Part 1:
Business Activity Problem
I have listed websites at the bottom for references to use from the class!! These will help do the assignment. It should be about 300 words min and have intext citiations as well as references lis
Learning Activity- Organizational Structure
Preface:
A leader's job is to create the direction for the company to move forward. The leader does this in steps. Here are the steps of the process: First the leader designs the Vision and Mission of the company. Second, the leader must establish an organizational structure which promotes the vision, mission and empowers 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 has as its goal to get correct parcels to the right customers in the fastest way possible. A variance in procedures or ways of accomplishing this task would never work. A tight, delineated structure is imperative in this instance.
- 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? Do you plan a structure that can easily grow in size without harming its integrity or one whose focus is the best way to make new products? The correct Vision must be built into the organization structure.
- The people who make up the organization need their jobs and their decision making authority considered. The authority must flow and make the organization respond favorably to the decisions and changes that are needed to move the organization toward the vision while making sure the stability continues to keep essential tasks on track. This is tricky because the leader's job here is not to tell the managers what procedures to use or make but rather to set up a structure with authority to make it possible for them to make those decisions and establish the necessary procedures.
- The structure must be people centric. It must focus on how people will best work together to get their jobs done and still focus on the vision and the necessary change that is inevitable to keep the business alive in the 21st century. Change is the operative word.
- Budget considerations for now and into the future must be considered.
- Finally, external environmental factors like sustainability and knowledge management may also be considered in developing the structure. These factors would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Now it is your turn to try your hand at creating a structure to fit an organization. Consider these facts:
Richard Purvis has created the Jordan Shoe Company. It is known for its specialty tennis shoes at moderate prices. The company is making fun shoes for young children, mostly girls. Catering to the age group 1 thru 12, the shoes are very popular in Colorado. The shoes are growing in popularity and Richard is considering expanding to other states. Business has grown steadily in the last seven years and the future looks bright. If Richard expands the company he would have to set up two other plants in other states. If he does this he will have to reorganize the Colorado plant. The staff has always gotten along because Richard has always been able to keep things on an even keel with his personality and his concern for personnel welfare. He would have to find someone to take his place to run the Colorado plant. He wants to set in place a structure that will continue to grow the business while still maintaining its quality, reputation, and the happiness of his employees.
Some additional facts that may help in your considerations. Purvis currently employs a plant manager, two salesmen, an office manager, two office workers, a bookkeeper and 12 factory workers. The salesmen want to move into marketing and to add new sales personnel. The cost of expansion could be done effictively if the current profit levels are maintained and that can only be done if the Colorado plant continues to run smoothly.
PART ONE - Create a Vision and Mission statement for Purvis
PART TWO - Create an organization structure that will carry the organization forward.
REFERENCES:
https://ww2.cfo.com/human-capital-careers/2005/08/the-21st-century-organization/
https://www.analytictech.com/mb021/trends2.htm
https://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/goodbyecommand.html
https://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/the_eight_word_mission_statement
https://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/visions.html
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_95.htm
https://chiefexecutive.net/a-more-powerful-leadership-structure-for-effecting-change
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/flat-vs-hierarchical-organizational-structure-724.html
https://www.saybrook.edu/rethinkingcomplexity/posts/01-15-13/nine-tests-design-your-21st-century-organization
Part 2:
Characteristics of the 21st Century organization:
1. Organizations will be flatter but far more complex.
a. Distance, boundaries, and reliance on communication technology add levels of complexity that ordinary teams just don't have" (Stevenson & McGrath, 2004)
b. Virtual organizations are structured like a geodesic dome - joined together at key intersections (Lipnack & Stamps, 1999).
c. Unlike the old workplace with routine work, specialization, and standardization, "... the new workplace is organized around a flat structure of networks in which teams may have members who are suppliers, customers, and even competitors who work on a project-by-project basis" (Akan, 2005)
2. Organizational boundaries will continue to become more and more blurred, but this will add value to the organization's offerings.
a. Virtual organizations bring together critical contributors who might not otherwise be able to work together due to time, travel, and cost restrictions (Stevenson & McGrath, 2004)
b. Virtual organizations can enhance the available pool of resources by including people from outside the sponsoring organization, such as supply chain affiliates, members of partnering organizations, or external consultants (Kerber & Buono, 2004)
3. Organizations must have a single-minded shared purpose to glue together its complex structure.
a. To manage the complexity of the virtual, global environment, the organization has identified and formed a shared understanding of their actual and target core competencies (Voss, 1996)
b. Virtual organizations have shared vision and goal or a common protocol of cooperation (Voss, 1996)
c. Gaining commitment to the team's purpose is far more challenging for teams that do not meet face-to-face (Kerber & Buono, 2004)
4. Organizations will be learning organizations.
a. "In the future, workers will have to possess in-depth professional knowledge and expertise to continually advance in their careers" (Huang & Chuan, 2005). To develop this in-depth professional knowledge and expertise in its employees, Liu & Chen (2005) expect that more than 50% of businesses will establish their own internet-based management training seminars and corporate university advanced degree programs during the 21st century.
b. Huang and Chuan (2005) note that, "In the future, workers will have to possess in-depth professional knowledge and expertise to continually advance in their careers."
c. Infrastructure that supports knowledge-sharing, communication, and work on joint projects. (Voss, 1996)
d. Create teams that differ considerably in their purpose, structure and dynamics, balancing attention on task, behaviors and learning.
Characteristics of the 21st Century virtual leader:
1. The virtual leader of the 21st Century will be a virtual (life-long) learner and his/her virtual learning will be incorporated into the culture of the organization
a. Huang and Chuan (2005) recognized that education is a required core capability of an organization and it can not be separated from the work.
b. Some suggest that networked education is a new educational paradigm and a response to the educational needs of the emerging information society (Uys, 2002).
c. Changes are occurring not just at the hourly or supervisory levels within organizations. "Executive education is undergoing a gradual but radical transformation" (Conger & Xin, 2000).
2. The virtual leader of the 21st Century will necessarily be brighter than her counterparts of the 20th Century. She must multi-task within a complex network of loosely knit organizational entities.
a. Greater levels of complexity within organizations add greater demands on the managers (Stevenson & McGrath, 2004; Pauleen, 2003; Bell & Kozlowski, 2002; Ikayworth & Leidner, 2002)
b. Managers must by globally literate to manage globally centric, multicultural teams (Stevenson & McGrath, 2004)
3. The 21st Century virtual leader will be a situational leader with transformational team leadership qualities.
a. Open and spontaneous communication with emotional intelligence (Voss, 1996)
b. Build and maintain the rapport (and in particular the trust) necessary for a positive learning climate (Clutterbuck, 2004)
c. Moral character with concern for self and others (Bass, 1999) with ethical values embedded in the leaders' vision (Bass, 1999)
d. Communicating the importance and value of specified and idealized goals (Northouse, 2004)
e. Consultative leadership, common values, and idealized influence (Gillespie & Mann, 2004)
4. The virtual leader of the 21st Century will be a situational leader with excellent people skills
a. As Lee-Kelly (2002) suggests, the leader will be called upon, "...to cope with multiple roles, unplanned events, losing key members of the team, modifications to the project schedule, and the need to innovate and adapt to the changing circumstances in order to maintain control. The manager must alter his/her management style to match the situation."
b. Build and maintain the rapport (and in particular the trust) necessary for a positive learning climate (Clutterbuck, 2004)
c. Motivating, communicating, appraising and encouraging learning remotely (Clutterbuck, 2004)
d. Servant-leader (Cardona, 2000)
e. Work jointly in teams of core-competence groups with shared vision and goals or a common protocol of cooperation, and delegation from the bottom up (Voss, 1996)
f. Develop the skills of team members in working collaboratively at a distance (Clutterbuck, 2004)
g. Much more of a facilitating and consulting role (Clutterbuck, 2004)
h. Measure not only the "hard" facts of business performance but also the "soft" facts that indicate qualitative improvements of services and people
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