STRUCTURE
I am basing my ideal organization off the company I interned at this past summer. I loved the culture and organization of the company. It was a small brand management agency that managed social media and advertising for movies and TV shows. The company is relatively small and that is something I value. I enjoy working in a collaborative and open environment where all perspectives are valued. My ideal organizational structure would be functional with departmentalization. I want to break down my structure plan a little further than that. I won't classify this as hybrid because my ideal organization doesn't operate divisionally. As stated previously, I value a smaller company and prefer working face to face with others. With departmentalization I would have the head of each department and no more than four others specializing in that department. For each client the company takes on, a team is formed by one person from each department being assigned to that client including a project manager to lead. To make this easier, let's follow a marketing professional in the company. The CMO would have 2-4 other marketing agents in their department. If marketing agent 1 is assigned to a client, they would report back to the group’s project manager. Each department would have a weekly meeting so everyone knows what's happening in the company and to share ideas with other experts in their fields however more frequent check ins would occur with one's current project manager. Each project group would also meet at least once a week, in addition to being in communication on slack, to stay updated on everyone's progress and to share ideas. Essentially I am imagining a system with columns and rows.
CULTURE
As for the company culture, I would like a mixture of a clan and an adhocracy. The textbook describes each as the following:
CLAN: Strong value is placed on flexibility and discretion with a focus inside the organization. Leaders tend to be mentors and coaches. Effectiveness is evaluated in terms of the cohesion and morale of individuals inside the firm and tacit knowledge held. Overall, the organization tends to be a friendly place to work, with a great deal of commitment and loyalty.
ADHOCRACY: Strong value is placed on flexibility and discretion with a focus outside the organization. Leaders tend to be entrepreneurial and innovative, perhaps even visionary. Effectiveness is evaluated in terms of creativity and leading-edge innovation in the marketplace. The organization tends to be a vibrant place to work, with significant risk taking.
What I feel is most important in creating a good work environment is a supportive culture. I think it is absolutely essential to feel safe to take intellectual risks and challenge industry norms. I think an adhocracy is a great environment to do those things but I also value teamwork and cohesion and think a friendly and supportive group environment is vital to a successful company. At my internship we would all chat and eat together. No one ran out for food without asking if they could pick something up for others and no one left at the end of the day without saying goodbye. This fun and intellectually stimulating environment makes people want to come to work and motivates people to work hard.
