Answer to Question #150980 in Management for Ronak Gulgulia

Question

A Newly Setup Startup company is confused about how to get their organizational Structure correct and would want to take some guidance from you.
A. Can you share some characteristics of an effective organizational areas.
B. Can You Explain How Will the 6 box model help the organization designing their structure.

Answer 1

A. Characteristics of an effective organizational areas.

Simplicity. An effective organization structure should always have simplest framework so that for it to easily fulfill the purposes intended for thus reducing costs and other difficulties that might arise due the poor communication.

 

Clear line of authority. An effective form of organization being should always have clines of authority running vertically or horizontally. Thus everyone in the organization should be aware of their responsibility or what they required to accomplish in the organization.

 

Proper delegation of authority. An effective organization is where there is proper delegation of authorities at various level of the organization. Similarly, an effective organization is where delegation is where a manager authorizes for some decisions to be made without opposition.

 

Unity of command and direction. The principles of unity of command and direc­tion should be followed. Unity of command suggests that one person should receive orders and instructions from one superior only. Unity of direction refers to the concept of ‘one plan one man’.

 

Teamwork. An effective organizations use teamwork as a basis for complex decisions. Teamwork efforts in successful businesses include partnerships on all levels, from management staff through entry-level workers. Teamwork on the small business level brings multiple views to your projects, develops your staff's communication skills and creates an environment of cooperation.

B. The 6 box model for helping the organization in designing their structure.

The six-box model is a generic framework developed by the American analyst Marvin Weisbord to assess the functioning of organizations. The six-boxes that make up the model are: Purposes, structure, relationships, rewards, leadership, and helpful mechanisms. They are explained below

Purposes. This is a very general piece of the puzzle to get started, but it is an important one nonetheless. You need to understand very specifically what businesses you are in, and what businesses you want to be in moving forward.

Structure. Moving on to the next point starts to get into the details of how your business operates and how it works on a daily basis. The structure of the organization will have a lot to say about what you are able to produce, and at what cost you are able to produce it. Who is responsible for doing what within the company? How is the work that each person is doing going to contribute to the greater good of selling quality products for low prices to customers? Structuring your business in a logical way based on the desired outputs you have in mind is one of the most important things you can do going forward.

Relationships. Business is a never ending stream of relationships. There are the obvious relationships between people both within your organization and outside of it that need to be managed. Also, there are the relationships between your people and your technologies that need to be successfully managed in order to achieve optimal outputs.

Rewards. Most people function best when offered some form of reward for their efforts. Obviously, a pay check is a natural reward in a work setting, but you often need to go beyond just a salary in order to get the best from your people.

Leadership. Speaking of a positive culture, leadership is another important piece of the organizational puzzle. When you have strong leadership in place, it helps everyone else go about their work each day with a sense of confidence and purpose. Of course, it should be noted that strong leadership doesn’t have to mean ruling the company ‘with an iron fist’. Rather, it is often better to be an understanding and caring leader, working as a part of the team rather than being removed from it in a distant corner office.

Helpful mechanisms. Having in place the technologies and other pieces of the puzzle that make the organization work is essential to your success. These mechanisms are certain to change over time as technology improves and markets advance accordingly, so you will want to stay on top of the things that you are using to be efficient and competitive. What was once considered to be a ‘helpful mechanism’ could quickly fall out of date and become a liability to your business.