Organizational Concepts -High Tech
GreenPages, Inc. hereinafter referred to as GP is a dynamic organization that most closely fits the sociotechnical model put forth by Trist (1963) and Rice (1963) of the Tavis Institute. GP was created by Kurt Blieken in 1992 to be as he put it the most elegant company in existence today. Starting with a blank piece of paper Kurt Blieken crafted a mission statement (attachment A) that served as the underpinnings and catalyst to create an organizational structure that balanced the complex technical systems with a social and economic system which serves as a model to the computer industry today. GP is currently under going tremendous growth of over 100% annually which creates a turbulent environment and tests the organization structure GP was founded on. It is the belief of Kurt Blieken as well as those of us whom work at GP that this unique corporate structure can not only be retained but thrive as the organization scales to new heights.In order to understand the goals and challenges facing GP it is useful to utilize Weisbord's Six-Box Model to analyse the organizational structure. GP was formed with two purposes in mind. The first was to create the best place to work in the country. The cornerstone of this purpose is a v
The reward system at GP is very unique. GP exists as an organization that doesn't manufacture a product, warehouse a product or perform research and development. The value that GP brings its customers is the ability to match customer needs with a distributor or manufacturer who has the product to fulfill that need and GP makes a margin for performing this service. Therefore everybody in the company is either a sales person with direct customer contact or supports the sales person and who's success is directly related to the revenue produced in servicing the customers needs. All sales people are on 100% commission so they are highly motivated to work hard and generate sales. The support personel earn 75% of their pay in the form of a salary and the balance is tied directly to the success of the sales team the employee supports. 5. "What was going on for you?" (Curiosity). ? The team structure provides the depth and flexibility to adapt quickly to change. This gives GP a huge advantage over their competitors which is demonstrated by the sales per employee of over 2.5 million dollars annually. This amount is over 3 times that of the industry average and is a demonstration of efficiency throughout the organization. The team structure makes this possible by allowing the "flattest" possible corporate structure. ? It's OK to make a mistake. Since we hire good people, a mistake is just that, a mistake. If many mistakes occur it is the system which needs to be corrected. Following this policy can be difficult but it leads to a wonderful lack of finger pointing and back covering. GP culture encourages new ideas and risk taking. Policies are initiated with the participation and input of the people doing the work. Everyone has to "buy in" to these policies. Once policy is set, violation of that policy is unacceptable. Maintaining healthy positive relationships is paramount in making GP a great place to work. GP culture frowns heavily on gossip and/or derogatory statements made by one employee to or about another both internally or externally. GP has gone to great lengths to provide the proper context for healthy communication to occur. GP has instituted straight talk and listening for the positive intent, which every one in the company is trained on how to use is expected to utilize while having a dial
Some common words found in the essay are:
GP GP, It's OK, Six-Box Model, GP Task, North America, Kurt Blieken, Canada GP, Presidents Club, Blieken GP, SST Coaches, task force, positive intent, gp culture, sales people, organizational structure, listening positive, listening positive intent, kurt blieken, gp customers, sst senior support, gp unique, mutual outcome, senior support team,
Approximate Word count = 1561
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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