Report on Organizational Structure and Culture: Soho House & Company

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the organizational culture and structure of Soho House & Company, a hotel chain and private member's club. The report begins with an introduction to the importance of organizational culture and structure in enhancing business performance. The main body of the report delves into the specifics of Soho House's organizational culture, applying Handy's model to analyze the company's culture as a task culture. The report also examines the company's organizational structure, highlighting the use of a matrix structure. The report discusses the contributions of the organizational culture and structure, offering insights into how these elements contribute to the company's performance. The report references various academic sources to support its claims and concludes by emphasizing the importance of organizational culture and structure in achieving business objectives such as enhanced performance, high profits, and increased productivity.

Soho House &
Company

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Structure and culture of organisation...........................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Organisational culture and structure are two different elements which should be focused
by companies to enhance performance of business. With the help of them, all the operational
activities could be executed in appropriate manner which will result in higher productivity and
profitability (Ali Taha, Sirkova and Ferencova, 2016). This essay is based upon analysis of
organisational structure and culture of Soho House & Company. It is a hotel chain which was
founded by Nick Jones in year 1995. Topics such as contribution of the analysed elements are
covered under this essay.
MAIN BODY
Structure and culture of organisation
Soho House & Company is a hotel chain and a team of private member's club who are
aimed at media and arts. It was founded in year 1995 and mainly established in London,
England, United Kingdom. It is operating its business all around the world. While operating all
the business activities different elements such as organisations structure and culture as it helps to
enhance performance. If the top level executives are not able to focus in them then it can result in
decreased productivity and efficiency of the enterprise. Analysis of them is conducted below
with the help of appropriate theories and models:
Organisational culture can be defined as a set of beliefs and values which are followed by
a company to establish a good and effective working environment for the workforce so that all
the employees can work productively. In order to analyse culture of an organisation Handy's
Model could be used. It was developed by Charles Handy who defied four different types of
cultures which are followed by organisations according to their requirements (Handy's model of
organisational culture, 2019). These are role, power, task and person. Description of all of them
is as follows:
In role culture each and every employee is assigned with specific job responsibilities
according to their capabilities and qualities. It guides all the staff members to work productively
so that they can achieve their goals successfully. The organisation in which it is followed is
highly controlled with specific rules (Balkar, 2015). The companies where it is followed are
considered to be more bureaucratic. It could be used by managers in Soho House & Company
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and delegate authorities to the employees and motivate them to accomplish all the long term
business goals.
In power culture managers or leaders have the all the authorities to formulate decisions
and pass judgements. All the subordinates are required to follow command of top level
executives. The power in this culture is centralised and its influence flows from top to bottom. It
could be used in Soho House & Company by leaders to control and monitor each and every step
of employees which is taken by them to perform the job according to their guidance. With the
help of it performance of all of them could be judged on the basis of results which are
experienced due to their efforts. If employees are willing to attain their personal goals then they
have to perform jobs according to the expectations of power holders (Elsmore, 2017).
The culture in which different tasks are allotted to the staff members in order to find best
suitable solutions for business problems is known as task culture. It guides all the top level
executives to formulate different teams and allocate responsibilities to each and every member so
that they can figure out effective ways to respond the challenges which are faced by company.
While dealing issues such as reduced profitability it could be adopted by managers and leaders of
Soho House & Company because it will be beneficial for the enterprise to respond it
appropriately with the help of effective solution.
In person culture employees pay attention towards them selves as compare to the
organisation and they work productively to achieve their personal goals rather than
organisational objectives. The companies where it is followed mainly suffers with decreased
market share and profitability. It allows workforce to be self motivated and ignore to wait for
formal approval for the process of decision formulation. In order to enhance motivation level and
employee engagement for a certain period of time Soho House & Company can use it.
From all the above discussed different cultures leaders and managers in Soho House &
Company are following task culture which helps to find appropriate solutions for business
problems. It contributes in performance of the organisation because with the help of it all the
challenges which are affecting the operations could be dealt by finding best suitable ways. By
taking task culture in to consideration top level executives of the entity formulate different teams
and allocate responsibility to each and every member. All of them are responsible to find
solution for the problems such as continuous reduction in profits. With the help of different
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alternatives challenges are dealt in a proper manner and performance is enhanced because when
a company have sufficient monetary resources then it could be spent for the same purpose.
Organisational structure can be defined a system which is used by companies to outline
the way in which all the operational activities will be performed in appropriate manner so that
business goals could be achieved. It guides organisations to determine the flow of information at
workplace. Managers within the enterprise may assign jobs, roles and responsibilities in a
hierarchical manner which will guide the staff members regarding the person to whom they have
to report in future (Haase, Franco and Félix, 2015). There are various types of structures which
could be adopted by managers of Soho House & Company in order to carry out operational
processes in a well structured manner (Different organisational structures, 2019). All of them
are described below in detail:
A structure which is considered as one of the most famous structures is functional in
which the company is departmentalised on the basis of common jobs which are performed by
different staff members. While using it, top level executives form different group of people on
the basis of their responsibilities. For example, if it is followed by leaders in Soho House &
Company then they can create different teams such as marketing, operations, finance etc. With
the help of it high degree of specialisation is set by managers so that they can contribute in
growth of the organisation. As it segregates different divisions according to their jobs therefore it
may result in barriers for communication for them.
Another type of organisational structure is divisional which is used in most of the large
companies which are operating business to attain horizontal objectives. With the help of it, top
level managers allow autonomy to the teams which are working for the attainment of a common
organisational objective. Management allocate resources to all the divisions separately and all of
them are required to control the activities which are performed by the employees which are
working in the department. For example, managers of Soho House & Company are planning to
enhance profitability then different tasks could be allocated to different divisions so that all of
them could work productively by using their own resources to reach a common goal (Laforet,
2016).
Combination of functional and divisional structure is known as matrix. If it is
implemented by managers within the company then a traditional and hierarchical model is not
followed by them. In this type of structure all the employees have to report various superiors so
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that all of them can check their work and ask them to make modifications. With the help of it
business entities can acquire high level of flexibility and highly balanced decision making
because there are more than one chains of command. For example, if a single project is
undertaken by Soho House & Company then this type of structure can help the departments to
share resources so that it could be completed on time. It also facilitate them to communicate with
each other more openly so that solutions for the problems which are taking place could be
analysed. It can create issues due to high level of complexity because when employees have to
report multiple bosses then it can create confusion for them that to whom they are suppose to
answer (Maitland, Hills and Rhind, 2015).
The structure in which staff members are not required to follow a multiple hierarchical
chain of command is known as flat which is also known as organic structure. It is the best
suitable option for small and start up businesses as there are a few people who are responsible to
execute business operations. It promoted no or few levels of hierarchy between management and
staff members. With the help of it enterprises can increase number of highly self empowered
employees and effective abilities of formulating strategic decisions. Managers in Soho House &
Company can use it for the purpose of attaining long term business goals such as enhancement in
employee engagement. It is well known for its wide level of decentralisation, span of control, no
departmentalisation and low specialisation. In this type of structure multiple teams work on a
specific project and all of them are responsible to report one boss who is responsible to control
and monitor business processes.
From all the above described structure managers in Soho House & Company are
following matrix structure. With the help of it, top level management analysis work of each and
every employee twice so that possibility of errors and issues which may take place in future
could be reduced. It guides leaders to manage the projects which are undertaken by them to reach
the long term business goals such as profit maximisation. The process of implementing it is very
critical so managers may face challenges while operating business activities but it helps to ensure
that all the resources are utilised in appropriate manner (Mohelska and Sokolova, 2015).
Matrix organisational structure contributes in enhancement of organisational performance
because it helps to improve communication among different departments. When all the divisions
are interacting with each other then they can share creative ideas to accomplish business goals. If
all of them are achieved by the organisation then overall performance of company could be
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improved. If employees who are working in Soho House & Company are not able to work
according to command of managers then it can leave negative impact upon the enterprise. While
planning for improvements in the market image it is very important for management to make
sure that all the divisions are able to communicate with each other. It can help to find best ways
to complete the projects which are undertaken to enhance performance. This structure build team
work and cooperation among workforce because all the staff members have to interact with each
other for successful completion of project (Zhu, 2015). It also reduced the possibility of arising
conflicts because all the managers work collaboratively for a common goal which reduced
possibility of it.
CONCLUSION
This essay concludes that in order to run a business in appropriate manner it is very
important for the top level executives, managers and leaders to focus on organisational culture
and structure. It can help to reach long term business objectives such as enhanced performance,
high profits and increased productivity. While analysing importance of culture Handy's cultural
model could be applied and its four elements role, person, power and task could be assessed. In
order to assess contribution of structure in organisational performance stages of it could be
analysed.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Ali Taha, V., Sirkova, M. and Ferencova, M., 2016. The impact of organizational culture on
creativity and innovation. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 14.
Balkar, B., 2015. Defining an empowering school culture (ESC): Teacher perceptions. Issues in
Educational Research. 25(3). p.205.
Elsmore, P., 2017. Organisational Culture: Organisational Change?: Organisational Change?.
Routledge.
Haase, H., Franco, M. and Félix, M., 2015. Organisational learning and intrapreneurship:
evidence of interrelated concepts. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.
36(8). pp.906-926.
Laforet, S., 2016. Effects of organisational culture on organisational innovation performance in
family firms. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. 23(2). pp.379-
407.
Maitland, A., Hills, L. A. and Rhind, D. J., 2015. Organisational culture in sport–A systematic
review. Sport Management Review. 18(4). pp.501-516.
Mohelska, H. and Sokolova, M., 2015. Organisational culture and leadership–joint
vessels?. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 171. pp.1011-1016.
Zhu, C., 2015. Organisational culture and technology-enhanced innovation in higher
education. Technology, Pedagogy and Education. 24(1). pp.65-79.
Online
Handy's model of organisational culture. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.business.com/articles/management-theory-of-charles-handy/>
Different organisational structures. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.smartdraw.com/organizational-chart/organizational-chart-types.htm>
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