At ChangeWorks international, we make the following assumptions about organizations and their design:

• Organizations are open, living systems
• All organizations can be designed
• Design involves working with the basic strength of the system in its environment, not just fixing its weaknesses
• There is no one "right" organization design, only effective designs for specific (market) places and times

The 7-Step Approach considers the range of organizational components strategy, structure, process, systems and culture. It addresses these in an integrated way, enabling clients to understand and manage the systemic impact of any change intervention, e.g., core process redesign, leadership development, strategy implementation, on other parts of the organization. In so doing, clients have the information they need to make sound choices for change, given the trade-offs associated with any set of design interventions. Please visit www.organizationdesignforum.org to learn more about the Organization Design Forum.