Organisational Culture and Internal Environmental Factors
Layton Designs is a father-and-son-owned graphic design company. They have been in business for over 20 years. They are located in a small college town. They have a staff of 12 people and are very close in their relationships with each other, almost like they are one big family. Layton Designs handles all the graphic design projects of the local university, the town newspaper and many of the local businesses. Their area of expertise is print materials. Once a month, there is a meeting between the four graphic designers about new ideas and project updates. New ideas can only come from the graphic designers and must be approved by the CEO.
Although Layton Designs has a tight-knit, family atmosphere, there is a specific chain of command employees must follow in terms of ideas and responsibilities. Lawrence has been employed with Layton designs for 8 years. He is frustrated because he works on long proposals for the company's monthly board meetings, and his manager (the CEO's grandson) takes all the credit for his work. Lawrence would go over his manager's head to complain about the situation, but the company frowns upon speaking directly to upper management outside the chain of command.
Industrial Design Firm (IDF) is a graphic design company in a large metropolis. They have 122 employees, 60 of whom are remote and live in cities all over the world. They have been in business for 2 years and are rapidly growing. Every day, IDF allows employees an hour to research new and innovative ideas. They encourage everyone from the CEO to the mailroom staff to share their innovative ideas. On Fridays, IDF allows an hour of de-stressing time, where employees can play video games, play board games or watch TV in the employee lounge. Miranda has been employed with IDF for 6 months. Miranda has very innovative ideas, but she does not know the process to get her ideas heard. Miranda is not sure who the next in command above her manager is, since IDF has been constantly restructuring, and the departments, teams and roles have yet to be clearly defined. Miranda is not even sure exactly what she is responsible for producing.
Both of these organisations display very different organisational cultures. Also, both employees have different internal environmental factors that can affect their job with their organisations. Understanding the internal environment, including culture and environmental factors, can help determine who is a right fit for the organisation.
Questions
1. Compare the two organisational cultures.
2. Write your analysis of which aspects of the organisational cultures might have the most impact on each organisation and why. Additionally, select one of the organisations presented and identify internal environmental factors that might impact the success of the organization, and in what manner. Support your analyses with citations.
3. Include in your report some reflections on which organisation's culture most aligns with the type of environment in which you would like to work.