The Organization of Corporate Structures of the Beijing EAP - Case Study Example

Organizational Structures Introduction The organization of corporate structures is important in the allocation of duties and roles, supervision of employees at the workplace as well as the efficient coordination of workflow in an organization. These plans form the basis of effective operations of any company’s projects, and give accurate insights on the exploration of the minimal resources available to an organization’s disposal. Besides, it enables any company to manage the work force in the process of timely completion of projects and extension of the business longevity1. Therefore, it is important to define the roles of each party in any project assigned to the organization. Analysis of the case: designing the authorities of a project manager The Beijing EAP Inc. is a company that provided EAPs to many customers. The nature of its operations required the employees to have strong academic backgrounds that qualified them to operate in this multinational service company. Being the largest market holder in the Mainland China, the Company had a huge customer base that categorized it as a big corporation. Amongst some customers of BEC were IBM, Siemens, Samsung, Lenovo, Guadong Mobile, and the China Development Bank. Consequently, the Company had many projects that prompted the management to subdivide the projects to different segment managers2. In this case, for instance, Mr. Yang represents a training department manager having a communicational breakdown with Ms. Song, a project manager, based on the confusion of the roles each one was to perform. In some cases, the tension escalated to a point where the employees did not know who to approach concerning the progress of projects. Both being project managers at the BEC, the two senior employees had no idea of the organizational structure. Both the employees had no clear identity of the functions that were under their jurisdiction3. This problem faces many large corporations, therefore making it difficult to execute their project as required. However, it is important to outline the authorities, responsibilities, and restrictions of the project managers. This goes a long way in ensuring that similar communicational breakdowns are avoided in the future for corporations. Identification of major issues The major challenge that the BEC had was the lack of communication. When Mr. Yang and Ms. Song got onto the project, they assumed to understand their duties. In difficult situations, each failed to consult the other to comprehend the magnitude of the problem. As a result, the two employees endured poor working relationships. Existence of hierarchy in the management of projects was another problem that caused the stalemate between the two managers4. Mr. Yang presumably felt he was in control of all the matters concerning the departmental management, leaving Ms. Song in confusion as to what her roles are, including the assignment of duties to Mr. Yang. This prompted Ms. Song to request the CEO to assign training tasks directly to Mr. Yang. Possible solutions/recommendations The organizational theory of organization behavior explains the need to have a matrix organizational structures that blend the functional and project authorities in an organization5. Mr. Yang’s training department represents a functional structure in the organization. Meanwhile, Ms. Song being in charge of projects holds a projective office structure. This formation enables the authority of a functional manager to flow downwards to members of his/her department, while the project manager issues authorities to functional mangers. This outlines the pattern of hierarchy in the project. A project manager is in charge of conveying messages within an organization concerning the project6. In large corporations such as BEC, the project manager should hold the authority of giving orders as per the directions of the project. The flow of information should come from the top management down to the departmental managers through the project managers. Therefore, Ms. Song should have taken control of communication, giving the necessary guidance to the functional managers. Motivation and leadership is a key function of a project manager in the matrix organizational structure7. The project managers should be the person overseeing the limited time of the completion of a project. Normally, functional managers do not notice the ineffectiveness of their departments, and often need a neutral observer to judge the performance of their departments. In the project, therefore, a project manager eliminates the bureaucracy that exists in departments, thereby motivating and challenging the employees towards completing the project upon the set deadline. Other functions of the project manager should be to encourage accountability amongst the functional managers, to study the specific skills of the employees and analyze these skills with regard to solving the organizational crises8. The project managers should overcome the challenges of hierarchy, communication, and bureaucracy through close cooperation with the functional managers. The organization should establish solid communication platforms that enable the employees to learn the pattern, vision, goal, and objective of the projects. The authority should also do proper balancing of the duties allocated to the managers. The case of BEC illustrates the imbalance in the authority and power between the functional and project managers. The confusion amongst employees is a recipe to ineffective operations within any project. Therefore, the CEO should have resolved the conflict between the two managers in private immediately after he overheard the discussions. The above recommendations state that the operation of the organization is effective if the employees report to one boss, who relays their messages to the project manager9. Discussions are vital in establishing the strong connection between all the stakeholders in the project execution process. Conclusion To blend the project and functional structures in an organization helps in defining the roles of every manager in a project. In large companies, the project structure holds executive powers over the multi departmental functional structures. It is important for the organization to document the authorities of each manager, in order to avoid the overlapping of responsibilities and confusion amongst the employees on the appropriate manager for each case10. Finally, the BEC should streamline the organizational structure to foster communication flow and enhance the balance of responsibilities, roles, and obligations. Bibliography 2015. http://secure.expertsmind.com/attn_files/514_case-study.pdf. Baguley, Phil. Project Management. [New York]: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Davis, G. F. 'Do Theories Of Organizations Progress?'. Organizational Research Methods 13, no. 4 (2010): 690-709. Farmer, Marilyn, Wendy Yellowley, and Paul Smith. Organizational Behaviour. London: Taylor & Francis Ltd., 2012. Lee, Robert, and Peter Lawrence. Organizational Behaviour. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2013. McKenna, Eugene F, and Eugene F McKenna. Business Psychology And Organizational Behaviour. Hove: Psychology Press, 2012. Mehta, R. C. Project Management. Jaipur: Aavishkar Publishers, 2007. Mersino, Anthony C. Emotional Intelligence For Project Managers. New York: American Management Association, 2007. Patel, Vinod N. Project Management. 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