Overview of the Setting/Organization
The organization is a medium-sized clothing firm that provides a diverse range of apparel options to its clients. It specializes in the production of high-quality garments for all markets, including domestic as well as foreign markets. The firm’s supply chain is vertically integrated. It includes design, the procurement of raw materials, manufacture, distribution, and retail. There are skilled craftsmen, designers, production managers, sales representatives, and administrative staff members who make up the workforce.
Organizational Structure
An organizational structure is a systematic framework that delineates the direction of specific operations aimed at accomplishing an organization’s objectives (Lewis, 2019). These activities may encompass rules, roles, and duties. The organizational structure further governs the manner in which information is transmitted across different levels within the organization.An organizational structure is either centralized or decentralized. The structure employed at my organization is decentralized. Decentralized organizations are characterized by the delegation of decision-making authority to a large number of personnel or departmental groups (Lewis, 2019). Team leaders at lower levels grant approval to decisions, which are subsequently communicated to personnel in senior management. Emerging industries frequently adopt a decentralized organizational framework due to the relative ease of reassigning personnel to different positions and modifying their duties (Wright, 2021).
The decentralized framework is most suitable for organizations that desire to swiftly adapt to changing products or regionally distinctive consumer demands in specific markets. A decentralized organizational structure fosters a more relaxed chain of command model, which is advantageous for facilitating career advancement opportunities and empowering employees to propose novel ideas (Wright, 2021). The structure is frequently observed in alternative systems implemented by startups and enterprise-level organizations (Wright, 2021). Some of the benefits my organization enjoys due to its decentralized framework include:
- Empowerment of employees due to greater autonomy: Granting employees increased autonomy in decision-making processes can foster empowerment, instill a sense of importance, and give them the feeling that their input significantly influences the trajectory of the organization. Additionally, it enables them to apply their acquired knowledge and experience more effectively while incorporating some of their own ideas.
- More efficient decision-making: A decentralized organization exhibits greater speed in decision-making compared to a centralized one (Wang et al., 2019). A manager frequently has the authority to make decisions independently, bypassing the hierarchical structure, so enabling the firm to promptly respond to critical situations when swift action might determine its chances of acquiring or losing a customer.
- Enhanced innovation: Decentralized structures promote a culture of experimentation and innovation by granting teams autonomy. When employees are granted autonomy in decision-making, it enhances the likelihood that they will generate innovative solutions. The ‘20% time’ policy implemented by Google serves as a commendable illustration of this concept. The policy permits 20% of employee time to be devoted to side projects, an initiative that has yielded successful products such as Google News and Gmail (Wang et al., 2019).
- Ease of expansion: Decentralization may speed up the expansion process for a firm. For instance, when expansion leads to the establishment of a new business unit in a different geographical region, decentralization enables the new unit to function as a separate entity, thereby facilitating its ability to respond promptly to the unique demands of the area (Wang et al., 2019). This includes the freedom to make decisions, such as offering products that cater to the preferences of the local market.
- Employee engagement and satisfaction: Granting employees greater responsibility and authority enhances their sense of worth and involvement. Consequently, this results in high levels of work satisfaction and staff retention.
- Faster response to crises: Decentralized organizations have an advantage during times of crisis due to their ability to respond efficiently and promptly. This is due to the fact that decision-making authority is distributed throughout the organization and not centralized at the top. The response is thus not delayed as a result of bureaucratic procedures. A decentralized organization may, for instance, delegate to its regional managers the authority to immediately remove recalled products from shelves and communicate with local consumers. Implementing a timely response can effectively alleviate the consequences of the crisis and uphold the trust of customers (Wang et al., 2019).
Organizations of every size and shape make extensive use of organizational structures. They outline a specific organizational hierarchy. A successful organizational structure specifies the duties of each member of staff and their place within the system as a whole (Wright, 2021). Simply put, the organizational structure specifies who is responsible for what in order for the business to achieve its goals. Organizational structuring offers an organization a visual depiction of its form and the most effective means by which it can progress toward attaining its objectives. The absence of a formal structure could present challenges for organizations. For instance, employees might encounter challenges in determining the appropriate reporting structure. This may result in confusion regarding the delegation of responsibilities within the organization (Wright, 2021).
Overview of the Initiative
Recently, the firm has had subpar performance, partially due to a poor organizational model and an inefficient corporate culture and values. Consequently, the purpose of the organizational initiative is to foster an environment in which personnel are well-informed regarding their respective responsibilities and the precise objectives that demand their attention, which will increase employee morale and productivity. The intended transformational change will involve substantial and profound alterations to the organization’s structure, operations, planning, culture, and physical framework.
Leadership and Management Within the Organization
Senior management maintains constant communication with their respective teams. In addition to assuming the role of departmental leaders, departmental managers are responsible for guiding their teams to accomplish the predetermined goals and objectives of the organization as a whole. In the same way, the senior executives of the organization and the management team engage in collaborative efforts to ensure ongoing communication and provide consistent updates. The management team serves as an intermediary between the staff employees and the executives of the organization. They are well-positioned to support the effective execution of the initiatives by enabling coordination.
Current Leadership Approach of the Organization
The leadership approach currently employed at my organization is laissez-faire leadership. Laissez-faire leadership is a management approach characterized by extensive delegation of tasks and a transparent decision-making style. It enables team members to have greater autonomy and actively take part in significant decisions and tasks. According to Norris et al. (2021), this approach is ideal for decentralized organizations in which employees possess the necessary skills and experience to autonomously manage their jobs with efficiency. Laissez-faire leadership presents various benefits in some contexts and drawbacks in others.
One of the benefits of laissez-faire leadership is that it enables employees to practice leadership and independence (Norris et al., 2021). Leadership based on the laissez-faire approach enables anyone to assume a leadership role. Under laissez-faire leadership, employees are more likely to take initiative due to the increased autonomy granted. Employees can develop a high level of self-discipline, enabling them to operate independently without continual supervision or reminders from their manager. Another benefit of the approach is faster decision-making. As a result of the flexibility that laissez-faire leadership offers, departments are usually able to accelerate the decision-making process. Besides, the leadership approach allows employees to use their expertise. Under this management approach, certain employees may exhibit expedited decision-making abilities, while others may effectively spearhead specific projects due to their prior knowledge. This enables a department to manage diverse challenges effectively. As people develop their leadership abilities and enhance their knowledge via proactive efforts, their departments gain increased capability and adaptability (Norris et al., 2021). Lastly, laissez-faire leadership boosts employee satisfaction and morale. Allowing employees to showcase their innovative problem-solving approaches enhances their morale (Mango, 2018).
Nevertheless, the laissez-faire leadership approach has some criticisms. One of the disadvantages is that employees may experience a diminished sense of responsibility within the team. Because the manager in a laissez-faire leadership system encourages all employees to assume leadership roles, some may do so despite lacking the necessary qualifications (Mango, 2018). Furthermore, employees might not perceive their supervisor as a manager due to the prevalence of leadership positions held by others in the vicinity. Additionally, under this leadership approach, employees may exploit the lack of supervision, potentially leading to a decline in productivity (Norris et al., 2021). In addition to potential exploitation of the system, employees may also exhibit a lack of adherence. Employees who prefer a less structured work environment may experience a sense of being inundated by the prospect of leadership or accountability for critical daily tasks and decisions. Lastly, under laissez-faire leadership, certain employees may pursue their own self-interest and direct decisions that may not be in the department’s best interest (Norris et al., 2021).
Conclusion
My organization is a medium-sized clothing firm that provides a diverse range of apparel options to its clients. It specializes in the production of high-quality garments for all markets, including domestic as well as foreign markets. The structure employed at my organization is decentralized. Recently, the firm has had subpar performance, partially due to a poor organizational model and an inefficient corporate culture and values. Consequently, the purpose of the organizational initiative is to foster an environment in which personnel are well-informed regarding their respective responsibilities and the precise objectives that demand their attention, which will increase employee morale and productivity. The current leadership approach at my organization is laissez-faire leadership. The approach has several benefits; for instance, it allows employees to practice leadership and independence. Nevertheless, it has some criticisms.
References
Lewis, L. (2019). Organizational change: Creating change through strategic communication. John Wiley & Sons.
Mango, E. (2018). Rethinking leadership theories. Open Journal of Leadership, 7(01), 57.
Norris, K. R., Ghahremani, H., & Lemoine, G. J. (2021). Is it laissez-faire leadership or delegation? A deeper examination of an over-simplified leadership phenomenon. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 28(3), 322-339.
Wang, S., Ding, W., Li, J., Yuan, Y., Ouyang, L., & Wang, F. Y. (2019). Decentralized autonomous organizations: Concept, model, and applications. IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems, 6(5), 870-878.
Wright, A. J. (2021). The rise of decentralized autonomous organizations: Opportunities and challenges.
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