From small beginnings

On page 30 some examples are given of how familiar, large-scale organizations grew from small beginnings. There is more information about the history and growth of these organizations at:

Greggs the Bakers: https://www.greggs.co.uk/about

John Lewis Partnership: https://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/about/who-we-are/our-history.html

Aldi: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10343032/Aldi-a-history-of-the-low-cost-supermarket.html

 

Organization charts

This website will show the hierarchy for many large companies. There is a free membership whereby more detailed charts for 15 companies can be seen (see pages 32-8):
www.theofficialboard.com

The organization charts for Telefónica, which are mentioned on page 36, can be found at:

https://www.telefonica.com/en/web/about_telefonica/organisation/executive-team
https://www.telefonica.de/company/management.html
https://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/telefonica

Some other examples of organization charts include:

British Army: https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/
Harvard University: https://oir.harvard.edu/fact-book/org_chart_central
Gorenje: http://ar2011.gorenjegroup.com/new-strategy-2012-2015/measures-for-the-improvement-in-performance/new-organisational-structure/
Skoda: http://www.skoda-js.cz/en/about-company/company-structure.shtml
Sony: https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/Data/organization.html

Job descriptions

See page 38 of the book.

For an example of job descriptions, the UK National Health Service (NHS) has a website with its current vacancies (www.jobs.nhs.uk). Click on any of the jobs and, scrolling towards the bottom, the job description is available amongst other documents supporting the application.

 

Red tape

The UK government’s Red Tape challenge to identify and minimize unnecessary red tape (mentioned on p. 47 ) can be seen at:
http://www.redtapechallenge.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/frequently-asked-questions-faqs/

Examples of where red tape gets in the way of people performing their work can be seen in a number of professions:

Probation service: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jul/27/kenneth-clarke-probation-service
Teaching: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14000093
Police force: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10471566
Social work: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-10788737

Longer reports into red tape in two of these industries are available online:

Berry, J. (2010) Reducing Bureaucracy in Policing. London: Home Office. Available at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/police/reducing-bureaucracy/reduce-bureaucracy-police

Munro, E. (2011) The Munro Review of Child Protection. London: Department for Education. Available at: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/CM%208062

 

Dysfunctions of bureaucracy

Examples of the ‘Computer Says No’ character from Little Britain (see p. 47 of the book) can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJQ3TM-p2QI   
At the bank – note how inflexible she is when asked to do anything outside of what the computer says.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX6hMhL1YsQ&feature=related
At the hospital reception dealing with an urgent admission. Note her long pause after the question ‘What do you think?’

Jobsworth stories where officials have implemented rules that seem petty, and where people have been punished for seemingly minor infringements of the rules, often make the news. For example, in 2011 a pensioner with a disability in Nottinghamshire, UK, was fined £35 for parking in a disabled parking bay with the relevant accreditation badge displayed in the windscreen, but upside down (BBC News, 2011).

On one hand, the rules state that the badge must be legible. Following the rules to the letter, it was correct to issue the fine. However, the overall aim of the rules is to prevent people without the correct accreditation parking in a disabled bay. Here, we can interpret a mismatch between the spirit and aim of the rules, and their rigid implementation. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-13891422 for the full story.

The contemporary environment

On page 51-521 of the book, the changeable nature of the contemporary environment is discussed. These two links show how the contemporary environment impacts the nature of work now, or in the near future. The video is from Peter Cheese, CEO of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, talking about how human resources in organizations are affected by contemporary developments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsATNv2ZGgE

 

Matrix structures at CISCO

See page 52 of the book.

CISCO’s experiments with organizational structures are detailed in the following links:
http://www.centerod.com/2012/02/matrix-management/

http://www.economist.com/node/14303574

See also this article about matrix structures at Unilever:

https://hbr.org/1992/09/inside-unilever-the-evolving-transnational-company