A group podcast
This is a reflection of a group podcast that was created after a group discussion. The podcast was on business organization and how the business structure affects the running of the organization. The existence of a flat organization and the culture that the local employees perceive as disorganized and their way of doing business is not right (Burke,2017). The various topics that we will concentrate on and elaborate in this podcast are organization structure, business ethics, national culture and the corporate social responsibility. This is in relation to different theories that apply to the organization structure and organization performance. These theories include Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s Seven Dimensions of Culture and Weber’s Management Theory.
As a group, we decided to go through the theories that affect and determine the performance of a business. These different theories have to be looked at and applied efficiently to ensure that they create a positive effect on the company. The theories, Hofstede cultural dimensions, Trompenaars and Hamden-turners seven dimensions of cultural and Weber’s management theory. The theories were discussed in depth and the main contributions they play in the business performance and outcomes.
Business organization structure refers to the plans, strategies and the different communication strategies applied in the organization. The leadership structure of a business determines how the authority is applied and how information is passed from the top authority to the junior employees (Tardieu,2020). There are different structures which the organizations can implement, which are either flat or hierarchical structures.
The structure of a business has a lot of impacts not only on the performance but also how employees behave and the attitude towards their work (Kreutzer,2017). Employees contribute to the performance of the organization, and the organization depends on the employees to be able to register profits.
With reference to Tanzania based organizations, the employees receive information and directives, and without question, they have to adhere to them. This is a good example of a hierarchy structure, while with a flat organization, the manager and the employees are not well distinguished, and thus there is no good flow of information.
Max Webber theory prioritizes efficiency, but it is not the best practice for leaders in an organization. He advocates for strict and stressed rules in which there is a firm distribution of power. Webber’s leadership style does not take into consideration the employee’s ideas, and it is not open to flexible work arrangements (Berlandier. 2020). The theory has distinguishable characteristics of how an organization should be managed and led by its leaders, though creativity and collaboration are greatly discouraged, Webber does not also promote flexibility and taking of risks. The following are elements of max Webber as discussed in the group.
The theory advocates for clearly defined roles and responsibilities based on an employee’s skills and ability. To observe the hierarchy of how jobs are carried out, each employee should learn and understand their role and responsibilities and stick to them (SADRAIE, 2017). There is a distribution of power in the organization in which employees ranked the highest have the most power while those ranked lowest have to ensure they report and respect their supervisors.
There are organized record keeping in the organization in which the managers should take concern and take note of any occurrence in the organization. When employees are away from work or take a day off, then the managers should keep the records to ensure there are no negative readings. Employees should keep records of their roles and responsibility and anything that may be of help to the organization in the future.
According to Webber, the only work-related relationship is encouraged. All work relationships are branded by rules and regulation, and there should be no sharing of ideas. Work should only be about work, and anything more than that is social outing which is not encouraged. Lastly, according to Webber, hiring is only based on specific skills, and qualified candidates have these characteristics (Young,2016). This means that hiring is solely based on op experience and expertise of a candidate. The idea of establishing flat organizations in Africa and more precisely in Tanzania, it is considered as ineffective. It would be hard to control the employees and more so hiring employees with the specified qualification will be hard.
Hofstede theory is more of a flat organization which has employees participating by airing their ideas. This thus gives a free participation of the employees to the organization’s performance (Minkov,2018). Employees are not entirely hired depending on their expertise and experiences, but other factors like flexibility are looked into. The theory recognizes and takes into concern the different cultures in which an organization is built on. This thus gives an implication that they should be respected and that every employee has different behaviours which are as a result of their culture. Employees come together with all these differences, and their main aim is to achieve the organization’s goals.
Organizations in Africa and particularly those in Tanzania have a flat organization structure in which employees are encouraged to be creative and give out their ideas on issues concerning the organization. With this in mind, there has been increased performance as employees relate well, and social interactions are encouraged.
Ethics are the main building blocks of an organization. Employees, as well as managers, are expected to uphold some of this ethics so as to achieve their personal goals and those of the organization (Crane,2020). Ethics in an organization define what is right and what is wrong. It is the employees and managers obligation to determine and choose what is good and ethical for the organization. For an organization to perform effectively, then the ethics should be well defined and employees given the opportunity to raise their ideas on how the organization should be run (Trevino,2016).
The group discussion was basically on how the African organization with an example of those in Tanzanian, their structure in relation to various theories and how ethics are upheld in the organization. The group members were more participative, and they voluntarily raised their ideas. As the group leader, every member was given a task to research prior to the meeting. This gives each and everyone a chance to have a clear understanding of what the discussion was about. There were different ideas raised about the different organizations in Tanzania and more so in Africa. The discussion was based on the different theories on organizations performance and the effect they have on the employee’s performance (Jaques,2017). To have a better performing organization, communication is a key, and it should follow the right order. Employees ideas should be considered, and it will give them importance in the organization, and they will feel encouraged and needed in the organization.
In conclusion, the business structure is a definition of how an organization is structured and how leadership is practised. Every organization has its own choice of structure to assume and how it should be practised. Some will assume the flat structure while others assume a hierarchical structure. These structures will then determine the performance of the employees and the organization at large.
The ethical setting of an organization is also of importance, and it is up to the managers and the employees to ensure they are upheld. The ethics practised by employees in an organization contributes to the public image of the organization to the public. The investors and clients in an organization, will try and evaluate how the organization is managed before they think of investing. Employees who are encouraged and allowed to practise their creativity are more likely to exhibit better results which will, in turn, contribute to the better performance of the organization. Employees and the leadership in an organization will determine how an organization is run and its performances.
Reference
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Burke, W.W., 2017. Organization change: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S. and Spence, L., 2019. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press, USA.
Jaques, E., 2017. Requisite organization: A total system for effective managerial organization and managerial leadership for the 21st century. Routledge.
Kreutzer, R.T., Neugebauer, T. and Pattloch, A., 2017. Digital business leadership. Digital Transformation–Geschäftsmodell-Innovation–agile Organisation–Change-Management.
Minkov, M., 2018. A revision of Hofstede’s model of national culture: old evidence and new data from 56 countries. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management.
SADRAIE, R., 2017. The analytic study of Siavash’s character in Shahnameh based on the Max Webber’s theory of the ideal charismatic leader.
Tardieu, H., Daly, D., Esteban-Lauzán, J., Hall, J. and Miller, G., 2020. Organization Structure—Allocating Roles and Responsibilities to Support Business Strategy. In Deliberately Digital (pp. 107-121). Springer, Cham.
Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2016). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. John Wiley & Sons.
Young, C. and Ghoshal, S., 2016. Organization theory and the multinational corporation. Springer.