Do head offices kill innovation?

Do head offices kill innovation?

The University of Canterbury’s (UC) Director of International Growth Strategies, Tony Mortensen, will explore the pitfalls of centralisation at a free public lecture at the University at 7pm on Wednesday 8 July.

Mortensen will discuss growing concerns that shifting key parts of an organisation’s operations to “head office” reduces the level of effectiveness long-term. Evidence suggests this can lead to lower levels of customer satisfaction and branch-based employee frustration and disengagement, which disrupts organisational flow and can lead to a lack of innovative thinking.

The What if…..workplace innovation is killed by centralisation? presentation will consider both sides of the centralisation equation. It will raise critical arguments regarding the costs and benefits of centralisation, enabling managers and decision-makers to fully appreciate the impact of these decisions on their organisations.

Centralisation, or moving key functions into one central physical or structural location, often relates to the planning and controlling of an organisation, but also includes key service activities such as human resources, finance, IT and procurement. The logic is that keeping core functions close to key decision-makers allows a more standardised, strategic approach to organisational development and advancement. Cost efficiencies are also a factor, as perceived duplication is minimised through the process of consolidation.

For multinational organisations operating in New Zealand, increased centralisation in the past decade has resulted in a number of services being housed and often controlled off-shore. This adds further complexity to the debate as factors such as time zones and cultural differences create ongoing issues.

The talk is the latest in UC’s What if Wednesdays series of twice-monthly free public lectures that contribute to the community by taking a thought leadership role.

Mortensen is a registered accountant with experience in financial controlling and general management roles at KPMG. At UC, he teaches MBA classes on managerial accounting and managerial finance, and an accounting skills workshop.

The lecture will be held in the C2 Lecture Theatre, Central Lecture Block, University of Canterbury, Arts Road, Christchurch, at 7pm on Wednesday 8 July. Register online for this free event athttp://www.canterbury.ac.nz/wiw/.

ENDS

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