Organizational Culture

There is no one correct way of presenting a business case. Each business case will inevitably have a significant degree of subjectivity associated with it.

here is no one correct way of presenting a business case. Each business case will inevitably have a significant degree of subjectivity associated with it. That subjectivity often arises from an organization's business culture.

Corporate culture can influence a business case in many ways:

• it determines the length and the format of a business case
• it influences who initiates the business case and how it will be presented
• it influences the development process and life cycle and how the project will be presented and processed in the organization

How does corporate culture determine the length and format of the business case?

John works for a small, family-run firm and his boss is interested in descriptions of how a new computer-based business process will change the way things are done. His boss does not require these benefits to be quantified in detail.

David works for a large, multinational company that is steeped in bureaucracy. His employers require detailed financial projections for every project that he proposes.

The differences in the corporate cultures will affect the length and format of the business cases that John and David are preparing. David will have to include a lot of detailed financial information in his business case, thereby increasing the overall length.

Corporate culture also determines who initiates the business case.

For example, Meg works in a manufacturing plant where top management determines the business case and it is handed down to more junior staff for development.

She has been asked to design an inspection program to eliminate manufacturing defects early in a process and help save considerable time.

Tim works in a software development company. He is a team lead in the Marketing Department and believes there may be a demand for the company's products in overseas markets.

He draws up a business case to raise the possibility of translating the software to other languages.

The different approaches reflect the difference in culture in the companies. In Meg's company, new projects are thought up by management. Tim's company, in contrast, allows staff at all levels to propose new projects.

Corporate culture determines the development process and life cycle of a business case.

For example, Loretta, an executive, manages Imagenie, a small, privately owned company.

When the head of a department wishes to develop a business case he uses a template. Filling out the template provides all of the information required for the proposed project.

The completed business case is then reviewed and revised by members of the department in question before it is presented to Loretta for approval.

The business case development process can be very different, however, in larger organizations.

For example, when federal agencies present business cases, the process requires agencies to answer hundreds of questions covering five life cycle phases, IT and non-IT investments, and infrastructure and consolidation investments. Then agencies are required to fit their business rationale into a single template - the Exhibit 300.

Therefore, the bigger the company, the greater the structure and formality required in the development process and life cycle. Small companies can use a less formal development process.

The way in which a business case is presented will depend very much on the corporate culture in which it was developed.

Here are examples of how some business cases were presented:

ONLINE

Emily's company is considering expanding its delivery of web-based services. A business plan is prepared and delivered over the web. This method of presentation is designed to underline the ability of existing web technology to deliver the proposed new services that the company intends to supply.

INFORMATIONAL COMPANY MEETING

Stan works for a small company that is considering expanding its direct marketing division. The head of the sales team makes the presentation directly to the company owner in his office, so that questions can be answered and issues expanded upon as needed.

FORMAL CONFERENCE

Linda is in charge of a department in a large multinational company. Her business case is presented in a very formal manner to a number of high-level executives, industry analysts, and investment bankers.

In smaller companies, the business case may simply be reviewed by managers who then decide whether resources will be allocated to the project.

QUESTION

Identify the factors involved in the development of a business case that are influenced by corporate culture.

1. The length and format of the business case
2. The way in which it is processed in the organization
3. The purpose of a business case
4. The way in which it is presented
5. The development process and life cycle of the business case
6. The persons involved in initiating the business case

Some companies will require detailed information about all aspects of a new project and how they will affect the existing business model.

Other companies will only require a brief outline of the project and its expected benefits.

The business case may result in new departments being created and new procedures being set up, or it may result in the once-off expenditure on new workplace equipment.

A business case always has the same function: to obtain the resources necessary to implement a new project.

The presentation of a business case can vary widely from company to company. It can be a relatively informal affair, where it is almost at the level of a conversation.

Alternatively, it could be a formal presentation to upper management, or it could take advantage of specialist technologies as a means of demonstrating the value of those technologies.

The development and life cycle of a business case are influenced by the amount of detail required by the departments that will have a say in approving or providing resources for the project.

In some cases, a company's high-level management decides on a possible business case and asks a junior member of staff or a department to research it.

In other cases, it may happen that any member of staff in a company can prepare a business case when they become aware of a problem or opportunity facing the company.

I have been teaching and training agents, team leaders, supervisors, managers and admins of call centers and other businesses in BPO related fields. This series, comes as a result of that experience. I have more than 4,000 modules that I plan on sharing here. This is # 006-03

---