One of the most common questions besides technology solutions are positioning of E-Business man power into the existing corporate organization. Do we set up an independent division (or as a Start-up) or an integrated cross division team structure.
These are the possible models:
Fully integrated into existing divisions and departments
Hybrid division for all on-line activities
Hybrid divisions as fully qualified business (i.e. e-limited company)
Spin-offs (e-merchant models)
Fully integrated into existing divisions and departments
As FiD’s each division is responsible for its on-line activities. Key responsibility for all division activities lies in the hands of the CEO and his CIM/CEBO (Corporate E-Business Officer).
Communication and e-business interrelations are managed by the CEBO as otherwise totally incompatible platforms and solutions develop beside each other. This will lead eventually to the necessity to top fooling around and merging in a very expensive and problematic time schedule.
On the other hand one can argue that this integration allows for a swift migration of common business processes into an electronic version. This shows that you have to move towards a mixed solution called hybrid division model.
Hybrid division for all on-line activities
If you set up a division consisting of all e-business project teams you can use the advantage of knowledge transfers at project level instead of division level. Teams are closer together but not so far apart that they get lost in the web forgetting about basic business processes.
Hybrid divisions as fully qualified business (FQB)
Let every one know the rules and live by them. Be fair and responsible as a group:
Spin-offs
Spin-offs act in a similar mode as previously described organization model of FQB’s. The key difference lies in the very independent mode of business activities. They often represent an e-merchant model as they buy the goods from the corporate body and sell it by own means of marketing, logistics and pricing. For the public it is often difficult to identify the spin-off as property of the corporate.
