The company under consideration, ROBoInc., experiences specific difficulties resulting from the improper organizational structure and culture. Due to their intention to expand the scope of business activity and the existing issues, global market penetration would be possible only in the case if the CEO solves all of the problems. Therefore, this paper aims to present in detail the methods of the company’s culture and ethics reorganization and suggest a more beneficial structure for the mentioned objectives.
Characteristics of a Shared Ethical Culture
The implementation of a shared ethical culture requires the inclusion of specific characteristics corresponding to the situation of ROBoInc. to ensure that decisions are made both ethically and with consideration of profits. In this case, the principal characteristic is the establishment of a visible role model reflected in strong ethical leadership of the CEO t for a proper decision-making process for employees at all levels (Phillips, 2019). The second characteristic is ethical expectations informing people of the basic principles (Robbins & Judge, 2018). The third characteristic is ethical training which will eliminate consulting work practice alongside with the fourth principle, reward and punishment (Robbins & Judge, 2018). The fifth characteristic will be the development of protective mechanisms facilitating the discussion of one another’s behavior (Robbins & Judge, 2018). The combination of these components will be beneficial for the creation of an ethical culture in ROBoInc.
The Selected Common Ethical Culture
Alongside the mentioned characteristics, it is vital to shape a common ethical culture in the company based on the selected components. From this perspective, the optimal solution would be the independent ethical climate which implies personal responsibility for one’s actions and the establishment of moral guidance (Epley & Kumar, 2019). This design will be added by several elements, more specifically, explicit values, thoughts during judgment, and compliance with cultural norms (Epley & Kumar, 2019). This type of culture seems to be beneficial in terms of addressing the problems of ROBoInc. Thus, the establishment of explicit values will serve as the basic rules of the company, and a thoughtful decision-making process will eliminate the risks of violating ethics. Followed by the introduction of cultural norms, these components will correspond to the general considerations of ethical business.
The Impact of the Global Context on the Ethical Culture
The selected ethical culture will be significantly affected by the global context of ROBoInc. which should be considered as well. The first dimension, power distance, will lead to faster adoption of the instilled values by employees (Robbins & Judge, 2018). The second dimension, individualism and collectivism, will significantly contribute to this process’s success due to the preference of the latter (Robbins & Judge, 2018). The third dimension, uncertainty avoidance, might complicate the establishment of the ethical culture but can be compensated by the managers’ collective efforts (Robbins & Judge, 2018). The fourth dimension, the long-term orientation of the implemented plan, will prove the need for a change for employees (Robbins & Judge, 2018). The fifth dimension, masculinity/femininity, will influence the operations by shifting to the latter, which indicates cooperation (Robbins & Judge, 2018). Therefore, it can be concluded that the dominant impact on the process stems from the management of ROBoInc.
Analysis of the Current Organizational Structure and Culture
The current organizational structure and culture of ROBoInc. present a threat to the efficiency of the company’s operations on the global market. According to the scheme of existing departments and directors controlling them, the structure is simple, with a clear hierarchy, and it indicates the sole responsibility of the latter in the decision-making process (Robbins & Judge, 2018). Considering the expansion plans of ROBoInc. including hiring new personnel, they will not be able to cope with the work in the future. Therefore, they should change it from hierarchy to clan implying the presence of successful leaders and effectiveness achieved through collaboration (Robbins & Judge, 2018). The company’s organizational culture is characterized by varying opinions of employees from different departments that are not coordinated (Robbins & Judge, 2018). This situation implies that the culture is weak and, therefore, should be changed as well.
Key Questions for the Creation of the Organizational Structure and Culture
The successful creation of the organizational culture and structure is conditional upon the selection of appropriate questions allowing to ensure the correspondence of the CEO’s vision to the outcome. Thus, for the selected structure, it is vital to inquire about the following: To whom do individuals and groups report? To what degree will there be rules and regulations to direct employees and managers? As for the culture, the important questions are: Do individuals from different areas need to regularly interact? On what basis will jobs be grouped together?
The Importance of Ethical Leadership and a New Structure
The establishment of a new organizational structure is possible only in the case of the proper guidance provided by the CEO and managers. Therefore, ethical leadership takes a central role in the process since it serves for the provision of uniform rules to the employees (Epley & Kumar, 2019). For ROBoInc., the optimal structure would be a boundaryless organization as it implies the delegation of responsibilities to workers engaged in specific issues rather than the distribution of tasks between the departments (Robbins & Judge, 2018). Considering the current scheme, it would be more beneficial to substitute the existing entities by groups of employees cooperating with one another instead of reporting to directors. It fully corresponds to the company’s current needs and increases the flexibility and, therefore, the efficiency of their cooperation.
Conclusion
To summarize, ROBoInc. is a company which needs a row of internal innovations, more specifically, the change in the organizational structure and culture. This necessity is defined by the non-compliance of these components to its global objectives. In this situation, the best solution is a boundaryless structure and an ethical culture based on integrity, loyalty, and personal responsibility. They will be successfully implemented in the case of active participation of the CEO and managers in the process and the adoption of ethical leadership by them.
References
Epley, N., & Kumar, A. (2019). How to design an ethical organization. Harvard Business Review. Web.
Phillips, C. (2019). Six characteristics of an ethical business. Chron. Web.
Robbins, S., & Judge, T. (2018). Organizational behavior (18th ed.). Pearson.