The BetaCodex is a set of principles for building and managing decentralized organizations. It grew out of the Beyond Budgeting Round Table (BBRT) research initiative in 2008. The principles form a system for decentralized company building beyond planning and centralized management and have already been used by companies such as Handelsbanken and Ikea.
The BetaCodex is both geared to a complex market and oriented to the needs of people.
The name of the model was deliberately chosen to distinguish it from so-called alpha organization. In the model, alpha organizations are conventional pyramidal organizations characterized by multi-layered formal hierarchies and functional differentiation of the company. The Beta Code sees the future in the so-called peach model (as opposed to the classic pyramid model) and 12 principles tied to that idea. In the peach model, performance teams (also called cells) are functionally integrated and can solve market problems autonomously.
Inside is the core/center, which are the cells without market contact. On the outside, in the periphery, are the cells with market contact, which are able to learn in the market through “interaction with the market, especially with direct recipients of value creation.” The center, on the other hand, cannot learn from the market; it learns only through the periphery.
A cell-like structure is formed from multiple performance teams. The performance teams in turn access central services. To these they maintain a symmetrical interface, i.e. the cells and the center are mutually dependent on each other.
This is intended to create an organization that is very market-oriented, whereas many existing organizations today tend to look inward. A company develops with BetaCodex as a network with a decentralized cell structure.