Implementing company policies in plant level asset operations: measuring organisational alignment

As the world becomes progressively more competitive and globalised, companies need to align their organisation with the market and customers' requirements. Such alignment needs to be based on organisational policies (i.e., strategic objectives, missions and goals) implemented in the products and plant level operations. However, to identify gaps, an integrated approach to measure the organisational alignment is needed. The measurements may be used for the following purposes: (1) to link strategy goals towards daily activities, (2) to identify relevant activities for continuous improvements, (3) to obtain better internal alignment among employees, departments, production locations, etc., and (4) to manage business processes. This paper discusses the measurement of organisational alignment with respect to a company's policies. A generic model for management of the company's alignment is suggested using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The model is demonstrated using a case study performed in an automobile manufacturing plant located in the USA. [Submitted 03 March 2009; Revised 06 July 2009; Accepted 31 August 2009]