Assessing the Effects of Centralizing a Customer Support Organization in a Global IT Company
Tarkiainen, Roope (2020)
Tarkiainen, Roope
2020
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020103021853
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020103021853
Tiivistelmä
This thesis investigates the impact that centralization has on selected Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the customer IT support organization of the Case Company, the Case Organization. The Case Company is a global IT consulting company that delivers consulting, digital transformation, technology and engineering services. The study concentrates on the Case Organization and the aim of it is to measure the organizational performance before and after the centralization with a selected performance management tool and KPIs. Those results are then analyzed against KPIs set by the Case Organization and that analysis is then combined with findings from a literature review and a deep expert interview conducted with the Case Organization employees to form concrete recommendations to the head of the organization on how to improve the organization going forward.
The study consists of participatory action research where the participants themselves are involved in the planning, observation and in the implementation of the associated corrective actions. The author conducts an in-depth literature review to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the performance management tool chosen by the organization and to conduct a SWOT analysis on organizational centralization. Once the centralization activities were completed by the organization, the KPI metrics from the Balanced Scorecard were extracted and examined with the help of deep-expert interviews to understand why specific metrics failed and why others didn’t. The SWOT is then used to understand which KPIs could be improved further and whether some elements of the organization should be decentralized instead of being fully centralized.
The outcome of the study is a series of recommendations covering operations, processes, people and financials which are then presented to the head of the organization. Based on the findings from the study, the organization is recommended to reap the benefits of centralized tooling, processes and economies of scale, whilst shifting the decision-making lower in hierarchy to enable organizational learning and innovation when it comes to resolving issues for the customers.
The study consists of participatory action research where the participants themselves are involved in the planning, observation and in the implementation of the associated corrective actions. The author conducts an in-depth literature review to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the performance management tool chosen by the organization and to conduct a SWOT analysis on organizational centralization. Once the centralization activities were completed by the organization, the KPI metrics from the Balanced Scorecard were extracted and examined with the help of deep-expert interviews to understand why specific metrics failed and why others didn’t. The SWOT is then used to understand which KPIs could be improved further and whether some elements of the organization should be decentralized instead of being fully centralized.
The outcome of the study is a series of recommendations covering operations, processes, people and financials which are then presented to the head of the organization. Based on the findings from the study, the organization is recommended to reap the benefits of centralized tooling, processes and economies of scale, whilst shifting the decision-making lower in hierarchy to enable organizational learning and innovation when it comes to resolving issues for the customers.