Four phase model

The Four-Phase Model is a model for managers and management consultants developed by Prof. Teun W. Hardjono to analyze present organization and to determine what organizational control points and interventions must be in relation to their strategy. It also points out what the most likely strategy for an organization is from the point of view of the present organization, as well as what the possible discrepancy is between the most likely strategy from a market view and from an organizational view. The model gives guidelines for a program of organizational change, in order to remove the discrepancy. In this way, the model can be used to show how organizations can learn with respect to the strategical choices. The model is now being used by several consultancy firms and by researchers as the theoretical background for theses. This led to several case studies in which the use of the model is illustrated. In the original book ‘Ritmiek en organisatiedynamiek’, several cases are described. This article describes the Four-Phase Model and the ideas and assumptions behind it.

The model has been the outcome of a PhD survey, and was presented for the first time in 1995. Since then it was used in many research projects, for training and educational purposes, in consultancy assignments, and for the European Corporate Sustainability Framework (ECSF) and has been developed on request of the European Commission. It is made in co-operation with several universities and consultancy agencies, and is meant to be the basis for tools to be developed which help organizations to implement sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

The PhD survey, of which the Four-Phase Model is the outcome, reflected almost 20 years of study by a management consultant on corporate strategy and organizational change. The basic assumption of the model is that many management principles, models and even hypes have their value, but only in a certain context. This context depends on the market circumstances, the strategy of the organization, the history of the organization, and the organizational culture. The whole model has been made plausible by studying organizations like Philips or KLM and many others.