The presentation was created as a part of the course work for MSc in Information Systems and Management program at Warwick Business School. In this assignment, we analyzed the international office at university of warwick for leadership style and structure.
Organizational Analysis of International Office at University of WarwickPresentation
1. International Office
MSc. Information Systems and Management
Syndicate Group 2
Warwick Business School
17th November 2011
2. Agenda
Goals
Overview of International Office (IO)
IO Structure
Data Collection Methods
Models and Theories
Results
Interpretation
Conclusion and Learning
3. Goals
Overall understanding of International Office
Analyze the structure and style of the
International Office
Collect as much data as possible through surveys,
interviews and observation
Analyze and interpret the results
Reflect on our approach
4. Project Plan
Week 1
Week 2
Contact IO Week 3
& negotiate Decide Week 4
a meeting on Conduct
with Director. models & interviews
Form sub- theories with assistant Analyze &
groups. to be used. directors & interpret
Discuss which Prepare staff the results.
aspects of questions and forward Prepare the
organization for the the online final
to analyze. online survey. survey. presentation.
5. Overview of IO
Attract international students to Warwick (through education
fairs, regional offices, overseas agents etc)
Help international students throughout the recruitment process
Build and maintain partnerships with other universities
(Boston, Monash etc)
Provide services to current international students (weekly trips
etc.)
Provide visa and immigration advice
Exchange, Visiting, ERASMUS and JYA student programmes
8. Models and Theories
McKinsey 7s Model
Weisbord’s Six-box organizational model
Child, J.’s theory on Organizational Structure
Mechanistic or Organic
Leadership and Power
11. Survey Results
Part of Total
Aspect Average Interpretation Reference
Survey Score
Score below 4,the neutral Analysis based on
point,indicates lack of
Structure Part I 10.26 2.57 problem and that organization
Organizational
Diagnosis
is well structured. Questionnaire
(ODQ) by Robert
Score below 4,the neutral
Leadership point,indicates lack of
C.Preziosi
Part II 9.47 1.89 problem and that organization
(Weisbord’s Six-Box
(Weisbord) is well managed by leaders
Organizational
Model) http://www.g-
rap.org/docs/ICB/
Preziosi%20-%20Organ.
Score below 4 indicates lack of
Relationships Part III 8.05 1.61 problem
%20Diagnosis
%20Questionnaire
%20ODQ.pdf
A Score of 33 indicates that
Mechanistic/ the organization is a mix of
Adapted from
Part IV 32.68 Mechanistic and Organic
Wilem, Buelens and
Organic features
Devos
Score below 4,the neutral
Leadership point,indicates lack of
Part V 18.95 1.89 problem and that organization
Taken from Bosch
(Bosch) is well managed by leaders
12. Interview Results
Structure:
Hierarchical structure: decisions made at the top with senior
management, however staff opinions are taken seriously
Information Flow: bottom to top, emails and face-to-face
Span of Control: narrow
13. Interview Results
Style:
Leadership: informal style, employees given lot of autonomy,
supportive, senior management like to be kept informed but they
are not overbearing
Relationships: conflicting views on the open floor plan
Conflicts: exist but not personal, easily resolved through
discussion
Teams: staff work in teams within department, each team knows
what they are doing and are given autonomy
15. Quotes from the Interviews
On communication:
“... cross-departmental communication can be improved ...”
“... there is no formal forum for senior officers across departments ...”
“If it something directly to do with their job, I would expect them to go to their line
manager first, and then for the line managers to come to me.”
On relationships:
“I can trust my colleagues to see things through.”
“When something works and it works well, that I don’t want to disturb things just for my ego...my
colleagues deserve better.”
“No one is what we call [on] a ‘power trip’, people abuse their positions. It doesn’t happen here.”
“Great leadership skills...they seem to let you do your things.”
17. Quotes, continued
On space:
“Used to have offices [Coventry House] which was more social...this
set-up...made it become very formal...very different way of working.”
“...not negative” - on the open plan layout
“People put up barriers whether there are barriers there or not.”
“I occasionally wish that there was a room to go to when you are
reading a report or need to concentrate...”
“Open plan is very good...senior level...are willing to be what we call
‘in the mix’.”
18. Interpretation
A balancing act?
Differentiation/Integration: the office is functionally divided into four
departments, and specialization exists within departments (albeit not to a high
degree)
Control/Autonomy: a narrow span of control. A level of autonomy exists in
that staff are trusted to complete their work
Centralization/Decentralization: the office is centralized. The ADs meet
regularly. Information flows upward
Mechanistic or Organic?
There exists individual specialization and simple integrating mechanisms, but there is
also a degree of mutual adjustment
19. Interpretation
Groups or teams?
The IO refers to their employees as working in teams
Katzenbach and Smith (1993), on the difference between groups and teams
What kind of leadership?
Stephen Luke’s First Face of Power
Leaders at the IO are Socialized Charismatic leaders (Howell & House, 1992)
According to House’s Path-Goal Theory of Leadership (1971), leadership
style at the IO tends to lean more towards being Achievement-Oriented
20. Conclusion
Questions
Is the success of the IO based on the leadership styles that are
currently in place? Note: the International Office has highest employee
satisfaction (as per the director, from annual university survey, verified from
interviews and survey)
Would IO benefit from properly implementing integration
mechanisms? e.g.: forum for cross-department senior employees or cross
functional teams
Does the open plan office design contribute to communication or
does it constrict the level of interaction? e.g.: Scrutiny of employees,
invasion of personal space
21. Challenges
Time:
Short time span to complete analysis
Limited time with IO staff due to busy schedules
Online survey not completed by all staff:
Some people away from office (overseas/leave)
Limited interviews:
Time and availability constraints
22. Learning
Analysis is a complex task
Need to ask right questions
Cannot just rely on what you hear, need to observe and ‘think out
of the box’
Lots of conflicting views and opinions and at times people just tell
you what you want to hear
Feedback showed that some of the questions were confusing/
unclear to some employees
23. How can we improve ?
Comments on the survey
“Sorry too much text book jargon - sat on the fence for a lot of questions.”
“I have only been in the role for a very short time.”
“The questions in section 4 were unclear, hence I left them blank.”
Rethink the wording of the survey questions, make them more clear, provide help
text etc.
More time for observations, rather than relying on what we were told
How organization aligns with the environment ?
