MOST Analysis

Mission Statement

Any established business consists of the innerworkings of many moving parts. Many inputs contributing to across many threads to provide many outputs. Corporations are generally structured as tiers or layers of operations, all contributing in an upwards fashion to what is considered to be the overall goal(s) of the organization. Business optimization as a system that drives towards a particular outcome, can be constructed to be implemented at a process level within only one particular workflow within one small department, and likewise, can also be applied globally to the organization as a whole. This Business Optimization Program at its core is devised to be pliably overlaid and implemented either microscopically or scaled macroscopically within an organization, based on the perceived needs of the leadership team(s) within a said organization; i.e., this program can be implemented in series or simultaneously throughout departments to optimize processes at the departmental level, or can be zoomed out to be presented to C-Suite executives with a more global perspective concerning the overall needs of the organization as a whole. The Overview of the program will be presented informationally as a means to establish initial awareness to the leadership team(s) and generate internal discussion as to its implementation. The intent of the program is to enable the leadership team to look through an established lens in order to identify areas of improvement, act upon them accordingly, and ultimately increase profits and positively affect return on investment. Further, this program is designed to expand accordingly based on project scope, as well as having an innate capacity to be implemented multiple times within an organization, within and across departments and/or business units.

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Objectives

01. Baseline Assessment: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Understanding Structure: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. Structural Assessment: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Team Structure: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Executive Leadership: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Resource Optimization: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. Best Practices: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. 1 Month
08. Tribe Leads: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Skills Assessment: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
10. Employee Buy-In: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
11. Goal-Setting: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
12. Vision Setting: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month

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Strategies

01. Baseline Assessment: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Understanding Structure: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. Structural Assessment: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Team Structure: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Executive Leadership: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. Resource Optimization: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. Best Practices: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
08. Tribe Leads: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
09. Skills Assessment: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
10. Employee Buy-In: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
11. Goal-Setting: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
12. Vision Setting: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.

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Tasks

01. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Baseline Assessment.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Understanding Structure.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Structural Assessment.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Team Structure.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Executive Leadership.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Resource Optimization.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Best Practices.
08. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Tribe Leads.
09. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Skills Assessment.
10. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Employee Buy-In.
11. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Goal-Setting.
12. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Vision Setting.

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Introduction

How Can Organizational Structure Be Optimized?

The best techniques for managing and structuring the most effective teams will be covered in this course manual. The knowledge that organizations will eventually need to be restructured is to be considered inevitable, as an organization grows and adapts to market trends and shifts. Clearly, a smaller business in the stages of its infancy operates and is structured much more simplistically than a larger more matured organization.

We’ll give you a quick rundown of some considerations for maximizing organizational structure. The objective is to assist in enhancing your organization’s efficacy and efficiency, which will lead to improved team performance. Yes, this directly affects the products and/or services you are developing for your target market(s).

One of the initial possibilities that you should consider implementing for your team is a flat organizational structure. A flat organizational structure has a lower hierarchy between managers and workers who work closely with one another. Since this structure invites more direct employee cooperation with less focus on what constitutes a “team,” then this more direct interaction tends to improve communication.

In order for product and/or services portfolios to effectively evolve to their optimal state, managers and workers must be able to collaborate. Effective organizational functioning is the result of such group efforts in management, product management and product development.

Setting goals and assessing the effectiveness of efforts will be made easier with the support of clear measurements. These measurements need to indicate what is necessary for the product to succeed.

When certain roles within an organization are no longer contributing productively to the departmental or organizational goals, it may be necessary to modify or even to eliminate them. Since organizations ultimately view employees as an expense, it is of utmost importance to adapt roles and employee placements as needed to maximize productivity per dollars spent.

Organizational structure indicates which area(s) of a company should have ownership of the various tasks within the products and/or services delivery cycle. It then becomes clearer that an effective organizational structure is necessary for achieving and maintaining a successful product and/or service portfolio.

The organizational structure of every corporation is among its most crucial components. It outlines how people form groups, what they do, and how they collaborate. Companies must, however, adapt their organizational structures as they expand in order to work more effectively.

Organizational Structure: What Is It?

Organizational structure is how individuals and teams are coordinated within the company. To achieve organizational goals and objectives, individual effort must be coordinated and managed.

To accomplish the goals of an organization, specific tasks are managed according to an organizational structure. Among the activities are rules, positions, and duties.

Information flows inside a corporation are also governed by organizational structure. For instance, decisions are made at the top-down in centralized structures. However, a decentralized structure distributes decision-making power among the many organizational levels.

What Kinds of Organizational Structures Exist?

So far in this section, we have laid some foundational knowledge about organizational structure. Let’s now examine the various kinds of organizational structure along with the seven categories of the organizational system.

Let’s discuss them and discover the rationale for their use:

Hierarchical Organizational Structure

A pyramid-shaped organizational structure is a hierarchical organizational chart. When the chain of command is established from the top and moves down, this is the most common organizational structure.

Functional Organizational Structure

The functional structure starts at the top with roles that have the most authority and flows down, much like a hierarchical organization does. The organization of employees depends on their skills and the corresponding goal of the company. Each component functions separately.

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Horizontal Or Flat Organizational Structure

Organizations benefit from a horizontal or flat organizational structure when there are few levels between senior management and staff members. Most new businesses use a horizontal organizational structure until they are big enough to create several departments.

Other businesses continue to use it, though, as it encourages greater staff engagement and less surveillance.

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Divisional Organizational Structure

Sectors of an organization are given control over its resources thanks, in part, to the divisional organizational structure. Within the larger companies, this operation may appear to be quite autonomous. The departments of sales, advertising, and information systems will be present in each division and acting according to common goals. This organizational style is advantageous for larger companies because it enables many sectors to make decisions independently.

Organizational Structure In A Matrix

Cross-functional teams assembled for particular projects are represented in a matrix organizational chart, which generally looks like a grid. For instance, an engineer could occasionally have a temporary assignment but be assigned to the engineering department on a standard, daily basis albeit under the supervision of an engineering director (led by a project manager).

The matrix organizational chart includes both roles and reporting.

Organizational Structure Based on Teams

It should be given ample consideration that a team-based organizational structure, such as one that employs the use of Scrum teams, is necessary in many organizational settings.

The traditional hierarchy is intended to be advantageously broken up by taking on this team organizational structure. This design places a strong emphasis on teamwork, problem-solving, and giving people more empowerment within their respective roles.

Network Organizational Structure

Today, very few businesses offer all services within their domain(s) under one roof. This necessary distribution of resources is explained and accommodated by the network organizational structure. This organizational structure can also be used to describe an organizational setting where open communication takes precedence over hierarchy.

What Functions Do Organizational Structures Serve?

• With a thorough understanding of a company’s organizational structure, you can more easily comprehend the current objectives and guidelines of your firm. Relationships between authority and duty then become quite evident.
• The organizational structure specifies the organization’s communication paths and methods. One of the core benefits can be realized in how a properly chosen and implemented organizational structure greatly eases the process of managing a growing company.
• It encourages the coordination of crucial elements’ tasks to make the organization’s goals possible.
• It makes it easier for an organization to grow and engage in a variety of activities.
• Employee participation in the organization promotes teamwork and workplace enthusiasm. It promotes initiative and creative thinking.
• Simple and effective policy implementation. also achieving objectives swiftly.
• It eliminates redundant functions and enables the best performance with the least amount of work.

Examples of Organization Structure

Example 1: Many companies divide themselves into departments for finance, advertising, and staffing. Then, a manager is in charge of each of these departments. This manager is under the supervision of a manager who oversees multiple departments.

Example 2: An automobile manufacturer that separates its business into divisions for SUVs, electric vehicles, and sedans is an example of a divisional organization. While each branch has a specific function, they all aim to accomplish the same thing: to close a sale.

Which Organizational Structure Is Ideal For Your Business?

Considerations include personal beliefs, competitiveness, the environment, your company’s mission and guiding principles, etc. These factors aid in your decision-making on the most appropriate organizational structure for your company.

New and upcoming enterprises tend to be more adaptable since they are not as constrained by convention and outdated corporate culture characteristics.

Businesses that were founded 50 to 150 years ago are more established in their procedures for a good reason. However, introducing more complex and market-appropriate structures gradually may still be advantageous for even these organizations.

It all boils down to proper management and optimization of the routine activities, brand recognition, employee productivity, and performance. Regardless of the type that is chosen, corporate change always requires a clearly defined organizational structure.

How Can Organizational Structure Be Optimized?

It’s crucial to identify the gaps. The gaps can be considered as the difference between what has failed in the past versus what is currently effective. Have those past failures been identified? Have any of those failures been attributed to symptoms of a poor organizational structure? How are your organization’s employee costs, productivity, agility, and customer satisfaction stacking up in relation to how your organization is structured?

Taking into account the company’s culture, its products and/or services, and how it wishes to interact with customers is one of the greatest ways to optimize an organizational structure.

Analyze Your Team’s Expectations and Needs

You can also observe how other businesses organize their teams. Finding what works best for your business is crucial; you shouldn’t just imitate another company’s example.

It’s time to begin restructuring the team once you have a grasp on the action plan. The task of restructuring is challenging since it is likely to upset the established boundaries with your team and colleagues. It’s also crucial to have clearly defined goals for the new structure and how it will increase team productivity.

It is best to remember that a reformed team is temporary. Every few months, you should evaluate it again to make sure that it continues to satisfy everyone’s needs.

Establish Tribe Leads

There are three Tribe (or Value Creation) leads, where each of them serves a necessary purpose:

• A Product Manager (PM) that manages product or portfolio viability and value
• A User Experience Engineer (UX) that interprets Usability and Human Factors Design
• Engineering that manages resource availability and design feasibility

The aforementioned content indicates that the PM’s should make sure that the product portfolio offers clients value. UX designers should ensure a user-friendly design, whereas engineers are concerned with developing a technical solution. Additionally, it means that your tribe will include a product manager, designers, and engineers.

The team members can communicate with each other as much as possible through this approach. They don’t have to go through a number of individuals to receive a response from someone else in a different department.

This strategy promotes knowledge sharing between departments, resulting in a more efficient organization. This approach stresses the fact that it is critical that everyone comprehends the product that is being developed.

The next step is to appoint a general product owner, who will be responsible for the product’s vision and collaborate with the tribe leads to guarantee distribution. This role can be a product manager, just is generally considered more of a business analyst role.

Here, delivering features is more important than having an in-depth understanding of the product and how to construct it. It is important to distinguish this position from a project manager.

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