An integrated agile organizational design and its impact on a faster response to changing customer needs: the case of ING’s one agile way of working.

Abstract

The old working paradigm is challenged by the digital revolution of the 21st century, which is characterized by quickly changing customer demand patterns, the entry of disruptive technologies in all industries, increased democratization of information, and, finally, the best talents changing expectations from organizations. Hierarchical organizational structures used to pursue the aim of optimized labour productivity cannot cope with this rapidly changing environment and increasing complexity any more. Thus, organizations have to adapt their organizational design and their way of working to stay competitive. The aim of this master thesis is to investigate the necessary framework for an adequate organizational design on the basis of the concepts of self-organization and agile working principles. A case study on a local branch of an international organization shows how the concept of an agile organizational design helps reach their goals of increased delivery and shorter time to market of services. Furthermore, the study provides insights into effective working processes and how to meet the changing requirements of customers. Both the structural design as well as collaboration practices are, therefore, reviewed in detail. The findings of the subsequent empirical study confirm the thesis that the presented approach of an agile way of working in self-organizing teams clearly contributes to the achievement of the set goals of decreased time to volume, increased employee engagement, an increase in delivery and efficiency, and international collaboration.