Organizational Structure and Success (Essay Sample)

Organizational Structure and Success By; Insert your name Course/ Semester Professor’s name Institution Date due Introduction The internal structure is integral in building business success in today's dynamic environment. An organization's relationships, processes, and hierarchies are a support structure that dictates agility and ultimately shapes outcomes. The complexity of the business environment necessitates the need for understanding and optimizing this internal structure. The Organizational Culture Profile (OCP) is a relevant model to understand and shape the internal structures of an organization. Also, a strong and positive organizational culture makes employees together and motivated to work. When employees resonate with the organization's culture, they are more likely to be engaged, committed, and aligned with its mission. This improves teamwork communication, hence high organizational performance. Such a culture fosters talent and leads to a stable and skilled workforce that will remain within the company. When organizational culture and strategy are aligned, employees easily understand and accept strategic objectives. A culture that supports the strategic direction aligns the corporate environment with behaviors and practices. On the contrary, the absence of a proper alignment may result in misunderstanding, resistance, and ineffectiveness that can obstruct the implementation of strategic initiatives. Hence, the link between culture and strategy is key to realizing organizational goals and long-term success. Theories Classical management theories like scientific management by Frederick Taylor and administrative oversight by Henri Fayol are based on efficiency, hierarchy, and specialization principles. Fayol's administrative theory emphasizes planning, organizing, and controlling aspects of management, while Taylor's scientific management emphasizes individual task performance. The two theories are the fundamental pillars of the organizational structure. The idea of modern management theories appreciates the changing nature of organization and change. Contingency theory says that there is no universal recipe for management. According to Naqshbandi et al. (2015), circumstances in each organization must determine the structures and practices. In systems theory, organizations are seen as interconnected and interdependent, making it necessary to look at the entire organizational ecosystem when designing structures. These management theories exert a profound impact on internal structures. The classic theories underpin the setting of the hierarchy, division of labour and delineation of lines of authority. On the other hand, modern theories are flexible and adaptive structures to answer environmental changes (Weigelt & Miller, 2013). For instance, contingency theory proposes that the internal structures must align with external conditions for maximum effectiveness. Organizations incorporate classic and modern theories that help balance stability and adaptability in a dynamic world. Case Studies One of the significant low-cost carriers in the aviation industry is Southwest Airlines, formed in 1967. Southwest has maintained its profitability and customer satisfaction. It is known for its unique business model. The airline's unique corporate culture and operational strategies are geared towards efficiency. In its OCP model components, Southwest exhibits a strong organizational culture, as evidenced by the nature of the components and its values. Such a vibrant culture entails symbols like the heart logo, tales of great service and heroes like Herb Kelleher, the airline founder. Organizational rituals like the rapid turnaround of aircraft and organizational values such as a fun and friendly environment are entrenched in the organizational fabric (Marmenout, 2007). The classical and modern management theories match Southwest's internal structure. Principles of scientific management resonate with the airline's focus on efficiency and simplicity in operations. It is also flexible and responsive to changing market conditions, fitting with contemporary contingency theory. The organization structure of Southwest emphasizes employee involvement. This commitment of the firm to its employees, called "Southwest Family", leads to highly motivated and devoted staff. In return, it leads to extraordinary customer service and excellent operations efficiency. The internal setup involves direct routes and shorter turnarounds, translating into lower costs and high flight frequencies. This efficiency is why Southwest can offer competitive fares and still make a profit. Southwest's culture promotes innovation and a friendly workplace. Injecting creativity in roles encourages innovative concepts such as a novel boarding process and exciting in-flight experience. Firstly, it makes the customers and the working environment appealing. Starbucks was founded in 1971 and has become famous worldwide for its coffee quality and cafes' peculiar environment. Starbucks focuses on ethical sourcing, sustainability and a "third place" between home and work for its customers. Starbucks has a strong organizational culture that permeates its OCP model components. These include symbols like the iconic green logo, stories of fair trade and sustainability, and heroes. One of them is Howard Schultz, the visionary leader who promotes a culture of community, quality and responsibility. The internal structure of Starbucks corresponds with modern management theories, for example, the ones on corporate social responsibility and employee empowerment. A systemic approach is reflected in the company's attention to ethical sourcing and the community that the company affects by its operations (Zheng et al., 2010). The current consumers prefer companies with ethical sourcing and environmental sustainability, and Starbucks is on the same page. The internal structure is based on CSR principles and incorporates them into daily operations to increase the brand image and attract socially conscious consumers. Starbucks provides training programs, benefits, and a conducive working environment that empowers its workers. This empowerment leads to a motivated and highly skilled workforce, good customer service and a good brand image. Starbucks has a well-structured internal system that fosters innovation through various product lines, store designs, and digital initiatives. This quality helps the company maintain their lead in the dynamic environment and thus ensures long-term success. In 1975, Microsoft, a technology giant famous for its software products, operating systems and cloud services, was founded. My recent know-how update was done in January 2022, and Microsoft follows a divisional organizational structure. The company has been divided into several business divisions: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. Each segment focuses on specific products and services, which helps manage them and align them with strategies. The culture of Microsoft revolves around innovativeness, collaboration, and a customer perspective. The culture of continuous improvement draws upon symbols such as the Windows logo, stories of technological breakthroughs, and heroes like Bill Gates and Satya Nadella. Rituals such as hackathons highlight innovation and solving problems. The structure of Microsoft fits well into modern management theories, especially the focus on innovation and customers. The contingency aspect of contingency theory is adopted by the company, which structures the company based on different business segments and market conditions. This consideration regarding cloud services fits well into the systems theory, which views the organization as a system of interrelated parts. Microsoft's transition to agile methodologies in its development process demonstrates the significance of its internal structure. This has led to small, cross-functional teams that have accelerated product development cycles, promoting innovativeness and responsiveness to market needs. This is how Microsoft succeeded in cloud computing, especially with Azure, because of their strategic internal structure. Its divisional organization enables the company to distribute resources effectively, concentrating on the rapidly growing cloud services market. Google, which started in 1998, now represents the internet search but has ventured into other fields such as advertising, cloud computi...