Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Smith & Falmouth is a television shopping and mail order network with operations in the United States and Canada. S& F. Online is the electronic commerce division of this corporation. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of S& F. Online is Irene Seagraves. I play the role of the newly selected Chief Operating Officer (COO) to Miss Seagroves. Reporting to the COO is James Argyle, Project Manager, Brian Kervor, Logistics Manager, and Adam Searle, Marketing Manager. A Web development team reports to James and a Logistics team reports to Brian.

The organizational structure of S& F. Online might be described as of a functional model, in the sense that it has a specific corporate structure, a regimented division of labor, and hierarchical paths of communication -- comparable, one might say to many large corporations in the military precision of its standard operating procedures, albeit on a much smaller scale.

The hierarchical organizational structure of S& F. Online is quite simple and logical in its standard operating procedures and organizational structures because the operation has a small number of employees and the need hierarchy is minimal. However, the organizational structure of S& F. Online does not perfectly fit what is known as a hierarchical or functional, model since the roles of the employees are extremely segmented and specialized by necessity.

Thus, one could also argue that the company's organizational structure is a team-based structure. S& F. Online uses two specialized work teams organized around specific work processes. However, both teams are not self-directed and report to separate managers (McShane & Von Glinow, 2004, pp. 455, 456, & 461.). Additionally, as an organization's informal culture can have an influence on how employees trust their managers, how managers trust managers, and how managers trust their superiors, and can also affect the characterization of the organization's culture in the eyes of its employees. Such informal internal loci of cultures can provide incentives for greatness as well as barriers to the necessary changes required for survival (Merrifield, 2005, p. 10.).

Both the project and logistics managers for S& F. Online have informal relationships with the Web development and logistics teams (respectively), which are important factors in the success of the organization. Working through the simulation regarding S& F. Online, I found that an appreciation for the informal relationships within the group was essential to finding ways to motivate managers and employees. For example as the simulation progressed, problems arose that required me to select allies to motivate the team to higher and higher levels of performance.

When I chose James Argyle, as a respected team member and an employee that had demonstrated experience, my rationale did not merely rest with the selection of James as a valuable ally. Then, I needed to determine the best way to approach this ally with my ideas. From the listed approaches, I decided to have a one-on-one meeting with James to keep him at ease and to convey that I respected his authority and his leadership abilities.