Research Background & Scope
The research to be carried out is important since it will help to show how public organizations can apply various organizational structures to foster innovation. Functional organization structure is one of the organizational structures that companies can rely on to promote innovation. Apple is one of the companies that has used the functional organizational structure and has managed to become one of the most innovative firms around the world. The company achieves this by ensuring that individuals with the greatest experience and expertise in a particular domain maintain decision rights. Experts are given the responsibility to take up leadership roles but work collaboratively with other individuals when making decisions and carrying out various operations.
Another organizational structure that helps to foster innovation is the divisional one which is mainly used by industries that operate on a large scale. In this structure, an organization is divided into subunits that have defined products, consumers, and geographical regions. Divisional organizational culture promotes innovation by ensuring that there is positive competition among the different subunits. A hierarchical structure is also commonly used in many companies in which the chain of command flows from the top management team to the general employees. However, the organizational structure might act as a limit to innovation, especially in situations where employees filter their ideas in the presence of the management team. In this case, employees are limited from sharing ideas that could be innovative in the long run. Decisions concerning innovation are mainly made by the top managers with minimal input from the general employees.
- Hypothesis 1: An effective leadership team has to foster communication within an organization to enhance freedom to failure.
- Hypothesis 2: A leadership team that does not promote communication within a firm limits the chances for freedom to failure.
- Hypothesis 3: Freedom to failure cannot be promoted within an organization without effective leadership and communication.
Research Problem
Research Questions
- Is it possible for a public transport organization to adopt a functional organizational structure?
- Which is the most effective leadership style in fostering innovation as in the case of Apple?
- What impact will a shift to a functional organizational structure have on the company’s innovation process and application?
Research Objectives
- To identify whether a public transport organization can adopt a functional structure.
- To identify the most appropriate leadership style for fostering innovation within a firm.
- To identify the impact that will be experienced on innovation processes and applications after the company shifts to a functional structure.
Literature Review
A company that follows the functional organizational structure is often centralized as seen in the case of Apple. The company at first operated using the conventional structure before the entry of Steve Jobs who managed to combine all departments into a single functional firm. Apple’s reliance on functional expertise in handling day-to-day operations has helped the company to maintain innovativeness for a long period (Podolny & Hansen, 2020, para. 5). Decision-making in Apple is left to managers who have the expertise needed and debate collaboratively with other functions to promote collective decision-making.
Centralizing decision-making to a particular group of people or a single individual could act as a hindrance to innovation. This is because centralization limits the development of new solutions and interdepartmental communication which is a great barrier to information sharing. The process of sharing information in a centralized organization is often time-consuming and requires formalized channels of communication (Iranmanesh, 2021, p.1893). Functional experts who operate in a firm that is extremely centralized witness reduced communication and sharing of available resources hence limited innovations. Centralization minimized opportunities available for discussion and thought sharing which are critical in the development of new ideas.
Firms that have several divisions but the research and development activities are centralized are likely to invest more and generate scientific publications. Such firms are also more likely to have innovations that have a great impact on the general economy. This shows that firms which operate in a centralized manner are likely to be successful in their innovation practices. Research and development activities that are centralized motivate staff members to develop innovations that are applicable to the whole firm rather than in a single division (Argyres et al., 2020, p.4). In this case innovation activities are likely to lead to the development of new products over which no division has authority over.
Centralization ensures that decision-making power is concentrated at the top rather than sharing the responsibility with lower-level employees. In this case, diverse and creative ideas from employees might not be considered during the decision-making process hence a likelihood of limited innovativeness. Lower-level employees in a centralized organization do not enjoy autonomy which creates minimal chances for them to generate ideas and become innovative (Dedahanov et al., 2017). Such employees also have the perception that they do not have the ability to influence their work environment hence are reluctant in the generation of creative ideas and offering suggestions. Centralization also limits sharing of knowledge and ideas during problem-solving since communication channels within such an organization are tight. This indicates that centralization acts as a great barrier to innovative behavior within an organization.
Research Methods
To meet the objectives set for the research it will be necessary to carry out research using various methods such as interviews, questionnaires, and surveys. The various research instruments will help to collect opinions from different participants about the impact of the functional organizational structure on innovation. Utilizing an interview in research requires the researcher to ask participants questions with the main aim of collecting data. Interviews often involve two people, the one being interviewed and the interviewer. In surveys, a researcher shares a predetermined survey with the participants to collect information related to a topic of interest. A questionnaire includes a set of questions that a researcher shares with respondents with the main aim of collecting data. In this research, study questions will be focused on participants’ knowledge about functional organizational structure and its impact on innovation.
An advantage of using interviews in research is that it helps the researcher to explore more on the participants’ opinions and experiences. Open-ended questions enable the collection of in-depth information which is necessary to enhance understanding of a research problem in question. A downside that comes with interviews is that they might end up being costly and time-consuming since each participant has to be interviewed alone. On the other hand, questionnaires and surveys offer cost-effective methods of collecting information and can be administered within a short period. The two methods are also convenient for research since they can be administered in several ways such as through the e-mail and internet. This makes the process less tedious for the researcher while also allowing the collection of relevant information.
Research Design
The research will be carried out in a single transportation public organization to gather feedback about organizational structure and its impact. Organizing the research study in a single organization will make it easier to carry out than when dealing with a number of companies. One organization means that it will not be challenging to identify a suitable sample and select desired participants. Carrying out the research study in a single organization will also help to minimize the costs incurred and time used in the process. Organizing a study in various organizations might require many researchers and more resources to facilitate.
Data Collection
To collect the data needed in informing the research problem the research study will rely on the use of questionnaires, interviews, and secondary sources of data. Questionnaires will be administered to the employees and organizational leaders to gather their insights and feedback about how innovation can be enhanced by changing the organization structure to a functional one. Interviews will be used to gather information from two or three members of the company’s top management team. This will help to enhance an understanding of their opinions about the influence of the organizational structure being currently used on innovation capability.
Interviews will also help to gain an insight into whether there is a need to change the structure of the transport public organization to a functional organization structure with the main objective of fostering innovation. Secondary sources of data will help to enhance an understanding of what is currently known about the impact of functional organizational structure on innovativeness. Such sources will also enable the identification of gaps in the current research which will inform on what needs to be done during future studies.
Data Analysis
To analyze the data collected from the research study it will be necessary to rely on the regression model. Regression analysis is a statistical method that enables researchers to identify a relationship that exists between two or more variables. In this case, the method of analysis helps to identify the variables that influence the topic of interest in researchers. Carrying out regression analysis requires one to define the dependent variable that is likely to be influenced by one or more independent variables (Alchemer, 2021, para. 15). In the case of this research study, the dependent variable is innovation while the independent variable is the functional organizational structure. One then needs to have a comprehensive dataset to work with. The various data points are then plotted on a graph before drawing the regression line which acts as a representative of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
Timelines
Conclusion
The research will provide an insight into the influence that functional organizational structure is likely to have on innovation within a public transport organization. Research data informed by participants’ opinions about organization structure and innovation will show how the public transport organization will benefit. This will help to show some of the changes that have to be made within the company with the main objective of fostering innovation. The research study will also help to identify any gaps in research focused on the topic of interest to inform future research studies. Findings from the research can be used by other organizations that are struggling with innovation to initiate changes in their structure which is necessary to enhance capabilities.
References
Alchemer. (2021). What is Regression Analysis and Why Should I Use It? Alchemer Blog. [online] Web.
Argyres, N., Rios, L.A. and Silverman, B.S., 2020. Organizational change and the dynamics of innovation: Formal R&D structure and intrafirm inventor networks. Strategic Management Journal, 41(11), pp.2015-2049. Web.
Dedahanov, A.T., Rhee, C. and Yoon, J., 2017. Organizational structure and innovation performance: is employee innovative behavior a missing link? Career Development International. 22(4):00-00. Web.
‌ Iranmanesh, M., Kumar, K.M., Foroughi, B., Mavi, R.K., and Min, N.H., 2021. The impacts of organizational structure on operational performance through innovation capability: innovative culture as moderator. Review of Managerial Science, 15(7), pp.1885-1911. Web.
Podolny, M., J. and Hansen, T., M. (2020). How Apple Is Organized for Innovation. [online] Web.