---
id: "prereq-org-design-basics"
type: "prereq"
source_timestamps: ["§ 1. Explicitly redefine workflows and then name new (human) role expectations."]
tags: ["management-theory"]
related: ["action-redefine-spans-of-control"]
reason: "To implement the recommended frameworks, practitioners must understand standard HR and management concepts like span of control, decision rights, and performance management."
sources: ["agentic"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-agentic"
originDay: 6
articleStem: "hbr-ext-16-dont-treat-agents-like-employees"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/05/research-why-you-shouldnt-treat-ai-agents-like-employees"
sourceTitle: "Research: Why You Shouldn’t Treat AI Agents Like Employees"
---
# Familiarity with Organizational Design Concepts

**Prerequisite:** Familiarity with standard **organizational design** concepts.

**Why it's needed:** To implement the recommended frameworks, practitioners must understand standard HR and management concepts — notably **span of control**, **decision rights**, and **performance management**.

These are the levers the [[framework-responsible-human-ai-collaboration]] pulls: [[action-redefine-spans-of-control]] adjusts spans of control, [[action-define-decision-rights]] sets decision rights and escalation, and [[action-reset-performance-management]] retools performance metrics. Readers without this grounding will struggle to translate the vault's principles into operational change.