Structures for Success: How the Structure of Todays Professional Organizations Are Changing

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18059/jmi.v2i1.20

Abstract

Many if not most of the organizational models in use today have their roots in theories and practices developed at the height of the industrial revolution. As the rate change in the environment increases these molds are proving themselves inadequate to deal with the demands they are currently facing. This article explores the need for new social technologies and products to replace those that are failing, and the need for these structures to be designed to more natively deal the challenges we face today. The author reviews several of these models with an eye to discussing the attributes that are increasing the effectiveness of modern organizations.

Author Biography

Tom Coughlan, Mercy College School of Business

Dr. Coughlan is currently an Associate Professor of Graduate Busienss at Mercy College. In addition, he is the Managing Editor of the Journal of Management and Innovation, a contract writer for Harvard Business Press ΓÇô and holds or has held adjunct faculty positions at the University of Phoenix School of Business, Manhattan Institute of Management, University of Bridgeport, and the Weller International Business School in Paris.

His fields of practice include management, marketing, and e-business with a particular emphasis on the use of technology to create virtual proximity and increase levels of applied innovation within an organization.

In addition to his academic accomplishments, Dr. Coughlan has over 30 years of business experience as an entrepreneur, consultant, and a marketing / management professional. His past roles include:

- Member of the leadership team of a top 50 INC 500 firm where he ran the most profitable division

- Developed successful worldwide marketing campaigns for some of the worldΓÇÖs largest technology companies including IBM, Cisco, Computer Associates, and Oracle

- Extensive experience in commercial real estate, and professional service marketing

- Extensive original research in the fields of innovation,  virtual proximity, and organizational structures

 

References

Christensen, C. (1997). The innovatorΓÇÖs dilemma: When technologies cause great firms to fail. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Crabtree, S. (2013, October 8). Worldwide, 13% of Employees Are Engaged at Work. Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.gallup.com/poll/165269/worldwide-employees-engaged-work.aspx

Deutschman, A. (2004, December). A call to remember. Fast Company, (89), 18.

Deutschman, A. (2004, December). The Fabric of Creativity. Fast Company, (89), 54ΓÇô62.

Harrington, A. (2003). WhoΓÇÖs afraid of a new product? FORTUNE, 148(10), 189ΓÇô192.

Kuhn, T. (1996). The structure of scientific revolution. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

Laloux, F. (2015, July 6). The Future of Management Is Teal. Retrieved January 7, 2016, from http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00344?gko=10921

McChrystal, G. S., Collins, T., Silverman, D., & Fussell, C. (2015). Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World. New York, New York: Portfolio.

Moore, G. A. (2006). Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers (Revised). Boston, MA: HarperBusiness.

Robertson, B. J. (2015). Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World. New York: Henry Holt and Co.

Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (Vol. 5th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.

Whitehurst, J., & Hamel, G. (2015). The Open Organization: Igniting Passion and Performance. Harvard Business Review Press.

Wren, D. A. (2004). The history of management thought (Vol. 5th). New York: Wiley.

Downloads

Published

2016-02-29

Issue

Section

Articles