Smith & Falmouth Online - Report Example

RUNNING HEAD: Smith & Falmouth Online Smith & Falmouth Online: Organizational and culture report BY YOU YOUR ACADEMIC ORGANIZATION HERE YOUR HERE DATE HERE Smith & Falmouth Online Introduction Smith & Falmouth obviously maintains a culture where performance with rewarded with both inspirational feedback as well as opportunities for advancement. It appears to be a highly-motivated organization where employees, once properly aligned, will succeed and meet strategic expectations. The Chief Operational Officer laid the foundation for a quality team using transformational leadership and efficient delegation of project responsibilities. This was noticeable at the highest levels of the organization in which both positive and important critical feedback were offered to boost further motivation to achieve project goals. This report describes the current culture at Smith & Falmouth as well as various controls for organizational performance. In addition, recommendations to better enhance the business are proposed. Overview At Smith & Falmouth, it is a team-oriented organization which relies on various professional and technical expertise to accomplish sizeable projects mandated at the strategic level. As a team leader, the Chief Operational Officer acts as the project leader, dictating the activities of various colleagues (at similar levels in the management hierarchy) and subordinate peers. This team-oriented philosophy consists of a leader who directs the activities of the group, demanding compliance and routine reporting on project activities. However, the transformational leadership style, according to two specific organizational theorists, involves a leader who also uses actions which are “visionary, values-based, emotional, intellectually-stimulating, and charismatic” (Antonakis and Hooijberg, 2008: 2). Having a project team leader who can be both the authoritarian and the inspirational leader provides a clear job description for the project leader and demands that the individual in this leadership role maintains the correct balance of personality to accomplish group unity and performance. This is very much a top-down organizational hierarchy where managers of the same level or business status cooperate via means of special projects, typical of many companies today, requiring transformational leadership. Transformational leaders should be more well-versed in psychological theory, as they often have to assess the self-worth of various staff individuals to determine how to involve the individual in group activities and to commit to organizational goals (Avolio and Bass, 2002). The Chief Operations Officer is continuously praised for their dedication to the project and their ability to coordinate group activities effectively, with specific acknowledgement of transformational leadership ability. This would suggest a culture which is built on a blend of rational thinking as well as psychological theory to create an environment where wisdom is appreciated from the business context. Hays (2007) describes the relatively new phenomenon of organizational wisdom as being one built on higher standards and principles of learning, commitment, understanding, and ethics in which transformational leadership is only an element for business success. It speaks of an organization which recognizes the human element of business but can also establish flexible authoritarianism to ensure that project goals are being met. Minimizing different managerial layers, by restructuring the specific project management, would allow employees to experience higher levels of autonomy and subsequently boost their individual motivation to perform. Gaylard (2005) offers the team-oriented organizational design with a segregated command hierarchy (Appendix A). Currently, S&F appears to maintain a more dual command organizational hierarchy where upper levels of management delegate to mid-layer managers who have responsibility for generic staff subordinates. This more team-focused hierarchy, by design, removes the secondary, middle layer of management to provide a single point of contact by which to report on regular performance and job related issues. Because the Chief Operations Officer, as previously identified, maintains the expertise and knowledge necessary to blend organizational wisdom as a leader, the segregated team hierarchy would likely boost motivation to meet project deadlines currently and in the future. Removing this middle layer of management would create several benefits for Smith & Falmouth Online. It would provide the project leader with their own perceptions of autonomy about project responsibilities, thus allowing them to find positive connection with the company for the leniency as a reward for positive performance. Even at the senior level of the business, leaders require motivation to perform and increased autonomy is likely perfect for the Chief Operations Officer role. The removed layers of management would also give the project leader a broader sense of control by being the only focal point of contact for reporting on team issues. Since the group project already maintains a very publicized open door policy, this would allow generic subordinate employees and managers alike to build positive relationships with a senior member of staff and further enhance the sense of belonging which seems to exist at S&F. The most appropriate management strategy for making this new recommendation effective would involve taking McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y approach to management, however negating the X portion of the theory. Theory Y assumes that people will respond positively to organizational demands if the job role is satisfying as well as assumes that people are inherently creative and innovative by design and have much to contribute to the business (Accel, 2008). A Theory Y management style does not assume that employees need to be controlled heavily and be continuously monitored for organizational effectiveness. Simply by reducing an entire layer of management, Smith & Falmouth will be able to promote an organization-wide message of autonomy and acknowledge that sizeable rewards come from being efficient at project tasks. When thinking about subordinates who model senior-level behaviors in the organization, just observing that the Chief Operations Officer has been nominated for the CEO position should indicate to the entire business staff that the company is committed to reward for excellence. Removing the proposed layers of management would provide staff members with additional motivation to achieve success and meet organizational performance targets. Building on existing transformational leadership, also, would be a positive management activity in the process of removing management layers. Since the Chief Operations Officer is now given autonomy over the project as the sole group leader and point of focus for project discussion, training and development practices for this role could strongly reinforce their strengths of leadership. Walumbwa, Avolia and Zhu (2008) identify that in the work unit, employees perceptions of self-worth were directly related to management-rated performance feedback. Since the essence of transformational leadership involves that of being essentially a mentor to workers, building on more psychological aspects of transformational leadership would give a unique role to the Chief Operations Officer in this particular project for S&F Online. Within acceptable professional limits, being the only point of contact would provide the leader with the opportunity to explore their boundaries in staff leadership by learning new principles on human behavior and human relationships provided by such corporate training. Identifying staff member’s contributions to the business and satisfying their needs for belonging and reward could radically change the nature by which transformational leadership is conducted at Smith & Falcon. As the only reporting leader for the project employees would also come to trust the judgment and rationale of their project leader if the Chief Operations Officer is motivated to provide excellence in human resource management practice as well. Transformational leadership, simply because the project achieved its target beyond senior-level expectations, does not have to be abandoned at S&F for routine business practices. Further removing layers of management, when appropriate, to give employees increased autonomy and, perhaps, increased exposure to different business activities, would create a more well-rounded staff. This type of staff who is motivated to perform by having middle layers of management removed will be more efficient and willing to conform to business expectations. The current rewards for performance system in place at Smith & Falmouth is definitely producing quality motivational results, however building on these practices will create a more collaborative work environment as more lower-level staff members will come in contact with one another more frequently during routine business activities. The new structure at S&F, consisting of a segregated team-oriented model, would affect the entire organization as well from a variety of perspectives. At the cost leadership layer, middle management removal would represent a significant payroll savings, thus delighting any future project budgets and potential corporate strategy in the process. Resources from salaried staff removals could benefit the company in any number of financial ways, perhaps allowing the company to even extend an appropriate bonus structure to employees who have exceeded organizational expectations routinely. It could also allow for process improvements or office upgrades which would create a more ergonomic work environment or any variety of changes which boost motivation and improve the internal working atmosphere. This removal of middle layers of management would also promote more team-focused activities with lower-ranking staff members forced to interact more frequently due to diminished management presence who would have previously reported these divisional activities. When employees become accustomed to working in team-oriented environments, it is likely they will pick up a variety of new social behavior improvements and generic social skills found in group environments which can impact quality of customer service or basic divisional interaction. These are obviously elements of the organizational structure and design which are important to Smith & Falcon Online which would further promote the need to develop a new organizational hierarchy without a redundant layer of supervision. Transformational leadership, again, also involves individual charisma as a physician, architect, commander and saint of the organization (Amernic, Craig and Tourish, 2007). These metaphors describe the transformational leader as one who comes to the rescue of ailing projects or business situations, builds the foundation of quality teamwork, leads the effort, and constantly speaks of the project’s short- and long-term merits in regular communication. This type of leadership style, once the middle layers of management have been removed, will create an even stronger transformational company which utilizes dynamic talent to keep the culture focused on teamwork and internal unity. The removal of middle layers of management would also give the company more flexibility in terms of using promotional incentives to high-performing staff members by having a renewed payroll budget to use as incentive for performance. One further additional management style which would be most effective in the new, segregated organizational model was proposed by Rensis Likert, a renowned business theorist. Likert suggests that in order to achieve maximum business potential and profitability, the utilization of human assets must be top business priority (Accel, 2008). Likert proposes that having this mindset allows for benevolent-authoritative systems where motivation is served mostly by reward philosophies (Accel). It is argued that this form of management can be considered condescending with an air of master-servant relationship (Accel), however in a culture which is already motivated by reward, benevolent-authoritative systems are ideal for a project-minded culture which rewards for routine performance. The role as group leader, without the proposed middle layers of management, is already one of benevolence as both somewhat of a counselor and mentor. Benevolent-authoritative systems would further command respect for the role of group/project leader and assist in maintaining control of business situations through reward schemes and policies. Griffin and Moorhead (2006) identify the phenomenon in today’s organizations of role demands in which cultural and job role expectations become stressors for workers making them less motivated to perform to strategic guidelines. Even though the Chief Operations Officer clearly identified job role responsibility in the initial meeting to discuss the new project, it does place a considerable demand both for performance and for meeting deadlines as well. It also suggests that social interaction would be required and that professionalism should be maintained during all of these business interactions. Role demands would likely cause problems if the individual perceived an overload of project expectations, making them less apt to excel. Eliminating middle layers of management would only ensure that the stressed employee has one less concern regarding authoritative presence in the work environment. Job role expectations coupled with pressures from middle managers would be greatly reduced and management intervention, in this situation, would only be required in the event of poor organizational performance. This would free up a great deal of all managers’ schedules and allow them to contribute more in the strategic areas of business and less on managing human capital. Conclusion Smith & Falmouth have a very strong organizational commitment to meeting company expectations and positive feedback is sent from the highest levels of the organization. The company recognizes its staff as being vital components to organizational success and offers a system of rewards for positive job role performance. Transformational leadership has provided quality results to S&F and has built a staff which has managed, once properly accustomed to the efforts and motivated to succeed, to meet corporate project expectations with high levels of efficiency. The Chief Operations Officer maintains the appropriate blend of psychological and sociological tools available to create an efficient human system. With such an already-efficient organizational design, changing the structure of management to that of a reduced-layer management system would only serve to further enhance organizational performance and effectiveness. When employees are demanding increased autonomy and job role responsibilities, as suggested by the Theory Y approach to management, it is imperative to create a design which exploits worker talents and makes them feel like valuable contributors to the long-term success of the company. Blending in a benevolent-authoritative leadership style will only build senior level competencies for the Chief Operations Officer and motivate others to model those similar behaviors of authoritarianism and quality human focus. Smith & Falmouth Online can capitalize further on its existing human talent by providing them with superior tools to express their own ingenuity, creativity and opinion regarding projects. This is done by using the Chief Operations Officer as a transformational leader who works to develop a positive sense of self-worth in all subordinate staff members and uses the training necessary to make these skills superior. All of these are value-added activities which will only serve to create a more positive organizational culture and boost total organizational efficiency. If employees are given opportunities, along with the appropriate reward for measurable performance contribution, Smith & Falmouth will move into the future with a dedicated team of professionals ready and willing to meet any strategic obstacle facing it. The proposed recommendation of removing middle layers of management as part of organizational performance is a win-win situation in which the employees benefit and the company profits. This should be the goal of any company which remains focused on human resources and organizational theory in order to create continued staff results. Smith & Falmouth, despite any recommendations, still appears to have a quality organizational culture which benefits from transformational leadership and progressive management theory. References Accel. (2008). “Human Relations Contributors: Douglas McGregor”. Accel Team Development. Retrieved 8 Dec 2008 from http://www.accel-team.com/ Human_relations/hrels_03_mcgregor.html. Accel. (2008). “Human Relations Contributors: Rensis Likert”. Accel Team Development. Retrieved 9 Dec 2008 from http://www.accel-team.com/human_relations/hrels_04_ Likert.html. Amernic, J., Craig, R. and Tourish, D. (2007). “The transformational leader as pedagogue, physician, architect, commander and saint: Five root metaphors in Jack Welsh’s letters to stockholders of General Electric”. Human Relations, New York. 60(12): 1839-1858. Retrieved 9 Dec 2008 from ABI/INFORM Global database. Antonakis, J. and Hooijberg, R. (2008). “Cascading a New Vision: Three Steps for Real Commitment”. Perspectives for Managers, No. 157. Retrieved Dec 9 2008 From ABI/INFORM Global database. Avolio, B.J. and Bass, B.M. (2002). Developing Potential Across a Full Range of Leadership: Cases on Transactional and Transformational Leadership, Mahwah, NJ Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, Inc. Gaylard, Helen. (2005). “A Re-analysis of the Effects of Task Decomposition and Organizational Structure on Performance and Robustness”. Centre for Policy Modeling, Manchester Metropolitan University. Retrieved 8 Dec 2008 from http://cfpm.org/pub/papers/orgvar.pdf. Griffin, Ricky and Moorhead, Gregory. (2006). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations, 8th ed. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York. Hays, J. Martin. (2007). “Dynamics of Organizational Wisdom”. Business Renaissance Quarterly, Pasadena. 2(4): 77-108. Retrieved Dec 9 2008 from ABI/INFORM Global Database. Walumba, F., Avolia, B. and Zhu, W. (2008). “How Transformational Leadership Waves its Influence on Individual Job Performance: The Role of Identification and Efficacy Beliefs”. Personnel Psychology, Durham. 61(4): 793-806. Read More