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F R OM T H E F O U N D E R
Organization structure tune-up
There are some things you can do to “tune up” your organization structure, even if you don’t completely overhaul it.
D esign firms are complex organisms. They rise and fall based on the collective morale of the people who work in them. Organization structure has a big impact on that morale. Yet, my experience with many architects and engineers who are also firm owners is that the moment the topic of organization structure comes up, they are immediately turned off. So many think it is just some amorphous thing that really doesn’t matter and they have little interest in it.
Mark Zweig
But the fact is that it IS important. And there are some things you can do to “tune up” your organization structure, even if you don’t completely overhaul it. Here are some of those things that you should take a look at: 1. Unity of command. Does each person have one direct supervisor and only one? This is a common problem in AEC firms because they are project-driven firms and there is often some sort of matrix or quasi-matrix organization structure. People don’t knowwho their boss is. Is it the department head of the department they work in? Is it the PM whose job they are working on? There must be absolute clarity about who can direct someone so that person can establish the priorities and the person is not pulled in different
directions. I have also witnessed this same phenomenon in firms with two partners who are very close, or a husband and wife who both work there. It confuses the employees and leads to dissatisfaction and problems. 2. Confusion over who is responsible for what. This is another frequent area that needs some help in AEC firms. Who is responsible for collection of AR? Is it the PM? Is it the principal in charge of that client? Is it the finance and accounting people? Is it someone else? This also applies to marketing and selling. Who is ultimately responsible for that? The BD people? The PM? The principal? This confusion results in certain
See MARK ZWEIG , page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER DECEMBER 27, 2021, ISSUE 1421
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