The key is ownership of agility
ISSN: 0258-0543
Article publication date: 15 November 2018
Issue publication date: 31 January 2019
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to highlight a limitation of the understanding of agility within organizations, while providing the reasoning and anecdotal example of an effective setting where agility exists, and how this affects firms’ productivity through focusing on the principle of ownership motivation.
Design/methodology/approach
The contemporary thoughts and historical research with anecdotal evidence are gathered from small business owners in the insurance industry.
Findings
Agility implementation in firms today is mainly top-down team focused. While bottom-up input approaches are prescribed for firm organizational agility implementation, the mantle of ownership and drive are not imparted to employees. The example of a service industry highlights the possibilities of having agility within the organization implemented by direct ownership of most if not all the operations and functions.
Practical implications
This paper shares a working example of implemented agility and proposes the application within the broader scope of firm operations, particularly for smaller firms looking for sustainable advantages.
Originality/value
It re-looks at actual implementable agile practices by re-imaging the role of employees into functional business units from the bottom-up, rather than from the top-down, as a different perspective of agility.
Keywords
Citation
Ong, E.C., Tan, C.L. and Amran, A. (2019), "The key is ownership of agility", Strategic Direction, Vol. 35 No. 1, pp. 9-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/SD-03-2018-0055
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited