Idealized design
- An ideal - an ideal solution, “vision” according to the core values- What is possible?
- How the situation will develop?
- The difference between intended and objective aims of organizations.
Lately the idea of idealized design has been introduced by Russell L. Ackoff, Herbert J. Addison and Jason Magidson. It is a method of strategy planning in six-steps: 1. Formulate the problem. 2. Ends planning. 3. Means planning 4. Resource planning 5. Design of implementation 6. Design of controls. Steps 1 and 2 belong to the process of idealization and steps 3-6 belong to the process of realization a strategy.
Formulating the problem is a situational analysis:
"Every organization or institution is faced with a set of interacting threats and opportunities. These form what we call a mess. The aim of formulating the mess is to determine how the organization would eventually destroy itself if it were to continue doing what it is doing currently—that is, if it were to fail to adapt to a changing internal and external environment, even if it could predict the course of this change perfectly. This process identifies an organization’s Achilles’ heel—the seeds of its self-destruction—and provides a focus for the planning that follows by identifying what the organization or institution must avoid at all costs" (Ackoff et al., 2006, p. 5).
The ends planning
"is at the heart of idealized design. It involves determining what planners would like the organization or institution to be now if it could be whatever they wanted. It then identifies the gaps between this idealized design and the organization as it is, thus revealing the gaps to be filled by the rest of the planning process. It is crucial to note here that the design must demonstrably prevent the self-destruction revealed in the formulation of the mess" (Ackoff et al., 2006, p. 7).
Ends planning leads to a decision concerning the choice of the end of a strategy. The definitions of the ends are operational criteria of efficiency and economy of decisions.
Means planning
"… requires planners to determine what should be done to approximate the ideal as closely as possible to avoid the selfdestruction projected in the formulation of the mess. Planners must invent and select courses of action, practices, projects, programs, and policies to be implemented" (Ackoff et al., 2006, p. 7).
Resource planning (implementing idealized design) ”… requires planners to identify and marshal the resources needed to accomplish the planned changes…” (Ackoff et al., 2006, p. 7).
Design of implementation requires to “Determine who is to do what, when, and where. Create a schedule and allocate resources to the tasks to be carried out.” (Ackoff et al., 2006, p. 8)
Design of controls requires to
"Determine (1) how to monitor these assignments and schedules, (2) how to adjust for failures to meet or exceed schedules, and (3) how to monitor planning decisions to determine whether they are producing expected results (and, if not, determine what is responsible for the errors and correct them)." (Ackoff et al., 2006)
Literature:
Ackoff, R. L., Addison, H. J., & Magidson, J. (2006). Idealized Design: Creating an Organization’s Future. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing.