Question 1: Using NJIT as an example, explain how its organizational structure influences how work is organized, how people and groups communicate, and how decisions are made?
Before explaining how the organizational structure of NJIT influences the organization of work, communication and decisions, it is essential to understand how the NJIT is structured.
Organization structure of NJIT
The organization structure of NJIT is complex and highly centralized and hierarchical. It is governed by Board of Trustees and Office of the President reports to the Board. Various other Vice Presidents like, the Human Resources, Academic support and student affairs etc., report to the President’s Office. Each of these Vice Presidents have their own organization structure having multi-level hierarchies. Some of the top level functions like Vice Presidents are supported by Assistants or Directors who are not part of the direct linear hierarchy of the organization structure.
Organization of Work at NJIT
The work in NJIT is highly centralized and has various levels of authority. Each level has a role to play and work to do and cannot cross the boundaries of the defined role. For example, the Vice President of Human Resources is responsible for the employees, the benefit administration, compensations, labor and employee relationships etc. and cannot step out of the boundary of her role. In other words she has no say in the academic support and student affairs.
The people at the helm of affairs are responsible for formulating rules, procedures and guidance and are for enforcing the rules. There are clear cut boundaries for each of the roles.
Communication
Communication in this sort of highly centralized and hierarchical organization is often flo...
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...e can be spent on any project which is promising and is cool. In fact most of the new products that are launched by Google came out of that 20% rule.
6. Communication: Unlike other organizational cultures where communication most of the times is a one way traffic, in Google, communication is always multi-lateral directions. Employees can communicate with every one with the work involved and even with the top management to present their findings.
7. Be a good listener: One of the rules stipulated by Google for their manager is to be a good listener. The emphasis is on two way communication.
8. Micro facilities: Every need of the employee is taken care of. Every conference room is provided with cables, projectors, connectivity to I-pads, network connections unlike other organizations. Employees need not waste time on these minor things which take up most of the time.
The Organisation structure of a company addresses the fact that every organisation has specific units that are responsible for different roles and actions in the organisation and that no department within the organisation stands alone, they are intertwined. The organisational chart or structure should be designed to divide up the work load, responsibilities and roles to be done
Motivation is a key factor in any successful company. Motivated employees tend to work more focused and with less pressure. Google is a company that believes that motivated employees work better.
Furthermore, excellent communication skills are essential for effective performance management [U.S. office of personnel management 2016]. The need for continuous dialogue is essential. Managers should create an atmosphere which is conducive for interaction and work. So that colleagues can be able to share information on the organization’s mission, values and objectives. This leads to efficient and effective performance which contributes in meeting the goals of the organisation
The leaders of Google have well understood the means to make Google’s company different to the other companies. They established since the beginning an original way of work, controlling the recruitment of the new members, and imposing their vision on the employees.
Google is known for its many perks it grants to its employees. The company’s corporate office is located in Southern California and its employees refer to its corporate office as a “campus.” Its corporate headquarters is known for its beautiful office space. Googlers are provided with free food and drinks, shuttle transportation, and daycare. Google’s headquarters is known for its playful interior design, which is used to inspire its employees creativity and efficiency. Google believes that by treating its employees properly, it will motivate its employees to work more efficiently, therefore producing quality services and products. The company’s employees are one of the company’s greatest assets (5). Its employees are in fact, stakeholders of the company and Google looks out for their interest, as any business that practices ethics
Organizational structure is one of the three key organizational assets that could contribute to the effectiveness of operations of any organization (Zheng, Yan and Mclean 2009) It is joined together by different flows of information, decision processes, hierarchy of authority, specialization and working materials. (Enz 2009; Mintzberg 1980) Furthermore, it also determines the operating workflow, control of information, decision-making in the organization and the line authority (Mintzberg 1980). The facets of the organizational structure, the relationships that exist within it, and how the business processes (Bititci et al 2011) are controlled, determine the managerial style that should be utilized in addition to the strategies the organization could implement. Going further, a company’s organizational design and the parts that constitute it are seen as a contributing factor to superior performance, which ultimately provide an organization with competitive advantage over its competitors. (Enz 2009; Zheng, Yang, and Mclean 2009)
Organizational structure can be defined as the “formal arrangement of jobs within an organization” (Robbins & Coulter, 2009, p. 185). Having a defined and unified structure helps employees work more efficiently. Jacques Kemp, former CEO of ING Insurance Asia/Pacific, realized this need early on in his role. The company had been performing well and recently acquired another insurance company to become “one of the largest life insurance companies in Asia-Pacific” (Schotter, 2006, p. 4). However, Kemp’s proactive personality led him to seek out ways to achieve more efficient coordination between the regional office and business units (Robbins & Coulter, 2009). Kemp noticed that “most business unit managers did not even know the current corporate standards” and he began searching for a way to manage the managers (Schotter, 2006, p. 5). ING Insurance Asia/Pacific’s organizational structure was mechanistic and fairly well structured, but for a company that had recently been involved in a major acquisition and was divided across 12 geographically dispersed markets there was a great need to tweak this structure to unify the company (Schotter, 2006). If I had been in Kemp’s position as CEO, I would have made modifications to the organizational chain of command, formalized business processes, and used technology to stimulate collaboration amongst the region to help this company overcome organizational design challenges.
The culture at Google is clearly a major priority for the company. Something that Google works especially hard at is creating a work-life balance for its employees. Even though this is challenging because Google
Google is a public corporation that deals with Internet searching, advertising, and Web-based computing technology. All these have developed from an initial search engine and the company continues to advance even to date with partnerships and acquisition of other companies and products. All of these are due to its formulation and maintenance of a unique corporate culture that other organizations have to follow in order to be as successful (Rachet, B. 2014). What makes up Google 's strong culture are values that are widely accepted and strongly held (Rachet b. 2014). Google has topped the list of Fortune 100’s Best Companies to Work for 4 times (Kim, J. 2013). Although Google has many perks on their work campus, the real formula behind their
Technical employees are required to spend 80% of their time on the core search and advertising businesses, and 20% on technical projects of their own choosing."
Organizational structure within an organization is a critical component of the day to day operations of a business. An organization benefits from organizational structure as a result of all it encompasses. It is used to define how tasks are divided, grouped and coordinated. Six elements should be addressed during the design of the organization’s structure: work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, spans of control, centralization and decentralization. These components are a direct reflection of the organization’s culture, power and politics.
In order for one to evaluate and identify with the diverse business structures, he/she must be aware of the meaning and standards that makes that structure. Various businesses functions in different ways as the world is full of technology and new structures, company cultures and new ways in which companies are run. In order to fully grasp the concepts of Organizational structure and culture in the movies, I will use the Movie Up in the Air and The Devil Wear Prada movies to analyze a business scenario from them.
Employee focus (Google has a unique culture and policies to promote innovation. The company strives to employ the most qualified applicants and reward the greatest contributors, in order to promote good performance and facilitate hiring and retention)
While working at Borders, I experienced quite a bit of upward communication. Employees liked taking their messages to me, I was seen as one of the managers that listened. I would also try to meet their needs by communicating these messages to my ge...
Organizations must operate within structures that allow them to perform at their best within their given environments. According to theorists T. Burns and G.M Stalker (1961), organizations require structures that will allow them to adapt and react to changes in the environment (Mechanistic vs Organic Structures, 2009). Toyota Company’s corporate structure is spelt out as one where the management team and employees conduct operations and make decisions through a system of checks and balances.