Organizational Structure

As the auto and financial mortgage crisis unfolded over the past few years one main task kept surfacing: restructure the company. In the world of an average citizen, I understood this to be a straightforward task…throw out bad apples, get new management in place, and voila: new organizational structure. I could not have been more naïve. This example from the auto bailout illustrates how challenging it is to shift a corporate structure that is well established, and sometimes not even defined. I particularly appreciated the acknowledgement that the structure being revamped at GM was not even formally written down. This seems to be common in companies that either have a long legacy, or have experienced rapid, diverse growth.

On paper and in textbooks, structure can be broken down into useful archetypes such as the matrix structured organization or the market structured organization. However, even as we unpacked these examples, real work experience showed our interpretation of our own companies as hybrids of these models. Each had little nuances that made it not quite as pretty as the textbook organizational structure. Even more often, it appears that a company structure on paper is as neat as a textbook structure, but in practice, this is not their reality. Just try googling images of orgaizational strucutre, and the massive variety appears. This was a personal favorite.

As we delve into understanding what organizational structure is, and how complicated it can become, I understand more and more how existing corporate structures are influencing my work life. Acknowledging that there are larger forces at play, and that those forces are determined by the architecture in which they were implemented gives clarity around what I need to do differently in order to make change.

I work in a large organization with diverse business offerings divided by business units. We operate with a strong overarching mission highlighting integrated delivery, but the reality of the corporate structure as designed is a heavily siloed approach to projects. Resources are shared vertically, not horizontally across departments, and goals of individual divisions can sometimes hinder the ability of others to perform. Recently I have run into roadblocks where communication does not seem to penetrate the organization, and major links are impossible to connect. With a new academic understanding of how to break down the structure, I feel more prepared to seek out specific leverage points where I can intervene and make those links appear.

Understanding the structure of my organization is only the first step. Now I am becoming aware of the challenges of organizational structure of my clients as well, and it gives me a whole new appreciation for the need to redesign our approach to delivering services to them. I often work with school districts (which will remain anonymous on this blog), working to bridge the gap between facilities and operations and the actual classrooms (curriculum and teachers). This seems like a straightforward task, as the whole district is aligned around the mission of serving students. With a major focus on authentic learning around science and math, building data and interaction with their immediate environment is a natural fit. Everyone is on board with the concept, but the actualization is hindered by the district’s corporate structure.

At the district, divisions are siloed, and no individuals from curriculum have reason to directly collaborate with someone from facilities. Not because they do not see value in it, but simply because their jobs have them reporting to and collaborating with people only from their own divisions. Working across these groups is beyond their job description.  A major hole in this structure is a result of budget cuts, where the mid level managers (who previously had more cross departmental meetings and collaboration) were removed from the structure. However, instead of readjusting the roles to help fill this void, the void just exists, hindering progress since it is no one’s “job” to address.

Interestingly, I learned the most about the inside organizational structure from an adjunct member of the school district bureaucracy. This individual works for an associated foundation, and is possibly the only person to truly have a working relationship with leaders of both departments. Identifying her as a key link in bridging this gap will not only assist her in being more effective (one person trying to bridge organization gaps is rough) but will give me the opportunity to start foraging relationships that can help meet common goals of both groups. The goal here is to eventually help drive long term organizational change to create a more integrated, collaborative culture at the district, which is something that both sides have identified as a goal.

Understanding organizational structure is a fantastic tool for framing problems and diagnosing solutions. Every organization, from a fortune 500 company to a 4 person family has some sort of structure whether it is formalized on paper or simply implied. Stepping back to assess the communication and decision making channels that this structure dictates is a fantastic first step in creating smoother operations and more effective collaboration on any scale.