WEEK THREE: The Leader as the Social architect
Organizational Structure
Preface:
A leader’s job is to create the direction so the company can
move forward. The leader does this in steps. Here are the steps of the process:
First, the leader designs the vision and mission for the
company and
Second, the leader must establish an organizational
structure which promotes the vision, mission and empowers the employees to keep
the forward movement in the organization.
In creating the structure various factors must be
considered.
First and foremost is the purpose of the company or
organization. What type of structure will best accomplish that goal? Certainly a company like UPS needs a somewhat
rigid structure that is set up to focus on procedure and time sensitivity. Since UPS has as its goal to get the correct
parcels to the right customers in the fastest possible way, variance in
procedures or ways of accomplishing the tasks would not work well. A tight delineated structure is imperative.
Along with the purpose the leader must look at the vision of
the organization. Where does the leader want the organization to go? How best
can the structure provide for the future?
Will the vision call for expansion into other countries or simply call
for product development changes? Does a
leader plan a structure that can easily grow in size without harming its
integrity or one that focuses on the best way to make new products? Also, vision must be built into the
organizational structure.
The people who make up the organization, their jobs and the
decision making authority should be considered. The authority must flow and
make the organization respond favorably to the decisions and changes that are
needed to move the organization forward toward the vision while making sure
stability continues to keep tasks on track.
This is tricky because the leader’s job here is not to tell the manager
what procedures to use or make but rather to set up a structure and authority
to make it possible for them to develop those procedures, etc.
The structure should be people centric focuses on how people
will best work together to get their jobs done while still focusing on the
vision and the necessary change that is inevitable to keep the business alive
in the 21st Change is the operative word.
Budget is a major consideration in the present and in the
future.
Finally, environment factors like sustainability and
knowledge management will need to be considered in developing the structure.
Learning Activity #1: Creating a Vision and Mission
Statement
The following fact pattern has an existing vision and
mission statement created by Richard Purvis of the Jordan Shoe Company before
he considered an expansion.
The two statements contain mistakes and are not the best for
the current company now that an expansion will take place.
Students are to change the vision and mission statements to
help Purvis obtain the best design for the company’s organizational structure
and culture as possible. Be sure to
explain what mistakes you see and how and why you corrected them to make it
better for Purvis using the course material as support.
Richard Purvis started the Jordan Shoe Company in Boulder
Colorado. The company is known for its great specialty tennis shoes at moderate
prices. The company designs and creates
fun shoes for young children, mostly girls.
Catering to the age group of 1-12 years, the shoes are popular in
Colorado. The shoes have been growing in
popularity and Richard is thinking of expanding into other states. Business has grown steadily in the last seven
years and the company’s future looks bright.
If Richard expands the company he would have to set up two plants in
other states and will have to reorganize the Colorado plant.
The staff has always gotten along well because Richard has
been able to keep things on an even keel with his personality and concern for
their each employee’s personal welfare.
Richard would have to find someone to take his place to run the plant in
Colorado. He wants to set in place a
structure that will continue to grow the business while ensuring quality,
reputation, and the happiness of its employees are maintained.
Purvis has set up his factory with a horizontal
collaborative structure. He has four
departments; design, the production department, sales and marketing, and
administration. Each department has a
manager that acts as a team head. Purvis
meets weekly with all the heads together and individually off and on during the
week.
Purvis currently employs a plant manager who heads the
production department, which has 12 factory workers, two salesmen one of whom
is the team head that also handles the marketing aspect of the business. The administrative head is the general
manager, and there are two office workers and a bookkeeper. Finally, the design team has three employees
one of whom is the head designer who leads the team.
The cost of expansion could be done effectively if the
current profit level remains stable and that can only be done if the Colorado
plant continues to run smoothly.
The current vision for the company is: to produce the best
children’s specialty shoes.
The mission is: to produce quality, stylish shoes that are
known for their durability, style, and contemporary kid fashion. The “kid” must
be in every shoe.
Purvis believes strongly that his employees must be free to
create the best shoes possible. He wants
them to work together happily and with a commitment to the development of the
vision. He also wants them to continue
to work together as they do now and to encourage creativity among them all and
not just with the design department. He wants to empower them but the shoes
have to be completed and shipped promptly.
Learning Activity #2 Organizational Structure
Review the Purvis fact pattern and identify the structure
that Purvis currently has.
Identify the organizational structure. Does the structure
fit the purpose of the company? Why or
Why not? Explain in detail using the
course material as support. Be sure to include in the discussion the idea of
the decision making flow.
Select from the course reading three types of organizational
structures that would work as well if not better for Purvis once the expansion
takes place. Explain the pros and cons of each structure and determine what
organizational structure would work best fit for Purvis. Support the reasoning using the course
material.
