Ruminations on Project Completion
Here’s a short piece I had to write for a class, answering the question:
What do you believe is important for successfully completing a project, the formal management structure or culture of the parent organization? Why?
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Completing any non-trivial project is a difficult task, and so-called “experts” are typically divided into two beliefs on the most important aspect of the project: formal management structure and the culture of the parent organization. However, I believe that a mix of both a formal management structure and the overall organization’s culture are important, neither one eclipsing the other.
Companies such as Google thrived for years with an loosely formed corporate hierarchy, and a culture of freedom, fun, and brilliance. Recently, Google has found that such a structure does not facilitate a high level of productivity and innovation, and has begun to formalize itself into a more rigid version of itself. On the opposite side of the corporate structure rainbow is strictly hierarchical management, found at such companies as Microsoft. However, Microsoft is no more successful at pinning down innovation and productivity to a corporate structure, as they are well known for lazy employees and product delays of epic length.
Given these two radical examples, I can only conclude that a mix of the two would be the ideal goal: an organization with a formal hierarchy that also respects the employees’ freedom and individuality, but only until said freedoms encroach on the overall productivity and innovation. Whether or not this is ultimately achievable is up for debate; however, many modern companies aspire to reach such a “happy medium” and have been at least moderately successful, both financially and culturally.
