Pluto free essay sample

In the following essay the problems of Pluto Telecommunications will be outlined and analysed with recommendations offered as to how the issues can be addressed. Identification of the Problems: Communication has eroded between the three departments so that â€Å"they are actually working against one another†. This break down has resulted in lost orders and an increase in the number of complaints from customers. Many of the problems experienced probably stem from the rapid growth experienced by the company over the last 12 months. Ms Tsang is faced by the following issues: (a) Each department has its own aims and motivations which are all different from each other department. Hence there are three department subcultures that are not all integrated and are working almost as three separate businesses. It is no surprise that inter-department communication is poor. (b) Ms Tsang has a group of directors that are not prepared to voice their honest opinions. (c) Ms Tsang’s leadership is questionable given that she has been unable to coordinate the work of her three directors and hence their departments. Analysis of the problems: In the following analysis Pluto Telecommunications and her issues will be considered with regard to the individuals, the groups and the organisation. The environment in which Pluto operates will not be considered. Organisational Level of Analysis: 1. The culture: The divergence of the three departments and their separate subcultures has made it very difficult for the unitary organisational culture that Ms Tsang promotes, to become established. In truth the rapid growth that has occurred in the last year has meant that this unitary vision has not been integrated enough. It can be assumed that in an industry where customers’ needs are rapidly evolving that Pluto’s culture has a strong focus on adaptability. This has meant that individual departments have developed their own subcultures unchecked and therefore there is no one single view of what is, and what is not, acceptable. 2. The structure: The business is built on departmental silos. Each department reports to each department head who then reports to Ms Tsang. Mathew Craven reports that â€Å"(such) differentiation may indeed be appropriate for the turbulent and uncertain telecommunications environment and this accords with theories of structure-environment fit with the separate groups in the company being able to respond to changes in technology reasonably efficiently. The issues arise from the lack of integration of the departments with management theorists advocating departmental interdependence and the need for higher levels of integration in more turbulent, complex and uncertain environments. Fig 1 shows that Pluto’s structure more closely resembles that of a mechanistic organisation that would suit operating in an environment that has far less uncertainty. ‘Mechanistic’ Form Pluto Telecommunications ‘Organic’ Form Specialized Tasks Specialized Tasks Flexible Tasks Standard, formal procedures Standard, formal procedures Highly Informal Centralised power and control Centralised power and control Decentralised power and control Vertical Communications Vertical Communications Lateral Communications Command and Control Command and Control Advice and Information Fig 1: Comparison of Pluto Telecommunications to the Burns Stalker model. Group Level of Analysis: 1. The culture: The different cultures that exist in each department have evolved because of the variable level of uncertainty that is encountered by that department. Hence there is a high level of internal differentiation created by differences in departmental structure, goals, orientation to time and interpersonal relationships. i. Sales: The sales team operate in a performance based culture. They are rewarded individually and competitively and bear symbols such as company cars, mobile phones and laptops. These symbols reinforce the top-dog sales culture. ii. Customer Service: Charles Handy (Handy, 1986) provides an accurate description of this group as fitting into a Role Culture with resources being tightly controlled; the structure is highly formalised where position power and rules are the main basis of influence. Authority is defined clearly and the formal work style although perhaps suitable for engineering work, will hinder the department in communicating with other departments where the style is less formal. iii. Marketing: There is clearly a reluctance of staff to get involved with the other departments. This culture is reinforced by their geographical location (London based and remote from other functions) as well as a cosy, we-all-went-to-university clickiness. 2. The structure: The high level of environmental uncertainty has impacted upon the structure (Lawrence and Lorsh, 1969). Fig 2 shows the differences in goals and orientations of the three departments. This has created a high level of internal differentiation created by differences in departmental structure, education, goals, and orientations to time and interpersonal relationships. Sales Department Customer Service Department Marketing Department Goals Sell product Quality Marketing campaigns and pricing Time Horizon Short Short Long Interpersonal Orientation Social Mostly task Task Formality of Structure Less formal Formal Less formal Targets Well defined and highly rewarded Well defined and poorly rewarded Poorly defined and no reward. Fig 2: The differences in department orientations and goals within the organisation. Individual Level of Analysis: 1. Leadership of the senior team: Leadership has been defined as the creation of a vision about a desired future state which seeks to enmesh all members of an organisation in its net (Bryman, 1986 cited by Buchanan and Huczynski, 1997). In this respect Ms Tsang has failed. Her directors are culpable of Groupthink possibly as a result of being involved in a highly fluid and competitive operating environment and as such have made flawed decisions so as to maintain harmony in the senior team. 2. Motivation: Fig 3 shows the difference in department motivations with a clear bias towards extrinsic motivations and a preference for driving individual performance. In addition there is clearly only one team that has a vested interest in innovation while marketing appear content to keep the status quo while customer service appear focused on ‘just not being the worst performer!’. Sales Department Customer Service Department Marketing Department Motivation Extrinsic financial reward based on sales Extrinsic fear of failure and company recriminations Extrinsic and related to working conditions etc. Pros Drives short term behaviour and temporary inflation of sales None None Cons Drives individual behaviour Drives a culture of just doing enough Drives individual behaviour that may not be aligned to the organisations goals Impacts on relationships with other departments Drives individual behaviour Fig 3: Motivation of departments. Alternatives: Fig 4 shows the various alternatives that are open to the organisation. An assessment of the value of these alternatives has been made so as to aid a final recommendation to management: Alternative Narrative Pro Con Change the organisation structure Restructure so as to focus on a divisional (market focused) structure rather than the incumbent functional structure Greater task-goals integration Expensive Decentralisation Duplication of resources Increased autonomy Control problems with managing such issues as project investment decisions Modify the reward structure Job re-design using job enrichment principles to focus on intrinsic factors as well as extrinsic factors Greater task-goal integration Will take time Decrease employee churn and absenteeism Chance of loss of control Expensive Root branch senior team replacement Use the opportunity to remove the department directors and create the impetus to change with new leadership Provides a compelling and clear message that unity is an imperative Expensive New ideas and renewed energy Loss of experience Will take time for new directors to make a difference Relocation Bring the whole company under one roof Provides a compelling and clear message that unity is an imperative Expensive although overhead savings in the long term Should improve communication and departmental understanding Disruptive Develop a new department Invest in the formation of a department offering integration services e.g. project managers Provides a compelling and clear message that unity is an imperative Expensive Provides expertise in integration Invest in strategies to combat Groupthink After the Cuban Missile Crisis JFK focused on inviting external experts to share their viewpoints, dividing groups so as to reduce cohesion and absenting himself from the meeting to avoid pressing his own viewpoint. Ms Tsang could do the same. Increase debate Too much conflict could be unconstructive and hamper change efforts Improve the quality of decisions and make them more rational Dampen bias Fig 4: Table to show viable alternatives and a balanced view of pros and cons. Managerial Recommendations: Fig 5 shows the recommendations within the short, medium and long term timescales. It is anticipated that following the recommendations of Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) that a strategy would be adopted that involved education communication. It is to be expected that if the imperative is to drive inter-departmental communication then the process should begin with communicating widely with the business. Timescale Activity Narrative Short Combat Groupthink This will involve developing a cross departmental working party that can consider the issues that have been presented and offering solutions Develop a cross-functional project focused working party Medium Modify the reward structure and re-design jobs to focus on intrinsic factors The recommendations of the working party will inform this decision. Long Relocate core business functions to be under one roof Fig 5: A tempo for managerial recommendations for change.