PART 6

The Organization

Integration and Disintegration

•At some point the work gets to large for one manager and need to be split.

•Problems due to disintegration–The people not being part of the same group

anymore.

How to divide

• There are a number of ways to split an org– By Discipline – HW/SW etc.– By Stage/Phase – design/implementation

etc.– By project type– By product (pure project?)

• Make sure the pieces can be put back together.

Support Teams

• Used to fill positions not always needed in one project.

• E.g. marketing.

• Larger support team = harder to deal with

The Integrator

• Used to coordinate the groups• Need to have an eye for

– Costs– Customer needs– Quality (competive superiority?)

• May be seen as infridging if not official

Interesting questions• Should we split large good

teams?• How to divide? Is some way

better than another? • Is there another way to divide?• What happends if the integrator

isn’t official?

MANAGING SIZE

Managing Size

• Larger companies have larger organization.

• We will focus more on the higher levels of management.

First short discussion

• Why do companies want to grow?

Definition of roles

Top Managment

Senior Manager

Senior Manager

Senior Manager

Project Manager

Project Manager

Employee

Employee

Project Manager

Project Manager

Employee

Employee

Employee

Effects of increasing size

• Size leads to specialization Specialized departments “This must belong to someone else”

• Centralized decision making Less ideas and influence (inhibits innovation)

Problems of size

• Top managers must rely on there managers for much of their communication.

• Problems with orders from top.

Indirect communication

• Misunderstandings

• Ask for clarification

• Only follow simpler instructions

Span of control

• Senior managers become too busy.• Management by delegation.• Moving decisions to the competence.• Delegating of decision must be followed

and respected.

Possible problems ofSpan of control

• Trespassing of authority– “Who shall I listen to?”– Uncertainty of decision power.

Top-influence of decisions

Employee (manager) visits his boss to get his view of a decision he have the authority to take.

• Top steered– Manager has to follow his boss’ opinion.

• Open– Managers uses the boss’ opinion in the

decision like anyone else's.Manager is responsible for result.

Responsibility of responsibility

• Decisions have to match the company’s goals.

• Authority-Responsibility-Result

Management Communication

• Higher managers translates business goals into directions that the technical people can understand.

Indirect Leadership

• “Lead rather than direct”

• Senior managers must really careful convince subordinate mangers.

Leadership Priorities

• Senior managers should stick to goals and objectives.

• What? Why? Who? Instead of how.

Discussion

• How can project managers use this knowledge?

• Is there a problem in promoting people?

• Engineers are bad as senior managers.

Politics (1/4)

• Political behavior done to gain power• Also done to distribute power to more people• “Conflicts and contention are natural and have to be dealt with

openly..”• ”..honest political behavior is a natural and healthy part of this

process.”

Politics: Behaving (2/4)

• Powerful people act directly, powerless resolve to political behavior to enhance their influence

• Manipulative and dishonest• But it is fully appropriate to seek allies and support• People will misrepresent the facts to make their point of view

look good• Any attempt to make final decision without involving all

contending parties is dishonest

Politics: Different forms (3/4)

• Different forms of political groups

• Cliques and coalitions, takes long time to build but the result will mostly lead to good decisions

• Important to keep members updated and informed until goal is reached, other ways members can change their mind

• Co-opting: Make an influential member of opposition take important role in proposal.

Politics: Bureaucracy (4/4)

• To handle routine tasks as paying checks and heating building

• Senior manager can not attend so they set up routines

• Good, but it is very hard to change something in routines. Often involving the top management

• Bureaucrats natural behavior is to oppose to everything

• If not balanced power too much time will be spent on fighting

• Bureaucracies foster bureaucracies and causes so much psudowork that they seem busy. Key is to find staff not working and get rid of them.

Time for discussion so wake up!

• Is it ok to use political behavior?

• What impact does this have on a PM that is voted down by a coalition of workers?

• Is it necessary to use politics even in countries that support the group decision taking?

• Bureaucracy is good for the morale!

POWER IS RELATIVE

Affects of power

• Common conception – people’s performance is affected by managers style managers´ opinion is based on subordinates performance

• Kipnis´ study contradicts the common conception evaluation of the employees reflects the style of the manager not only personally but professionally

Authority

• Formal power given to PM by top management

• Includes authority to hire, fire set salaries and job assignments

• Easy come, easy gone• Hard acceptance when the power is taken

from them.

Blind obedience

• Since manager was put in the manager position his word is the law

• Easier to fold in line then break out

Use and abuse of power

• Those with less power are often more authoritarian towards their subordinates. Study of US Air Force

• Using power to successfully impose your will on others leads to it repeating again. /Kipnis

• Intimidation (threats) as power leverage• If the threat is materialized the power is gone• People adapt quick to gain or loss of power /Lieberman

study• “power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts

absolutely” Lord Acton• Example: “The Wave” and The Black Team

Power of information

• Giving inadequate documentation leads to gaining some power

• When the information is out, the leverage is lost.

• The ones that control the information flow, has the control. Se Merovingian in matrix

Managing power relationships (1/3)

• Organizations depend on order and structure to be effective

• Entropy – disorder of a system• Physical law states: natural systems

tends towards increasing entropy, same for companies.

• Wanted scenario, when there is an parent – parent relationship between manager and subordinate.

Managing power relationships (2/3)

• Bad case scenario. Having a parent – child relationship

• If the subordinate is behaving childish– Acknowledge the subordinates concerns

and respect their opinion– Motivate your decision and ask for their

expertise. – Lay down a plan and ask for their help

solving it

Managing power relationships (3/3)

• If the superior is behaving like a parent– Express your understanding for superiors needs.– Make it clear that you understand and accept the

superiors authority and seeking to meet the objective

– Explain to the superior that the request is a challenge and you will needing time to review it and making a plan for it

– Acquire the information about time needed for the change and the answers to questions you might have about the assignment.

Discussion

• Power corrupts?• Managers word is the teams law?• Less power leads to more authoritarian

leadership style?• Using threats to gain power• To share or hold the information?• Managing relationships, what would you

do?