Organizational Analysis Paper

...

These cultural characteristics are transmitted to newly hired employees through socialization process which includes orientation, boot camp, individual department training and online training.

- Orientation process is comprehensive training of the new recruits. First they are taught each division of the firm and how it operates. Then they become familiar with the formalized rules and regulations which will ultimately mold them into eligible employees of JP Morgan whose behavior will be consistent with organization culture and who will conform to the organization.

- Individual department training process: When new recruits are assigned to different departments of the firm, they have to go through individual department training process. They are taught pros and cons of their own department and any subculture existing in that particular department. Besides learning, and merging into, dominant culture they have to be familiar with any subculture that exists in their department. Then they get oriented to their duties and responsibilities.

- Boot camp: Besides orientation and individual department training, every employee has to go through several other trainings to get their behavior fully shaped and tailored to the organizational needs. Boot camp is a-two-day informal training program which trains employees to be able to meet internal challenges and external pressures. It develops leadership quality and makes employees fit for unexpected challenges. This training is for senior level employees. Besides all of these, the firm arranges online training for its employees. Through all of these trainings and orientation, the employees become fully fit for the organization.

JP Morgan Chase has a strong culture because its mission and vision are well documented and translated into all levels of the organization. The formalized rules and regulations, behavior, code of ethics create a sense of meaning shared and held by each and every employee of the organization. JPMC strongly supports mobility in order to retain to talent and encourages diversity at all levels including people, promotion, technology, selection etc.

Organizational Structure

An organization is made up of multiple groups of people who work together to achieve a common goal. Each group has different responsibilities within the larger goal and these groups are called departments or functions. Understanding the five general characteristics such as work specialization, chain of command, span of control, centralization/decentralization and formalization of JP Morgan & Chase paved way for me to interpret the structure as hybrid structure as it is one of the leading global finances in the world. Following explanations on the company’s characteristics firmly support the understanding of its hybrid structure.

- Work Specialization: Upon asking the interviewee the extent to which JP Morgan & chase is subdivided into separate jobs, he says the tasks are sub-divided into three categories mainly architecture, business analysis and development. Architects perform a role of giving solutions to the end to end business scenarios. Business analysts convert the requirements to technical terms for the developers to develop the solution.

- Chain of command: The unbroken line of authority from the top most managing director to the first level professional falls into six hierarchies as explained by the interviewee in the case of JP Morgan & Chase. The managing director represents the highest authority followed by the senior vice president (The Interviewee). The senior vice president leads the vice president to who senior associate reports. The senior associate is followed by the junior associate who is a level ahead of the professional. The professional is the entry level employee.

- Span of Control: The number of people reporting to a particular manager depends on the location according to the interviewee. In locations like Asian countries, about 150-200 employees report to a manager where the cost of living is comparatively low and affordable wages can be achieved by the company as opposed to the western countries like USA where the wages are sky high. In such cases about 20-25 people report to a manger. This is a very inconsistent span of control as per my understanding. The question is how much of a difference will there be as both the numbers seem like a fair enough wider span of control. The interviewee responded to my above mentioned question saying while managing such larger number of employee the manager develops a sub hierarchy so that employees can be given enough attention. Being the senior vice president, the interviewee manages 18 employees.

- Centralization/Decentralization: This Corporation is a combination of both centralization and decentralization. Important and major decisions are made by the director level employees in a centralized manner while the use of different technologies in a particular project is decided in a decentralized manner. I would say they chose to emphasize local responsiveness where assets and resources are decentralized. Theoretically decentralization helps in increasing the job satisfaction. But according to me a combination of both increases the job satisfaction as in this case since it is a leading global financial services firm with operations worldwide.

- Formalization: As in the case of all big companies, our company of interest has a written set of rules as well that every employee is expected to follow. For example, an employee is allowed only three work from home per month. However, if the manager is okay with it, a lot of employees take more work from home leaves as long as the work is done.

Mechanistic and Organic Structures interpretation

As per my understanding, high work specialization of JP Morgan and Chase falls under the mechanistic model, as there is clear division of labor based on the task performed i.e., architects only provide end to end solutions, business analysts convert requirements to technical terms and the developers develop the solution. Here, a business analyst cannot perform the role of an architect, thereby making it rigid departmentalization.

Chain of command, just like work specialization also falls under mechanistic model as there is a clear hierarchy of who reports to who, as opposed to cross hierarchal teams. JP Morgan and Chase is a combination of both centralization and decentralization, hence this organizational structure exhibits both mechanistic and organic structures.

JP Morgan and Chase clearly follows wider span of control, thereby avoiding micromanagement and increases organizational efficiency. As in the case of Asian countries, the span of control is very wide, therefore,