Week 4.2 Organizational Structures

Page 34 and 35 in Chapter 2 talk about Alternative Organizational Structures.

While reading it i was trying to find out into what system the organization or group i am working in will fit into. Below are some of the features my group has (I work in an IT organization)
- a high level of education and training for most organizational tasks.
- there are fixed positions for individuals
- there is a high degree of interdependence
- there is some regard to seniority
- innovation as priority
- All the members in the group have a set of tasks they all do. (First Level Support)
- Then we breakdown into specialized teams under a manager specializing and responsible for one or two areas.
- there are projects all teams work together

I am not quite sure of this fits into one specific type of structure. This is more of a hybrid of different forms of organization.

Any thoughts?

Week 4.1 Structure & Agenda in Meetings

In Chapter 2 the authors talk about structure and agenda. The authors say that organizational structures emerge from communication processes and may, in turn, replace future communication processes.

The authors mention that structure gives shape to our actions overtime. Setting a agenda for meetings is a very important part of communication. This keeps the meeting son track and the focus remains on the issues to be discussed.

Agenda becomes much more important when the meetings have audience from various countries and are over the phone and not face to face. When a meeting is between people from different cultures who are geographically separated and might not have meet each other in person the agenda acts a tool to keep the meeting following and in control.

We constantly have meeting with teams worldwide. Sometimes teams in some countries do bring up things that are not expected to be discussed, this sometimes catches people unprepared to answer those and sometimes wastes time as people in headquarters try to reply even though they do not have complete information. But for the same situation if there is an agenda set, the meeting organizer can say that they will come back to that after all the items on the agenda are discussed, this not only keeps the focus on the issues that were planned to be discusssed but also gives other people in the meeting a chance to think about how to respond to the issue or question raised.

Week 3.5 Communication and Patience

Page 370 in chapter 12 talks about how companies can use FAQ etc., to help reduce their need to respond directly to customers.

At work my manager always wants us to prepare mass communication messages (messages sent to more than 100 people) in a Q & A format. Even though he is a very busy person, he spends a lot of time with us after we come up with a initial draft. When we started doing this, in the beginning i used get little frustrated thinking its just an e-mail and my manager is wasting time with little things.

Last month we introduced a new process to which we were expecting a lot of resistance, as I knew my manager wants the message to be very clear, if spent some considerable amount of time preparing it and then reviewing it with him. When the message was sent out I was surprised to see that there was only one reply and that to was just some one saying they really like the change. Previously when such messages we sent, we used to get at least 10 to 20 messages asking questions. This made me realize that spending time while preparing the message not only sends a clear message but in the end it also saves time as we do not have to spend time replying to questions.

Here are few thing I think we need to concentrate when sending e-mail to large group of people:

1. Does the message clearly address why we are sending it and what information we need to convey?
2. Does it address all the questions we can think that the people receiving the e-mail might have?
3. If the message is informational, does it convey that it is informational people do not have to respond.
4. If the message is about some change in process, does the message have all the advantages that the new process has and is it composed in a positive.
5. If there is no way we are going change the decision does not the message put forth this message in a positive tone. (I thought this was impossible to do, but after learning from manager i feel this can be done in most cases).
6. We do not want to put too much information in the e-mail, so does the message contain pointers for people to find more information about the message if they want.
7. Does it clearly specify e-mail addresses of specific people to contact in case the have questions, this helps in stopping people from just doing a reply-all.

I hope this is helpful.

Week 3.4 E-Commerce and Communication

From page 365 in Chapter 12 authors talk about e-commerce and e-business. I would like share my views on buying online. I make most of my non-routine purchases online.

Most of the electronic items I bought over the last five years are online. I feel this gives me a better chance with making the correct decision.

If we go to a store to purchase and talk to the sales person, I feel that we are talking to someone who has a vested interest in making a sale and might try to make the product sound more impressive than it is. Even though there is a direct (Synchronous) communication here the information might not be complete and is dependent on the sales person's knowledge. The time we get with the sales person depends on how busy the store is.

If we do the same thing online, we get a chance to visit multiple sites and read customer & expert reviews, rating etc., Also we do not need to have a fixed idea on what we need to buy and can try researching various products available before narrowing down our choices. This is not so easy to do in a store as no single store will have same range of products as we have online.

Also, I am more comfortable with pricing online as we get to compare them at various sites and also check easily for deals in sites like deals2buy.com etc., and make the purchase when we are comfortable with pricing.

Internet & e-commerce makes transmission of information like peoples experience with the products etc., available to us easily. Even though there is no guarantee that the information is accurate, i think its better than having no information or views of people already using them.

Week 3.3 Telecommuting & Communication

Page 362 in Chapter 12 talks about the first-level and second-level effects of telecommuting.

The general consensus in a lot of studies today is that people who telecommute full time or on a part time basis are more productive than if they work at office. It also has a positive impact on the environment and gives people time to spend quality time with family by not wasting time in commuting.

From my personal experience, i think telecommuting also improves communication between peers or between employees and managers. At my work place,our group director now works from a remote location and visits office once every fours months for a week. He makes sure that we have a face to face meeting with him each time he visits. This was not the case when he was working from office full time, we hardly ever had any conversation with him. Some of my friends working in other companies also feel that they or their managers normally spend more time communicating with remote teams in different location or countries than people working in the same office, as they feel it is important to communicate with them as they are in present in person all the time and they do not take the issue with same seriousness with people working locally.

Also, I feel people socialize more with people working remotely when they meet in person than with people who work with them in person as they feel they are the host for people working in some other location and visiting.

Week 3.2 Communication & Information Overload

Chapter 12 talks about different types of media. While reading that, I started thinking about how many types of communication mediums I use everyday and its different types.

I normally use e-mail, internet, 3 different types of messengers, cell phone, desk phone, email on cell phone, internet on cell phone. Recently the new additions to this list is a soft phone on the computer that dials using the desk phone from my computer anywhere (VoIP). Companies introduce new things everyday using terms like Unified Communications etc.,. But its very difficult to get rid of the existing tools as people are used to them.

The definition of communication overload is different for different people. In my opinion the more different types of communication tools we use the more distractions there are at work. I know a lot of people would say we have to efficient in using them but individual efficiency in itself might not help most of the times.

These tools even effect our personal life's in a certain way. I do not think many people check their work e-mail at home if they have to log in to work and check if they are not expecting anything important. As we get email on blackberry's etc., we get addicted to using them just because we have them.

Week 3.1 Synchronous & Asynchronous Communication

In Chapter 12, the authors talk about Synchronous and Asynchronous communication. Telephone, cell phone which provide immediate feedback are treated as Synchronous communication and e-mail, voice mail etc., are treated as Asynchronous.

I agree to some extent with the authors in that Asynchronous communication might save time and make it possible for communications to proceed interactively, outside of "real time". But this in my opinion also has some ill effects. A common work place issue today is too much e-mail, so it is very difficult to assume that if something important needs to be communicated e-mail is the best medium due to the volume of e-mail people get. Trying to reach them by phone might have a better success rate in such situations.

Also, due to the ease of sending an e-mail people start using it and send messages that are not needed and some that can be easily misunderstood as some people spend very little time in composing them. Due to lack of attention messages might not always come out properly, leaving the possibility of misunderstanding and confusion leading to more wastage of time. In those situations in person or telephone conversations might be better.

I think both types have their advantages, but proper usage of them determines their success and productivity from them.