ANALYZE THE DESIGN OF YOUR ORGANIZATION.

Analyze the design of your organization.

Analyze the design of your organization

The Organization

AE Group (hypothetical company) is a large, global IT company with over $31 billion in 2003 revenues. The company competes in many markets, including computers and peripheral equipment, test and measurement devices, electronic components, and medical devices. It has 110,000 employees and several subsidiaries around the world such as Australia, UK, USA, Japan, China, etc.

The corporate objectives of AE include: providing products, services and solutions of the highest quality, delivering more value to customers that earns their respect and loyalty; achieving sufficient profit to finance company growth, creating value for company's shareholders and providing the resources to achieve other corporate objectives; growing by continually providing useful and significant products, services and solutions to markets and expanding into new areas; helping AE employees share in the company's success that they make possible; providing people with employment opportunities based on performance; creating a safe, exciting and inclusive work environment for employees that values their diversity and recognizes individual contributions; helping employees gain a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from their work.

Internal and External Factors

AE has relaxed, open culture. All employees, including the CEO, work in open cubicles. Many employees are technically-oriented engineers who enjoy learning and sharing their knowledge. The company is perceived as being somewhat benevolent to its employees, and fast growth has obviated the need for major layoffs. All employees participate in a profit sharing program.

AE's payment and reward are attractive. Its philosophy on rewards is the belief: when excellent performance is acknowledged and rewarded, people are more motivated and work smarter. The 'performance-related pay' is the key component of the total rewards program - and offers employees the opportunity to share in the success of the company, which is a direct result of the collective performance of each of its employees. There are also comprehensive benefits such as health plans, income protection, as well as retirement and savings packages.

Organizational Structure and Processes

The structural frame describes the issues that need to be considered in designing structural forms that fit an organisation's goals, tasks and context. From the structural perspective of view, the structure form is important to an organisation which enhances and constrains what an organization can accomplish (Bolman & Deal 2003, p. 45 - 46). There are two design issues at the heart of organizational structure including how to allocate work (differentiation) and how to coordinate roles and units once responsibilities have been parcelled out (integration) (Bolman & Deal 2003, p. 49).

For the first issues of differentiation, AE group specifies all the positions in the company, prescribes job descriptions, procedures, routines, and rules. However, the description of procedures and routines is not in detail. There are only some suggestions and references. Company's 'let's try' and 'accepts failure' approaches encourage employees to try any ways to accomplish their jobs. Employees are largely motivated to look for the most suitable ways to finish their work. It is very helpful to an IT company, because the ...