Background
Copious is an online retail company that employs virtual teams in its management Virtual teams are common in today’s workforce especially as more organizations move to a management-by-projects approach. It is easy to use each of the VT meetings as an opportunity for team building (Farahmandlou, 2018). There is shared power among VT members, and greater trust and rapport, as everyone is viewed more equally than in a collocated setting in which one’s status, age, and experience are easily known. Since people are not collocated, VTs are often desired because members view them as a way to become effectively engaged and actively contribute to a project with minimal administrative structure and bureaucracy (Heller, 2020). VTs concentrate on interactive communications with a communications plan specifying how and when communications will take place.
Tara: Chief Opportunity Officer & Communication Director
Chief Communication Officers can have many different responsibilities including corporate communications, reputation management, leadership communications, internal communications, and counseling top managers in decision-making processes. Therefore, their role is now closely linked to CEO’s and their power in driving the overall business success is significant. Moreover, CCOs are getting recognized for their role in driving day-to-day business results.
The changes in CCOs’ duties and responsibilities have been impacted by the changing nature of communications with different stakeholders (Heller, 2020). Also, business communication is much harder to plan than it used to be, which is why agile communication is one of the biggest strategic priorities. More and more, communication happens spontaneously, and the flow of information happens much faster. It is the CCO’s responsibility to adapt to these changes by rethinking their existing communication strategies.
Sheridan: Chief Administrative Officer & CFO
Chief Administrative Officers and chief financial officer (CFO) most often work with other top-level executives, such as the chief executive officer (CEO). Their main responsibilities can be anything from budgeting to hiring, contracting, development of policies and procedures and many other tasks. They oversee day-to-day operations of a company or organization. Chief Administrative Officers and chief financial officer (CFO) most often work with other top-level executives, such as the chief executive officer (CEO) (Farahmandlou, 2018). Their main responsibilities can be anything from budgeting to hiring, contracting, development of policies and procedures and many other tasks. They oversee day-to-day operations of a company or organization. The CFO’s duties include tracking cash flow and financial planning as well as analyzing the company’s financial strengths and weaknesses and proposing corrective actions.
Angela: HR Officer
Human resources (HR) officers are responsible for hiring, developing and looking after employees. This involves functions such as training and monitoring performance. HR officers can be generalists who perform a broad range of duties, or specialists who focus on a particular area (Farahmandlou, 2018). Specialisms include employee relations, careers coaching, health and safety and headhunting. A good human resources employee develops and manages their company’s culture, and their role is at the core of a company’s success.
Trina: Chief Operating Officer
The chief operating officer (COO) is a senior executive tasked with overseeing the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of a business. The COO typically reports directly to the CEO and is considered to be second in the chain of command (Farahmandlou, 2018). Depending on the CEO’s preference, the COO often handles a company’s internal affairs, while the CEO functions as the public face of the company, and thereby handles all outward-facing communication.
Heinz: CEO & Chief Compliance Officer
The CEO is responsible for the overall success of a business entity or other organization and for making top-level managerial decisions. They may ask for input on major decisions, but they are the ultimate authority in making final decisions (Farahmandlou, 2018). They also report directly to the Board of Directors on company’s performance (Heller, 2020). The Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) oversees and manages compliance issues within their company or organization. The CCO ensures that the organization is in compliance with various regulatory requirements and that employees are in adherence with internal procedures and policies. The CCO coordinates with different departments including internal audit, employee services, and risk management, among others, to ensure that compliance issues are fleshed out, investigated, and resolved.
Carlos: Chief Research & Legal Officer
Today’s chief legal officer (CLO) is multidimensional, no longer just an exceptional legal tactician. A CLO is also a strategic thinker and a senior executive, operating at the highest and most impactful level of the company. To be successful in the top legal officer role, a CLO should divide his or her time between “four faces;” Strategist, Catalyst, Guardian, and Operator (Farahmandlou, 2018).
As a strategist, you are in the position to bring your business partners clear legal strategy that supports and enables business strategy. A catalyst enables competitive advantage by bringing a legal lens and the critical guidance needed to facilitate the executive leadership team’s ability to select the right path forward and set the tone at the top for the business. In guardian mode, they are expected to guide legal and regulatory matters for the business, navigating complexity while mitigating risk. This is the foundational responsibility for the chief legal officer role and in-house legal team. As an operator, they need to spend much of their time focusing on how to build a strong legal operations function, optimizing the capabilities, talent, service levels, costs, and legal structure required to best serve your business partners.
Ryan: Sales & Marketing Director
A director of sales and marketing’s responsibilities revolve around overseeing the sales, budgets, and all programs related to marketing. They must implement budget goals and revenue targets, evaluate the progress of the various teams, participate in securing sales and reaching out to high profile clients, and even negotiate contracts (Heller, 2020). Furthermore, they have the discretion to assign pricing and discounts, strategize ways to build a more substantial client base, and lead a team of skilled professionals to boost sales and improve client satisfaction.
Organizational Structure of Copious
Copious.com organizational structure can be classified as hierarchical. Senior management team comprises of a seven people headed by the CEO. An organizational structure is a system that outlines how certain activities are directed to achieve the goals of an organization (Rutstein, 2018). These activities can include rules, roles, and responsibilities. The organizational structure also determines how information flows between levels within Copious.com.
Copious Chain of Command
In an organizational structure, “chain of command” refers to a company’s hierarchy of reporting relationships, from the bottom to the top of an organization, who must answer to whom. The chain of command not only establishes accountability, it lays out a company’s lines of authority and decision-making power (Rutstein, 2018). A proper chain of command ensures that every task, job position and department has one person assuming responsibility for performance.
References
Farahmandlou, A. (2018). Portfolio management roles and responsibilities. The Handbook of Project Portfolio Management, 167- 172. Web.
Heller, A. (2020). Guidelines, roles, and responsibilities. Team Workbook Your Guide to Developing An Ergonomics Process, 49- 74. Web.
Rutstein, A. (2018). Chain of command. Women in Higher Education, 27(9), 6- 6. Web.