The Clarion Call : Space Has Its Place, Spring 2001

Spring 2001 Issue

Other Issues
Download PDF

Space Has Its Place

	Introduction by Bill McKendree, President

Consider for a moment the significance of space. Not the vast reaches of outer space, but rather the immediate and tangible environments of our own experiences. What impact does space have on human behavior? And more importantly for exec- utives, how important is space to business success? Studies have been done on this subject. Retail businesses often succeed or fail based on their ability to use space to influence and transform behavior into buying habits. But retail isn’t the only business segment that should pay attention to the importance of work environments. Any organization that requires people to interact with one another would be well advised to give space greater consideration. In this issue of The Clarion Call, we will give some form and insight to the impor- tance of space. It’s a topic that relates directly to our core business principles of operating models and organization design (The Clarion Call Autumn 1999 and Spring 2000). A company’s operating model defines its management infrastructure, business strategy and the desired behaviors needed for success. Space is the often overlooked component that helps to bring the three elements together into alignment. Additionally, we help your to break down the barrieres by offering some practical ideas on how to use space to improve internal environments. We hope you enjoy this issue and, as always, we welcome your feedback.

(Page 1 of 3)

What comes to mind when you think of your office space? Is it a place that enables you to do your best work? Is there room for you to work comfortably with others? Does the environment reflect the overall values and strategic direction of your business?

Now, try to answer these same questions from your employees’ perspective. How do you think they would respond?

For many companies striving to succeed in today’s economy, a strategic look at space can provide ideas that can translate into a much- needed competitive advantage.

Physical environment plays a major role in enabling -- or disabling -- the behaviors needed for businesses to succeed. Does your business require a high level of collaboration? Or is it more important for people to work independently? By carefully considering questions like these, you can use space to positively impact your overall business performance.

As significant as environment is, however, too often executives delegate space decisions to the facilities department, where the focus is on office and furniture standards, and a simple cost ratio -- square feet per person. Furthermore, the architectural firms supporting facilities departments usually lack sufficient contact with management to understand the required operating behavior that should be factored into the design.

Why do executives hand-off space decisions? Reasons include an adherence to established company protocols, a reluctance on the part of management to deal with the issues, and a general lack of sophistication and strategic thinking when it comes to this concept. The bottom line is that when executives fail to reflect upon the connection between how a business needs to operate and its floor plan, they aren’t able to provide facilities staff with the necessary specifications. In the end, they may inadvertently short circuit their chance to succeed.

By bringing space more consciously into their strategic thinking, executives have a tremendous opportunity to align form and function.

How do you work?
There are two main considerations that can help determine the space requirements for any given business. First, why work is done. This deals with the overall business strategy. And second, how work is done. This focuses on the ways in which work happens including coordination, collaboration and communication.

At The Clarion Group, our Operating Model provides a context to understand the connections between a company’s strategy, management infrastructure and required behaviors (for more information on Operating Models, view The Clarion Call, Fall 1999). Space is the physical environment that encompasses all three components with the potential to bring them into alignment. Through the effective use of space, you can simultaneously reinforce the strategy, enable the infrastructure, and elicit the desired organization behavior.

In terms of how work is done, we have identified three primary work coordination models that can be applied to internal office environments:

Working groups
Teams
Service partnerships

go to page 2 >>

Site Map

Privacy Statement