Evaluate a current organizational structure and recommend structural changes that can help address the concerns the organization identified regarding collaboration, communication, and autonomy.
Scenario
You work for an organization that has traditionally been very formalized, and managers have had a very broad span of control over direct reports from multiple departments and functions. This worked well in the past; managers were able to oversee a high number of direct reports because there were many rules and regulations dictating how their work should be performed. However, there were downsides. Employee talent was underused, and there wasn’t a strong team culture, as most work was done independently according to standard operating processes.
Recently, the organization has been shifting to less formalized working structures to support more creative, innovative work and provide employees with more autonomy. While employees are happy with the purpose of these new changes, managers are feeling overwhelmed, and employees are feeling undersupported. This has impacted function-specific work the most, because in the past, managers didn’t need to understand in-depth, function-specific tasks (such as the technical aspects of graphic design work or the intricacies of project management). Instead, they had the ability to rely on rules, regulations, and standard operating processes. Employees have also noticed a lack of communication around current projects, which has led to a lack of updated information and duplicated work across management teams.
You have been asked to work with the human resources department to recommend a new organizational structure that addresses these identified management and communication concerns.
