Week 8 - Organigraphs & emergent org design

Question 1

Organigraphs are examples of new org designs. Describe their purpose

Answer 1

Diagramme how orgs function revealing interactions between people, products & information.

Create learning by stimulating conversations on how to improve.

Question 2

The 1980’s focus on competencies & flexibility lead to emergent organisational designs. Describe Hollow, modular & virtual orgs.

Answer 2

Hollow orgs: - Outsource non core business

• Service providers develop CA
• Lean - flexibility and cost reductions
• May cause knowledge loss

Modular orgs - Outsource elements of production
- Requires learning to co-ordinate

Virtual orgs - collaborate to achieve org objectives

• take market opportunities, deal with threats.
• Not long term.

Question 3

Define organigraphs, describe how they differ from traditional org designs.

Answer 3

Organigraphs demonstrate how a place works, depicting critical interactions among people, products & info.

Traditional structures treat everyone as within a vertical showing authority relationship only.

Question 4

What are the basic parts of an organigraph

Answer 4

Set - set of items such as machines or people.

Chain - shows linear connection between items

Hubs - a physical or conceptual point at which items move from a focal point.

Webs - grids with no centre allowing open ended communication and continuous movement of people and ideas

Question 5

What are some benefits of organigraphs

Answer 5

• show relationships and processes
• put management into perspective
• identify non core processes for outsourcing
• reveals opportunities for expansion
• puts management into perspective as servants

Question 6

Why are learning orgs and ICT (info & comms tech) a good fit?

Answer 6

Learning orgs require continous temporality
ICT enabling asynchronous communcation
supports collaboration based on competency that shares costs, expertise, markets.

Question 7

What are the advantages of ICT based collaborations

Answer 7

• reduce costs re outsourcing
• small orgs compete together against larger concerns
• termporary collaborations
• Organises collaborations in flat orgs

Question 8

Discuss the psychological boundaries ICT helps traverse in a learning org

Org - OBLP
Ind - ATPI

Answer 8

Psychological boundaries between groups:

• organic metaphor
• blur dividing lines
• links functional areas
• provides transparency

Within individual:
Authority boundaries - who's in charge
Task boundary - who does what
Political boundary - whats in it for us?
Identity boundary - who belongs to our group?

Question 9

Discuss the psychological dilemmas collaborators in small groups face

TMQG

Answer 9

Trust is crucial:

• Swift trust - based on commpetence and education
• Instituational trust - based on the instituation that bought them together.

Managing interdependencies in collaboration - external (mission based), internal (group dynamics).

Quality of dialogue: asynchronous environments may reduce

Group membership: multi membership requires negotiation of responsibilities

Question 10

Crossing boundaries means identity changes. Discuss possible issues

IPP

Answer 10

Identifying with with home org:

• apathetic id - unmotivated as home org is there
• underidentification - understood it’s temporary

Power shifts:
Members receive power from added role in other group

Psychological contract: members lose emotional link, move to transactional link

Question 11

Describe 3 modern images of orgs

Answer 11

Spaghetti – always on the move, never the same. Confusing at first, has form when looked at closely.

Pizzas – circular form means equality, collaborative interaction at edges of each slice, peperoni means each individual, melted cheese the culture binding all together.

Shamrock – 4 leaves

1. Core staff
2. Contractors or external suppliers
3. Contingent labour force
4. Customers

Question 12

What is the role of manager in modern orgs

Answer 12

• Facilitator & catalyst who helps enterprises construct strategic partnerships.
• Create scaffold for staff:

Question 13

Describe the factors encouraging companies to become learning orgs

Answer 13

• Global turmoil (pestle - political, economic, social, techno, economic, legal) = rapidly changing environment

Rise of knowledge economy

Question 14

Discuss emergent systems dynamics and implcations for managers

CFD

Answer 14

Learning orgs capitalise on synergy of parts producing a greater whole

Managers should look to develop:

• change ability
• flat lean orgs
• characteristics that support disciplines

Accept that learning orgs are a journey rather than a destination.