New Work and Organizational Structures Flashcards
Structural Changes in Organization Types
1980 : Functional hierarchies
1980: Matrix Organizations
Early 1990: value chains, Outsourcing
Late 1990: Networks, Alliances & Joint Ventures
Today & tomorrow : Agile Organizations, Holacracy
Types of Organizations (graph)
High market uncertainty and low Product complexity:
–> Network organization (Market networking, Customer- supplier, Strategic alliances: Competitors
Joint ventures: Partner)
Low market uncertainty and low product complexity : classical organization
–> Mass production
–> Standardized services
High Market uncertainty and low product complexity
–> Agile organizations (Task-oriented Ad-hoc Teams)
–> Task oriented Ad-hoc Cooperation
Low market uncertainy and high product complexity
–> Modular organization (Coordination, Process optimization)
Functional Structure
-Oldest organization type in the development history of industrial enterprises
-Persons with similar abilities and tasks are divided into formal work units, which can
be found in the second hierarchy level below the top management
Functional Structure: Advantages
-Strong development of knowledge and
competences
-Clear career paths within functions
-Economies of scale by means of resource bundling
-The skills and experiences match the task assignments
Functional Structure: Disadvantages
-The “big picture” often cannot be seen in single functions
-Interests of the own work unit outweigh
the interests of the organization
-There often is no common goal
-Lack of communication and coordination
between functions
Divisional Structure
-Introduced for the first time in the 1920s by DuPont and General Motors
- Persons who work in the same project or process, work for the same customers or
work in the same region are grouped
Divisional Structure:
Advantages
-Higher flexibility with respect to environmental changes
-Improved collaboration between
functions
-Clear distribution of responsibilities for a
specific product
-Concentration of experiences and
resources on certain customers, products
and regions
Divisional Structure: Disadvantages
-Reduction of scale effects
-Higher costs due to potential doubling of
resources (similar specialists in different
divisions)
-Danger of harmful competition between
divisions (e.g. for resources)
-Interests of the own work unit outweigh the interests of the organization
Matrix Structure
- The matrix structure, often also called matrix organization, combines functional and divisional structures
- Employees in a matrix organization belong to at least two formal work units – to a formal group (e.g., marketing) and to a product team
Matrix Structure: Advantages
-Improved cooperation and
communication between functions
-Improved decision-making, because the
solution of the problem is found on the team level
-Improved strategic management, because top-managers can set a stronger focus on
strategic processes
-Improved customer service, because
project managers serve as permanent
contact persons
Matrix Structure: Disadvantages
-Fights for power between formal team leader and project leader
-The system with two superiors can lead to
uncertainty regarding task priorities
-Team meetings may become very time
consuming and subgroups may evolve
-Project breaks cause a high amount of planning and additional costs
Network Organization: Increased Complexity for Individuals
- Globalization of markets
- Increased competition
- Shorter product life-cycles
- Interdisciplinary task assignments
- Information overload
Network Organization: solution building networks
(„From the lone fighter to a networked service provider“)
- Only work on those tasks which you are an expert for
- Clients want complete solutions from one source
- Cooperation in networks and concentration on core competencies
Network Organization: Advantages
-Network organizations help organizations
to operate cost-efficiently
-Organizations are able to make maximum
use of outsourcing strategies
-Networks allow the use of highly
specialized services
-New jobs are created
Network Organization: Disadvantages
-It is more difficult to control and coordinate a
network than a classically structured
organization
-Tension can arise when working with several partners (unequal level of relationship
management)
-The loss of a network element represents a
risk for the entire system
-When sensitive data is outsourced (e.g.,
financial data, HR data…), there is a danger of misuse
Agile Organizational Structures
-less-
hierarchical system
-more flexibility in business operations
- responds quickly to shifts and changes in the market environment
-learning and decision-making, customer-centricity
-open communication
-a network of
autonomous teams
Holacracy (definition)
takes powers traditionally reserved for executives and managers and spreads them across all employees
-Super circle: one that contains sub-circles (example marketing)
-Sub circle: each is dedicated to a function (example digital advertising)
-Role: a task related a function (example Social Media Producer)
Traditional hierarchy
layers of management establish how products are approved and monitored
-CEO
-Upper management
-Middle management
-Supervisors
-Staff
Holacracy: Self-Organized Organizations (more detailed)
-Teams rather than departments and divisions build up self-organized organizations
- Guidelines are collectively determined and
continuously adjusted. Employees decide how
teams are formed and how they should act - Leadership responsibility is related to roles, not
to individuals. Employees have important roles
in different teams and leadership responsibility
changes rapidly
Agile Organizational Structures: Advantages
-Direct communication between employees and customers allows fast and creative solutions, as well as customer proximity
-Organizations can react and flexibly adapt rapidly to new environmental contexts
-Experimental approaches in development of the organization: new projects and structures can be integrated and
disintegrated flexibly
Agile Organizational Structures: Disadvantages
-Difficult to implement in existing companies
-Very high motivation and self-competence of employees needed
-Parts of the classical management systems
could remain, which would make the company
into a hybrid construct. This leads to uncertainty, stereotyping and diversity problems inside the organization
Epochal change in the world of work: Response to the megatrends of digital transformation and demographic change
- Yesterday : Staff as Executer
- Today: People as Knowledge Worker
- Tomorrow : Purpose - Empowerment - Agile Work - Self Leadership
Working Environments 4.0
- decentralized
- flexible
- delimited
Spatiotemporal Flexibility
- Temporal flexibility
- Spatial flexibility
Temporal flexibility
- Work time banking
- Sabbaticals
- Phases of qualification
- Lifecycle-oriented work times/Free-choice work times
Spatial flexibility
- Virtualized and digitalized working world
- Home Office/ telecommuting
- Office of the future
- Virtual teams
- International assignments
Spatiotemporal flexibility
Globalization
New information and communication
media –> reduction of mobility requirements –> increase in specialized types of mobility (international assignments)
Location based work
- Work exclusively at the site
- Fixed working time
- Pronounced hierarchies
Network companies
- Coordinated virtual work
- Organization as project structure
- Mobile-flexible work as the norm
- Less rules
Development towards a new work environment : Five phases of development
Phase 1: Place-bound
work
Phase 2 : Flexible work as exception
Phase 3 : Change
Phase 4 : Flexible work established
Phase 5 : Network
organization
Phase 1: Place-bound work
- Work solely on site
- Fixed working hours
- Strong hierarchies
Phase 2 : Flexible work as exception
- Home office as exception
Phase 3 : Change
- Experiments with
different new forms
of work - Unclear situation
Phase 4 : Flexible work established
- Rules and infrastructure established
- Fading differentiation
between private and
work life
Phase 5 : Network
organization
- Coordinated virtual
work - Project-based
structures - Mobile-flexible work as a norm
- Less regulation
New Work: Where Are We?
Traditional work and Low to average :
–> Traditional Mediocraty
Traditional work and high success :
–> Classic high performers
New Work and low to average :
–> Modern Overstrained
New Work and high sucess:
Sucessful pioneers
New Work: Where Are We?
Modern Overstrained: 37 % (2023) –> more and more from 2016 to 2023
Traditional Mediocraty : 37 % (2023) –> a bit less 45 % in 2016
Successful Pioneers: 14 % (2023) –> more and more from 2016 to 2023
Classic High Performers :
12 % (2023)
less and less (30 % in 2016)
Modern overstrained
- Increased negative energy
- High exhaustion
- Low health
Traditional Center
- Poorest result for all characteristics
Successful pioneers
- Strong innovation
- Highest employee retention
- Strongest entrepreneurship
- Highest speed & agility
- Health
Classical high performer
- Highest total output
- Highest ROI
Setting the Course Now – Two Scenarios
Positive scenario : “Company as a successful,purposeful
community”
Negative scenario: “Company as an exhausted collective of convenience”
Positive scenario : “Company as a successful,purposeful community”
- More successful, faster & more attractive
–> Productivity gains through fewer distractions &
more flexibility - Talent is everywhere” and more diverse
- Freedom and fun
- More satisfied, engaged & healthy
–> Leaders less exhausted
–> Leaders more satisfied
–> Leaders more engaged
Negative scenario:
“Company as an exhausted collective of convenience”
- Fewer innovations
- Isolation despite over-communication
–> 26% feel isolated - Leadership is becoming more difficult
–> Experiencing non-leadership 15%
–> Experiencing a lack of inspiration 51% - Boundary dissolution between spheres of life
–> No boundary competence: 51% experience
increased stress, tension & emotional
exhaustion.
New Work
- Flexible working hours
- Mobile Working
- Digital Communication
- Desk Sharing
- Digital Technologies
- Individualized Work
- Fluid Work
- Virtual Teams
New Culture
- Leading with Vision & Inspiration
- Culture of Trust
- Self-Competence of Employees
- Flexible Structures
- Top Management as Role Model
- Agile Methods
- Ambidexterity
New Leadership Principles
- Purpose first
- Use both hands
- Caring – Lead healthy
Purpose first
See tranformation/ Transactional leadership
Both hands - Ambidextrous Leadership : definition
Ambidextrous leadership means to lead differently depending on the mode:
- Exploitation, i.e. the focus is on achieving defined results
- Exploration, i.e. the focus is on new ideas, experiments and exploration
Exploitation:
Results-oriented Leadership
- Steer towards result and certain output
- Monitor target achievement
- Establish routines
- Promote & demand discipline and quality
awareness - Error prevention
Exploration:
Empowering Leadership
- Empower your team give & qualify free space
- Promoting Shared Leadership
- Establish error culture
- Freedom for expressions and own ideas
- Letting go
Healthy leadership - be a role model
- Importance
- Mindfulness
- Leadership
- Role model
Healthy leadership - Importance
- Concern for and responsibility for the health of employees
- Awareness of the risks of occupational stress and
recognition of the need for action
Healthy leadership - Mindfulness
- Appropriate assessment of the stress level of employees
- Recognising signs of stress in employees
Healthy leadership - Leadership
- Creating working conditions that promote health
- Enabling and encouraging employees to lead themselves in
a healthy way
Role model
- Healthy self-leadership of the manager as a guiding principle for employees
- Leadership as a pioneer of healthy behaviour
Who Wants to Become a Leader?
40 % of men (2018: 45,1 %)
34 % of women (2018: 37,5 %)
Leaders Face High Job Demands
81 % state that their task is more difficult
today than it used to be
69 % describe themselves as stressed
31 % would rather quit their job
