Organized for Success!

Every organization functions on some basic principles and a particular structure. Working by the principles of a particular organizational structure enables the achievement of a common goal, i.e., growth and development of the organization and the employees that comprise it. Assigning tasks, dividing and executing them, and working together to attain specific goals is possible in any organizational culture that functions on a structured hierarchy. 

There are different types of organizational structures namely, the flat organizational structure, matrix organizational structure, a divisional organizational structure, pre-bureaucratic, bureaucratic, and post-bureaucratic structure, and a functional organizational structure. It is the functional organizational structure that we will discuss in detail, here. 

Functional Organizational Design

A functional organization is designed on a strong hierarchy where the positions and functions of each employee are clearly specified. There are superiors and there are subordinates, and all of them have a particular function to perform towards the common goal. The organization may be divided into individual departments, where each department has a specific function, and all departments function individually to execute a project. 

Depending on the requirement of the organization, the type and function of each department will be decided. Thus, when an employee is appointed in the organization, based on her/his skills, she/he will be designated to the appropriate department. By grouping employees with similar skills, a department is formed to comprise a functional organizational structure. All departments are governed by one sole authority, and all functions are monitored and coordinated by this authority. 

The functional organizational culture is most appropriate when an organization functions around only one product or service. Functional organizational structure examples would include organizations that have individually functioning units such as human resources, sales and marketing, creative departments, accounts and finance, advertising, etc. Let's take into consideration a store that designs and sells fashion clothing and accessories. Here, there will be a creative department that makes the designs. It will be the job of the accounts and finance department to keep a tab on the amount spent on creating the design and for bulk manufacturing.

The sales and marketing department will come up with specific plans to sell the products in question, the human resources department will ensure that employees are functioning to their highest potential, and the advertising department will come up with creative methods of attracting the consumer. All these activities will be governed by the president and mid-level managers of the organization. More products will lead to the creation of more departments and deeper hierarchies. Every department will have many other functions to perform, but these are the basic functions of each department.

While this may be the ideal setup in the functional organizational structure and design, it is possible that one or more of these jobs will be outsourced to external organizations. So, in terms of a functional organizational structure chart, the organization would look like this: 

Small Business Success: Desert Fireplaces & BBQs

There are literally thousands upon thousands of small businesses in the United States. Those businesses either take it upon themselves to become a success in a fiercely competitive environment. Or they become a casualty of competitors. More often than not, a casualty of themselves and their business  practices. 

With all the failures in vertical industries there are a few rising stars whose navigation to success has been point on. This article highlights one of those businesses.Desert Fireplaces and BBQs is your quintessential mom and pop operation. Or should I say it was. With multiple stores now throughout the Coachella Valley, in the Palm Springs, CA area, this mom and pop outfit appears to be cornering the market in local outdoor supplies. 

Introduction:

Desert Fireplaces and BBQs was established  to offer the desert communities a great place to shop for great quality bbq's, bbq island's, patio heaters, fire logs, and other fun outdoor/indoor products.  They also service and install most  of their products in the Coachella Valley and surrounding communities.. Please visit their website Desert Fireplace to learn more about products and services.

For all the small businesses out there, please take a look at a few comments posted on yelp and other sites written by real customers. It's no wonder this business is a success. They have possibly hundreds of comments posted and almost 100% give this business stellar reviews. The moral of the story here is CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. They have went the extra mile and kept their customers happy and coming back. This is how a small business can overcome all the obstacles and achieve success for the long term. Great job guys! To reach Desert Fireplace, please call 760-345-4003

Skills & Jobs: Lost in Tandem

The average duration of unemployment in the U.S. jumped to a record 35.2 weeks in September, up from 16.5 weeks when the recession began in December 2010, according to the Labor Dept. Today, almost half of unemployed Americans have been out of work for 47 weeks or more (the official definition of long-term unemployment), vs. 30 percent in June 2009.

PERISHABLE SKILLS 

Industries with highly perishable skill sets include health-care technology, telecommunications, and finance, where regulations have changed dramatically in the past year. The toughest, though, may be information technology. Companies in that sector have cut payrolls for 32 of the last 33 months, through June, for a cumulative loss of some 312,000 jobs, or about 10 percent. In technology, "if you've been out of work for a year or two, you're probably somewhat outdated," says Shami Khorana, president of HCL America, the U.S. arm of New Delhi-based HCL Technologies, which employs about 5,000 workers in the U.S. He plans to hire at least an additional 600 people as the economy improves and anticipates retraining some candidates with obsolete skills.

Unemployed workers in construction, retail, low-level health-care jobs, and teaching are more likely to be attractive to employers once hiring picks up because such jobs don't change as quickly, experts say. "You don't get the sense that residential construction has changed that much in the past decade," says Harry J. Holzer, an economist at Georgetown University and the Urban Institute in Washington. The skills needed to work at a grocery or clothing store—running the cash register, for instance—are "rudimentary," he says.

There are downsides to switching careers, because doing so can push workers into fields where their training isn't valuable, creating a less skilled workforce, says Daniel S. Hamermesh, a former Labor Dept. official who is now an economist at the University of Texas. "It's tremendously difficult [for workers] to decide when the skill is no longer valuable," he says.

When employers start hiring, they'll want to see prospective employees who have done more than pump out résumés trying to find a new job. Accenture (ACN), for example, will want to see "how the applicants used their time" to stay marketable, says Catherine S. Farley, a Seattle-based managing director at the consulting firm. "Did that person do something to keep their skills fresh?"

The bottom line: As more workers remain jobless for half a year or longer, they risk losing skills needed to get hired.

A sad situation that can cost this country dearly in the end. Solutions need to be proffered up and implemented as soon as possible. But will it be soon enough?