1.0 Introduction
In this case study for the Aquarius case advertising agency, the main concern will be to provide recommendations with various solutions to overcome the underlying problem the company is facing at large. The company is in dire need of reorganization and the task of the Senior HR Manager, therefore, will be to provide a variety of alternative solutions to overcome the challenge altogether. As evident in the case analysis, the firm is in dire need of increased levels of communication as well as cooperation amongst the clients and the specialists. There is also a need to address the challenge concerning the environmental changes, which are believed to influence the business environment at large. The firm needs an update in terms of new methodologies, which it can use to conduct its activities efficiently. It should be noted that the firm is conducting its operations using a traditional form of approach despite the fact that there are changes witnessed in the business operating environments at large (Mumann 2001, p.34-90).
There are various organizational structures which have been developed to assist firms in curbing the issue of inefficiencies. The task of this assignment will, thereby, entail exploiting all these structures with the purpose of finding out the most suitable methodology; once implemented by Aquarius advertising agency, it will contain or rather reorganize the company in an efficient manner. It should be noted that the roles, which were mandated to the accounts executives, have been overlooked by the specialists thus rendering their positions as ineffective and costly. The research paper will, therefore, present solutions, which will act to minimize or scrap this occurrence altogether (Daft 2010, p1).
2.0 Discussion
The problems identified in the case study entails the issues brought about mostly as a result of the miscommunication aspect as well as the need of adhering to the hierarchical way of operating the organization. There is also the dire need for letting the personnel understand and adhere to the structural ways of conducting business, so that information and authority is conveyed either horizontally or vertically, whichever way proves efficient and effective. The operations of the business are perceived to have been compromised since the specialists overlooked the necessity for including a mediator whose job is to make sure that the accounts of clients are operated as required and are maintained at a level which promotes maximization of the utilities of the company: both human and financial resources.
The crucial discussion will, thereby, involve the identification, exploration and finally the recommendations for the various solutions, which are perceived to be beneficial to the aforementioned needs as they arise altogether. This assignment will explore the different forms of organizational structures, which when applied, facilitate the smooth running of the company as a whole. The organizational structures to be given a first priority, and thus consideration include the functional structure, the divisional form of structures and the matrix structure. After careful analysis of the aforementioned structures, the next tasks under the responsibility of Senior HR Manager will be finding out the most suitable structure. This structure, once incorporated, will maximize the utilization of the employees as well create a conducive environment for business rapport as a whole.
The different forms of organizational structures are discussed as follows; firstly, the Aquarius Advertising Company may be in dire need of a structure, which will pay attention to the functions, which are portrayed by the different authorities within the organization. In this case, the task will commence the discussion with the provision of various facts, whose mandate is to decide whether the functional organization structure is to be assimilated as a part of the crucial reorganization process altogether (Vegan & Yanouzas 1979, p.1).
A functional, organizational structure refers to a situation, whereby an organization is designed to operate within a strong hierarchical background. It should be noted that, in this form of the organizational structure, the employees are made to comprehend on the need to conduct activities within their stipulated ranges of work jurisdiction, so that a unique responsibility rests in each position. This is to indicate that the employees are enlightened and frequently reminded that the firm consists of various positions held by both the superiors and subordinates; each of these groups is held accountable for their respective responsibilities. In this organizational structure, the operation of the business activity is conducted towards the achievement of the major goal of the firm altogether. Within this structure, the firm is allowed to differentiate into various departments, whereby each department is mandated carrying out a certain function. Departments are later conjoined to form a larger network of departments tasked with the responsibility of conducting a similar project (Griffin 2012, p.1).
A functional structure is evident within the operations of the Aquarius advertising agency. All the specifications were a miss, as each and every specialist performed unsupervised activities provided it was carried out within the jurisdiction of the business activity. It is wise to indicate that employees especially the subordinates (specialists) had a disregard in adhering to the right channels for which plans were to be carried out. The employees are perceived to have missed the aspect of understanding the fact, which stipulates that, within an organization, there is a clear divide between employees in order to enhance the smooth running of the firm’s activities, as a whole. The accounts executives were overlooked all along the process of conducting business, resulting in a high level of accounts turnover, which, in essence, was extremely discouraging as far as the overall objective of the company is concerned. The overall objective of any company is established to maximize profits while making sure that costs in the process are minimized.
It should be noted that the Aquarius advertising agency deployed and relied entirely on the traditional approach of organizing the company; it, therefore, meant that, at some point in time, the firm had overlooked the various methodologies used in identifying and selecting recruits. Ultinately, perhaps there was a loophole created during the recruitment, so that the new recruits received training which contradicted the ways of operating the business. Usually, when new employees are recruited in the company, they undergo vigorous forms of induction processes; then they are identified and sorted according to their skills; later they are assigned to the most suitable departments, where they are expected to undertake their respective duties and responsibilities.
Secondly, these recruits are allowed to form groupings based on their skills as authority is established to rests upon a sole individual, who is expected to monitor and coordinate this department. In this case analysis, the accounts executive acts as a sole representation of authority, meant to oversee at least five to six accounts. His level of authority is, however, deterred or rather discouraged by the fact that the specialists are never cooperative and are not willing to participate together towards the achievement of the major goal of the organization.
In order to analyze this organizational structure effectively and efficiently, it will be wise to include various advantages and disadvantages of this form of the organizational structure in the efforts of structuralizing a firm altogether. The advantages of this organizational structure include that it usually reflects better results, since it majorly focuses on effective models of specialization, so that individuals are faced with the mandate of performing certain tasks. In the case study for the Aquarius advertising agency, it is true that the firm has taken the initiative of functionalizing each employee to specific, workable departments. It is also true to indicate that these employees are functionally viable and thus work towards the achievement of the objective of the company, while still working within their assigned departments. The various departments, which exist in the Aquarius, include the research, media, merchandising among others. When an organization is structured functionally, it allows for employees to possess both unique and similar capabilities; it facilitates that they work together as a group and, as a result, bring about qualitative and quantitative tasks, altogether.
Thirdly, functional form of structuring organizations enhances the easier provision of instructions, hence lessening the burden of executing various projects in progress. This is made possible by the effective linear structure laid down as a policy for carrying out activities. It is difficult to link the activities which are carried out in Aquarius since accounts executive are overlooked and, as a result, their capability to exercise authority is looked down. The statement, made by one of the accounts executive concerning the miscommunications between the accounts department and the specialist, clearly indicates that the employees of the company are not in any way concerned about adhering to the instructions stipulated within the policies of the company. Another indication lies with the frequent meetings held by the firm whose aim is to defend the firm’s policies of carrying out businesses with clients as a whole (Lawman 2010, p.1).
The meetings are expensive to the company as a whole thus inhibits the overall achievement of the objective of the company of maximizing profits, as the accounts lost depicts loss in the productivity level.
The disadvantages depicted by this organizational form of structure include, firstly: it is considered to be a bureaucratic and formal form of the organizational structure hence it takes more time for decisions to materialize altogether. This disadvantage is a factor which when implemented will slow the condition of the activities rather than improve on them. This is because the accounts executive is mandated with the responsibility of overseeing the tasks of more than six accounts, therefore, looses more time in the process of making decisions. Secondly, the communication needed across all the departments will be inhibited with the application of the functional form of organizing firms. Communication is a crucial challenge within the organization, and application of this form of organizing structure will even further impede the process needed in curbing the underlying situation. It will be illogical to reorganize the organization to a structure which complicates the matter, since the company needs improved strategies of communication to operate effectively.
3.0 Options
The company can also choose the divisional structure of organizing firms. In this form of structural organization, a group or teams are put together to fit in within the certain divisions. The goal is to deal with unique and distinctive services provided by the firm at large. These divisions are set to include functional units ranging from research, marketing and finance and are entirely independent of their operations (Gupta 2009, p.1). It should be noted that the divisional structure is different from functional structure in terms of management in that the aforementioned management aspect is skilled along the services provided by the business, and it is somehow simplified in terms of technical efficiencies. The following reflects the various advantages associated to the divisional, organizational structure; firstly, there is transparent level of accountability in the sense that there is a clear correlation between costs incurred and the profits accrued. With the Aquarius advertising agency, this advantage will act towards improving the situation at hand. It is evident that the agency keeps losing a substantial number of accounts, and it is translated to losses. Application of the divisional structure will minimize this occurrence. Secondly, there is coordination of existing departments within the organization so that the boundaries, which were once created, are broken, and the cohesion increased in between them. The teams are made to collaborate with each other resulting into the achievement of the overall objective of the company, as a whole. In this case, the departments within the organization lack coordination abilities as evident by the level of attention given to the departments of the other firms, thus neglecting collaboration of the employees working in the same firm (HRM Guide Website 2010, p.1).
The situation in the case company acts against the achievement of the objective of the firm. It will, therefore, be wise to introduce divisional model as a reorganization form for structuring the company as it will enhance the coordination, which is needed in the company. The other advantage of designing the firm in this form of structure lies with the fact that it stabilizes the unstable business environment; this is made possible by way of establishing divisions set to differentiate the services provided, in general. It should also be noted that divisional structures perform stabilization process by way of responding quickly to the changes happening in the outside business environment. In the case study, the facts indicate that Aquarius advertising agency is in dire need of an organizational structure, which will take care of the environmental changes happening in the external environment.
However, there are several weaknesses, which are attributed to this organizational structure. Firstly, the human resource is duplicated rather than allowed for sharing purposes. This is because the specialists in possession of the unique know-how are not placed in better positions, where they can easily share their expertise, altogether. In the case of Aquarius agency, it is evidently clear that the whole organization has been divided to include different sets of departments, which are distinctive in nature, thereby increasing the level, at which resources are duplicated. Secondly, the application of the divisional form of the organizational structure is likely to inhibit the career growth of the specialists’ altogether, since it can enhance a platform, through which labor turnover increases in the firm. In the case provided, there have been significant levels of accounts turnover brought t about as a result of the miscommunication on the part of the specialists. It will, therefore, be illogical to deploy an extended channel, whose repercussion is redundant growth and development on the part of the specialists, as well as the managers in general. Finally, divisional approach of organizing firms can sometimes lead to divisive forms of affiliations so that specialists are obligated yet limited to understand the importance of meeting divisional objectives at the expense of the firm’s overall objective. This downside infringes the ability of any firm to meet it set objectives in general.
This occurrence is easily replicated with Aquarius advertising agency in the sense that, when the specialists are limited to conduct activities of the company within their respective jurisdiction, it can affect their overall productivity altogether. For example, as the designing and planning of the slogans and media adverts become monotonous job for specialists, it affects their production creativity as well as the capability.
The company can also choose the matrix form of the organizational structure. In a matrix, organizational structure firms are designed in ways, which distinguish the complexities occurring within various business environments at large. It takes into account the location, function and the technological changes occurring within the external business environment. This form of organization structure depends upon the individual activities of the specialists involved. Some of its advantages include the fact that specialists can be shared, thereby, minimizing the cost of completing projects. It is evident that Aquarius is in dire need of a structure, which will facilitate the meeting of its objectives. It is, thereby, wise for the company to follow this organizational model, since this model suggests minimum or no conflicts at all, as there happens to be a hierarchical way of resolving conflicts.
In the case study, involving Aquarius advertising agency, it is clear that there is a conflict of interest between the accounts executives and specialists, and, therefore, application of the matrix model will bring matters to rest altogether. Another advantage attributed to matrix form of organizing firms is the fact that the accumulated stress is easily shared amongst the specialists within a team. In the case provided, there is enough evidence, which cements this fact, so that the level of stress experienced between specialists and accounts executives and those experienced amongst the specialists themselves, is somehow minimized. The only disadvantage attributed to this form of structuring organizations lies with the fact that it is expensive to implement and maintain. The Aquarius Company is believed to be already spending substantial amounts of time in order to maintain the relationships between client and specialists and those between specialists and accounts executive. This cost is accrued through the formal meetings arranged by the company, as a whole. Despite this factor, the Senior HR Manager suggests that the solution to the reorganization of Aquarius advertising agency lies with the application and maintenance of matrix form of organizing firms (Visitask.com.2011, p.1-2).
4.0 Recommendations
The following are the recommendations, which the Senior HR Manager suggests for consideration by the management of the Aquarius Advertising Agency in the effort to reorganize the firm to fit in with the changes experienced in the external environment as well as curb the level of miscommunications, which exist within and amongst the departments of the Company, as a whole.
4.0 Conclusion
The fact that Aquarius is in dire need of reorganizing its operational structure is evident. There are clear indications that challenges the company is facing are eliminative in nature, and when it takes time to figure out the most suitable choice of an organizational model that will provide a lasting solution altogether, so that the company remains afloat within the ever changing business environment. The choices of organizational structures rest upon matrix model or go for the divisional model, since these two are the only structures which allow for the flexibility needed in the external business environments altogether. The two models are also flexible in terms of allowing for diverse forms of business communications, which, in essence, is the most underpinning issue the company is facing, as a whole.
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