ABSTRACT
In Parts II and III I have given examples of some of the problems of making adequate definitions of primary tasks and of attempts to fit organizations to their performance. In the study of the Baroda Group of companies, for example, we found it difficult to move to an effective form of organization until we had defined and differentiated primary tasks at two levels: group and operating company. At group level, the primary task was concerned with investment strategy; at company level, with making profits in a specific industrial field. I have argued that change in the internal or external environment of an enterprise, whatever its cause, might lead to redefinition of the primary task, or to change in the constraints on, and hence in the methods of, its performance. I have also argued that any such change demands an examination of organization to discover whether what had previously been a ‘best fit’ is still the best.
