Consulting Firm’s Lost Paradise:
Scenario (fictional):
An industry consulting firm has the following structure and culture:
All the employees at this consulting firm work full-time. All the full-time consultants report to various industry directors, depending on the industry contract. The company employees work mostly from home, with directors or consultants renting temporary office space with or without videoconferencing when needed for either client meetings or vendor meetings. The company is very successful and has an expanding client base. There are very few rules or expectations at the company, as the CEO also believes in keeping processes very simple.
The previous president retired about 6 months ago, and the CEO, together with a human resources firm, hired a new president. The new company president they hired is extremely smart and expects everyone at the company to display an expert demeanor as well.
About 2 months ago, the company’s employees (i.e., consultants) started receiving emails from the new president putting pressure on all of them to produce results in less time but pressuring them to charge the clients higher fees without making any more money for themselves. In addition, the new president now wants the staff to come into the temporary office three times a week for meetings. Three months ago, the new president hired 30 new full-time consultants that seem more like salespersons than consultants to existing employees. A few of the long-time consultants have been emailing the CEO about these changes and suggesting they may go elsewhere. In the meantime, the finance director has detected several anomalies in the contract terms and financial results from some of the new consultants and one or two of the existing consultants.
QUESTIONS
Describe the organizational structure at this consulting firm and how it affects employee behavior:
Name the type of structure in the organization.
Provide a definition of the type of structure in the organization.
Explain how the structure affects employee behavior.
Describe how the changes to the organization’s culture might affect employee behavior.
Provide a recommendation for any adjustments you think need to be made at this organization based on the readings and explain why.
