Designing the Customer-Centric Organization: A Guide to Strategy, Structure, and Process (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series)

Designing the Customer-Centric Organization: A Guide to Strategy, Structure, and Process (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series)
Jay R. Galbraith | 2005-04-14 00:00:00 | Jossey-Bass | 208 | Customer Service
Designing the Customer-Centric Organization offers today???s business leaders a comprehensive customer-centric organizational model that clearly shows how to put in place an infrastructure that is organized around the demands of the customer. Written by Jay Galbraith (the foremost expert in the field of organizational design), this important book includes a tool that will help determine how customer-centric an organization is- light-level, medium-level, complete-level, or high-level- and it shows how to ascertain the appropriate level for a particular institution. Once the groundwork has been established, the author offers guidance for the process of implementing a customer-centric system throughout an organization. Designing the Customer-Centric Organization includes vital information about structure, management processes, reward and management systems, and people practices.
Reviews
extremely interesting topic for me - everybody is claiming that being customer centric will make the difference in the near future. so i dived into the book with high expectations - some of them fulfilled. unfortunately - for a B2C professional - the book is very much oriented into B2B. as a result, even tough i retained some ideas as food for thought, i am still looking for the right lecture on this topic
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I've been using Jay Galbraith's principles in making organization designs for major clients with great effectiveness. This book is very practical.
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Es un libro excelente, me parece muy bueno el contenido, sin embargo lamento decirles que llego un poco maltratado, por lo que en lo subsecuente espero pongan mas cuidado en este aspecto
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I was very excited when I came across this particular book. This was exactly the right book - looking at the title - coming at the right moment for me. I could use it to help me work through a current problem!



Maybe my expectations were too high, but I dived into it with a passion. The introduction was insightful and right on target. This is terrific! Chapter 1; Surviving the Customer Revolution, was as good a review of this topic as I've read anywhere. It succeeded in defining what a customer centric organisation could look like and brought some real clarity to this part of the puzzle. If you've ever tried to explain the difference between a traditional product centric company and a customer centric one then you'll know what I mean.



Chapter 2 though, How Much Is Enough, was the beginning of the decline. The author attempts to define different levels of customer centricity necessary for your company and, for me, falls foul of too much detail and too much process - clearly reflective of the authors' obvious expertise and familiarity with organisational design. From there on it continued to be a struggle for me. The case studies were terrific and there was some real insight, but the solutions were too formulaic and linear to be of real value.



I came away from the book concerned that I'd missed something. I thought that customers would drive what level of customisation would be required in order to deliver value, and thereby improve business performance. Perhaps I was wrong!



Was I disappointed? Not at all. Worth reading even if the best is right up front!
Reviews
In contrast to product-centric, a customer-centric firm must be organized around the customer. This means going further than "customer focused" initiatives. This comprehensive, in-depth and thoughtful book begins by exploring the structures and philosophy involved in being customer-centric. Galbraith then details the different types of customer relationship strategies, following which he offers a guide to determining the level of customer-centricity (three levels are proposed) that would best serve the reader's company. The specific elements for achieving each of the three levels, from lightest to most intensive, are presented, along with guidelines for implementing actions ("solution strategy") required. Solution strategies vary by scale and scope, depending on the intensity of customer-centricity needed.



In all, the book delves into ways that organizations can design their strategy, structure, and processes to strengthen their position in the market and grow. Technology, with emphasis on its implementation and connectivity with customers, gets major attention. Much of the book presents engrossing cases (IBM, Proctor & Gamble, Nokia), which are extremely informative and provide a plethora of insights. This is an outstanding work in its content, organization of material, and style of writing. Very highly recommended.

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