Describe the organizational structure at BEC: What departmentalization approaches does

the company use? What are the pros and cons of this structure for BEC?
Before 2006, Beijing EAP Consulting adopted an organic and informal company structure. It
was a learning-oriented organization with an open culture and flexible structure. There were few
layers of management, decentralized decision-making, little job specialization, no clearly
identified departments or clearly designated responsibilities. There were extensive personal
coordination and open communication among members which strengthened their commitment
towards work.

Since the restructuring in 2006, BEC adopted a formal Matrix organization structure which was a
combination of functional departmentalization and product groups on a project basis. It increased
efficiency by grouping jobs under the five broad functions (marketing, consulting, training,
research & development and administration) and two project departments. A project
management approach was adopted with the vice-president and CEO leading each project
department. Advantages and disadvantages of utilizing the matrix organizational structure are:

Pros:
 Specialization: Employees in functional departments could focus on their specialized
fields and grow more familiar with certain work procedures. They can develop and retain
discipline-specific knowledge.
 Time Saving: As employees could spend more time on their specialized fields, a lot of
time can be saved with respect to work assignments and preparation
 Increased coordination: Project managers and other department managers would work out
a plan for each project and then co-conduct the plan. Decisions are accepted faster when
there is buy-in from various departments
 Resource utilization: Resource utilization allows the project managers to focus on
department strengths. They can use staff across the company who specialize in a field
that relates to the project at hand.
 Communication & Flexibility: Department managers could ask project managers to
adjust work procedures based on the actual processes of each department. Resources can
also be shared flexibly among different projects allowing information to travel more
fluidly between different departments.
Cons:
 Conflict: As the project and functional manager share equal authority, there is confusion
over managerial responsibilities. Employees are not sure how to prioritize tasks from
multiple managers creating conflicts in task deadlines.
 Inefficiency: The lack of structural stability and routine functions lead to operational
inefficiencies and increased costs. Multiple managers and contradictory loyalties can also
cause ineffective management.

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  Stress: Employees experience stress when there is rapid fluctuation in the structure and
function of the team. Some employees get disturbed by the ambiguity over dual authority
resulting in high worker dissatisfaction and employee turnover.
 Workload: Employees need to meet the demands of more than one manager at a time.
The managers may not know what a certain employee has on his plate which contributes
to heavy workloads.

What caused the conflict between the project managers and the other employees? How
could you better organize the company to minimize this conflict?

As the business volume and the resulting workload increased, BEC adopted a new project
management system, to coordinate several employees from different departments. Conflicts arise
due to the unclear distribution of roles, responsibilities/authority, nebulous hierarchy and
improper task streamlining.

Employees working on a project received directions from both their department managers and
from project managers which created conflicts in their task deadlines. Both the managers shared
equal authority which confused the employees and made it difficult for them to prioritize their
tasks. Given the urgent requirements of the customers and strict deadlines imposed by two
different managers, employees ended up using their judgment to decide the priority of tasks.
These employees are not sure if the project manager or the department manager is their direct
supervisor. This, in turn, causes conflict between the employees, the project manager and
departmental managers.

The role of project manager was not accepted by the departmental managers. On the other hand,
project managers were uncomfortable with the departmental managers being at the same
hierarchical level. As they were peers, they did not have any direct influence on each other. As
project managers lacked formal authority and stable base of power, they must consider
alternative modes to minimize conflicts and to obtain project success. As the functional manager
is normally perceived by project personnel as the real boss, balance of power can be restored by
giving the project managers the authority to conduct formal performance evaluations on their
project team members.
Managers must be trained to view conflict as a natural part of doing business and as a potential
source of creativity and improved decision making. While conflict is inevitable, it can be
managed by adopting the following:

 Top management should clearly state the purpose of the project and the responsibility &
authority of project manager
 Project managers must realize that cooperation and negotiation are the keys to successful
decision making across the project/functional interface
 A responsibility chart can be used to define jurisdictional areas of management

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  Establish ground rules or operating agreements on resource allocation and
communication
 Teamwork and problem solving must be emphasized

How would you design a better structure and hence responsibility and authority of project
managers at BEC?

Designing Appropriate Training Session:

Step 1- objective of training session should be clear

The objective of employee assistance program is to support client organization to improve its
attendance, job performance, productivity and job satisfaction.
Step 2 - Scope of training should be clear
The problems handled and dealt with in the organization include the following-
 Stress management
 Emotional difficulties
 Legal troubles
 Interpersonal relationship
 Work life balance
 Healthy habits
 Diversity
 Conflict management
 Time management
 Team building

Step 3- Human resource planning

It is found that the demand of BEC services is increasing and the current HR is limited which is
increasing their pressure. Thus, BEC require hiring new qualified employees. It is require that
human resource planning. There are various models of human resource planning.
The key component of human resource planning is forecasting the number and type of
employees required. BEC require professionals with graduate or post-graduate in psychology.
There are many sources to fulfill demand of human resource such as educational institutions,
recommendation of existing employees, former employees, employment consultancies etc. BEC
can also apply internal supply of employees such as succession planning, replacement charts,
departmental estimates and human resource management information systems.

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What future challenges would rapid growth of BEC in future throw up? How should it
tackle them?

Currently the business of BEC is growing but it has limited resources and limited employees
which is increasing the pressure on existing employees. Thus, company requires hiring more
qualified employees and changing the current organizational structure. Current organizational
structure is not problem as the business and profit of BEC has increased but the issue is that there
is no clarity of responsibilities and work relationships for employees and managers. While
designing future training sessions, Mr. Zheng should understand his leadership styles and should
focus on maintaining good relations rather than achieving goal. The training program should be
compatible with the long term strategy of the organization. Mr. Zheng should develop a human
resource plan which contains the roles and responsibilities of each employee and a hierarchy of
reporting relationship. He should adopt best practice and guidelines and also review the training
session by taking a 360 degree feedback.