having initial conceptual discussions with the President of the international business and developing foundational agreements among the client leaders. The consultants brought methodology, industry expertise, and project management to assist the client through redesign and implementation. The client has now successfully completed the first wave of implementation activities, including migration to regional product development centers, significant revision of the organization structure, and implementation of new supply chain management information systems. Evaluation of costs and benefits after one year of implementation shows actual payback is better than anticipated. International Durable Products Company This multi-billion dollar company operates in all major trading regions of the world. Supplying both consumer and industrial products through a diverse mix of distribution channels, the company had begun to lose touch with its markets. The company's CEO believed that a lack of clear purpose and conflicting strategies were beginning to compromise operating results. Executives were managing to generate reasonably healthy short-term profits, but were not making fundamental changes needed to support long-term growth. The CEO became committed to changing the company's culture to foster the needed long-term focus and set aggressive goals for revenue and profit growth over a five-year period. The client's CEO brought us in to work with three of its international businesses. We worked with the client, using the principles and methodology of Collaborative Organization Design, to build an organization focused on a clear vision and dedicated to building the required core competencies. The redesign brought the necessary strategy into clear focus and called for a significant reshaping of market presence, emphasizing their vision of bringing one face to the customer. We worked closely with the client to build the organization's capability to successfully implement internal changes. Implementation is now successfully underway, with a major initiative in product line rationalization, significant re-alignment of their complex supply chain, and a structured effort to upgrade vendor relations. International Petroleum Company The leaders of a major petroleum company decided that two primary sources of competitive disadvantage were 1) their inability to align the internal supply chain and 2) their inability to make needed organizational changes quickly and efficiently. Their desire to address these deficiencies led to our being selected as the lead consultants in a project that combined the corporate research and development, engineering technology, and environmental health groups into a new operating company. Over an eighteen month time frame, we worked with the senior executive team to design and implement a collaborative process with the following major components:
This project achieved all established outcomes within allotted time frames. Additionally, company officials have made numerous presentations describing the positive impacts of the process. As one manager stated, "This is a powerful process for learning and change when led by a committed management team. Our work groups redesigned themselves for greater teamwork, effectiveness, and sharp customer focus".
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James, Inc. served as lead consultants for organization redesign efforts at three
of these generating plants. In each case, we worked extensively with the plant management team to ensure
that a solid foundation for the change effort was in place before the actual project work began. In each case,
project milestones were reached within agreed time frames and significant performance improvements were
realized. The redesign effort at one of the plants was particularly successful. From a very mediocre
performance level in 1991, this plant went on to dramatically increase efficiencies, decrease costs, improve
safety, and improve team functioning.