Physiology Dissertations - Sahiwal Cattle Breed - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1712 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Introduction A significant national genetic resource of Pakistan is the Sahiwal cattle breed. Originated and developed in Pakistan, this breed is now reported to be present in 29 countries (FAO, 2007). Population of this breed is diminishing because of intensive crossbreeding for dairying which remains a main threat to its survival (Payne and Hodges, 1997). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Physiology Dissertations Sahiwal Cattle Breed" essay for you Create order It is necessary to improve fertility rates in our national breeds, by the use of insemination with frozen-thawed semen (Barbas and Mascarenhas, 2009). This tropical dairy breed can be preserved through the conservation of its germplasm. Germplasm that have applications in agriculture, aquaculture, biotechnology and conservation of threatened species can be preserved by cryopreservation (Andrabi and Maxwell, 2007). The development of reproductive techniques, such as artificial insemination (AI) and in vitro fertilization can be achieved by sperm cryopreservation (Medeiros et al., 2002). The cryopreservation of semen is a renowned industry worldwide, for agriculturally important animals, mainly for dairy cattle (Bailey, J. et al., 2000). Cryopreservation of spermatozoa is correlated with an oxidative stress (Salvador et al., 2006) due to the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) by malfunctioning and dead spermatozoa (Bailey et al., 2000), which eventually leads to membrane lipid peroxidation. Sperm cells are extremely prone to lipid peroxidation because their membranes are rich in unsaturated fatty acids and they have fewer amounts of antioxidants in their cytoplasm (Sinha et al., 1996). The most common ROS are superoxide (O2-). anion, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), peroxyl (ROO-). radicals, and the very reactive hydroxyl (OH-). radicals, nitric oxide and peroxynitrite anion (Sikka, 1996). At physiological concentrations, ROS play vital roles during normal sperm function, together with hyperactivation, capacitation and the acrosome reaction, and zona binding (De Lamirande et al., 1997). On the other hand, during cryopreservation increased generation of ROS is associated with harm to chromatin, proteins and membranes of sperm (Ball, 2008),early capacitation of sperm (Neild et al., 2003 D.M. Neild, B.M. Gadella, M.G. Chaves, M.H. Miragaya, B. Colenbrander and A. Aguero, Membrane changes during different stages of a freezethaw protocol for equine semen cryopreservation, Theriogenology 59 (2003), pp. 16931705. Article | PDF (279 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (24)Neild et al., 2003). Semen represents a complex redox system that combines the antioxidant potential of seminal plasma and spermatozoa with the pro-oxidant potential of sperm through the production of ROS. Enzymatic antioxidant defense mechanisms in seminal plasma and spermatozoa contain catalase, glutathione reductase, gluthathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. Among non-enzymatic antioxidants there are reduced glutathione (GSH), urate, ubiquinones, Vitamin E, taurine, hypotaurine, carotenoids, and ascorbic acid. The interaction of antioxidant and prooxidant mechanisms in semen determines the in general rate of lipid peroxidation in sperm (Gadea, J. et al., 2004). In present years, antioxidants in extenders have been used to save spermatozoa from the harmful effects of cryopreservation and free radicals are reduced by antioxidant systems (Baumber et al., 2000). Ascorbic acid, a foremost water soluble antioxidant, acts as a scavenger for a extensive range of ROS. Until now, Ascorbic acid has not been used in semen extenders to examine its influence on the cryopreservation of Sahiwal bull spermatozoa. The objective of present study is to evaluate the effect of Ascorbic acid supplementation in diluent on post thaw quality of Sahiwal bull spermatozoa. Review of Literature In various studies, it has been observed that addition of antioxidants in the extender to preserve unfrozen semen increases sperm quality by controlling oxidation. Uysal et al. (2007) demonstrated that during semen cryopreservation attempts, addition of various antioxidants in different concentrations in extender showed beneficial effects on the quality of bull semen after freezing-thawing proess. Inclusion of natural antioxidants such as a-tocopherol and ascorbate had a protective effect on metabolic activity and cellular viability of cryopreserved bovine sperm (Beconi et al., 1991; Beconi et al., 1993). In vitro studies strongly suggest that the antioxidant effect of ascorbate is related to direct vitamin E regeneration by reducing the tocopheroxyl radical in the one-electron redox cycle (Dalvit et al., 1998). Similarly, Raina et al. (2002) found that incorporation of vitamin C or E in TCA based extender improved the motility of liquid buffalo bull semen. Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) may act as an oxidant at low concentrations and as an antioxidant at high concentrations (Breininger et al., 2005). Ascorbic acid, at a concentration of 5 mM in the freezing diluent acts as an antioxidant during freezing and thawing of bovine spermatozoa (Beconi et al., 1993). Singh et al. (1996) studied effect of vitamin C addition in the diluent on the quality of deep frozen Murrah buffalo bull (Bubalus bubalis) semen. They concluded that insertion of ascorbic acid (2.5mM) in the semen diluent produced significantly higher post-thawing sperm motility (37.5 vs. 46.25%) and percentage of live spermatozoa (58.12 vs. 67.58%) compared with untreated controls. Aurich et al., 1997 J.E. Aurich, U. Schonherr, H. Hoppe and C. Aurich, Effects of antioxidants on motility and membrane integrity of chilled-stored stallion semen, Theriogenology 48 (1997), pp. 185192. Article | PDF (558 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (41)Aurich et al. (1997) observed a positive effect of addition of ascorbic acid on preservation of membrane integrity of cooled equine sperm. Verma and Kanwar (1998) stated that Ascorbic acid when added in the semen is known to improve the post-thaw motility and feasibility of bull and buffalo sperm. Salem et al. (2001) studied the protective role of ascorbic acid to enhance semen quality of rabbits treated with sublethal doses of aflatoxin B1. Treatment with ascorbic acid increased (P0.05) live body weight (LBW), dry matter intake (DMI), relative testes weight (RTW), serum testosterone concentration, improved semen characteristics. Results showed the useful effects of ascorbic acid in decreasing the negative effects of aflatoxin B1 on production and reproduction of male rabbits. Andrabi et al. (2008) examined the effect of non-enzymatic antioxidants (vitamins C or E) in tris-citric acid (TCA) extenders on post-thaw motility, membrane integrity, and morphology of buffalo bull spermatozoa. In their study, the inclusion of nonenzymatic antioxidants (vitamin C or E) in the cryodiluent improved the motility of buffalo spermatozoa at 0 and 6 h after thawing and incubation (37C). Paudel et al. (2008) assessed the usefulness of ascorbic acid, catalase, chlorpromazine and their mixtures in reducing the cryodamages to crossbred bull (Bos taurus Bos indicus) spermatozoa. It was inferred that addition of ascorbic acid, catalase and ascorbic acid + chlorpromazine in semen extender enhanced the post-thaw semen quality in crossbred bulls. Michael (2008) studied the effect of different concentrations of vitamin C in semen extenders on post thaw quality of dog spermatozoa. He concluded that addition of vitamin C to semen extenders does not improve the quality of extended canine semen preserved at 4 C. Yoshimoto, T. (2008) evaluated that the post-thaw qualities of fragile Agu sperm can be improved by the addition of ascorbic acid 2-O--glucoside (AA-2G), a stable ascorbate derivative to the freezing extender. Among the concentrations tested treatment with 200M AA-2G has the most valuable effect on the sperm motility and the plasmalemma integrity after cryopreservation Materials and Methods Experimental extenders Tris-citric acid (TCA) containing 1.56 g citric acid (Merck, Germany) and 3.0 g tris(hydroxymethyl)- aminomethane (Sigma, USA) in 74 ml distilled water was used as a buffer for the experimental extenders. The pH of buffer was 7.00 and the osmotic pressure was 320 mOsmol/Kg. Egg yolk (20% vol/vol), fructose (0.2%; wt/vol; Riedel-DeHaen, Switzerland), glycerol (7%; vol/vol; Merck, Germany), benzyl penicillin (1000 I.U/ml; Hebei, China) and streptomycin sulphate (1000 g/ml; Sigma, USA) were added to each of the three experimental extenders (Andrabi et al., 2008). The first extender contained vitamin C (TCAC) as sodium ascorbate (Sigma, USA), which was added at the rate of 5 mM (Beconi et al., 1993; Raina et al., 2002). The second extender contained vitamin E (TCAE) available as -tocopherol acetate (Sigma, USA), added at the rate of 1 mg/ml (Beconi et al., 1993; Raina et al., 2002). The third extender did not contain any antioxidant and served as control (TCAN). Aliquots of each extender were stored frozen at -20C and thawed before use. Semen collection Ejaculates were collected by artificial vagina 42C from three adult Nili-Ravi buffalo bulls (Bubalus bubalis) of known fertility. The bulls were kept under uniform feeding and handling conditions during the entire study. Ejaculates were collected at weekly intervals for a period of 5 weeks (replicates; n = 5). The frequency of collection from each bull was two ejaculates on one day each week. Visual motility of each ejaculate was assessed at 37C using a phase contrast microscope (X 400; Leica, Leitz Wetzlar, Germany) observed on closed circuit television by two operators. Progressive motility of spermatozoa was assessed to the nearest 5%. Sperm concentration was assessed by digital photometry (Dr. Lange LP 300 SDM, Minitub, Germany) at 546 nm. Ejaculates containing more than 70% progressively motile spermatozoa and 0.5109 spermatozoa/ml were pooled in order to have sufficient semen for a replicate (Rasul et al., 2000, 2001; Andrabi et al., 2008). At least one ejaculate on every collection from each bull did qualify for freezing. Semen cryopreservation Buffalo bull semen was cryopreserved according to Rasul et al. (2000). After a holding time of 15 min at 37C, three aliquots of semen were diluted (37C) in a single step with one of the three experimental extenders to a concentration of 50106 motile spermatozoa/ml. After dilution, the semen was cooled to 4C in 2 hours and equilibrated for 4 h at 4C. Precooled 0.5 ml straws were then filled with the cooled semen at 4C in the cold cabinet unit (Minitub, Germany) and frozen in a programmable cell freezer (KRYO 10 series III, UK) from 4C to -15C at the rate of 3C/minute and from -15C to -80C at the rate of 0C/minute. Straws were then plunged into liquid nitrogen (-196C) for storage. After 24 h storage, semen straws were thawed at 37C for 30 seconds. Post-thaw spermatozoal evaluation Visual motility The motility of spermatozoa was assessed at 0 and 6 h post-thaw. Thawed semen sample was placed on a pre-warmed glass slide and cover-slipped. Visual motility of spermatozoa was assessed at 37C using phase contrast microscope observed on closed circuit television by two operators. Statistical analysis Results are presented as means SD. Effect of non-enzymatic antioxidants for different variables was analyzed by the analysis of variance (ANOVA). When the Fratio was significant (P0.05), Tukeys Honestly significant difference was used to compare the treatment means (SYSTAT, 1996).

Essay on the Role of Women in Chinua Achebes Things Fall...

The Role of Women in Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart explores the struggle between old traditions within the Igbo community as well as Christianity and the second coming it brings forth. While on the surface, it appears the novel narrows its focus to a single character, Okonkno and his inner battles, one can read deeper into the text and find an array of assorted conflicts in the realm on human vs. human, human vs. nature, human vs. society, and society vs. society. For the purposes of this paper I shall focus on the labyrinth of human vs. human and human vs. society in the framework of the role of women in Igbo society and how men assign and dictate these roles. I will also briefly explain the importance†¦show more content†¦A clear instance of this is the case of Okonkwos mother. While the presence of his father, although negative, is prevalent in much of the novel, the presence of his mother is all but nonexistent. To my knowledge, his (unnamed) mother shows up only once in the text, three d ays after his participation in the ritual murder of Ikemefuna, his adopted son (Jeyifo 3). For the first time in three nights, Okonkwo slept. He woke up once in the middle of the night and his mind went back to the past three days without making him feel uneasy. He began to wonder why he felt uneasy at all. It was like a man wondering in broad daylight why a dream had appeared so terrible to him at night. He stretched himself and scratched his thigh where a mosquito had bitten him as he slept. Another one was wailing near his right ear. He slapped the ear and hoped he had killed it. Why do they always go for ones ears? When he was a child his mother had told him a story about it. But it was as silly as all womens stories. Mosquito, she had said, had asked Ear to marry him, whereupon she fell on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. How much longer do you think you will live?, she asked. You are already a skeleton. Mosquito went away humiliated, and anytime he passed her way he told Ear that he was still alive (Achebe 53). This could have been a critical turning point in the text pre-shadowed by what we were told earlier inShow MoreRelated The Role of Women in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay3614 Words   |  15 Pagesthan those of any other African writer, Chinua Achebe’s writings have helped to develop what is known as African literature today. And the single book which has helped him to launch his revolution is the classic, Things Fall Apart.   The focus of this essay includes: 1) Achebes portraiture of women in his fictional universe, the existing sociocultural situation of the period he is depicting, and the factors in it that condition male attitudes towards women; 2) the consequences of the absence ofRead MoreAchebe1599 Words   |  7 Pages Achebe’s Defense of The Ibo People in Things Fall Apart Option 1 The late Chinua Achebe is considered to be one of the most important voices in African literature. Born in colonial Nigeria in the 1930’s, Achebe joined the first wave of African writers who were determined to represent their country in a way that would truthfully depict the past and present. Before the arrival of the first wave writers, the history of pre-colonial Africa was portrayed as a place of barbarous activity. EuropeanRead MoreThings Falll Apart by Chinua Achebe1082 Words   |  4 PagesThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story that portrays the tensions between the white Colonial Government and native-born people of Umuofia. Okonkwo, the main character, and a great village man is highly respected in the Igbo tribe of Umuofia. Although, Okonkwo is highly respected by the Igbo people, they are fearful of him because of his violent anger. When the Europeans arrived in Umuofia, they brought with them a new religion: Christianity. The Westerners changed Umuofia, dest royed traditionRead MoreThe Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1451 Words   |  6 PagesPacked with patriarchal superiority, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart focuses on protagonist Okonkwo and his desire to live his life as a strong, masculine figure with a title worth showing off. This Nigerian novel provides an inside view of the oppression women faced in nineteenth century Igbo culture and the lengths to which men were willing to go to avoid appearing feminine. Criticizing Achebe’s novel through a feminist lens makes abundantly clear the unbalanced relationship between the sexesRead MoreGender Roles in Things Fall Apart733 Words   |  3 PagesIn Chinua Achebes novel Things Fall Apart, the Ibo society has a strict system of behavioral customs that are assigned by gender. These customs restrict the freedom of Ibo woman and help to reinforce generation after generation the notion that Ibo men are superior to women. In Achebes essay An Image of Africa: Racism in C onrads Heart of Darkness, he claims that Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness, despite its insights, ought to be eradicated from literature as an appropriate piece of work onRead More Comparing and Contrasting the Role of Women in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness1129 Words   |  5 PagesRole of Women in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness       Women were once little more than slaves to their male betters. Some women might have been respected, but their places were limited to roles as wives and mothers. They might rule a home, but were not believed intelligent enough for any other role. This chauvinistic attitude is well reflected in the novels Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, and Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad.    In Things Fall Apart, women are praisedRead MoreEssay on Gender Roles in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe2254 Words   |  10 Pages Upon an initial reading of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, it is easy to blame the demise of Okonkwo’s life and of the Umofia community on the imperialistic invasions of the white men. After all, Okonkwo seemed to be enjoying relative peace and happiness before then. He did have a few mishaps; one of them resulted in him being exiled for eight years. Nonetheless, he returned to his home town with high spirits and with prospects of increased success. However, everything has changedRead MoreThings Fall Apart Western Ideas vs. Natives2351 Words   |  10 PagesThings Fall Apart Essay †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨Many societies have beliefs rooted deep in ancient religion. Some beliefs include polygamy, polytheism, and patriarchy, or rule by men. One such culture is that of Achebes Things Fall Apart. Polytheism and polygamy are custom in the clan, and the role of each family member is very defined. The men are overly domineering. The women and children are treated poorly and often beaten. Life in Achebes Umuofia would seem very different to someone living in modern day AmericaRead More The Women of Umuofia in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay1999 Words   |  8 PagesThe Women of Umuofia in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart    The only women respected in Umuofia are those like Chielo, the priestess of the Oracle of the Hills and Caves, who is removed from the pale of normalcy. Clothed in the mystic mantle of the divinity she serves, Chielo transforms from the ordinary; she can reprimand Okonkwo and even scream curses at him: Beware of exchanging words with Agbala [the name of the Oracle of the Hills and Caves]. Does a man speak when a God speaks? BewareRead MoreEssay on Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe3009 Words   |  13 Pageswhich writers articulate that identity. Things Fall Apart is a good novel that serves as a reminder of what Nigeria once was. It shows how a society can deal with change, how change affects the individuals of that society, and how delicate a change can be; so much so that the people themselves are surprised at the change. Things Fall Apart is an English novel by the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe which was published in 1957. Throughout the book the role of customs and traditions is very important

Organisational Design Free Essays

string(108) " the boundaries between sources of added-value and strategic initiatives of the corporate parent\? † www\." Nine tests of organisation design The weight of research and insight into organisational design is heavy and growing. Michael Goold and Andrew Campbell cut through the complexity and emerge with a new approach to organisation design which includes a rigorous framework for design choices based on nine key tests of organisational effectiveness. Michael Goold is a director of the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre. We will write a custom essay sample on Organisational Design or any similar topic only for you Order Now His research interests are concerned with corporate strategy and the management of multi-business companies, and he runs the Centre’s programme on Group Level Strategy. Product-market strategies What are the factors that should guide the choice of organisation design? There are many managerial rules of thumb about things such as spans of control and reporting relationships. In addition, academics and consultants have produced a huge amount of work on organisation design. But our research told us that managers still lack a practical and systematic framework to guide their organisation choices. An important purpose of our work has been to condense previous ideas on organisation design into a few core principles, on which to base a usable framework. Less an intellectual triumph than a practical checklist for addressing the most important issues, FIGURE 1: FRAMEWORK FOR ORGANISATION DESIGN GOOD DESIGN PRINCIPLES Specialisation principle Email: michael. goold Corporate strategy Co-ordination principle @ashridge. org. uk ORGANISATION DESIGN People Control and commitment principle Knowledge and competence principle Constraints Innovation and adaptation principle 4 DIRECTIONS FIT DRIVERS www. ashridge. com/directions The Ashridge Journal Summer 2002 Ashridge Business School http://www. ashridge. org. uk FIGURE 2: NINE TESTS FOR ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN Product-market strategies GOOD DESIGN TESTS Specialist cultures test Specialisation principle Andrew Campbell is a director of the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre and visiting professor at City University. Previously Redundant hierarchy test Knowledge and competence principle Market advantage test Corporate strategy Difficult links test Co-ordination principle Parenting advantage test ORGANISATION DESIGN People he was a Fellow in the Centre for Business Strategy People test Accountability test Constraints Control and commitment principle t the London Business School, and a consultant at Feasibility test Flexibility test FIT TESTS Innovation and adaptation principle McKinsey Co. Email: andrew. campbell our framework is grounded on some basic principles. The first and most important, the fit principle, embraces four drivers of fit – productmarket strategies, corporate strategies, people and constraints. The other good design p rinciples are the specialisation principle, the co-ordination principle, the knowledge and competence principle, the control and commitment principle, and the innovation and adaptation principle (Figure 1). The principles are broad in nature and not always easy to convert into prescriptive guidance. They are more valuable in orienting managers than in resolving particular organisational dilemmas. However, as we worked with the principles, we found ways to convert them into some practical tests. Perhaps the most important contribution of this lies in the insights and understandings that the tests produce. The tests match the fit drivers and the good design principles. (See Figure 2). @ashridge. org. uk The fit tests One almost universally agreed proposition is that organisations need to be fit for purpose. Strategy, 5 DIRECTIONS www. ashridge. com/directions The Ashridge Journal Summer 2002 Ashridge Business School http://www. ashridge. org. uk Nine tests of organisation design therefore, should be a key driver of organisation design, and we have found it useful to distinguish between product-market strategies and corporatelevel strategy. But strategy is not the only driver of organisational design. At least as important are people. Many authorities counsel against designing an organisation around people, preferring to build around the strategy and change the people if necessary. However, people cannot always be changed and new ones with the required attitudes may be hard to find. So designs should take account of the people available to lead and work in them. Finally, organisation design is subject to various constraints, ranging from laws laid down by governments to organisational capabilities or resources that are deeply embedded. The people test: â€Å"Does the design adequately reflect the motivations, strengths and weaknesses of the available people? † The feasibility test: â€Å"Does the design take account of the constraints that may make the proposal unworkable? The fit tests bring out the most important inputs that should guide organisation design choices. Provided the design has been selected with these inputs in mind, there should be no problem in passing the fit tests. However, organisation design choices are not always so rational. All too often, organisations evolve in ways that are not sufficiently related to the strategy of the compan y, or else pay scant attention to the limitations of managers who will fill key positions. In one company, we were told that the structure had always been primarily driven by the balance of All too often, organisations evolve in ways that are not sufficiently related to the strategy of the company, or else pay scant attention to the limitations of managers who will fill key positions. power between the four barons who ran the main divisions, resulting in business unit groupings that had little to do with the opportunities in the markets being served. Under these circumstances, the organisation will be a barrier to successful strategy implementation and will damage competitiveness. The fit tests ensure that organisations that are evidently not fit for purpose will be exposed, and that more suitable alternatives will be adopted. The good design tests The fit drivers lead to four fit tests: While the four drivers of the fit principle are The market advantage test: â€Å"Does the design allocate sufficient management attention to the operating priorities and intended sources of advantage in each product-market area? † recognised by most managers, we believe the good design principles and tests represent more of an advance. They synthesise the vast quantity of academic research and managerial experience about what makes an organisation work well into The parenting advantage test: â€Å"Does the design allocate sufficient attention to the intended 6 DIRECTIONS few basic tests that should guide any organisation designer. The specialisation principle and co-ordination principle both concern the boundaries between sources of added-value and strategic initiatives of the corporate parent? † www. You read "Organisational Design" in category "Papers" ashridge. com/directions The Ashridge Journal Summer 20 02 Ashridge Business School http://www. ashridge. org. uk units. The specialisation principle states that boundaries should exist to encourage the development of specialist skills, whereas the co-ordination principle emphasises that activities that need to be co-ordinated should be located within the boundaries of a single unit. Although these basic principles are clear, there are unfortunately often trade-offs between specialisation and co-ordination. A broadly-based product structure may give economies in purchasing and manufacturing, but be detrimental to the development of specialist products for particular markets. A disaggregated geographical structure with many local units may support the special skills needed for different regions, but prevent effective co-ordination in product development or IT infrastructure. The difficult organisational problems arise when there are trade-offs between different ways of grouping responsibilities. In order to help with these trade-offs, we have developed two tests, which give more precision to the basic principles and make them more practically useful. business unit, with little or no contact with the rest of the company. Alternatively, instead of setting up a separate unit, it may be possible for the corporate parent to ensure that the specialist culture receives sufficient protection by flexing corporate policies and procedures or by giving it certain powers. The test focuses attention on the dangers of suppressing or damaging activities that fall outside the mainstream corporate culture, dangers which are easy to overlook. The difficult links test recognises that many co-ordination benefits can be achieved through spontaneous networking between units, but that others will be more difficult. For example, best practice sharing can often be left to networking between units, whereas the establishment of common technical standards is unlikely without a corporate policy which makes them mandatory. Organisation designers should focus only on the few co-ordination benefits that will be difficult: where networking will not deliver the benefits. For these difficult links, it is necessary to develop appropriate co-ordination mechanisms or interventions to overcome the difficulty, or to The specialist cultures test: â€Å"Do any ‘specialist cultures’, units with cultures that need to be different from sister units and the layers above, have sufficient protection from the influence of the dominant culture? † readjust the design so that the co-ordination lies within the responsibilities of a single unit. This test makes managers assess which co-ordination benefits will be difficult to achieve if left to the network, and to think through whether and how the difficulty can be overcome. The difficult links test: â€Å"Does the organisation design call for any ‘difficult links’, co-ordination benefits that will be hard to achieve on a networking basis, and does it include ‘solutions’ that will ease the difficulty? † Together, the specialist cultures test and difficult links test give managers a powerful means of assessing the trade-offs between the benefits that can be gained from co-ordination and from specialisation. In the 1980s, IBM decided to set up its PC division as a very separate unit, free from the influence of the IBM corporate culture and The specialist cultures test questions whether the required specialist skills will thrive only if the managers concerned are insulated from the influence of other parts of the organisation. For example, sometimes the best way to develop and market a new product is to set it up as a separate policies. This promoted a specialist PC culture that was highly successful in bringing the new product to market rapidly. Using a similar logic, many commentators argued that, when faced with performance problems in the early 1990s, IBM should break up the whole company into separate, 7 DIRECTIONS www. ashridge. com/directions The Ashridge Journal Summer 2002 Ashridge Business School http://www. ashridge. org. uk Nine tests of organisation design independent units. Lou Gerstner, however, believed that the opportunity for IBM lay in providing integrated customer solutions. He therefore kept the company together. But he recognised that co-ordination between separate product divisions was not proving a satisfactory means of offering integrated solutions, due to conflicting divisional priorities and incompatible technologies. He therefore gave authority to IBM Sales and Distribution division and to a new unit, the Global Services division, to concentrate, respectively, on customer solutions and services, using both IBM and competitor products. These divisions have the power to offer a unified approach to customers and have dealt well with the previously difficult links between IBM divisions. At the same time, Gerstner has encouraged new business activities, such as Business Innovation Services, IBM’s e-business initiative, not to be bound by IBM’s traditional policies nd ways of doing things. IBM’s structure now takes account of both the difficult links and the specialist cultures tests. The difficult links and specialist cultures tests help managers to address the organisation design issues faced by companies such as IBM, where there are evident advantages both from specialisation and co-ordination. The tests identify the real trade-offs between co-ordination and specialisation and h elp managers to find ways of gaining the benefits of co-ordination without undermining the development of specialist skills. The knowledge and competence principle is mainly concerned with delegation. It states that responsibilities should be allocated to the person or team best placed to assemble the relevant knowledge and competence at reasonable cost. The practical test that follows from the principle is: This test is based on the premise that the default option should be to decentralise to operating units, only retaining responsibilities at higher levels if there is a knowledge and competence rationale. As we have argued in previous work, hierarchy can only be justified if it adds some value to the functioning of the organisation. 1 Questions about whether and how the hierarchy adds value have helped numerous companies to sharpen their thinking about the design of their headquarters, group and division levels. The redundant hierarchy test is a way of formalising these questions. The control and commitment principle concerns two challenges that arise in any decentralised organisation: how to maintain appropriate control and how to ensure high levels of motivation. Units should feel strong pressures to self-correct if they are failing to deliver, and parent-level managers to whom the units report should be able to identify problems easily and promptly. This leads to a further test: The accountability test: â€Å"Does the design facilitate the creation of a control process for each unit that is appropriate to the unit’s responsibilities, economical to implement, and motivating for the managers in the unit? † The accountability test focuses managers on the pressures that exist for a unit to self-correct. These depend on the relationships the unit has with ts internal and external customers, the performance measures for the unit, and the unit’s reporting relationship. Market-facing business units with arms-length customer relationships and bottomline performance measures are relatively easy to control and motivate. Corporate functions with no external customers, tied internal relationships and The redundant hierarchy test: â⠂¬Å"Are all levels in the hierarchy and all responsibilities retained by higher levels based on a knowledge and 8 DIRECTIONS subjective performance measures present more accountability problems. In a complex structure, it is all too easy to create a design that looks good on paper, but leaves unit managers de-motivated and unclear about their performance objectives, and competence advantage? † www. ashridge. com/directions The Ashridge Journal Summer 2002 Ashridge Business School http://www. ashridge. org. uk parent managers unable to control those who report to them. The accountability test helps managers design units and establish performance measures that produce effective, low-cost controls that are highly motivating. The innovation and adaptation principle states that structures should be designed to innovate and adapt as uncertainties become clarified and environments change. An organisation design that is perfect for today is of little use if it cannot adapt to cope with the conditions of tomorrow. The principle yields our last test. under-attending to product or from underattending to geography? † Often there is no clear The flexibility test: â€Å"Will the design help the development of new strategies and be flexible enough to adapt to future changes? answer to these trade-offs, but making sure that the question is asked helps managers to find a reasonable balance between competing interests. By pointing out the trade-offs and weak points in a The test recognises that some structures allow for evolution and adaptation, whereas others build in rigidity and power bases that resist change. It ensures that the designer considers the changes which may be needed and whether the design will b e flexible enough to make them. chosen design, the tests help managers to be more thoughtful about problems that may occur and future changes that may be needed. The tests also help managers weigh the advantages and disadvantages of different designs and provide a rigorous analytical structure for making design choices. An organisation design that is perfect for today is of little use if it cannot adapt to cope with the conditions of tomorrow. Using the tests The purpose of the tests is to raise issues. Some can be addressed by refining the structure, by designing process solutions, or by appointing different managers. A key benefit from using the tests comes from the ideas for design improvements that they suggest. For example, a common problem is the creation of a layer of management, say a geographic region or a product group, without specifying what responsibilities should be retained by this layer and why. The redundant hierarchy test helps point out this design weakness, alerting managers to the need either to eliminate the layer or to define the responsibilities, skills, management processes and leadership style that is needed to make the layer a positive influence on performance. Some issues raised by the tests point to unavoidable trade-offs: â€Å"do we lose more from The nine tests are the core around which we have built our new approach to organisation design. This article is drawn from Michael Goold and Andrew Campbell’s new book, Designing Effective Organizations (John Wiley Sons, 2002). REFERENCE 1. Goold, Michael; Campbell, Andrew and Alexander, Marcus. (1994). Corporate-level Strategy, John Wiley Sons and Goold, Michael; Pettifer, David and Young, David, â€Å"Redefining the Corporate Centre† , European Management Journal, February 2001. 9 DIRECTIONS www. ashridge. com/directions The Ashridge Journal Summer 2002 Ashridge Business School http://www. ashridge. org. uk How to cite Organisational Design, Papers