PwC: Long term business sustainability mapped out

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

In a world first study to understand the value and elements of organisational agility, leading Australian and New Zealand organisations have shared their inner workings.

“Agility is relevant to all organisations irrespective of size, structure or sector,” says PwC partner Richard Shackcloth. “It is a multi-dimensional capability that enables organisations to respond quickly to change. It is a “must have” not a “like to have” capability for any business that wants to pre-empt, adapt and survive in the current environment where change is constant.”

The PwC and University of Melbourne newly developed “HVP Agility Model” recognises that agility has many dimensions but is based on three core capacities: Horizon, Velocity and Plasticity.”

PwC and University of Melbourne will use the HVP Agility Model and continuing collaborative research to produce an Agility Index as a tool to confirm that agility generates greater shareholder returns. It will allow organisations to review their strengths and weaknesses, track improvement over time and correlate this with overall performance and shareholder returns.

“In the current environment most businesses accept that discrete and often large scale ‘transformation’ activities have their place, but there’s always a question around long term sustainability. And as the pace of the business world increases, organisations can feel like they are constantly playing transformation catch-up,” Shackcloth also says.