The test was designed by renowned work-place thinker Andrew Mawson and his team at Advanced Workplace Associates and is based on his latest research paper entitledThe Kinetic Organisation.
It explores how businesses can better organise themselves for success and the tool examines the flexibility of the respondent’s organisation based on their infrastructure, cost base, structure, leadership, people and culture, management information, environment and approach to risk management. Using peer comparison it then offers practical advice on how to improve.
Mawson’s study, on which Regus’ Kinetic Challenge is based, conducted qualitative discussion sessions with business leaders in Chicago, New York, London, Singapore and Hong Kong, followed by an on-line global validation survey.
Six ‘fundamentals’ are calibrated in the Kinetic Challenge, reflecting the study findings that a ‘kinetic organisation’ must be able to:
- Change without pain to adapt to new threats and opportunities
- Realistically meet promises to clients, shareholders and people
- Maintain a flexible cost base so that it can ‘inflate’ and ‘deflate’ its operations without penalty
- Create a ‘safe’ environment where people are happy to share knowledge and innovate
- Constantly keep products, services, people skills, capabilities, processes, infrastructure and costs under review to remain fresh and competitive.
- Allow elements within each structure to be treated and structured in different ways depending on their activities, risks and the markets in which they operate
Just like a living organism, the Kinetic Organisation adapts and morphs to the business environment around it.
Mawson said, “Our research, supported by a grant from Regus, has shown that the successful ‘kinetic’ organisation of the future will be modular, flexible and able to react like lightning to market and economic developments. Anyone in business who wants to measure how close they are to being kinetic should take the test. It helps calibrate what progress has been made, but also the level of work needed to prepare for true, agile competitiveness in future markets.”
Regus is the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces, with products and servicesranging from fully equipped offices to professional meeting rooms, business lounges and the world’s largest network of video communication studios.
Regus enables people to work their way, whether it’s from home, on the road or from an office. Customers such as Google, GlaxoSmithKline, and Nokia join hundreds of thousands of growing small and medium businesses that benefit from outsourcing their office and workplace needs to Regus, allowing them to focus on their core activities.
Over 1,000,000 customers a day benefit from Regus facilities spread across a global footprint of 1,200 locations in 550 cities and 95 countries, which allow individuals and companies to work wherever, however and whenever they want to. Regus was founded in Brussels, Belgium in 1989, is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Hoang Anh (vir.com.vn)
