Executive Summary
The structure of an organization is an important tool in management. It helps to divide the labor and provide each employee with a clear task and describe the expectations of the work. In other words, the worth of coordination should be discovered. In this project, the UK Company, Larels Projects LLP, will be analyzed in terms of its organizational structure and the challenges its employees could have due to a poor distribution of duties. This consultancy report aims at explaining why the company needs an organizational structure. The analysis will be developed in several steps.
First, it is necessary to provide a clear background of the company and give the facts with the help of which the essence of the company could be discovered. Second, a structure for the organization will be proposed, described, and explained. Then, it is important to investigate the worth of the structure in terms of its appropriateness for the business developed by the company and its value for customers. Finally, it is expected to consider the concept of culture and its possible development regarding the organizational structure of the company. Each step of the analysis should be based on the results of the previous step because as soon as the structure is developed, a clear picture of the company could be given.
Introduction
One of the first steps that should be taken by any company is the creation of its organizational structure and the identification of the roles that cannot be neglected by leaders and employees (Steiger, Hammou & Galib 2014). As soon as people understand their places and roles in a company, they could think about their possible contributions and take the steps to achieve the goals and prove their worth to the chosen company. As a rule, the distribution of power occurs through a hierarchy (Galbraith 2014). A variety of organizational structures is impressive indeed: matrix structure, geographic divisional structure, multidivisional structure, product divisional structure, flatters, flats, and traditional hierarchies (Friedli, Mundt & Thomas 2014; Morgan 2015).
Each company tries to investigate its strengths and weaknesses to create a structure according to which the representatives of one department could help to improve the possible mistakes of the representatives of another department. For example, Starbucks Coffee Company prefers to make use of the matrix structure and cover different aspects of its work in its unique way (Meyer 2015). Larels Projects LLP is not as huge as Starbucks or other industrial giants. Still, its team and the intentions to cover as much as possible in the sphere of construction and property consultancy makes the company think about the improvement of its structure.
Background
Larels Projects LLP is a UK organization with its main business activity that is construction and property consultancy. Its head office is in London. There are also two working offices: one is in Harlow, and another is in Woking. It was founded in 1985 by a brother and a sister, who wanted to make sure that people could have access to cost consultancy and the development of surveying services. The main clients of the company are the representatives of public and private sectors who plan to undertake new build and refurbishment projects in such sectors as education, transport, residential, arts & leisure, commercial & retail. Construction companies have impressive values of construction output by the type of work offered (Rhodes 2015):
The company deals with project and cost management, health and safety of projects, building surveying, energy and sustainability issues, and the development monitoring and commercial due diligence. At the moment, 120 people are working in the company. The result of their work is the turnover of about £11.2m during the period between 2014 and 2015. The company understands its prospects and want to improve the situation with the help of a properly developed organizational structure. The current situation in the UK proves that people want to have guarantees and get helpful pieces of advice. For a long period, the UK has been in a good position to take advantage of numerous global market opportunities that could be defined in the sphere of construction (Department for business innovation & skills 2013). Larels Projects LLP is a company that has already made a good start and demonstrated successful achievements. Its people and their abilities to develop their required portion of skills are an integral part of the company and its success.
Structure for the Organisation
Company management contains a number of important steps that help its leaders and employees to define the correct way to develop appropriate services. It usually includes the necessity to clarify organizational structure, culture, and leadership (Fewings 2013). In this project, a certain portion of attention should be paid to the development of an organizational structure because it promotes the systematization of the available sources and their usage to remove the uncertainties and challenges the company could face.
Elements of an Organisational Structure
An organizational structure aims to define how to divide job tasks with the help of six important elements including the span of control, the chain of command, specialization, formalization, departmentalization, and centralization (Robbins et al. 2013). Each element has some questions to be answered by a designer and a consultant. For example, departmentalization should help to clarify the basis according to which it is possible to group jobs and create a specific department. The ability to subdivide the activities into separate jobs should be discussed under the work specialization, also known as a simple division of labor.
The chain of command is the possibility to identify the authorities and introduce the individuals who should gain control of the activities of other people in the same group. The span of control is the term that covers such questions as the number of employees to be directed by a manager and the amounts of work that should be prepared by managers. The centralization or decentralization process aims at identifying people, who should make decisions and inform all employees about solutions (Robbins et al. 2013). Finally, the formalization is the stage at which the norms, rules, and regulations are discussed with employees and managers.
Organizational Structure for Larels Projects LLP
Technical Terms of the Structure
Taking into consideration the fact that the company under analysis is not huge and its employees have different duties and responsibilities, it is possible to say that the presence of so many employees is impressive indeed. Therefore, it seems to be correct to use a hierarchical operating system with the help of which it is possible to keep order through managers and senior employees (Harris & Short 2013). Larels Projects LLP has a traditional functional structure where people are divided into several departments and have their own goals and purposes to be considered. In the team, there are 120 people. One of them is the CEO, who leads the company and makes the main decisions or approve/disprove the ideas offered by other employees. There is also PA to CEO, two Non-Executive Directors, and two Executive Assistants who do not have special departments to lead. Still, their roles remain to be significant in the company as they belong to the group of top management and control the ways of how the work is performed in the company.
There are also several representatives in the group of middle management. There are 10 directors and managers, who have their teams, assistants, and other employees, who should follow their pieces of advice. This chain includes a Business Development Manager (it is an independent worker, who analyses the ways of how the company works and develops in regards to the existing internal and external factors), Finance Director, HR Director, IT Manager, Communication & Marketing Manager, Facilities Manager, and four different Project Directors.
All these positions, except for the Business Development Manager, have assistants, managers, and other workers, who promote the development of the department. In the same line with directors and managers, it is also necessary to insert partners including Project Management (two representatives), Cost Management, Monitoring Management, Building Surveying, and Finance. Finance Director has two Accountants with two Accountants Assistants and four Senior Client Managers with four Client Account Managers. HR Director has one HR Manager and two HR Assistants, whose activities are under the control of the Director. IT Manager has two IT Assistants.
The Communication and Marketing department consists of one manager and one assistant. The Facilities Department has three Office Managers, four Senior Administrators, who are supported by six Administrators. Finally, Project Directors can create their independent groups and develop projects regarding their needs and expectations. Under the direction of project managers, there are usually seven Senior Project Managers and twelve Project Managers, six Senior Building Surveyors with eight Building Surveyors, one Senior Monitoring Surveyor with four Monitoring Surveyors, three Energy & Sustainability Consultants, and three CDM Consultants who work independently. There is also a new sub-department that is controlled by Project Managers and includes six Graduate Project Managers who may have some client-facing responsibilities.
Rationale for the Structure
The choice of such a structure could be explained by two important things. On the one hand, it is appropriate about the business the chosen organization is involved in because it helps to coordinate people regarding the needs of the company’s customers and the actual number of customers. On the other hand, this structure creates a value for customers, who could choose managers and consultants to cooperate with, and for the organization itself that should not spend much time to clarify what employee has to deal with a certain problem. Nowadays, the construction industry develops rapidly, and people want to be confident that the results of all new buildings’ processes are safe for ordinary people. Therefore, construction needs collaboration between all architects, designers, and contractors as well as communication with consultants, who specialize in life cycle assessments (Scott 2014).
The current evaluation of the situation shows that the construction industry has been developing fast and made several significant contributions to the country’s economy (Rhodes 2015):
Appropriateness about the Organisation’s Business
Though management styles play an important role in the development of any company (Schram 2013), it is also necessary to remember that such issues as organization, structure, culture, and activities define the quality of the work performed by the company (Nicolescu & Lloyd-Reason 2015). The functional structure chosen for Labels Projects LLP is an opportunity to demonstrate how all people of the company could be grouped based on their common skills and shared resources. At the same time, despite the presence of directors and senior managers, the company has one definite leader, whose decisions and ideas have to be respected at all levels. According to the business developed by the company, it is important to have a superior, who takes responsibility for the activities taken by a subordinate. This structure introduces a horizontal differentiation with the help of all subordinates are determined.
In this structure, it is also possible to identify the fact that all departments are equal in regards to the CEO of the company. The structure shows that there are several people, who are close to the CEO and have to complete the functions independently to support and assist the leader. A number of managers and directors have their own responsibilities and functions. At the same time, they are at the same level. Such coordination is helpful to the chosen business environment because construction is the industry that covers all aspects of human life. Therefore, if a mistake or shortage is discovered in the work of one department, other departments should consider the volume of the shortage to take the required precautionary methods.
Creation of Value for Customers and Organisation Itself
If the company is in search of innovations, improvements, and simple stabilization of its value, it is necessary to create a strong organizational structure and make sure that it touches upon the necessary ideas, information, and solutions (Baird 2013; Davila et al. 2013). The creation of value is also an important factor because it helps to generate revenue, emphasize business, and meet the requirements (Yi 2014). The process of creating value is not easy, and it is necessary to get ready to analyze and integrate possible changes that depend on the internal and external environment of the company (Shanker 2012; Nijssen & Frambach 2013) and understand the importance of each process. The creation of the structure proves that the company wants to identify the responsibilities and duties of all employees and make sure that each employee understands their place in a team.
There are many departments and many responsibilities. It is hard for a CEO to gain control over the activities of all employees. Therefore, there are several executive assistants, a personal assistant, and two non-executive directors, who could provide the CEO with the required portion of support and qualification. Managers and directors that are in the middle management line are responsible for several people and the portion of work the CEO expects to get. In the company, there are also some consultants and administrators, who have to cooperate directly with the customers of the company. This structure helps to divide people in regards to their connection to customers (the lowest levels are characterized by direct communication with clients, the higher levels are responsible for the quality of the work performed by the representatives of the lowest levels).
Culture in Terms of the Structure
Importance of Organisational Culture
Culture is an integral part of the organizational context (Barbera 2014). When people consider the importance of organizational culture, they think about such issues as the possibility to share some common ideas, understand traditions of doing something, and think in the same ways to meet the basic assumptions of the company (Alvesson & Sveningsson 2015). Larels Projects LLP believes that the construction industry continues developing in the UK. Still, people have to understand that any kind of construction is a real challenge for people, and some portion of consultation is required. The employees of the company should provide people with help, support, explanations, and consultations.
The connection between the organizational structure and organizational culture cannot be neglected. As soon as the company is divided into departments, it is possible to think about the contributions of each department and the subordination that should be developed by each employee. The structure shows that a client account manager has several instances to pass through before they could address to the CEO directly. Besides, there is a PA for the CEO who controls the schedule of the CEO. The offered structure could be offered to any employee as a guide to follow when a problem should be solved, or some decisions could be offered.
Recommendations
The structure seems to be a perfection option for the company to rely on. Still, it could be suggested to make some changes and support the idea of restructuring. For example, the idea of the matrix structure could be offered. It has some benefits including the possibility for individual managers to avoid making significant decisions and focus on coordinating people in regards to the task that should be complete. Besides, matrix structures promote efficient cooperation between different departments. It is flexible and functional. However, due to the necessity to focus on the needs of the project, this kind of restructuring should change or, at least, improve the goals and values of the company. The last challenge companies with matrix organizational structures should be ready for is the search for compromises that unite all employees, their managers, and leaders.
Conclusion
In general, the success of the business is predetermined by several things: the way of how leaders could organize their activities and make people follow their ideas, the way of how a team could be divided into groups so that each member could be responsible for a certain kind of work, or even the way of how employees could develop an understanding of the company’ main goals. Besides, any company is usually challenged by the necessity to build appropriate professional relations and clarify how the transition of knowledge among individuals and throughout the whole organization should be developed. At the moment, Larels Projects LLP has a functional organizational structure with clearly defined departments and employees in them. Still, it is recommended to focus on the development of the matrix structure for the organization to cover the needs of customers and the expectations of all employees.
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