As an organization designer, researcher, and educator, I develop frameworks, methods, and tools to help leaders design and build organizations that create sustainable value for multiple stakeholders. During the last 45+ years, I have worked in and with commercial, non-profit, education, and government organizations in Europe, Asia, the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, and the Americas.
Practice
Experience ranges from Vice President of a $1.3 billion in-vitro diagnostics manufacturer with operations in over 40 countries to Managing Partner of an international organization design consultancy to Founder and Managing Director of Organization Design Studio® Ltd., a global research, publishing, and education company. Design projects have focused on a variety of organizational systems, including leadership, strategy, governance, customers, operations, suppliers and partners, workforce, organizational culture, and comprehensive scorecards. Worked with a variety of clients and industries including, AlloSource, ASTD, Boeing, British Airways, Colorado Springs Utilities, Defense Depot San Joaquin, U.S. Department of Energy, Kawasaki Robotics, Kisko Senior Living, Lockheed Martin, Long Beach Unified School District, Motorola Life Sciences, U.S. Navy NAVSEA Inspector General (IG), Poudre Valley Health System, TATA, The Ritz Carlton, U.S. Technology Resources, and VA Cooperative Studies.
Research
Organization design is a theory-led discipline where research and empirical evidence inform the design process. My research agenda focuses on exploring the combination of organizational design and leading transformation in a global environment. Two-time recipient of the Gryna Award from the American Society for Quality for “authoring the paper that made the largest contribution to the extension of understanding and knowledge of the philosophy, principles, or methods of quality management during the past year.”
2013 | Management System Design for Sustainable Excellence: Framework, Practices, and Considerations
Teaching
Served in several roles in business education, from Visiting Professor at the University of Trieste, Italy, to Director of the Monfort Institute and Executive Professor of Management at Monfort College of Business to Graduate Faculty at Boston University. Served on over 50 doctoral dissertation committees, including as a visiting professor at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology. Currently teaching Executive MBA courses at the University of Fredericton, Canada, including Systems Thinking and Organization Design, Global Trends and Strategy, Leading Global Virtual Teams, and the Capstone Enterprise Integration Project.
Organizational Excellence Award Programs
Served as judge and examiner for organizational excellence programs in North America, Asia, and the Middle East.
- Expert Assessor | Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Award Program | Prime Minister’s Office | Dubai, UAE | 2016
- Leadership Team | Baldrige Award Recipients (BAR) Consortium | 2006-2014
- Judge | Colorado Performance Excellence Award (Now Rocky Mountain Performance Excellence) | 2005-2008
- Judge | Robert W. Carey Organizational Excellence Award (U.S. Veterans Affairs Healthcare) | 2005 & 2006
- Honoured Assessor | JRD (TATA) QV Award based on the TATA Business Excellence Model (TBEM) | Mumbai and Kolkata, India | 2004 & 2005
- Examiner, Senior Examiner, Alumni Examiner, Site Visit Leader, and Facilitator of Examiner Training | Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award | National Institute of Standards and Technology | 1996-2005
- Chair Judges Panel and Lead Judge | U.S. Army Communities of Excellence Award | 2003 & 2004
- Founding Member of the Executive Committee and Chair, Board of Examiners | Hawaii State Award of Excellence | 1994-1997
Current home base is at 2,225 meters (7,300 feet) elevation in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, United States.
John Latham, PhD, MBA | Organization Designer