Organizational Structure And Culture At Road Living Scheme: A Case Study
Organizational structure at Road
The smooth flow of activities within an organization is often anchored on the nature of the organizational structure as well as the culture embraced. The structure of an organization has a special way of impacting the nature of leadership approaches in addition to communication strategies. There are various types of structures namely functional, hierarchical, matrix and the divisional structure. It would however be important to note that the structure within an organization has a distinct influence on the culture within the same environment. For instance, in a functional set up, it becomes quite a challenge managing strong communication between the departments as a result of the existing disparity. Communication being a crucial element of organizational culture in turn impacts the values and other processes within the given environment. Due to the distinct relationship between the concepts, it would be important to implement the most effective leadership approaches which are efficient in creating the right equilibrium hence enhancing the quality of services offered by the organization. Quality services lead to positive client experiences which in turn improves the sustainability of the organization.
In line with the brief overview above, this paper discusses the concepts of organizational structure and culture with reference to Road Living Scheme. The organization is a supported living scheme which offers both health and accommodation services to people who once served in the army but are now homeless and have health challenges. The location has 16 flats and is managed by a single registered manager assisted by various other workers. The paper therefore outlines both the organizational structure and culture at road before identifying the impacts that the structure has on the culture of an organization. The discussion shall eventually note the changes that could be implemented in a bid to improve the provision.
Most organizations especially in the corporate business environment rely on more than two structure to enhance performance. At Road, it can be noted that the various levels of service are divided according to the specialty of an individual. As a matter of facts, each individual within the organization’s set up has distinct roles and the adequate implementation of these roles is monitored and enhanced on a weekly basis. The people are dedicated to a single function based on the area of responsibility which in turn makes accountability easy and effective. With regard to the description above, it can be deduced that Road relies on a functional structure. The structure is best fitting going by the size of the organization and the nature of services offered to the clients. Additionally, a hierarchical structure is eminent at the organization. Information and power ends with the general manager. As deduced from the case study, the other employees and support workers within the organization are only allowed to make their decisions after consulting the manager. He offers the direction and controls processes within the organization by overseeing major decision making processes. The organization therefore comprises a hierarchical and functional structure. Flatarchy as a form of culture opens up the lines of communication and also spreads power across various points. This structure would however fail to enhance performance in this set up due to the fact that the manager has the power which when spread to other workers may compromise the quality of services. The noted structures therefore keep the employees true to their responsibilities due to the level of accountability required on a weekly basis.
Organizational culture at Road
The internal environment of the organization is quite friendly and the leadership approach is anchored on mentorship and provision of direction. The case study outlines that the manager is rarely in the office but often works together with the support workers. During these sessions, he notes the quality of their services and recommends adjustment in a bid to improve employee skills and productivity. The fact that the manager in this case acts not only as a mentor but also as a role model to the individuals below him reveals the organization is characterized by a clan culture. The core elements of a clan culture include mentorship, doing things as a unit, a family-like environment and nurturing of employee capabilities (Edmiston, 2010). Each of these aspects are notable at Road. On the other hand, the manager is keen on ensuring that the workers perform their roles the right way. Due to the sensitive nature of clients, Frank emphasizes on efficiency and precision when it comes to service provision. This can be confirmed by his consistent interaction with the workers in a bid to ensure that they do things the right way. It can therefore be noted that the organization is equally characterized by a hierarchical culture. In such a set-up, the leader has the core mandate of enhancing the quality of performance by clearly outlining the organization’s core values and procedure to the employees. This is evident at Road since Frank is depicted as a figure that is keen on ensuring the right execution of roles at the organization. As identified by Charles Handy, organizational culture focuses on task, power, role and the people. The two cultures described above adequately factors in each of these elements. In the clan culture, the focus is on the people and the tasks ascribed to them. In the hierarchical culture, power takes the center stage while roles are largely emphasized as a crucial function of organizational growth and performance. (Bentley & Whitten, 2009).
The structure of an organization has a special influence on its culture. The type of structure influences the nature of communication between departments which is crucial determinant of the culture within an organization. At the same time, the structure for instance the functional and hierarchical designs impact the way in which power and roles are spread within the organization. In the functional design, individuals are charged with specific functions hence accountability is easy. It can therefore be noted that a functional structure would well go with a market oriented culture as opposed to the clan approach which is embraced at Road. In a hierarchical set up, power is majorly vested on the leader with only a portion of it spread to the lower ranks. This therefore implies that decision making mainly relies on the leader’s approaches as opposed to the corporate will of the people. In a nut shell, a structure in which power is inadequately spread hinders the implementation of effective decision making processes since the individuals in the lower ranks are rarely involved. In such a case, the motivational levels of the employees are lower since they feel sidelined and less worthy when not involved in decision making. This consequently punctures the clan culture leading to resistance and confusion between various departments (Augustine, 2008). The type of structure chosen to run an organization therefore ought to be one which adequately factors in the core elements of culture which include role, power, people and task. This implies that the dissipation of power should factor in the needs of the employees. The execution of the roles and tasks also need to be done with respect to the core values, processes and beliefs which in actual sense make the culture of an organization.
To begin with, the management needs to consider changing the structure into flatarchy. This design does not vest power on a central individual but is effectively spread across departments. The manager would remain in charge of the overall processes. This approach would be crucial in opening up the lines of communication and improving collaboration between departments hence leading to a more unified workforce. Unity within an environment goes a long way in enhancing performance within the organization.
The other change that the organization could implement is the introduction of an enterprise system which involves a software application to monitor operations both within the organization and in the field as well (Bidgoil, 2015).The software would also be essential in record management as well as inventory management. This change would save the manager the energy of having to literally go to the field to monitor implementation of responsibilities. This is because the application would allow assessment and evaluation of all the processes taking place within an organization from a central point. Incorporation of technology into management does not only increase efficiency but also allows increase the speed of processes while minimizing errors hence saving the organization the related costs. Before implementing the changes, the manager needs to effectively define its urgency and the need for change to the employees. This approach is pivotal in minimizing the challenges associated with resistance to change.
Conclusion
The performance and growth of an organization largely depends on the structure and culture. Effective structures enhance the efficient execution of roles and responsibilities. At the same time, a structure which comprises more channels of communication improves the flow of processes and in turn leads to the establishment of a healthy culture. The discussion reveals that organizational structures have direct impacts on the culture. This consequently calls for the need of the most appropriate leadership approaches which create the right environment for performance and improvement. At Road, the manager needs to apply the right communication approaches in addition to exclusive decision making skills to ensure that while the tasks are completed and roles accomplished, the needs of the people are met with equal measure (Chesbrough, 2010).
References
Augustine, N. (2008). Reshaping an industry: Lockheed martin’s survival story. Harvard Business Review, 2(1), pp. 1-5. Accessed on 10/11/2018.
Bentley, L. & Whitten, J. (2009). System Analysis & Design for the Global Enterprise. New York: SAGE
Bidgoil, M. (2015). The Handbook of Technology Management: Supply Chain Management, Marketing and Advertising, and Global Management. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Chesbrough, H. (2010). Business Model Innovation: Opportunities and Barriers. Long Range Planning, 43(2–3), pp. 354-363.
Edmiston, K. (2010). The Role of Small and Large Businesses in Economic Development. Economic Review. 1(1), pp. 1–93.