ACT LOCAL
BE ACCOUNTABLE
The most dramatic change resulting from the matrix
structure was the move away from shared responsibility
to one of direct accountability, combined with cross-
organisational collaboration. Under this structure it is
clear who is accountable, from giobal business lines
right down to local relationship managers working with
local clients on a daily basis. "Rl had simply become too
big and too complex to maintain the former structure",
Harry de Roo says. There was far too much confusion
about who was in charge of what at any given level and
even about what constituted a global business line. 'The
matrix structure has enabled us to assign clear accounta
bility at every level, from global business lines to country
level."
And while ultimate accountability for business lines lies
with the global heads of those business lines, this does
not diminish the accountability of country managers
or relationship managers. In fact, these now 'own' their
businesses more than ever before. What this boils down
to, De Roo says, is that a business manager is accountable
for his entire business. That means notjustthe business
with clients, but also for the likes of risk management,
HR, complianceand IT.They need to run their business like
an entrepreneur with full responsibility. "For instance, you
can delegate responsibility but not your own account
ability. You might outsource your IT operations, but it's
up to you to make sure your IT company is delivering.
You can't blame them if they fail. It's your job to make
sure they don't."
GLOBAL
issue ie THE WORD
