Project-Based Organizational Structure and Communication System

This report aims at assessing the importance of a sound organization structure that meets the organization needs. Different organizations use various organization structures that affect the organization communication channels and the coordination of different organization projects. This report will assess the flexibility and the efficiency of organization structures. The report will assess the role of an organizational structure in streamlining organization communication which highlight the importance of an organizational structure in establishing a new organization strategy. This report will assess different approaches through which an organization can establish a new organization structure and also the success of different organization structures used at Oticon. This report will identify the role of organizational structure in developing a new organization culture and strategy to meet the organization needs in a dynamic market.

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Organizational structure and communication channels are imperative in the success and the management of organization processes and projects. An organization structure establishes relationships between employees and the management as well as relationship amongst employees themselves. An organization structure can affect how communication is directed to an organization whereas communication remains an important management and organization operation tool. Without proper communication channels and management, an organization cannot meet its operation objectives as well as the implementation of a new strategy which help an organization in a changing, and the dynamic market could be difficult. This report will assess how information channels and an organization structure are tied together in implementing an organization strategy as well as initiating the use of technology in an organization. The organization structure and communication channels also affect an organization culture and values held together by employees who can further affect organization operations and approach to the new organization strategy (Horibe, 2016).

The primary problem articulated in the case study is the lack of organization ability to embrace change and existence of rigid structural traditional organization structures that make it difficult for organizations to achieve its objectives. Oticon previously had a rigid framework that made it difficult for the employees to interact, hence limiting the organization ability to create new ideas and products. The adaptation of the project based organization structure helped Oticon to overcome the communication barriers and occupation rigidity by introducing a system that favors flexibility of the employees further improving their performance and interactions. The organization harnessing of technology through the establishment of a paperless office further promoted the engagement of the employees. In this case, sharing information was made easy through the use of computers and email which allowed accessing information for different projects at the same time. Digitalization of the organization communication also further improved the ability of the off-site offices to access information which led to the discussion on key ideas and establishment of better products solutions (Horibe, 2016).

Literature Review

Organization behavior and organization structure are significant in the creation of organization efficiency. Different organizations use different approaches to streamline the organization structure which improves the organization performance (Miner, 2015). Many organizations, such as Oticon, are turning to project-based organization structure to improve organizational efficiency. Project based organization structure as evidenced in Oticon improves organization innovation, action orientation and motivation of the employees. Turner believe that a project based organization is the starting point for any organization seeking to establish research initiatives to improve organization knowledge in project management. The context for the latter coordination can further be expected to vary from situations where projects are operationally completely unrelated to cases where projects are mutually dependent upon each other, thereby creating operational dependency (Turner, 2016).

There is a significant relationship between an organization structure and performance. Different organization structures affect an organization differently, traditional organization structures lead to inefficiency in organization production due to rigidities created by poor communication. It is important for the management to assess the ability of an organization structure to support new technology and effective organization communication which are important tools in improving organization efficiency and acquiring a competitive advantage. In the recent years project-based organizations have increasingly become common as organizations seeking to improve competitive advantage and increase organization efficiency. Project based organization structure improves organization ability to share information and technology. Many organizations are using the project-based approach to reduce the number of organizational hierarchies which affect organization communication and flexibility (Robbins et al. 2015).

Project based organization approach increases the contact between organization employees and the management and the ability of organizations to harness and share information and technology. Different projects can be coordinated with employees being given the freedom to choose which projects to be involved in. Project-based organization structure increases the freedom and flexibility of the working environment which improves the productivity of the employees (Lindkvist, 2004). Project based organization approach is a relationship-based organizational structure in which employees can easily interact with each other hence improving the quality of the resulting ideas. Better interactions in a project based organization approach ensure that ideas and information are debated which leads to improved and more informed decisions. Through a project-based approach new ideas and improving on the existing ideas is possible which further strengthens the organization competitive advantage like assessed in Oticon improved performance after the adaptation of the project based approach and organization structure (Thiry & Deguire, 2007).

Individual discipline and management is a significant trend that can be observed in the performing organizations. High regulation of the employees leads to organization communication barriers and fragmentation of the organization structure causing the poor flow of information in an organization. The individual employee discipline refers to a scenario in which the organization employees are in control of their conduct and working pace. In this case, employees can manage themselves in accordance with the organizational target and objectives (Verzuh, 2015). This approach reduces the tension and stress by employees as they are allowed more freedom to choose when and how to work. This approach of management and organization structure reduces organization bureaucracy and simplify the organization structure making it easy for the managers to supervise the employees. An open project based organization structure makes it easy for the management to interact with the organization employees enabling to understand the major problems that an organization faces and improves projects coordination and performance within an organization (Borkowski, 2015).

In terms of organization project control, most organization managements are faced by five primary problems which include: the definition of the organizational purpose, the creation of division of labor, the coordination of the organization activities, the motivation of the employees and the development and the adaptation of activities in the face of a changing organization environment. Regardless of whether the organization is project-based or not organizations encounter similar problems. Project based organization structure, however, is faced with some disadvantages (Robbins et al. 2015). This approach makes it difficult for employees to acquire specific skills in which employees are free to choose which projects to choose to work for. Unlike departmentalization in which employee concentrate on specific projects such as marketing, research and development and sales, a project based approach leads to the acquisition of diverse skills. Departmentalization leads to specialization whereas a project based organization structure reduces employees specialization. It is important to note that departmentalization, on the other hand, can hinder organization creativity and innovation as people are often working on the same projects time and again (Diana & Vanitha, 2016).

Methodology

The methodology applied for the studies reported in the present paper could be best described as a case study. This approach is most applicable in situations where the researcher wants to both get a closer in-depth understanding of particular social phenomena and be able to make comparisons between various contexts. As a matter of fact, the main reason for including a case and theory in development or refinement projects is that the researcher expects variations between different cases in different situations. Furthermore, the use of multiple cases makes it possible to develop typologies.

Project-based organizational model

A project based organization model refers to an organization model in which the structure of most of the organization functions is made of a project. Many organizations use different organization project approach to establish more organization responsiveness. Project based organization models like in the case of Oticon are easily able to adjust to a dynamic business environment. Today, the business environment in different industries require constant and rapid innovation to help organizations earn a competitive advantage in the market. Organizational work and functions in a project based organization model are carried out in project groups which report to the owner of the business. A project based model reduces organization hierarchies and by increasing organization interactions between employees to deliver onto different organization projects. In this approach, an organization can run some projects simultaneously with the managers working closely with the employees at the project level. This enables the managers to have a better understanding of organization problems and opportunities as well as the strengths of the employees and the organization in general. On a project based organization structure, the manager gets a better understanding of the organization operations and other key resources. This knowledge is important in organization decision-making and can be used to create a competitive advantage regarding product innovation and efficiency (Ajmal & Lodhi, 2015).

Organizational flexibility

A project based organization structure like the one used by Oticon ensures that most of the organization functions are timely regulated in that employees are only assigned to projects that they are best suited. This increases the success of the projects and also engagement of the employees to the projects which increases an organization yields and innovations. This scenario can be observed in Oticon case study in which the number of organization innovations doubled after implementing a project based organization structure. On the other hand, traditional organizations like Oticon before the implementation of the project based organization approach have a hierarchical structure that is rigid and difficult to change because roles are predetermined in...