Organvertreter

Organvertreter is a German term that refers to a type of management strategy used in organizational change processes. The term was first introduced by management consultant Reinhard Lambert in the 1990s. In this context, "Organvertreter" translates to "organizational predecessor" or "organizational predecessor's role."

The Organvertreter concept posits that organizational change is often a complex and iterative process that can be facilitated by understanding the past experiences and successes of the organization. This approach suggests that learning from the organizational predecessor - essentially the previous management team or leadership - can be crucial in navigating the challenges of change.

By employing the Organvertreter, management teams can gain valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, as well as the strategies that have led to past successes and failures. This knowledge can then be used to inform and guide the decision-making process during the change, helping to mitigate its potential risks and maximize the impacts of the introduction of the new solution.

The Organvertreter strategy is especially useful in large-scale organizational change initiatives, where the transformation of an organization requires taking into account a multitude of interconnected constituent groups and stakeholders. It has been used by several organizations in context of the fourth industrial revolution to upgrade their internal knowledge management systems.

It is however not without its critics, with some arguing that it assumes a level of continuity between different organizational generations that may not always be present. Despite this, the Organvertreter remains a concept of some significance in the field of organizational development and leadership.