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Organizational IssuesView Template for: Organizational Issues The purpose of this section is to highlight organizational issues. The overall goal is to align the firm's human resources with the goals and strategies of the business. The organizational issues of the business should be discussed in terms of: the organizational reporting structure; staffing issues and plans; the skills of the employees; training issues and plans; the formal organizational structure of rules and procedures; and the informal organizational structure of how employees actually interact. Many chief executives boast that their company's success is due to their well-trained employees, and that a company's investment in a well-trained work force is paramount. Other executives view training as an overhead expense that is easily cut when monthly sales are flat. Some companies only hire students from 'top schools' and then train them internally, rarely hiring senior managers from outside the firm. Other companies only hire people with experience and expect them to attend industry training classes. Still other companies hire anyone and offer both internal training and opportunities to attend classes at universities and industry forums. Decisions about hiring and training, career advancement and rotation within the company, and succession planning, are all key human resource strategies. The key concept to keep in mind is that these vital decisions should be made in concert with the competitive strategies of the business. Organization ChartThe purpose of this section is to present an organization chart - nothing more, nothing less. In general, organization charts are:
Although rarely done, it is also informative to draw a 'logical organization chart' that conceptually shows the SBU manager at the top, with all of the people (activities) required by the SBU reporting into the SBU manager. Even if nobody actually reports directly to the SBU manager, and even if the SBU manager has the lowest title in the organization, only the SBU manager, with a clear understanding of the industry, can define the SBUs competitive strategy. This is because only the SBU manager can holistically review and coordinate all of the interrelated activities of the business and make the necessary trade off decisions to achieve a competitive advantage. Staffing Issues and PlansThe purpose of this paragraph is to highlight staffing issues in terms of current status, goals and plans. This may include: hiring, firing, rotating staff, succession planning and more. Training Issues and PlansThe purpose of this paragraph is to highlight training issues in terms of current status, goals and plans. This may include: executive management training, general management training, secretarial training, technology training, managing a global staff, leading organizational transformation, learning to work on a team, EEO and other government training, 'sensitivity training,' leveraging differences in the workplace, and countless other training courses. Formal Organizational StructuresThe purpose of this paragraph is to describe the formal organizational structure of the business. This may include reviewing: standards of behavior for employees, vacation schedules, dress codes, daily time schedules, the employee review process, management processes for promoting and firing employees, employee complaint processes, and more. Informal Organizational StructuresThe informal organizational structure refers to how employees actually interact with each other and share information. The design of the employee cafeteria, if one exists, and the design of where different employees work in each building are extremely important. A company gym, day-care facility, or a simple bank of vending machines affect where people congregate and, therefore, affect personal relationships and the information flow throughout the business. Where people work relative to each other is a strategic choice that should not be overlooked. Especially in companies where departments don't get along well, human resource management should spend at least some time analyzing and planning for productive interaction between employees. Electronic mail is having a profound affect on the informal organizational structure of many companies. Twenty years ago the common method of internal corporate communications was a formal, well-written letter that was sent to a carefully selected audience. Sending what was viewed as an official letter to someone too high in the organization could quickly lead to loss of one's position. Today, electronic mail is used by many to send a `broadcast' message to top management and to managers across the globe, effectively bypassing the (traditional) corporate chain of command. IndividualsThe purpose of this section is to describe the individuals of the business. Individuals should be evaluated in terms of skill level, work experience, and motivation for performing the activities and plans of the business. With new technology and new methods constantly evolving, more experience is not always better from the SBU's point of view. For example, the first McDonald's to open in Moscow preferred job applicants without work experience so that the McDonald's work ethic could be taught without first having to unlearn other corporate work habits. In the post cold war information economy, with technology changing so quickly, twenty years of experience is not always an advantage. |
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