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Exemplification of GEICO Core Values
Order Instructions:
1.Describe how you exemplify 3 of GEICO’s core values: Integrity, Service, and Growth. (450-600 words)
2.GEICO incorporates certain values into its corporate culture and day to day operations that have made it a successful business. Do you, as a student, incorporate certain principles in your academic career? Explain those principles. (450-600 words)
3.Graduate school drives your career and insures your future. How do you hope that your graduate education will benefit you? (450-600 words)
Exemplification of GEICO Core Values
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Exemplification of GEICO Core Values
Integrity, service and growth have been my pillars from a young age. My parents taught me these values since they knew their importance. When it comes to integrity, I can confidently say that, I am a person of high integrity, both in my personal as well as academic life. When I was in high school, for instance, I always gave my best in academics and I never took shortcuts to pass examinations.
This was also the case when I was taking my undergraduate degree. I always prepared for my exams and assignments in advance to avoid compromising my integrity. Additionally, in my current course, I always seek the guidance of my seniors and they have helped me undertake my studies with integrity.
This virtue has developed within me over time and I always aim at passing it across to my colleagues. There is a time I was an intern in one organization and I realized some colleagues were not genuine in reporting the real numbers regarding expenses. I strongly stood on my ground and refused to participate in the action. This taught me that, at times, for integrity to hold, one has to make a lot of sacrifices in life.
As a person, I have sacrificed my time for watching television, for instance to work on my assignments and submit them on time. I have also been forced to take a different turn from the views of my friends since at times; they tend to corrupt my integrity. It is therefore important to hold the virtue of integrity as it provides self satisfaction as well as a guilty free mind (Bell, 2013).
Service to others also holds a great place in my heart. Helping others tend to give me satisfaction and happiness. In my personal life, I always volunteer in various children’s homes to offer my support. My contribution may not be considered to be that big, but to me, going out and helping feed the children, play with them and assist in cleaning services means a lot to me. Additionally, I have been involved in various forums whereby I was fighting for equality for my friends from different races. I understand that, we may come from different backgrounds, but we all are human. I always step up to help the weak in the society whenever I come across such issues.
I remember there is a time, I had gone out to take a walk in the park, there was this Muslim lady and people were avoiding her and some even talking loudly that she might be a terrorist. I didn’t really like what was happening, I talked to her and soon after, I realized that she was stranded as she had lost her phone and other items as she was new in the neighborhood where she had come to visit a friend.
I helped her out with the little that I had and soon after, some people changed their attitude and even offered to help her. I came to realize that, we should always not judge others and thus our small steps can mean so much to others and even influence the rest of the population to become better (Guiso,2015).
In terms of growth, I am a curious person and am looking forward to learn a lot. Even in the classes I attend, I always ask questions to help me understand and thus grow. I have taken up various volunteering work to enable me to learn about the corporate world. Additionally, I have developed my passions, especially cooking by moving out of my comfort zone and asking my friends from other backgrounds on how to cook. Currently, I can cook like 7 different cuisine dishes. I can therefore say that, I value growth both in my professional and personal life.
The implementation of values and development of habits relies on principles. Personally, I use various principles in my academic life to ensure my life runs smoothly without affecting the rest of the population. I hold the highest level of respect. I understand that, respect is gained and it should be practiced by all. I always respect my professors through various ways, for instance, when addressing them and asking their guidance. I also respect my colleagues and this has enabled me develop a positive relationship with them. We hold discussions from time to time and I practice this principle by giving them time to speak and also consider their opinions for this portrays respect……
Exemplification of GEICO Core Values
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Lack of Two-way Communication
Assessment 1: Report Overview For this assessment, write a 1000 word report on the issues below: Lack of Two-way Communication
Your report should be structured as follows:
1. Introduction (200 words): Define the issue and use Australian research and statistics to explain how common it is, and the likely impacts of this violence (for instance, mental or physical health impacts, number of hospitalisations, and other indications of impact).
2. Theoretical section (800 words): Select TWO theories from the following list, and apply them to the issue: Liberal feminism, Marxist/socialist feminism, radical feminism, critical masculinities theory. You need to pick the most appropriate theory to help you explain the issue. Think carefully about the theories you select.
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Write 400 words on EACH theory, in which you briefly define the theory, and then describe how that particular theory would explain the issue you have selected. For instance, if you select Marxist/socialist feminism for the issue of sexual assault, then your 400 word paragraph needs to explain what Marxist/socialist feminism is, and present a Marxist/socialist feminist explanation for sexual assault. Your bibliography should contain no fewer than EIGHT academic sources. Any media sources are additional to this.
Marking Criteria
1. Accurate and clear presentation
2. Further research and comprehensive understanding (AT LEAST 8 ACADEMIC SOURCES)
3. Logical and clear structure
4. Quality of written expression
5. Correctly formatted citations and bibliography.
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People, Management, & Organisations
Introduction
Human resource management (HRM) is one of the most important departments in the operations of an organization. Different entities as well share HRM responsibilities differently depending on the size, situation/context, and the goals of the organization among other functions. HRM in overall aims at improving the performance of the business by extracting maximum value from the capabilities, knowledge and skills and efforts of employees in the most cost effective manner as possible.
To achieve this value, organizations share various responsibilities through shared service centres, HRM department, and outsourcing or through line managers. The paper therefore, focuses on the different ways of sharing responsibilities using the case of Vodafone Company. The paper further deliberates on how this work and ways to improve the same putting into consideration the drivers of trends in service delivery.
People, Management, & Organizations
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Case study
Vodafone is one of the leading multinational corporations in the area of telecommunication companies operating in India. The company ranks second after Airtel in terms of mobile network coverage. The company offers an array of services including services that relates to voice, mobile phones, and internet services such as 3G and many others. The company dominates the mobile telephony market because of the quality of services it renders to its customers. The company has as well managed to grow because of the competitive personnel it has.
The nature of HRM delivery the company uses is both outsourcing and HRM department. The company has a HRM department that deals with the affairs of its employees. It as well on various occasions uses outsourcing services to supplement its HRM department functions. Various drivers or trends in service delivery exist such as technological advancement/change, competitive pressures, and globalization and are critical in the operations of HRM systems. These drivers as well have played a key role in the operations and HRM responsibilities of the company.
For instance, competitive pressures have contributed to the innovations and creativity experienced in the company. The company has managed to come up with competitive products and services that have contributed to its success. Globalization has also contributed to the adoption of the HRM strategy in the company. The company has as well adopted best practices embraced by different companies across the world to be competitive.
People, Management, & Organizations
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Advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing of HR mode of delivery the company has adopted
Outsourcing of HR activities is one of the HR service delivery the company uses. Various HR practice areas such as training and development and recruitment, and payroll, and general administration are sourced from various HR specialists. This however, does not mean the company has poor systems, but some of the personnel’s to be recruited requires vigorous scrutiny (Torrington, Hall &Taylor, 2008). Recruitment agencies for instance, possess greater skills and experience concerning suitable caliber of candidates to recruit.
Furthermore, outsourcing reduces costs of operation, especially in the short run because it can be expensive to maintain or retain internal staffs due to employment cost such as holiday pay, office accommodation, and pension pays. Outsourcing removes, potential rigidities as they are not covered (Bresnen & Marchington, 2014). Outsourcing has advantages because it allows the company to buy in external expertise not available in house. It is also useful and appropriate in change programmes, and is cheaper in the long run.
However, using outsourcing as a method of delivery have potential problems that the organization put into consideration to ensure that they does not derail smooth operations and functioning of the organization. This includes loss of internal synergy in the Human resource functions in the company. It also limits the company when it comes to application of best practices and there may cause interference in the process of reaching amicable solutions (Torrington, Hall &Taylor, 2008).
Furthermore, the company faces threat of experiencing additional costs because of monitoring and definition of performance that must be undertaken even after the outsourced experts or specialists leaves the organization (Bresnen & Marchington, 2014).
People, Management, & Organizations
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Advantages and disadvantages of HRM department mode of delivery the company has adopted
HRM department is cheaper to administer and to run because personnel’s are familiar with the internal process of the organization (Torrington, Hall &Taylor, 2008). However, some of the challenges or problems that this company experience using this mode of service delivery is when it comes to policy implementation and implementation of programmes due to long processes created in the organization structure.
These delivery methods as indicated from the discussion are appropriate and help the organization to gain value. The company does not incur huge costs operating on these delivery methods. Furthermore, returns in terms of value are higher.
Outsourcing has contributed to recruitment of skilled and knowledgeable staffs that have contributed to achievement of the objectives and goals of the organization. Furthermore, it has contributed to smooth operations because; the right people that have the requisite skills are employed to help champion the issues of the organization forward.
Other modes of HR service deliver
Advantages and disadvantage of front-line managers
Even though, the company uses outsourcing and HRM department, Purcell & Hutchinson (2007) argues that using other modes such as front line managers and shared service centers (SSC) can as well add value to an entity. According to Bresnen & Marchington (2014), the potential advantages of using front line managers is that is easy to intervene in any HR issues as they are closer to issues that the department of HR perform.
Furthermore, line managers have higher understanding of the business and they own ideas that help them to engage with others (Purcell & Hutchinson, 2007). However, they have some drawbacks such as may not be familiar with the goals of the organization, may lack skills and competencies, may experience work overload that may derail their smooth operations and may as well face inconsistencies when it comes to application of HR rules.
People, Management, & Organizations
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Advantages and disadvantage shared service centers HRM service delivery mode
On the other hand, shared services centres are also becoming popular in entities. This involves a small group of HR professionals that drive the strategic vision of an organization at the same time a call center exists that provides advice to line managers as well as administrators and individual workers (Marchington & Wilkinson, 2011).
Some benefits of this include higher customer satisfaction, efficient processes, and economies of scale, transparency of costs, among others. Potential problems using this kind of delivery mode is increased workload to line manager that may affect service delivery, higher than expected costs and staffs may experience IT problems among many others.
Wider theoretical perspectives
Various theories provide wider perspectives on the functioning of different organization. Resource based view is one of the theories that explains how the key drivers of HRM and organization performance are shaped (Bresnen & Marchington, 2014). In Vodafone, the primary forces that impacts on its performance is based on the inside out approach. The internal capabilities including the skills of employees and processes as well as employment relation play a critical role in its success (Lepak & Snell, 2007).
The organization therefore has used different individuals in different areas they cause greater impacts. Practices or goals that are ascertained to be are, valuable, not easy to copy, and not easy to substitute are given preferential treatment. Therefore, HRM architecture has as well been of greater value in the functioning of HRM as the modes of delivery is based on centrality to the mission of the company (Bresnen & Marchington, 2014).
People, Management, & Organizations
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Ways of improving delivery and alternative HRM service delivery modes recommendations
Based on the literature and discussion, delivery can still be improved to ensure that the organization achieves higher performance. One way of improving delivery is applying various models of delivery that suit the company and which help achieve the goals and visions of the organization (Lepak & Snell, 2007).
It is also important to select the mode of delivery that is cost effective, ensure that problems are solved and those that ensure adoption of best practices in the functioning of the organization. It is also important to utilize resource based view theories by incorporating internal capabilities that can add value to the organization. I recommend use of HR departments and outsourcing of HR in circumstances where an organization wants to save costs and to attract talented individuals.
Conclusion
Human resource management is critical in the operation of the organization. It is prudent that organizations adopt suitable service delivery modes that can help them meet their goals. Organization such as Vodafone uses HR department and outsourcing and this has contributed to its success. In dealing with various problems entities encounter, it becomes prudent to adapt to most suitable and appropriate modes of service delivery.
People, Management, & Organizations
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Other modes that entities can use include front-line managers and Shared Service centers. It is also important to consider the drivers of factors of service delivery such as globalisation, technological changes, and competitive pressures in deciding the appropriate service delivery mode to use. Theoretical views such as resource based and architectural modes are important to consider in service delivery.
Using inside approach by considering internal capabilities of individuals can go extra miles in ensuring that an entity remains competitive. It is therefore recommended that organizations make appropriate decisions on the modes they want to use by weighing their benefits against drawbacks and putting into consideration the context or the situation they are operating in.
Lepak, D, & Snell, S 2007, ‘Employment subsystems and the ‘HR architecture’, in Boxall, P.,Purcell, J. and Wright, P. (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Human ResourceManagement, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Marchington, M, & Wilkinson, A 2011, Human Resource Management at Work (4th Edition), London: CIPD.
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Corporate Environmental Responsibility
Environmental concerns have a significant impact on the success of companies today. For a business organization to sustain its competitive advantage, the company’s corporate manager has to stay ahead of the curve, positioning the company as environmentally responsible and focusing on environmental strategy. In this essay, a book report on the 2000 film Erin Brockovich and the 1996 book A Civil Action is provided.
Book Report: A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr
The non-fiction book A Civil Action was written in the year 1996 by Jonathan Harr. This text is purely against pollution. In essence, this book is basically about a case of water pollution in the Massachusetts town of Woburn in the year 1980. After Anne Anderson discovered that her child is diagnosed with a horrible blood cancer known as leukaemia which is a rare condition, she sees a high occurrence of this disease in her city.
Anne then gathered other families and decided to seek an attorney to consider their options. They found Jan Schlichtmann as their lawyer (Harr, 1996). At first, this lawyer did not want to take this case because there was no clear defendant and evidence was also lacking. However, he picked up the case later on and found evidence that indicated the water supply of the town had trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination.
Apparently, the organizations responsible for this contamination included Riley Tannery which was Beatrice Foods’ subsidiary; a company called Unifirst; and W. R. Grace, a chemical firm (Harr, 1996).
Corporate Environmental Responsibility
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At some point in the court case, Schlichtmann got other lawyers to help him. Unifirst was the first company to pay fines and its management paid slightly more than one million dollars. However, this money was invested right away in the litigation against Beatrice Foods and W. R. Grace companies. The case which the plaintiff has against W. R. Grace is very strong primarily because first, the lawyer has personal testimony of W. R. Grace’s previous worker who had actually witnessed dumping.
Secondly, a river between the tannery operated by Beatrice Foods and the polluted water wells make their contribution to the pollution less believable. The court found Beatrice Foods not guilty (Harr, 1996). Although Schlichtmann’s law firm looks forward to a much higher settlement, the horrible state of its financial position compels the firm to agree to a settlement for eight million dollars from W. R. Grace. The lawyer then disbursed the settlement to the affected families, excluding expenditures and payment for the lawyer – every affected family was given about $375,000.
When some of the affected families believed that Schlichtmann had inflated the expenditures for his own benefit, the lawyer agreed and surrendered more of his charges. Later on, this lawyer filed for bankruptcy after losing his automobile and mansion, and actually lived inside his office for some time. In the end, he decided to practice personal injury, civil and environmental law (Harr, 1996).
After examining sludge extracted from the wells, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report determined that W. R. Grace and Beatrice Foods had both polluted the water wells. EPA afterwards filed its own court case against Beatrice Foods and W. R. Grace basing on the new evidence. In the year 1988, Schlichtmann tried to bring up the litigation against Beatrice Foods once more, but the case was dismissed by the jury, which cited testimony from Beatrice Foods’ soil chemist.
Corporate Environmental Responsibility
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Even so, because of the court cases filed by the EPA, these two firms were in the end compelled to pay for a very large cleanup in the North-eastern part of the country, which cost an estimated sixty eight million dollars (Harr, 1996). Events such as the one illustrated in this book happen largely because big corporations are driven purely by profit with total disregard for the environment. They want to make profits in their business operations without caring about the negative environmental effects they cause to the environment.
Movie Report: Erin Brockovich
The film Erin Brockovich was released in the year 2000. This movie, which seeks to fight nuclear wastes, is founded on the factual account of a certain woman who helped in winning the biggest settlement that has ever been paid in a direct-action litigation. Julia Roberts acts as Erin Brockovish. The film’s director is Steven Soderbergh. Whilst working at a law firm which had in fact represented her in a previous case – a personal injury lawsuit – Erin Brockovich discovered a very strange thing: medical records inside a real-estate folder.
Erin then decided to make a follow-up on this issue and discovered what associated medical information with real estate transactions. Pacific Gas & Electric, a multi-billion public utility company, was purchasing homes that were believed to be impacted adversely by contamination of groundwater. After buying those homes, it destroyed them (Soderbergh, 2000). In fact, the contamination was as a result of the waste disposal practices of Pacific Gas & Electric.
Corporate Environmental Responsibility
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At issue was hexavalent chromium, a chemical which is carcinogenic and causes cancer. The firm had discovered this toxic chemical inside a monitoring well not far from its compressor station in the Californian town of Hinkley. In this region, groundwater flowed towards businesses and homes of Pacific Gas & Electric’s neighbours who utilized groundwater for various purposes including drinking, and some of those neighbours were becoming ill.
A number of people were interviewed by Erin and she found a way of getting copies of records that incriminated Pacific Gas & Electric and discussed this situation with Ed Masry, who was the boss in the law firm where she worked. Ed Masry and Erin then filed a class-action litigation, which eventually ended in an immense settlement of $333 million for the residents of the area (Soderbergh, 2000). Eventually, the industrial poisoning of the water supply of a southern California city which threatened the health of the whole community was stopped and a huge fine paid to the victims by the contaminating company.
The viewers of the film Erin Brockovich come to know that Pacific Gas & Electric contaminated groundwater and the company is actually to blame for disease and death that has befell the local residents. It was very important that Pacific Gas & Electric, a company which cut corners and contaminated the ground waters on which the local residents and communities were dependent upon for drinking purposes, was eventually held answerable.
In the past few years, manufacturing factories, chemical plants, in addition to other workplaces have breached water pollution laws on very many occasions. Such infringements include failure to report emissions to dumping toxins at high concentrations that may bring about various conditions and illnesses like birth defects and cancer.
Corporate Environmental Responsibility
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Discussion
Such events get covered up because clear evidence may sometimes be lacking and the affected people might in fact not be aware that they are being impacted by the contamination – in A Civil Action for instance, Anne Anderson was initially not aware that her son’s leukaemia was as a result of the water contaminated by TCE from a few factories in the vicinity.
Furthermore, such events get covered up because the culpable companies do not want the truth to be known since they fear litigation, fines, reputation damage and losing customers if they are discovered to be committing the crime of environmental pollution. For instance, Pacific Gas & Electric was purchasing homes and destroying them so that its crime is not discovered.
What needs to happen is that polluters such as Pacific Gas & Electric, Beatrice Foods and W. R. Grace who harm the environment have to be held accountable for their actions. They are in violation of the Clean Water Act because they polluted the water on which many people in the region relied on. Big corporations such as these three are not in any way above the law.
Such companies should pay huge fines and the money for paying the fines must come not from the company’s clients, but rather from their shareholders. Furthermore, the companies should also be ordered by the court to run full-page adverts on state and national newspapers giving their apology.
Corporate Environmental Responsibility
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On the whole, business organizations should be fully committed to sustainable environmental practices and they should truly hold themselves to effective and proper sustainable practices. Equally important, companies should not say in their websites that they employ sustainable practices and yet still pollute the environment – such an organization would not be a sustainable company. Most pollution is linked directly to corporate enterprise. Companies should take initiatives to decreasing pollution and government regulations should continue restricting pollution.
References
Harr, J. (1996). A civil action. New York City, NY: Random House Inc.
Soderbergh, S. (2000). Erin Brockovich. Film.
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How Organizational Structures Support or Impede Innovation
Organizational structures acts as the main guideline of how to run activities like supervision, coordination and task allocation. Also, it defines the flow of information in diverse levels of management (Swan, 2007, P. 177). On the other hand, innovation entails changing the organization’s processes or coming up with new ideas to improve the company’s performance.
Therefore, for change to take place, the organizational structures should be active to avoid confusion. Moreover, the management should have a positive attitude to embrace changes which occur as a result of the transformation process. Innovation depends on the employee’s flexibility, adequate information and communication systems and proper project management.
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For change to be effective, people should have knowledge about various matters. According to the epistemology of possession, knowledge is a personal property of an individual, who interprets the meaning of data according to perceptions, experiences, and previous understanding. Various people with different past experiences are likely to draw different conclusions from the same information. Since knowledge is based on an person, what individuals agree on as true is driven by those in power since their justifications often have a lot of weight.
For instance, in western medicine, clinicians who claim about the best treatments, basing their knowledge on scientific research override the competing claims which come from less powerful groups applying alternate therapies (Newell et al., 2009, P. 15). The sales persons can use support innovation by sharing ideas from customers because they are in a position to understand the customers’ needs. These thoughts help the organization to come up with better products to suit the market’s needs.
Additionally, the firm tries hard to maintain a fairly flat organizational structures to avoid many rules and regulations. Moreover, the firm did not have a human resource department, and would employ its workers formally through the word of mouth. These features help in recruiting the most competent workers because recruitment considers a person’s ability to apply his knowledge in diverse areas. Moreover, the organization ensures that there are adequate resources for implementing in all technologies to facilitate project implementation.
Organizations use ICT to carry out knowledge work. However, the human agency, physical properties of some ICTs and institution within which the people make their work influence the effect of ICT on education. Research shows that technology determines the type of organizational structure.
The organizational structures have the ability to support or impede innovation in some ways. Change starts with the management of awareness that different people possess. If workers conduct the improvements appropriately, people will learn to embrace and apply the change correctly (Camison & Villar-Lopez,204, P. 100).
References
Camisón, C. and Villar-López, A., 2014. Organizational innovation as an enabler of technological innovation capabilities and firm performance. Journal of Business Research, 67(1), pp.2891-2902.
The globe is very competitive with an increase in the level of skills that individuals have gained. Different organizations want to remain competitive when benchmarked with competing organizations so that they win as much business as possible. The corporate culture that an organization adopts is one of the factors that contribute to an organization being competitive when compared to other industry players. The human resources policies that an organization adopts also contribute to its effectiveness and competitiveness in the market. The utilization of remote working is one of the human resources policies that an organization might adopt in promoting productivity and competitiveness in the job market. This dissertation conducted research on how organizations can employ a corporate culture for remote employees. The corporate culture that is adopted by an organization contributes to the portrayal of an image that affects its ability to attract and retain clients and business partners. Therefore, organizations have numerous benefits to derive from incorporating a culture for their remote working employees.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my supervisor for the immeasurable support given to me throughout the completion of my dissertation. Also, to my family members who are all very understanding and supportive in my studies. Without them, I could have a hard time. They are my inspiration and my source of energy.
Introduction
The global “workplace,” has resulted in a convergence of cultures that are diverse and integrate individuals from diverse backgrounds. However, even with diverse backgrounds, individuals should be able to integrate into teams so that there is a successful achievement of the organization’s objectives.
According to Guiso, Sapienza and Zingales (2015), the leaders of corporate organizations have the responsibility of maintaining governance and a required corporate culture so as to achieve their objectives and profitability. The employees are the representatives of an organization in their daily work and actions outside the organization. The image that the employees portray should be a reflection of the values and objectives of the organization.
Clients and other stakeholders should feel that the employees of the organization are committed to achieving the set goals and intended image that they would inspire them to work with the company. Before an organization establishes a corporate culture, it should ensure that its leaders are ethical and believe in the values of the organization (Giles, 2015: 43).
Leaders that believe in the objectives and mission of the company can easily pass those values to employees. In addition to being motivated to remain ethical in their leadership practices, the senior managers and executives should possess integrity as one of their characters. When the leaders’ possess integrity, employees are likely to be motivated to follow their guidance and vision (Dwivedi, Kaushik and Luxmi, 2014: 82). Leaders with integrity are also likely to earn the required respect of the employees in the organization.
Importance of Corporate Culture
Organizations also have unique personalities that separate them from their competitors and other firms; which were also mentioned in Sun’s (2009) study. Collectively, organization culture interweaves an individual to the organization but distinguishes them separately from the other. For instance, the parameters of procedures, policies, hierarchies, leadership styles, habits and shared values of the employees and stakeholders distinctively from the corporate culture of an organization (Utito, 2004:9).
Underpinning the role of corporate culture, according to Flamholtz and Randle (2012), it acts as a unique strategic asset on the accomplishment of business models. Subsequently, sales levels, financial performance, and planning should be deliberately planned, cultivated, and nurtured to ensure the success of the firm. The corporate culture acts as a factor in attracting clients and business partners for an organization; by which the culture shows that the “outside world” values are more important for the organization Utito (2004:9).
According to Scarlett & Koslow (2009: 32), corporate culture cannot be monetized, but it contributes to the profitability or lack of it, to a company. Therefore, the corporate culture of an organization should be monitored regularly, and changed to fit the dynamics of the industry and technology. Corporate cultures have an impact on the employees that companies attract and retain, as well as the commodities, or services offered, and revenue earned.
Companies that take pride in, and promote their corporate cultures are attractive to their current and potential employees. The clients of such organizations also want to associate with the organizations because they want to find out more information on what makes the organizations tick and pursue their objectives and mission in delivering commodities or services to their clients.
Organizational Design as it Relates to Organizational Theory
Annotated Bibliography
Abstract
Organizational design is an important aspect in organizational theory, given the role played by organizational design in providing direction for the firm. Organizational design refers to systematic methodologies that organizations utilize in identifying organizational aspects that are dysfunctional, before realigning them to ensure that they are in tandem business goals and developing plans to make the necessary changes.
Organizational theory, on the other hand, involves the study of organizations with an objective of identifying structures and strategies for efficiency and productivity maximization. Organizational design is related to organizational theory because organizational theory seeks to study strategies undertaken by firms to enhance productivity, which essentially represents what organizational design aims to achieve.
In studying research design as it relates to research theory, a number of themes are explored in this paper. These include the impact of organizational design in promoting firm productivity and efficiency, the impact of organizational design on change management, the role of organizational design in enhancing employee performance and motivation, how organizations can ensure that they have the right fit when it comes to organizational strategy, and how the effectiveness of organizational design can be enhanced.
Outline
Organizational design
Organizational theory
Organizational design as it relates to organizational theory
Impact of organizational design in enhancing productivity and firm efficiency
Organizational design and its role in change management
Organizational design and its role in employee motivation and engagement
Organizational design and the concept of FIT
Promoting the effectiveness of organizational design
Annotated Bibliography
Tarek, S., Wilberg, J., Tommelein, I. D., & Lindemann, U. (2016). Supporting the design of competitive organizations. Journal of Modern Project Management, 4(2), 96-103. doi:10.19255/JMPM01109
This paper addresses organizational competitiveness by illustrating the importance of adapting effectively to market changes. According to Tarek et al. (2016), external environment trends are a constant disruption to companies and the need to adopt strategies that enhance competitiveness is of great significance. In this paper, they make use of the Viable Systems Model (VSM), which is used in promoting organizational design and avoiding deficiencies. Technology adoption and external environment monitoring come out as important themes in strategic design in a bid to improve competitiveness. This paper effectively demonstrates the importance of organizational design in enhancing competitiveness and is therefore applicable to my topic.
Capelle, R. G. (2017). Improving Organization Performance by Optimizing Organization Design. People & Strategy, 40(2), 26-31.
This article dwells on explaining the relevance of organizational design on organizational performance. In this article, Capelle (2017) notes that a clear understanding of current strategy is important in organization design optimization, such that the organization can be transformed into a high-performing unit. The role of organizational design in relation to the human resource is discussed, with the conclusion that the design of the organization determines its overall performance.
This includes the development of optimal organizational structures and clear lines of accountability and deliverables. People alignment is also considered an imperative factor in optimizing organizational design as it ensures efficient performance. This paper addresses a critical aspect of organizational theory which is the impact of human resource management and will be useful in addressing the employee engagement section in my paper.
Donaldson, L., & Joffe, G. (2014). FIT – the key to organizational design. Journal of Organization Design, 3(3), 38-45. doi:10.7146/jod.18424
The ability to develop an organizational design that meets a company’s objectives and aligns with its strategy is considered an important factor in determining its efficiency. In this paper, Donaldson & Joffe (2014) discuss the concept ‘fit’, noting that an organizational design needs to fit the situation in order to successfully influence the performance of the organization.
Situational factors may include organizational size, competitive strategy, and task uncertainty. Donaldson & Joffe (2014) also use the contingency theory to explain how fits may be developed and misfits identified. The paper aligns well with my paper because it provides valuable details on how to promote the effectiveness of strategic design through ensuring that it fits the organization’s situation.
Stea, D., Foss, K., & Foss, N. J. (2015). A Neglected Role for Organizational Design. Journal of Organization Design, 4(3), 3-17. doi:10.7146/jod.20434
In this paper, the authors focus on the relevance of delegation in enhancing an effective organizational design. According to Stea, Foss & Foss (2015), organizations must respond to environmental changes that currently call on organizations to foster knowledge and motivation among employees. This is effectively achieved through delegation and can be realized through the development of the organizational design to create value for organizations.
The paper also discusses the question of credibility in delegation and motivation, which may affect the outcome of the exercise. This paper is a great addition to my literature review as it addresses issues affecting organizational design.
Nissen, M. (2014). Organization Design for Dynamic Fit. Journal of Organization Design, 3(2), 30-42. doi:10.7146/jod.8196
Nissen (2014) discusses the concept of ‘fit’, which is considered an important aspect of organizational design. Given the constant change in the business world, organizations must adjust in order to be competitive and strategic design must seek to address these dynamics in ensuring that it works effectively for the organization.
Nissen studies various theoretical perspectives affecting fit including design orientation, manager roles, organizational systems and measurement and validation. This paper provides valuable insight into my topic and will be beneficial in explaining how organizational design success can be enhanced.
Felin, T., & Powell, T. C. (2016). Designing Organizations for Dynamic Capabilities. California Management Review, 58(4), 78-96. doi:10.1525/cmr.2016.58.4.78
Enhancing competitiveness is subject to an organization’s ability to adapt to different environmental changes. Felin & Powell (2016) examine the development of dynamic capabilities through organizational design and note that this could be impactful in enhancing innovation. The article makes reference to Valve Corporation as an example, an organization that has been highly successful in market adaptation and strategic innovation in a fast-moving environment.
The research by Felin & Powell notes that dynamic capabilities ensure that organizations can survive in competitive landscapes and constant market changes including technology change and market demand volatility. This research will contribute to my paper through providing insights on how organizations can harness their strategic positions through organizational design.
Connor, A. (2015). Organizational Design that Really Works. Design Management Review, 26(3), 23-29. doi:10.1111/drev.10329
This paper addresses organizational change and its related impact on organizational design. According to Connor (2015), change and reorganization require the application of innovative strategies to ensure that the change is beneficial to the organization. In this regard, organizational design is considered imperative in ensuring that change is set up in a way that it aligns with and supports the organizational objectives. Connor notes that integrating design into an existing system requires adjustments to ensure a strategic fit and also the need to observe, analyze and modify to allow effective implementation.
Mendoza-Walters, A., & Ivanov, S. (2016). Combining passion with planning: applying organizational theory to improve business operations in non-profit organizations. International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 9(2), 46-51.
This research is unique in that while a majority of articles focus on for-profit organizations, it addresses the challenges faced by non-profit organizations. Through focusing on a Washington DC non-profit, the paper demonstrates how organization theory could improve its performance, by ensuring effective planning. Mendoza-Walters & Ivanov (2016) make various recommendations for more effective performance including the implementation of more strategic division of labor, restructuring the organization, and the inclusion of technology in enhancing planning. The paper demonstrates that business efficiency can be improved through organizational theory and therefore forms a basis for understanding my topic of study.
Aubry, M., & Brunet, M. (2016). Organizational Design in Public Administration: Categorization of Project Management Offices. Project Management Journal, 47(5), 107-129.
Aubry & Brunet (2016) focus on public administration organizational design with the aim of determining how government offices can utilize organizational design to improve their performance. The public administration offices are required to implement multiple projects with each requiring careful consideration to ensure that it meets the needs of the public. Effective project management requires organizational design to ensure that the projects are successfully implemented.
In this relation, Aubry & Brunet (2016) suggest categorization of projects based on types and this is considered effective in enhancing project outcomes. The research concludes that organizational design is important in enhancing project outcomes and therefore effective in promoting public organizations’ performance. This paper contributes to my research by providing important aspects of organizational design and how they influence performance.
Daft, R. L. (2015). Organization Theory and Design. Cengage Learning.
This book offers valuable information on organizational theory and design by discussing the two concepts in detail, culminating in a comprehensive understanding of how organizational design is related to organizational theory. The author addresses various factors influencing organizational design’s effectiveness.
This includes a discussion of the internal and external factors that influence organizational design as well as internal design elements that are useful in enhancing the organizational performance. These include technology organization size and life cycle. It also covers innovative ways of managing dynamic processes such as innovation, change, ethical values, conflict and power among others. This is a rich information source that will be of great significance in my research.
Burton, R. M., Obel, B. & Håkonsson, D. D. (2015). Organizational Design: A Step-by-Step Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
This book discusses the multi-contingency organizational design besides other aspects of organizational design and theory. In doing so, the authors identify two complementary problems involved in organizational design namely the partitioning of tasks and coordination of sub-unit tasks to enhance effective fit with the organizational goals.
In explaining the concept of organizational design, they approach it from a multi-contingency aspect and discuss five components namely the scope/goal, structure, strategy, processes, and people. This information provides a great understanding of organizational design and it can be established that by aligning these organizational design components, efficiency may be achieved. This book is highly valuable and will provide high-level information for reference in my research.
Hunter, S. D. (2015). Combining Theoretical Perspectives on the Organizational Structure-Performance Relationship. Journal of Organization Design, 4, 2, 24-37.
In this paper, Hunter (2015) focuses on the organizational structure by noting that it plays an important role in promoting organizational performance. The paper discusses theoretical aspects on the link between organizational structure and performance. Organization design elements are influenced by various factors including environmental conditions, task characteristics, strategic orientation, and relationships. This insinuates that organizational design determines how effective an organization is in creating an organizational performance. This research will add to my literature review by demonstrating the interrelationship between organizational design and performance.
McDonnell, J. M. (2015). The Role of Organizational Design in 21st Century Organizations: George Jetson and the Star Model. Journal of Transformative Innovation, 1 (1), 1-6.
As technological advancements continue to be witnessed in today’s world, business is likely to change significantly and it is this kind of changes that this article addresses through a discussion on the role played by organizational design in modern organizations. McDonnel points out that organizations must have a futuristic approach and this entails an inclusion of organizational designs that reflect strategic thinking. Organizational design is considered a way of achieving this by combining different strategies to meet today’s business environment challenges including management of people, processes, structure, and rewards. The research will add value to my research by providing valuable information on organizational design and how it impacts performance.
Junqueira, E. et al. (2016). The Effect of Strategic Choices and Management Control Systems on Organizational Performance. DOI: 10.1590/1808-057×201601890
In this research, Junqueira, et al. (2016) investigate generic strategic choices and how they affect the performance of organizations. In doing so, the concepts of organizational design and organizational theory emerge and it can be established that the strategic choice taken determine the outcome in reference to organizational performance. According to the research, the strategy adopted by the organization is influenced by the competitive forces and that the organizational design is highly instrumental in influencing performance. This source provides information about strategic design and will be useful in developing an understanding of how it influences performance in the development of my paper.
Chouikha, M. B. (2016). Organizational Design for Knowledge Management. New York: Wiley & Sons
Knowledge management is imperative in organizational design as it ensures that set strategies can be effectively implemented. This is articulately discussed by Choiuikha (2016) in his book on organizational design for knowledge management. The book addresses the relevance of knowledge by illustrating how organizations can anchor knowledge through individual skills, data and information, and how this can be elevated from individual to organizational learning. In this relation, knowledge transfer, knowledge acquisition and knowledge storage are considered key in enhancing organizational strategy and consequently the organizational performance. The impact of culture on knowledge management is also discussed. This book contains valuable information that will be instrumental in ensuring that my research is based on good foundations on organizational design and theory.
References
Aubry, M., & Brunet, M. (2016). Organizational Design in Public Administration: Categorization of Project Management Offices. Project Management Journal, 47(5), 107-129.
Burton, R. M., Obel, B. & Håkonsson, D. D. (2015). Organizational Design: A Step-by-StepApproach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Capelle, R. G. (2017). Improving Organization Performance by Optimizing Organization Design. People & Strategy, 40(2), 26-31.
Chouikha, M. B. (2016). Organizational Design for Knowledge Management. New York: Wiley & Sons
Connor, A. (2015). Organizational Design that Really Works. Design Management Review, 26(3), 23-29. doi:10.1111/drev.10329
Daft, R. L. (2015). Organization Theory and Design. Cengage Learning.
Donaldson, L., & Joffe, G. (2014). FIT – the key to organizational design. Journal ofOrganization Design, 3(3), 38-45. doi:10.7146/jod.18424
Felin, T., & Powell, T. C. (2016). Designing Organizations for Dynamic Capabilities. California Management Review, 58(4), 78-96. doi:10.1525/cmr.2016.58.4.78
Hunter, S. D. (2015). Combining Theoretical Perspectives on the Organizational Structure-Performance Relationship. Journal of Organization Design, 4, 2, 24-37.
Junqueira, E. et al. (2016). The Effect of Strategic Choices and Management ControlSystems on Organizational Performance. DOI: 10.1590/1808-057×201601890
McDonnell, J. M. (2015). The Role of Organizational Design in 21st Century Organizations: George Jetson and the Star Model. Journal of Transformative Innovation, 1 (1), 1-6.
Mendoza-Walters, A., & Ivanov, S. (2016). Combining passion with planning: applying organizational theory to improve business operations in non-profit organizations. International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 9(2), 46-51.
Nissen, M. (2014). Organization Design for Dynamic Fit. Journal of Organization Design, 3(2), 30-42. doi:10.7146/jod.8196
Stea, D., Foss, K., & Foss, N. J. (2015). A Neglected Role for Organizational Design. Journal of Organization Design, 4(3), 3-17. doi:10.7146/jod.20434
Tarek, S., Wilberg, J., Tommelein, I. D., & Lindemann, U. (2016). Supporting the Design of competitive organizations. Journal of Modern Project Management, 4(2), 96-103. doi:10.19255/JMPM01109
Want help to write your Essay or Assignments? Click here.
To what extent is our understanding of organizations and management over the last 100 years applicable to the 21st century?
The understanding of organizations and management over the last 100 years applies to the 21st Century. The organization is a group of people who have a structured management system that directs them to pursue a common objective (Scott, and Davis, 2015, p. 45).
Notably, within that period of 100 years, many people attempted to provide relevant knowledge that could improve efficiency in organizations and management process.
In conclusion, the knowledge acquired concerning organizations and management over the last 100 years has a great impact on the 21st century. In the past, the team was not complex like today where the firm has many department and activities.
Organizations and management Case Anlysis
The management adapted new methods to comply with new changes in a firm. Therefore, that understanding of organizations and management has helped the teams in the current century (Bohari, Hin, and Fuad, 2017, p. 56). Managers to allocate enough resources depending on the nature of goals set. Also, the use of new technological methods can help the firm to perform and compete effectively in the market.
Total Quality management is a plan that makes the management to be focused on customers and improvement of processes. SWOT analysis should be completed to provide enough knowledge concerning internal and external factors of a firm. The understanding of organizations and management should be the base of bringing change in the firm. Management needs such understanding to develop effective strategies that may improve the performance of a team.
References
Bohari, A.M., Hin, C.W. and Fuad, N., 2017. The competitiveness of halal food industry in Malaysia: A SWOT-ICT analysis. Geografia-Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 9(1).
Ozguner, Z. and Ozguner, M., 2014. A managerial point of view on the relationship between of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s dual factor theory. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 5(7).
Sallis, E., 2014. Total quality management in education. Routledge.
Sargeant, A. and Jay, E., 2014. Fundraising management: analysis, planning and practice. Routledge.
The first case presents a scenario where the company is in talks with the government of Vindalubia regarding the contract to construct a number of solar panels. In the course of the discussions, the Minister in the Ministry of Energy requests for payment of a “motivation fee” in order to facilitate the signature that will allow for awarding of the contract with the government in Vindalubia.
The discussion below is presented to the company’s CEO as an explanation of whether or not the firm should pay the “motivation fee” requested by the minister, implications of actions, a legal view of the scenario, as well as a recommendation of the decision the firm should make.
The meaning of a “motivation fee”
The Minister, by asking for a “motivation fee”, is asking for something of value to them in exchange for the signature. In this case, the term fee implies something of monetary value i.e. legal tender, is expected to change hands. The sole purpose of the exchange being as a means to influence the Minister of Energy to carry out a given action, whether legal or otherwise.
In this regard, therefore, the “motivation fee” is understood to be a bribe to influence the Minister to act in favor of the company by rewarding the tender to construct the solar panels in Vindalubia in exchange for a given amount of money.
Possible decisions and implications
Given the prevailing scenario, as well as the firm being in need of the contract, it is evident a decision is needed. The decision involves a choice of whether or not to present the Minister with the required “motivation fee”. Both choices have implications, and they ought to be addressed prior to making the decision.
If the firm chooses to offer the Minister of Energy the requested “motivation fee”, they will outrightly have secured the contract. This, however, at the cost of breaking the law, and, therefore, exposing the firm to possible litigation arising from the illegitimate transaction.
On the other hand, the firm may choose to ignore the minister’s request to pay the “motivation fee”. This decision drastically reduces the chances of the firm being awarded the contract to almost nil. This decision, however, maintains the ethical standing of the firm, and it may also choose to file a lawsuit against the minister for illegal activities of a public official in a public office. The prevailing recommendation is not to pay the Minister of Energy the prescribed “motivation fee” since it is not only unethical but also illegal.
Legal perspective and justification for the decision
As per Section 18 code 201 of the US code, ‘Bribery of public officials and witnesses’, bribery is understood to be the act of offering, promising, or giving, directly or indirectly, anything of value to a public official. In the context of the Minister of Energy as a public official, the above described act of bribery is committed in a bid to either influence the performance of an official act or to influence the official in an act of collusion or knowingly allow the committing of fraud.
In addition, the act of bribery may be committed when the exchange is done to influence the official to knowingly act in omission or commission of an action that is in violation of the law (Legal Information Institute, n.d.).
Case Study 2
The second case represents a scenario where the Government of Vindalubia has awarded the company a contract to construct solar panels. The firm has gone through the required process and signed the contract. However, in a bid to secure the contract, the company paid a “motivation fee” to facilitate the signature to award the contract as requested by the Minister of Energy in Vindalubia.
In spite of the payment of the “motivation fee” as agreed, the Government of Vindalubia terminated the contract a few months later. Below is a discussion that expounds on the scenario, shows a number of methods of solving the arising dispute, provides a legal perspective of the issues in the scenario, and provides recommendations on the choices and implications of the same.
The arising dispute and possible methods of resolving
The prevailing dispute regarding the given scenario between the company and the Minister of Energy in Vindalubia stems from the premature termination of the awarded contract to construct solar panels by the government. The firm may decide to address this dispute in a number of ways. Key among these is the use of contract law. This is the preferred approach proposed to the Chief Executive.
Possible decisions and implications
The use of contract law as proposed to the CEO of the company would suffice as an effective method of addressing the dispute between the company and the government. If the Chief Executive upholds this decision, the firm may choose either to handle the matter amicably between the parties involved out of court or to file a lawsuit.
The lawsuit may serve to expose the illegitimate and unethical transaction between both parties involving the payment of a “motivation fee”. On the other hand, the amicable settlement may result in a much better result that favors both parties.
Legal perspective and justification for the decision
The use of an amicable settlement, which is the decision of choice among both, should start with a review of the contract. This step allows both parties to review the terms of the signed contract that proves the existence of an agreement between the parties. For the company, an area of focus during this face should be the determination of contractual clauses within the agreement that stipulate the terms of termination of the contract.
Owing to the value of the contract, it should contain a clause or clauses describing the suitable provisions of the process of the termination of a contract (Legal Information Institute, n.d.). Any disputes should be handled, therefore, as per the clauses of contract termination.
Failure of the clauses within the contract to provide an amicable settlement of the matter, prevailing codes of contract law governing the US are useable. This step may invoke the need for an external expert regarding contract law. The law of contracts should provide sufficient guidance on the various violations committed in terminating the contract without communication between both parties (Legal Information Institute, n.d.).
In addition, the notice of termination section of the US code should provide guidance on the requirements and process needed to terminate the contract (Legal Information Institute, n.d.). If these terms are not sufficient to warrant an agreement between both parties, the company may choose to file a lawsuit against the government in spite of the prevailing choices discussed earlier.
Case Study 3
The third case presents a scenario where the Chief Executive Officer has concerns over the lack of a Ethics and compliance Program at the firm. The CEO tasks me, as the new Chief Compliance Officer at the company, to propose and develop a new ethics and compliance program for the firm.
Proposal for a new ethics and compliance program
For the most part, the ethics and compliance program is meant to provide general guidance on behavior, ethical standing, and following the prevailing rules. The introductory segment of the ethics and compliance program for the firm stipulates the need and importance of following all rules and regulations outlined in the various company statutes. In addition, the introduction section also outlines the individuals and stakeholders covered by the various codes of ethics and rules of conduct of the firm.
The ethics and compliance program outlines the offices where an aggrieved employee, distributor, supplier, or other stakeholder covered by the relevant rules is supposed to access help and have their concerns addressed. The ethics and compliance program outlines all the necessary laws that are to be adhered to strictly by all. In addition, the ethics and compliance program identifies and classifies all areas covered by the various policies. This allows for easier navigation and access to specific rules as needed.
Some areas of importance in the ethics and compliance program include the outlining of laws and regulations covering intellectual property, privacy, conflicts at the workplace, integrity and dealing fair, provision of equal opportunities, and laws that relate to safety, health, and the environment. These laws will relate to not only the firm, but must also fall within the legal framework established in Riyadh, and other laws that govern the operation of the construction industry in the country.
Proposal for corporate governance
The corporate governance section is meant to provide an overview of the managerial and staff structure of the firm and the roles of each level of authority. In addition, the corporate governance model delimits the communication structure regarding the information flow within the firm.
This corporate governance structure ties in to the proposed ethics and compliance program by availing information about the flow of communication from the various managers. In addition, the corporate governance helps by providing a representation of the various officials where a member of staff in the firm can access help about the various rules and regulations outlined in the ethics and compliance program.
Objectives of the ethics and compliance program
The ethics and compliance program serves to provide guidance to the employees of the firm concerning the various applicable laws at the workplace. The program creates a framework where the members of staff in the organization can understand the various applicable laws in a simple manner that is usually categorized and focused for their specific industry and region. In this case, for example, the US law would not suffice in the creation of the ethics and compliance program for the middle-sized construction firm in Riyadh (Peterson, 2013, pp. 1029, 1031 – 1032).
The ethics and compliance program creates a model that is useful for the successful integration of corporate culture and legal background on various issues regarding the firm. In this regard, the inclusion of a well-rounded ethics and compliance program and an intricate corporate governance structure provides a combination that provides guidance to employees on the various issues about the firm and the industry from both a legal and operational point of view (Walker, 2016; Verschoor, 2015).
Therefore, the introduction of the proposed ethics and compliance program as outlined earlier should serve to streamline operations, ensure communication flow, and provide the employees with sufficient knowledge of the existing rules and regulations that govern them in the workplace.
References
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). § 1470.27 Contract violations and termination. Retrieved from Legal Information Institute – University of Cornell School of Law: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/1470.27
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). § 635.125 Termination of contract. Retrieved from Legal Information Institute – University of Cornell Law School: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/23/635.125
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). 18 U.S. Code § 201 – Bribery of public officials and witnesses. Retrieved from Legal Information Institute – University of Cornell: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/201
