Case Study of a Flat Organization
Referring to the case study presented we get clear picture of the fiat democratic organization. The organization that Is democratically flat In z governance; easily assessable ; open and free communication ;transparency In the organization ; no layered hierarchical positioning, direct Interaction with clients and seniors executive; the employees would be categorized by their work are not by the hierarchical with titles that reflected their seniority. Altogether the mindset Is completely different from the conventional way of working style.
Every employee Is Important and Is encouraged to think about their roles In the company differently. Even the physical representation of the flat democratic company depicts Its organizational philosophies, mission and values likewise, no closed doors, cubicles for all levels of employees and shared office space, internal walls made of glass to maintain transparency in the company.
2. Is trying to be a flat organization a good idea? * Are there characteristics, such as industry or size, that make some companies better suited than others? Are there types of people better suited to working in flat organization? NAS. 2 No, it does not seem to be a very good idea to have a flat organization. To answer the above questions precisely it depends not all companies and all employees or if there were certain companies and people who fit better in the hierarchy more than others. It goes even for the flat organization as well it depends on certain type of people and their expectations from a company.
3. How could the implementation have been done differently from the start? What are the systems and processes that need to change? * What are the values and assumptions that need to change? * Over what time period the Implementation should be done? NAS. 3. From the beginning, the BBC when started with the new organizational structure and as well as the physical structure of the company reelected too loud about Its villous and goals. No matter how well the company treated Its employees; transparency It believed In but should have shown some amount credibility to the senior level of employees.
As It Is it had hidden healthcare posting of employees so what’s the point of not giving titles giving to its employees showing its seniority instead of just ten work area. The values and assumptions that need to be change ; the time period over which the implementation should be done- * The values on which the company was based on flat democratic organization which in reality did not had elected committee democratically ; was based on criteria nomination which narrowed the pool of nominees; * John Harmony’s way of portraying it in public was the main issue. Just by changing the physical outlook of the company – by putting up leadership charters diagram with philosophical note/quotes ; – cubicles and shared office spaces instead of office space for senior level managers; – internal walls of glass -cubicle walls of low height and made of glass; infant no closed doors, reflecting openness and transparency in every possible way dint help it rather gave a fake gloss over the company’s own implementation process. Pretentious behavior ; * Should have focused over the hiring process as even the proportionate staff is required for the growth of a company; * Collective goals had been replaced to individuals metrics and the bonus plan was not competitive for the employees * Credibility needs to be given that brings in security in minds of employees towards the company. 4. How should internal communications have been done differently? * What are the failures of communication in the case? How could employees have been more involved to create greater buy-in? NAS.
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The internal communication among the employees regarding the issues and problems needed to be discussed. Even though the organization seemed to be very open but no bonding is seen where one could connect with the organization. The language used in the Leadership Charter was over the top and far from the reality for some of the employees the “analyst’ mocked and could not relate at with the quotes and openly mocked the core principles of the company. Bella Wilier could not say a word to them as she being a part of the company could not try and make them legalize or understand .
Even when she is suppose to book the conference room, favoritism is seem,the fake and pretentious behavior which he does not claim to have. An employee involvement which would be beneficial for them as well as the organization for greater results. 5. How could external communication been done differently? * How transparent does an organization need to be? * When advising companies on implementing flat surfaces, how open is BBC obligated to be about its own experience? NAS. 5.
An organization could De transparent out too much AT transparency Is also not good.
There should be a balance in the implementation. T could lead to the issues that BBC faced in its Journey. Even in the direct interaction where one could reach out to the senior executive easily at times does not work effectively, it requires balance in it as well There should be open communication sessions and discussions about the problems and collectively work , suggestion should be considered as it provides a feeling of importance in an employee in the company. . How can Wilier improve the situation? NAS. 6.
Bella Wilier as a fresher in the flat organization where on the very first day of her joining she was quite lost as she didn’t have much idea her duties, about fellow- dates, who would be managing her or whom would she be managing? ; and even about company actual working culture. After spending and three weeks at BBC, got an actual picture of a flat democratic organization.
In the last episode of the case study where the room of people with Mambas and years of experience at the firm concentrated on the problem instead of solving or even improving the situation. The problem was no one was ready to move ahead to take up the responsibility and play a bigger role in managing the company. Therefore, she did not have a role to play in improving the situation as she was Just a fresher in a company.
