Strategic Management Professional Development Portfolio

This document discusses the concept of a Strategic Professional Development Portfolio (PDP) and its importance in personal and professional growth. It explores the different chapters and their relevance to a manager's role, providing insights into strengths and areas for improvement. The document also highlights the need for future development in cross-cultural communication and mindfulness.

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Strategic Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Task 1: A Strategic Professional Development Portfolio (PDP).....................................................3
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
2. Critical Reflection........................................................................................................................4
2.1 Myself being a Manager........................................................................................................4
2.2 Past experience in relevance to the Chapters.........................................................................7
2.3 Areas for future development................................................................................................9
1) Cross-cultural communication:...........................................................................................9
2) Mindfulness:........................................................................................................................9
3) Bureaucratic-corporate culture:.........................................................................................10
3. Personal Action Plan..................................................................................................................11
Short-term goals (8-12 months):................................................................................................11
Medium-term goals (12-24 months):.........................................................................................11
Long-term goals (2 years +):.....................................................................................................11
References with annotation............................................................................................................12
Appendices....................................................................................................................................15
Task 2- Strategic management project..........................................................................................28
CONSENT LETTER.....................................................................................................................29
1. Introduction................................................................................................................................31
The company background......................................................................................................31

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Business Case Analysis.........................................................................................................32
The Structural causes:............................................................................................................34
2.Literature Review.......................................................................................................................35
The organizational culture and design...................................................................................35
The industry outlook..............................................................................................................36
The vertical strategy in the organization...............................................................................37
3.Analysis / Restructure.................................................................................................................37
The need for restructure:........................................................................................................37
The proposed solution:..........................................................................................................38
The benefits of the horizontal organizational structure:........................................................38
The monitoring......................................................................................................................39
4.Conclusion..................................................................................................................................39
Bibliography with Annotation.......................................................................................................40
Appendices....................................................................................................................................44

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Task 1: A Strategic Professional Development Portfolio (PDP)
1. Introduction
Professional development plan (PDP) is an organized approach towards the attainment of
pre-determined goals and skills that may be required to gain competent progress in terms of both
personal and professional life (Baker et al. 2018). In corporate world, success of any business
rely heavily on its human capital and their efficiency to deliver to their potentials.
PDP is like a self-reflection tool that provides opportunities to know about the self-
strengths and weaknesses. This informs an individual on the needs to undergo the training and
conduct or follow the self-development plans (Rauf et al. 2018). In the era of globalization,
organization aims to enhance productivity and reduce cost by applying several tools and
techniques like performance appraisals. This is why performance appraisals have gained
popularity in recent time and has gained universal recognition for developing competitive
advantage. However, many researchers also criticize performance management done this way.
To these researchers performance appraisals are not the idle solution to enhance organizational
productivity. They argue that in performance appraisals conclusions and results are reached
much later than it actually happened (Rauf et al. 2018). Hence, it impacts the review process and
the ratings as well.
Professional development plan (PDP) is still considered an effective strategy to pursue
personal and professional development of skills. A professional development plan is an action

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plan that provides opportunities designing the intended goals and skills over different period of
time. The plan is divided into short, medium and long-term goals. Nevertheless, this could
further be revised after regular consultation with managers. Such consultation helps know the
strengths and weak zones (Eddy, Eddy and Doughty 2015). However, the success of the
professional development plans depend on two factors. One of these factors is the analytical
capability of the line managers’ understanding of the designed goals. The other factor being the
proximity of the required support from the line manager.
Being the Manager for an MNC, I can identify the benefits that PDP has generated for
me. PDP has helped me to enhance my skills a bit. Moreover, I am now feeling motivated to
further my development process and attain my professional goal. My professional goal is of
course to serve a managerial position. PDP according to me is an action plan that slowly and
gradually helps to move closer to the final goal. I see PDP working excellently well when
distributed over short, middle and long-term goals.
2. Critical Reflection
2.1 Myself being a Manager
Being the manager in an MNC, I tend to develop skills and expertise with a structured
framework. I do this to achieve efficiency-driven key performance indicators (KPIs). One of the

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examples of KPIs is cost optimization goals. In a similar way, Chapter 1 reflect similar
characteristic in me. The chapter awarded me a score of 18 points for structure. This proves the
machinist style in me. (Ranjan 2017) too believes that the structural frame influences one’s
attitude and perception in the organizations. This in turn contributes to workplace culture and the
organizational success. Moreover, structural frame is more important for newer managers. I
scored 21 points for ‘Symbolic’. This means I would not have to learn symbols to shape the
cultural values at the later part of my career as the manager. I scored 11 for the Human Resource
frame. A human resource frame is required for newer managers. While at the later stage of the
career as a Manager, the political frame is highly required. In this frame, I scored 10, which
suggests an improvement is needed in this account. Political skills can be developed over a
period of experience as the manager. Political skills help to politically handle a situation to be
able to reduce the possible barriers of decisions.
My score of 6:2 over Formulator just suggests that I am more a strategic implementer
than a formulator. Strategic implementer are expertise in appropriately utilizing organizational
resources and implementing strategies. Nevertheless, the percentage of organizations failing to
implement strategies is high (Ranjan 2017). As opined by Park (2015), formulator are more
capable in formulating strategies. Formulated strategies may be highly innovative; however,
more than half of such strategies fail because of an ineffective implementation.
Chapter 3 is oriented with teamwork. My score of 4 in the chapter indicates that although
I am comfortable working in a team as well as alone. I am flexible with situations. At times I am
more into teamwork wherein at some other point of time I am a solo performer.
The Chapter 4 is on ‘Mind and Environment’. I scored 5 points; however, the ideal score
for being mindful is less than 5. I disagree with the views presented in this chapter. It says that

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managers working as strategic implementer will be less capable in mindfulness. My argument to
this is evidenced in a general business situation these days. Following just the structured
framework will not alone help as managers are also required to think beyond this to avoid
uncertainties affecting the organizational productivity. Strategic implementer knows how to use
well the structured frameworks. They also know how to adjust with situation other than those
guided by the framework (Park 2015).
The Chapter 5 is on ‘Personal Networking’. I scored 7 points for this Chapter. The ideal
score for this Chapter should be 7 or even above. This means I am very active in networking.
Score from Chapter 6 (scored 2-4) shows that I possess a good cultural intelligence. I understand
the diverse business situations. However, I fall short in living up to my expectations of a good
communicator while dealing verbally and non-verbally with colleagues from diverse cultures.
This is also evidenced in my score of Chapter 6. I scored 2 points for ‘Behavioural CQ’.
Behavioural CQ should be 3 or more than that in order to exhibit the skills to effectively
communicate in cross-cultural business scenario both verbally and non-verbally (O'Neill,
Beauvais and Scholl 2016).
I scored 4 points for each ‘A’ and ‘B’ for Chapter 7. This suggests that I have a balanced
processing style. This further means that I am suitable for both manufacturing and service
organisations. In ‘Chapter 8’ I scored 6 out of 9, which suggests that I have a positive behaviour
for goal setting. I believe goal setting is ineffective until and unless being followed with a clear
vision. I find myself not just good at setting goals but also adhering to it. My score for Chapter 9
is 7 points. This indicates that I am more than comfortable working with larger and reputed
organisations. Plant et al. (2016) says that goal-setting is a challenging process to conduct.

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I scored a higher marks for ‘Bureaucratic Culture’ for Chapter 10. I scored 13 points.
Bureaucratic culture is actually mostly practiced across the global organisations. I scored 6
points for Chapter 11. The score suggests that I am very innovative and will be the first to adapt
to the changes. My score of 3 points for Chapter 12 falls within (+3 to -5). This suggests that
intuition and a satisficing model is my dominant approach when making major decisions. This
also means that I am capable to serve a higher managerial position in the organisation. This is
because intuitive decision-making is more common with the CEO of a company or other higher
managers (Guiso, Sapienza and Zingales 2015).
Chapter 13 (scored 6 out of 8) I am good in political skills. However, I need to work on my
communication skills. I am not so comfortable communicating effectively with people from
diverse culture.
2.2 Past experience in relevance to the Chapters
There are reasons for why my score for ‘Structure’ in Chapter 1 was very good. In past
while working as a project engineer I could efficiently prioritise between 5 different projects at
different locations and accordingly handle the projects.
The score for Chapter 2 declares me a ‘Strategic Implementer’. I am rightly so as I have
always been using my strategic mythologies while dealing with contractors and clients being an
MEP consultant. I used to deal for cost estimations and also for post contract works.
Chapter 3 identified me as ‘Comfortable Working in a Team and also Alone’. In my
previous company as a Project Engineer, I was able to manage a team of technicians in complex
projects. Indeed, it is difficult to keep the team members motivated in time constraint projects. I

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currently work as an MEP consultant. I am comfortable working alone since my work is to deal
with the commercial aspect of the construction engineering.
Chapter 4 figured me as having a ‘Higher Level of Mindfulness’. Engineering sector has
always been very unstable. Stability has always been a concern for the construction industry,
which I am a part of. It shows I am mindful to sudden and drastic changes in the market.
Chapter 5 found me as ‘Active in Networking’. It is very much evidenced in my work
nature. From previous experiences as a project engineer to an MEP consultant, I had worked
with several clients, contractors and consultants.
Chapter 6 suggests that I am good at ‘Cultural Intelligence’. I have to deal with people
from diverse cultural backgrounds both in office and outside. I have been successful in
maintaining the office decorum while interacting with these diverse people.
Chapter 7 identifies me as feasible for both ‘Manufacturing and Service’. In all my
previous projects I maintained a balanced workflow by dealing with projects both intuitively and
analytically.
Chapter 8 identified me as good in ‘Goal Setting’. In every previous projects that I
assigned to, I have carefully planned those projects including appropriate setting of goals and
time frame. I was able to mitigate risks successfully throughout the life cycle of the projects.
Chapter 9 found me as comfortable working with ‘Large-Size Organisations’. It is true as
I have always worked with multinational companies. I never had any trouble coping up to
different work environments.

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Chapter 10 identifies me as strong in ‘Bureaucratic Culture’. The organisation where I
currently work follows a clan culture. They have common values and goals. However, while
dealing with clients and other stakeholders I try to bring the bureaucratic environment as close to
a clan culture. However, I often fail while dealing with it.
Chapter 11 found me good in ‘Innovation’. There is a frequent change in strategy and
technology every single year in my sector. I need to quickly decide and implement these changes
to help my department remain competent and maintain international standards.
Chapter 12 declared me a ‘Decision-Maker’. There were at times when few projects
reached close to the critical delay line, I was able to use my intuitive thinking to bring the project
on track.
Chapter 13 says that I am good at ‘Political Skills’. I need to use the political skills in me
to deal with certain clients to get their approval on the projects.
2.3 Areas for future development
1) Cross-cultural communication:
Conrado et al. (2016) says that communicating with cross-cultural teams is a real tester of
managerial skills. I have a good understanding of cultural intelligence. However, I need to work
on to improve my communication skills with culturally different people. To be able to become a
good communicator I need to understand the level of understanding of people whom I interact
with. It is important that I behave accordingly with them. It means behaving professional with
people who are professionals and casual with those who like being casuals.

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2) Mindfulness:
Mindfulness is about remembering things that happen in a given environment. I am
currently working as an MEP consultant. I have been good in handling sudden changes in the
market. It shows my capability as being mindful to different situations. However, I still need to
work on it to further my skills in mindfulness. For this I need more projects as this will provide
me opportunities to interact with different clients. Moreover, I will get opportunities to work on
distinguished circumstances.
3) Bureaucratic-corporate culture:
I need to work hard to become adaptable to the bureaucratic corporate culture. Conrado
et al. (2016) suggest that managers dominant in bureaucratic culture are mostly organised in
dealing with diverse business situations and making decisions. For this, I must figure out the
challenges that I faced earlier in past while strategising a bureaucratic culture into a clan culture.
This will help me understand the areas of weaknesses. By setting appropriate objectives I can be
able to transform a bureaucratic culture into a clan culture.

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3. Personal Action Plan
Short-term goals (8-12 months):
Try to work on
many projects and
interact with
people from
diverse cultures
I need to complete
each of my
projects within
their deadline and
deliver the quality
as committed
The number of
different projects
would help me
learn how to be
mindful with
diverse situations.
In doing so I will
also be able to
improve my
communication
skills
Dec, 2019 15th June 2020
Medium-term goals (12-24 months):
With time I would
learn how to
convert a
bureaucratic
culture into a clan
culture
I would work on
how to improve
communication
between people in
the hierarchy in a
bureaucratic
culture
I would try and
recommend my
current
department to
follow a
functional
structure with
horizontal
linkages instead
of the current
hierarchical
structure
A functional
structure with
horizontal
linkages is very
handful to
promote effective
communication
between people in
the structure
25th June 2020 May, 2020

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Long-term goals (2 years +):
Executing the
functional
structure
Identifying its
possible
challenges
Learning from
other companies
how they tackle
such challenges
Mitigating these
challenges
June, 2020 Oct, 2022

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References with annotation
1. Baker, J., Chaseling, M., Boyd, W. and Shipway, B. (2018). Teachers’ response to a new
mandatory professional development process: does it make a difference?. Professional
Development in Education, 44(4), pp.570-582.
The authors under this article point to a professional development framework being
adopted by the New South Wales Department of Education. The article covers the
experience of five different teaching staffs of the implemented framework.
2. Conrado, S.P., Neville, K., Woodworth, S. and O’Riordan, S. (2016). Managing social media
uncertainty to support the decision making process during emergencies. Journal of Decision
Systems, 25(sup1), pp.171-181.
The article illustrates the significance of social media and networks in exchange of
information over a specified network. The article identifies that social media sites
generate information, which can be used in decision-making.
3. Eddy, A., Eddy, D. and Doughty, J. (2015). Evidencing continual professional development:
maximising impact and informing career planning. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation
Sciences, 46(4), pp.361-364.
The article establishes a fact that continuing professional development (CPD) does not
only influence an individuals’ professional competence but also boost employee
motivation and job satisfaction.
4. Guiso, L., Sapienza, P. and Zingales, L. (2015). The value of corporate culture. Journal of
Financial Economics, 117(1), pp.60-76.

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The authors under this article states that corporate culture dimensions have an influence
on a firm’s performance. It additionally highlights that organizational performance is
stronger when top managers are ethical and trustworthy.
5. O'Neill, J.W., Beauvais, L.L. and Scholl, R.W. (2016). The use of organizational culture and
structure to guide strategic behavior: An information processing perspective. Journal of
Behavioral and Applied Management, 2(2), p.816.
The article illustrate in the form of a descriptive model the roles and relationships of
organisational structure and organisational culture in guiding employees towards strategic
objectives.
6. Park, R. (2015). Employee participation and outcomes: Organizational strategy does
matter. Employee Relations, 37(5), pp.604-622.
One of the purposes of this article is to highlight a moderating role of organisational
strategy in the relationship between organisational commitment and employee
participation.
7. Plant, S.E., Tyson, S.F., Kirk, S. and Parsons, J. (2016). What are the barriers and facilitators
to goal-setting during rehabilitation for stroke and other acquired brain injuries? A systematic
review and meta-synthesis. Clinical rehabilitation, 30(9), pp.921-930.
Under this article the authors identify the facilitators and barriers to goal-setting during
rehabilitation process for stroke and other forms of acquired brain injuries.
8. Ranjan, P. (2017). Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour. Journal of
HR, Organizational Behaviour & Entrepreneurship Development, 1(1), pp.8-12.

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Under this article the author illustrate the importance of team building in an organisation.
The human resource management is believed to have an impact on teamwork
development in the organisations.
9. Rauf, P.A., Ali, S.K.S., Aluwi, A. and Noor, N.A.M. (2018). The effect of school culture on
the management of professional development in secondary schools in Malaysia. MOJES:
Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 2(3), pp.41-52.
The author describes the influence of school culture on managing professional
development in secondary schools in Malaysia.

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Appendices

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TOTAL WORD COUNT: 2,581

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Task 2- Strategic management project

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CONSENT LETTER
To
The Course Supervisor
The organization D.G Jones has provided me the permission as an employee of the same firm. I
work as an engineer consultant in the company and has permitted to conduct a relevant
assignment about the company. The company has also given me the liberty to use the properties
keeping in terms with all the regulations. The information received will be used as confidential
and completely for the academic purpose.
Yours Sincerely,
Student’s Name

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Executive Summary
The aim of the report is to emphasize on the need of having an appropriate organizational design
and the structure. The report uses the case study of D.G Jones & Partners which is a famous
Middle Eastern construction consultancy company. In this report, the knowledge of the
organizational structure is drawn from the scholarly articles. The SWOT analysis and the Daft
analysis is also done to provide better insight into the challenges the department is facing. The
business case also reveals that there is improper coordination between the engineering
department and the top executive managers. The study suggests that the department is facing
challenges due to the vertical linkage. Hence, a horizontal organizational structure is proposed to
address the issues. The D.G Jones & Partner can consider this structure and implement for better
coordination and communication.

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1. Introduction
The company background
In the year 1962, the company was formed by Donald G Jones with a vision to support
the Middle East with a special service. The services were aimed to provide the customers with
cost-friendly and effective solution fulfilling the requirements of the customers. This particular
construction project consultancy is built on the professional staffs who are working beyond the
local offices in order to integrate the collective knowledge around the region and establish an
unequalled and leading Middle Eastern company. Since the beginning, the D.G Jones & Partners
has consistently operated in the Middle East and it is the only professional construction
consultancy specialized in the Project Management and Quantity Surveying along with the
extensive value added services. The company first opened in Beirut. The department has
gradually grown organically and now it has more than ten offices in the Middle East.
The vision of the company is to become the most desired name among the constriction
consultants. The mission of the company is to provide the value added services which leads to
the exceptional outcomes for the customers. The core values of the department are the
excellence, the ethics, the people and the independence. The engineering department has
provided high quality services to the customers with the support of 55 years. The professional
integrity of the department is in compliance with the international standards and the codes of
conduct too. The people are the primary strength of the department and it consists of the staffs,
the partners and the shareholders. All the senior staffs and the project managers are

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professionally qualified. The Quantity surveyors, the engineers, the arbitrators are the biggest
assets of the company. In the present report, I will represent the case of the engineering
department of D.G Jones where due to the lack of proper communication and coordination,
deadlines of the projects are missing rapidly and relationships with the clients and stakeholders
are worsening. I am the consultant engineer and have been given the responsibility of finding out
the issue in the business structure and recommend some solutions to it.
The Long –term financial goals
The department is looking forward to do business that supports the long term strategy of
capital investment. It aims to achieve the doubling financial goals over the duration of 5 years. It
can be understood from it, that the department has a strong grip over the market of the Middle
East.
The Corporate Social Responsibilities
The focus of the engineering department is always the maximum returns, the market
leadership and the employee engagement. The department is committed towards the social
responsibilities such as community health and education services, the green environmental
endurance and others. The government bodies and also the non-governmental bodies are equally
involved in it.
Business Case Analysis
The concept of organization arises when more than one people work in a collaborative manner so
that a common goal is achieved. The purpose of an organization is to create the responsibilities
through which an organization can easily accomplish the objectives. Everyone in the
organization has their own separate functions and techniques which are supportive of reaching

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the goals. An organization consist of a particular structure, tasks, people and techniques. An
organizational structure is required for managing and controlling the resources.
It is a system that helps an organization to run smoothly and focus on the objectives and the
goals. It provides a clear idea regarding the chain of command which needs to be prioritized
when a particular problem arrives. The organizational structure can be formal /informal, tall/flat,
organic/mechanistic, centralized/decentralized and many others. Therefore, the structure of an
organization is the outer representation of the way the organization is managed which is highly
important. The company is recently going through few disturbances such as delay in delivering
their projects. It is failing to satisfy the clients with the expected outcomes. There is delay in
every second project and there is delay too in convincing the top level executives.
As a consultant engineer of D.G Jones, I have come to know through the ‘Minutes of Meeting’
that the company is going through an issue that is affecting the performance of the company.
Details about the Meeting:
 The promised deadlines of the projects are missed, especially the hospital project
 Few of the projects are overdue and still not delivered
 A delay in the flow of information is also delaying the whole operation
 The reputation of the company is suffering and the stakeholder relationships too
 The sponsors are unwilling to invest on the company and the employees are
leaving rapidly.

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The Structural causes:
Due to the vertical nature of the organizational structure, the organization is facing the
following disruptions in their operations which are impacting their business line too.
(i)Due to lack of coordination, delay in their projects
The department was about to work on a new project in Abu Dhabi. It was a new hospital project
which got postponed by six months due to the lack of internal coordination. It was postponed
from the original date of 20 the April 2017. The CEO of D.G Jones tried to take the whole
responsibility of the project and control it single handed. However, this decision resulted in
poorly managed operations with poor coordination and communication. The managing director
on the other hand, was not made aware of the decision and there was less support sought from
him. It turned out to be fatalistic for the deadline of the project completion.
Consequently, the relationship with the hospital authority is affected through lack of
coordination. The general manager of operation usually gives orders to the regional manages.
During the new project, the regional managers are facing serious problems while taking orders
that created confusion and non-cooperation. As per my views, delay in the decision- making
initiated dissatisfaction for the engineering department as they could not work on the orders.
Such non-coordination forced the engineering team to argue with the regional managers several
times which also maligned the culture of work. The failure to meet the deadline also contributed
to the failure of 5-year plan of achieving higher profits. Another major drawback is the drop of
24 % sales as compared to the previous year.
(ii) The delay in the corporate office relocation:

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In December 2017, the delay in the accomplishment of the project also resulted in huge loss of
revenues. The early detection and communication could have enabled the department to take
necessary action which could have supported in achieving the higher budget profits.
(iii) The delay in convincing the top level executives due to lack of communication :
Due to the poor vertical communication and the tall hierarchical referral, the convincing of top
executives at all levels became too late. The refurbishment project which was about to be
conducted became delayed. It also took a lot of time to get the approval for expenditure from one
level to another. The delay in the refurbishment program resulted in reduction of customers, and
an ineffective launch program initiated a loss of 10 % revenues as compared to the Budget. The
D. G Jones & Partners engineering department is going through few collaboration and
communication problem among themselves. The currently uses the vertical or the hierarchical
organizational structure. It is that type of organizational structure where the decision-making is
centralized. In this structure, the high level executives take the decision on any topic within the
departments.
These are the major issues which clearly highlights the need for restructuring the
organizational structure. However, it is also needed to examine the organizational design having
used the Daft model in the department in order to have a clear shape of the organizational image.
2.Literature Review
The organizational culture and design
An organizational culture is the set of shared values, norms and beliefs which has its
own effects on the perception of the employees which helps them to understand, recognize and
respond to the requirements of the workplace. Many studies of the organizations emphasize on

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the current need of the organizations to become advanced strategically and also flexible
structurally in order to operate efficiently. Hence, every organization should be in the status of
re-designing the structure for achieving efficiency and the strategic goals. The department
acknowledges the need for re-designing the organizational structure in an innovative way that
will support it attain the goals in the 5 years’ duration. In the given context, the department can
opt for applying the horizontal structure for achieving the necessary flexibility and also the
structural innovation. It is suggested that the right type of management helps the others
companies to accomplish the right strategies to achieve the business objectives. The department
should find the other innovative ways through which revenues are generated. Hence, it can be
said that the manager’s abilities and the competencies are helpful in anticipating the external and
internal challenges through which they can easily design the organizational structure in order to
attain the organizational objectives.
The industry outlook
The construction industry is one of the most booming industries in the entire world. It is
mainly an urban based industry which is well-concerned with the construction of the real estate
properties. The primary service of this industry is to repair an existing building or make few
alterations. There are few segments of the construction industry such as: The construction which
involves the civil engineering, the general construction and the construction that involves
specialty trades. The use of advanced technology is pushing change in the industry. The usage
of the 3D printing has increased as compared to before. The use of drones can also help to ensure
that the materials are placed where they should be placed exactly. The construction industry is
one of the most safety risk industry. People working in this industry suffer more from the

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workplace accidents and fatalities. The new mobile and software applications have made the
operations easier for the employees to follow the safety measurements while working.
The vertical strategy in the organization
In the case studies of Daft, it has been found that similar to D.G Jones & Partners, there
are other companies too which have implemented the vertical linkages. In the C & D grocery
stores, the poor communication between the immediate supervisor and the store manager caused
extreme dissatisfaction and also poor performance within the organization. In this grocery store,
a divisional structure was implemented for decentralized decision making. The results displayed
impressive business profits, long term benefits along with strong sustainability.
Therefore, from the above case study it can be seen that in the D. G Jones and Partners
engineering unit, there is need to improve the communication level and also the coordination
between the top executives of the company. The coordination with the regional managers also
needs to be done in order to stay up-to-date in the market.
3.Analysis / Restructure
The need for restructure:
Having analyzed the business case, the following issues with the current organizational
structure will have to be noted for rectifying the design:
 The current organizational structure in the department does not support the cross-
functional coordination at different levels of hierarchy that causes delays in the decision
making and failures in meeting the project deadlines.
 It is similar to a huge hurdle that results in an approval process and also time-
consuming documentation.

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 There is no dotted line of reporting between the top level managers and the
middle level managers which initiate issues in coordination.
 The job responsibilities are unclear between the lower and middle level of
managers which initiates confusion and frustration while receiving the project orders.
 There is huge communication gap that exists between the engineering department
and the Chief executives.
The proposed solution:
With the help of the Daft Case studies, the key issues in the organizational structure have
been identified for improvement. The proposed design for the organizational structure is the
horizontal structure. The roles and responsibilities of the managers and the top executives will
have to be redefined. There is a need to form a separate department which is called the
“Network Development”. There is also the need to create a separate position of the fund manager
which would lead and develop the engineering department. The roles of the regional managers
should be expanded on the operations of the Branch. The chief executive can also directly
control the engineering team’s fund manager and ensure good coordination and communication
within the departments.
The benefits of the horizontal organizational structure:
The exposure of the consultants at the engineering department would improve on the new
projects. The close coordination and the past knowledge with the cross-functional department
would also ensure good ways of replacements and routine of the tasks. There would be
progressive decision-making process which is characterized by the teamwork in place of the
individual contribution. The horizontal structure could also be expanded and include the
coordinate asset maintenance, the physical inventory and also the replacements which would

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ensure the safety having lowered the excessive costs of asset procurement. The control of a
single fund manager would ensure the utmost coordination of the team. The use of newsletters on
the new projects can be used which can surely improve the cross-department communication.
The top level managers can be excellent communicators and persuaders too during handling the
time –managed activities.
The monitoring
The new implemented horizontal structure can be measured by using some performance
indicators. The performance indicators cane be used for measuring the efficiency and
effectiveness. The monitoring of the project progress should be monitored by the fund manager
who should report in the Board meetings too. It can highlight the reveal the project risks and
ways to overcome the issues. The project’s action logs can be controlled by the Project manager
along with the clear responsibilities having handled the different tasks. The physical inventory
results can be tracked to measure the results. The above activities can now be effectively
managed which lacked previously. A renewed engineering consultancy team can be established
after the use of the horizontal organizational structure.
4.Conclusion
On a concluding note, it can be said that the D.G Jones and & Partners have tried to
reach higher levels of efficiency and higher profits through the vertical linkages. As Daft
observed, the department should be implementing the horizontal linkage along with the vertical
one. It will inevitably increase the knowledge sharing, coordination and collaboration among the
departments and the decision making will not be centralized. Hence, the engineering unit can
adopt the horizontal structure so that each department along with the engineering consultancy
department can function efficiently. It is an ideal structure which can inspire the employees to

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have an effective horizontal communication and required coordination. Notably, the department
should also always ensure that the right structure is there to support the strategies of the
organization which will help to attain the mission and vision of the company. The engineering
consultancy department must be applying the Daft concept to evade the challenges of improper
coordination and communication.

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Bibliography with Annotation
Burton, R.M. and Obel, B. (2018). The science of organizational design: fit between structure
and coordination. Journal of Organization Design, 7(1), p.5.
This article particularly highlights the essential role of the organizational design. It suggests that
the organizational design is useful in determining the performance of the organization. As per
this article, an organizational design should be specifying the fit between the organizational
resources and the structure too.
Calabretta, G., Gemser, G. and Wijnberg, N.M. (2017). The interplay between intuition and
rationality in strategic decision making: A paradox perspective. Organization Studies, 38(3-4),
pp.365-401.
In this article, it is said that both the rationality and the intuition affects the decision-making
process in an organization. Notably, there is no such framework which can inspire the interaction
between the rationality and intuition.
Denning, S. (2016). How to make the whole organization “Agile”. Strategy & Leadership, 44(4),
pp.10-17.
In this article it is said that it is important to change the corporate culture of an organization in
order to make it an agile one. Hence, it is difficult in terms of having changed the various
business divisions along with the organizational structure.
Dikert, K., Paasivaara, M. and Lassenius, C. (2016). Challenges and success factors for large-
scale agile transformations: A systematic literature review. Journal of Systems and Software,
119, pp.87-108.

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This article is in support of the agile methods which have now become necessary for the
companies to improve the performance. The transformation to an agile organization goes through
a wide range of barriers such as the support of the management.
Jacobs, M.A., Yu, W. and Chavez, R. (2016). The effect of internal communication and
employee satisfaction on supply chain integration. International Journal of Production
Economics, 171, pp.60-70.
This article has become highly useful to me as it has depicted the positive impact of the internal
communication on the satisfaction of the employees. It also says that the employee satisfaction s
the mediator between the internal communication and the internal integration.
Jones, G., 2010. Organizational theory, design, and change. 5th ed. UK: Pearson International.
This particular book provides the information of variable which affects the organizational
design. It supports my own study after providing the emphasis on the right type of management
structure for the application of right strategies. Notably, the author also has addressed so many
issues and the problems too which are engaged in organizational change. Hence, it provides clear
and direct managerial suggestions.
Lee, J.Y., Kozlenkova, I.V. and Palmatier, R.W. (2015). Structural marketing: Using
organizational structure to achieve marketing objectives. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 43(1), pp.73-99.
This journal has been beneficial for me as it has described the importance of the structural
marketing. It further says that in an organizational structure, the structural marketing is an
important part. Therefore, it is important to recognize the best match for the organizational
structure in an organization.

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Musyoki, D. and Wamuyu, F. (2017). Corporate Restructuring and Firm Value: Review of
Evidence. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 8(1).
It is one of the best articles to recognize the corporate restructuring that is an important area in
finance, organizational theory and strategic management. It depicts that there are few companies
which have become highly successful with the restructuring.
Naranjo-Valencia, J.C., Jiménez-Jiménez, D. and Sanz-Valle, R. (2016). Studying the links
between organizational culture, innovation, and performance in Spanish companies. Revista
Latinoamericana de Psicología, 48(1), pp.30-41.
This particular article suggests that innovation is a good mediator between the performance and
the culture of the organization. The article in other way suggests that in every organizational
practice, innovation is fundamental part now. In order to generate the innovation, organizations
must maintain the effectiveness of the organizational structure.
Painter, M., Pouryousefi, S., Hibbert, S. and Russon, J.A. (2018). Sharing vocabularies: Towards
horizontal alignment of values-driven business functions. Journal of Business Ethics, pp.1-15.
This is an article which recognizes the horizontal alignment in multiple value –driven functions.
It is a challenging task to conduct the horizontal structure because there is sometimes lack of
coordination.
Richard, L., Daft, R. and H., L., 1986. Organizational Information Requirements, Media
Richness and Structural Design. Management Science, 32(5), pp. 554 – 571
This is paper that gives answers to many questions which are relevant to the organizational
process. In order to explain the viewpoint, there are various models propounded by the author

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which also supports my study. It further shows how the organizational design is structured to
meet the requirements of the organizations while resolving the issues which are closely relevant
to equivocality and uncertainty.
Tolonen, A., Harkonen, J., Verkasalo, M. and Haapasalo, H. (2015). Product portfolio
management process over horizontal and vertical portfolios. International Journal of Product
Lifecycle Management, 8(3), pp.189-215.
It is such an article which is aimed at designing the ontologies in a business process. The study
results suggest that the cross –functional management teams can be helped by the
implementation of an approach for the project management.

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Appendices
1.The organizational Structure in the engineering department

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2. Daft Analysis (Organization /structural dimensions / contingency –factors )
a. Organization
According to Daft, in an organization, there is special importance of communication,
collaboration and coordination in a hierarchy for achieving the business goals. A well-structured
hierarchy can easily control the set of activities and become quick to respond to the external
environment having involved both the suppliers and the customers.
b. The structural dimensions
The formalization – The D.G Jones & Partners is traditional organization where there is
complex hierarchical levels. Here, the project and the funding approvals are centralized. The
documentation process is prolonged that is 3-6 months usually.
The specialization - In this company, the division of labor is extremely high and the
employees are encouraged to achieve expertise in few specific work-areas. The D.G Jones &
Partners’ employees are encouraged enough and also trained well. The higher division of labor
creates gloomy collaboration and communication among the team members along with improper
specialized-skills.
The hierarchy of Authority – The department believes in the strict control through the
vertical linkage with a huge span of control. From the perspective of the engineering team, there
are some disputes in the structure. There are no clear vertical lines which connect the top, middle
and the lower level of the organization. Hence, there is a clear need to restructure.

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The complexity –In the company, the complexity is there in the taller hierarchy along
with expertise and power at various levels. On the other hand, the horizontal level ensues smooth
coordination and collaboration in all the levels.
The centralization – The vertical model is highly centralized and only the top
management controls the decision making part of every project.
c. The contingency factors:
The size – It is considerably large.
The technology used – Advanced
The environment – It is quite challenging
The engineering departmental goals – The department focuses on the long –term
sustainability.

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3.The proposed organizational structure to the engineering department
Board of Directors
General Manager
Project Manager Purchasing Manager Engineer Manager Network
Development
manage ,Manager
Financial Director Marketing Director
Section
Chief
Site
Engineer
Civil
supervisor
Safety
Surveyor
Materials
Necessities
Site
engineer
Structural
Engineer
Planning
Engineer
QA/QC
Fund
Manager
Office
Managemen
t
Insurance
Accounta
nt
Cashier
Marketing
Advertisement
Sales