How Should You Expect To Be Managed

We have chosen a particular IT-related company offering a position whose description on their website boasting of a job scope which is precisely what we are looking for. However, we recognize that the work environment may not be one in which we would be able to adapt well and fit comfortably in. Hence, we decided to find out more from some friends who are working there, about the company's corporate culture, organizational structure and any other relevant information that could help us better understand the work environment.

XYZ Company (actual name of company kept confidential) is one of the top companies in their industry, with offices all over the world. They manufacture and sell computer hardware, software, infrastructure and consulting services for a wide variety of clientele.

The external environment is one where innovation and quick response is the way to stay ahead of competitors. As such, the reduction in time-to-market of a new product would create significant competitive advantage for the company. Groups have been proven to be pivotal in the process of coming up with new innovations and the synergies between team members enables the team to adapt quickly to market changes. Hence it can be expected that the company would place great emphasis on team work on the organizational level.

The importance the company places on team work is further reinforced by their matrix organizational structure. We are expected to work in groups, with people whom the upper management believes we can work best with, due to the compatibility of skills or personality or both. The manager does not dictate, lead or specify the team's actions, but rather, be the team's facilitator, with the team working together to accomplish the tasks set. In part, we would expect more persuasion and intangible rewards and punishments be used in the mediating and facilitating process, as we would expect to be managed in a more personal manner, with less impression of power. This could be due to the less hierarchical structure the firm has adopted, thus with less status difference, persuasion would be the effective tool.

Besides emphasizing on team work, the company is result-oriented and teams are expected to meet their quarterly targets set by the top management. However, since little or no participative goal setting is involved, it is likely that little commitment exist in individuals to meet the goals. This would mean that we must be prepared to garner the commitment of the group, so as to motivate the entire team to meet the goals set.

Furthermore, as a group, we are made responsible for our team's output, and cross-functional learning is a likely by-product. Thus, it is highly likely that we would be expected to take the initiative to not only contribute ideas but also to approach specialists of the relevant fields for their inputs from any other departments. There is a practice where entire teams would share similar fatesÐ'- fired or not get any promotion Ð'- further reinforcing the responsibility teammates have for each other. Certainly with this in place, the "social loafer" is likely to be disciplined by their team mates, rather than the manager.

A problem that is likely to arise is "Groupthink" since there is overwhelming pressure on the team to reach the goal within a set time. Team members would wish that there be little argument and conflicts, and this could cause the group to subconsciously apply pressure on the dissenter; which