The Hax and Majluf Model: what is this business management system?

Let's look at the characteristics of the Hax and Majluf Model and how it affects the operation of the company.

There are many ways to manage an organization. A multitude of models have been designed for this purpose.

Each of them has a series of pros and cons, so that the company in question can take as a reference the one that suits it best at any given time.

This time we are going to focus on the Hax and Majluf models model, to find out what makes it different from the others.

What is the Hax and Majluf model?

Before defining the Hax and Majluf model in depth and getting to know its peculiarities, we must know its origin. It is named after its creators, MIT Sloan School of Management professor Arnoldo Hax and engineer and professor Nicolás Majluf, both of Chilean origin.both of Chilean origin.

These two authors worked together to produce a publication in 1984 entitled "Strategic Management: An Integrative Perspective". This volume is part of a group of three works that deal with various strategies to be implemented by companies.

In the case of the Hax and Majluf model, one of the references used by its creators to elaborate this new system was the contingency model, by Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorschcreated at the end of the 1960s. What these authors affirmed is that all the jobs that make up the organization must be segmented, coordinating among themselves, and at the same time integrating into the total, which is the company.

For the Hax and Majluf model, the creators went further, delving into business strategies oriented to the business itself and to functionality. In the following, we will take an in-depth look at all the elements contained in this system.

After briefly reviewing the origin of Hax and Majluf's model, it is time to delve deeper into how this method works. What these authors proposed was the importance of three elements in particular and their combination. These elements were the structure of the organization, the culture of the company and the strategies carried out.

The method proposed by the model of Hax and Majluf The method proposed by the Hax and Majluf model serves to analyze in a simple way the design of the organization in question and to draw conclusions about its efficiency, discovering the weakest points in which modifications can be made to achieve an improvement, sometimes quite significant, in the organization. can be made in order to achieve an improvement, sometimes quite significant.

One of the keys provided by this system is the idea that the strategies used by the company must be established in accordance with the existing corporate culture. In other words, the corporation's way of proceeding must be a reflection of its own identity, so that there is congruence between the two dimensions.

Another of the characteristics pointed out by Hax and Majluf's model is that the behaviors of the members of the corporation must be taken into account both in their individual and collective aspects.. As a group, they will have a series of responses to the measures adopted by the organization, which will modulate its climate in one direction or another.

This approach also warns of the importance of using the right strategies to achieve constant progress in the organization, giving all members of the organization the tools they need to use their full potential, with the consequent benefit to the company and the achievement of its objectives.

The importance of structure

We have already described some of the general characteristics of Hax and Majluf's model. Now We will now take a closer look at the concept of organizational structure, one of the pillars of this system for these Chilean authors.for these Chilean authors. Mainly, this phenomenon would have to complete two objectives for the correct functioning of the company.

The first one is to establish effective ways for the adoption of the corresponding strategies in the organization. On the other hand, The structure must be designed in such a way that all the procedures of the company's components can be carried out normally, without hindrance.without hindrance.

These are simple, but necessary requirements, so that the rest of the factors can function properly. In addition, Hax and Majluf's model speaks of the importance of achieving integration of all members within the organizational structure and making them participants in the strategies adopted, according to the company's values.

Another element that comes into play here is the organization's vision, i.e. the objective it has set itself to achieve in the medium and long term. This vision will be the framework to be taken into account when selecting and establishing the strategies we were talking about. This is how all the elements are connected, according to Hax and Majluf's model.

In addition, the authors state that, in order to implement the vision of the company as an element shared by all its members, it is necessary to be precise in the execution of all administrative tasks, so that communication is fluid and everyone has access to information in a simple and appropriate way.In order to implement the vision of the company as an element shared by all its members, it is necessary to be precise in the execution of all administrative tasks, so that communication is fluid and everyone has access to information in a simple and appropriate manner. The team responsible for human resources will have a special relevance in this mission.

But But it is not only the company's official communication channels that must be taken into account, as informal channels are sometimes just as important, if not more so.The organization must therefore be aware of the importance of these channels of communication. Therefore, the organization should be aware of these other ways of transmitting information and try to make use of them, thanks to the team members who have access to them.

Once the implementation of the vision has been achieved in all components of the company, and with an optimal organizational climate, the company will be ready to try to achieve the goals it has set throughout the process.

The design of the company according to Hax and Majluf's model.

One of the utilities of the Hax and Majluf model is the help it provides to generate an efficient organization design. In order to achieve this, a series of milestones must be followed. The beginning can only be to establish the most elementary and necessary company structure, from which we will start.. It must contain those departments that are essential for the operation.

In this prototype structure, the hierarchical relationships between the different levels of the organization must be clearly defined. Once this basic model is in place, it is time to go deeper and make it progressively more complex..

This process must be carried out by establishing the specific details that were not included at the outset, relating to the specific relationships between departments and teams, the processes that each must carry out, the deadlines that have been agreed upon for each type of task, and any other issue that enriches the definition of this structure.

Therefore, we note that, according to the criteria of the Hax and Majluf model, what is achieved is to move from a very simple and easy to elaborate structure format to a much more complex one, through a progressive approach that facilitates this task.. The opposite case, i.e. to elaborate a complex model directly, could be much more complicated if we do not start from this first structural level.

We see a clear advantage of this methodology over other approaches, as it makes one of the most complicated and at the same time sensitive procedures of business design a more affordable and easier task to tackle.

In any case, the process does not end there. Once this detailed structure model is available, it must be accompanied by the entire list of processes that must be carried out for the correct operation of the company.. In this list we would be talking about the ways in which the communication between the members is going to be carried out or how a control on the different managements is going to be carried out.

It would also include procedures related to compensation, human resources administration and, of course, the planning of any task that may be required. Obviously, this will not be a static scheme, since the company is an organism in constant evolution and growth.

Therefore, it will be necessary to adapt this model to the changing reality in which the organization moves. This is another of the indications made by the creators of the Hax and Majluf model.

Bibliographical references:

• Hax, A.C., Majluf, N.S. (1981). Organizational design: A survey and an approach. Operations Research.
• Hax, A.C., Majluf, N.S. (1983). The use of the growth-share matrix in strategic planning. Interfaces.
• Hax, A.C., Majluf, N.S. (1984). The corporate strategic planning process. Interfaces.
• Hax, A.C., Majluf, N.S. (1988). The concept of strategy and the strategy formation process. Interfaces.
• Hax, A.C., Majluf, N.S. (2014). Lessons in strategy: Towards a management of excellence. Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile.
• Lawrence, P.R., Lorsch, J.W.. (1967). Differentiation and integration in complex organizations. Administrative science quarterly. JSTOR.