Introduction
A properly augmented human resource is essential for the success of any organization since it is the most valuable asset in organizations. Several observations have been made linking the performance of an organization to its employees (Zeca, 2019). Accordingly, most employers are placing em phasis on employees, even as the competition for talent globally increases. That has been reflected in the changes being made to most organizational cultures and structures, in a bid to create an optimal working environment.
The present paper aims to discuss the organizational culture and structure with a focus on Zendesk, a technology company that designs software to improve customer relations. That has been done by describing the seven dimensions of organizational culture, and using the framework to describe Zendesk’s organizational culture, and how it is used to create competitive advantage. The paper ends by analyzing the organization’s structure.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Seven Dimensions of Organizational Culture
Lumen (n.d.) define organizational culture as the systematic way in which employees and their leaders behave and interact while performing their duties. It consists of value s, belief systems, norms, habits and assumptions that capture the essence of an organization. The seven dimensions of organizational culture as are detailed below:
Detail-Oriented Organizational Culture
A detail-oriented organization culture focuses on precision of outputs based on the customer’s expectations (Lumen, n.d.). The culture is commonly observed in the service industry, such as in the hotel industry, where there is a need to meet the particular needs of each individual served as accurately as possible.
Innovative Culture
The culture is created in an environment where the leaders stimulate cr itical thought, which in turn nurture out-of-the-box thinking for the growth of the organization. It is common in technological companies since their measure of success is dependent on these innovations
Aggressive Culture
Aggressive culture is witnessed in highly competitive organizations, in which their success is dependent on the company outdoing its competitors (Lumen, n.d.). Employees in such organizations are expected to be forceful, as they endeavor to outperform each other, and also their competitors.
Outcome-Oriented Culture
Organizations that are outcome-oriented focus primarily on producing results. The culture is common in sales companies, such as real estate firms. It is noteworthy that their practices are, at times, consistent with the aggressive culture.
Stable Culture
A stable culture is characterized by a well-defined corporate structure, where the responsibility of each individual is clearly defined, and there are no responsibilities which overlap (Lumen, n.d.). It is common in government organizations.
People-Oriented Culture
Organizations that are people-oriented value having a conducive working environment that offers equitable opportunities and fair compensation for all employees (Lumen, n.d.). Moreover, such organizations have several other benefits that improve the overall quality of life as an addition to the basic pay.
Team Oriented Culture
Team-oriented organizations are built on the practice of teamwork, where members work together to achieve collective goals (Lumen, n.d.). The main benefit of such a culture is that it enhances team spirit and cohesion among workers, which in turn improves the overall efficiency of the organization.
Zendesk Organizational Culture
Zendesk’s organizational culture is both people-oriented and team-oriented as discussed below:
People-oriented Culture
The company culture places significance on work-life balance. According to “This is Zendesk” video (2012), a work-life balance is evidenced by the presence of a basketball rim within the company’s premise, which can be used for recreation. Apart from that, there is a kitchenette where the employees can get free snacks and beverages such as coffee. Also to note, from the photographs, all the employees, including the CEO, appear to mix and interact freely irrespective of their rank, which is an evidence of equality, unlike what would be witnessed in bureaucratic systems, where the employees would unconsciously segregate themselves based on their ranks or perceived level of importance in the organization.
Team-Oriented Culture
Zendesk values teamwork. According to the video, “managers and employees freely interact and work together as a team irrespective of their responsibilities” (“This is Zendesk,” 2012). Through introspection, team unity is noted on how the company’s CEO interacts with the employees, a scenario which would be unlikely in aggressive and stable cultures. Additionally, the uniformity in their dress code is another evidence of cohesion, and the fact that all the employees are categorized in the following teams: engineering, support crew, IT, creative department, Sales, Services, Documentation, finance, Human Resource and executive team (“This is Zendesk,” 2012). Lastly, employees go to eateries and coffee places together, which further reinforces team spirit. For instance, in the head office, the employees take their lunch at Taqueria Can-Cun Mexican food joint and meet for drinks after work at Monarch.
How Zendesk uses its Corporate Culture to Create a Competitive Advantage
A strong corporate culture can offer a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining employees. Additionally, it helps to create a corporate brand which can also attract clients to the company. Zendesk can gain a competitive advantage from its corporate culture in hiring, retaining staff and innovation as detailed below:
Recruiting Employees
Zendesk has a strong company culture that creates a positive employer brand for a prospective employee. The fact that prospective talent can learn of the authentic and conducive working environment is a critical step in having effective recruitment. For instance, the fact that the company has employees from different continents and having different cultural practices and outlook towards life, yet they are appreciative of the work environment can drive motivate skilled and talented workers to desire to work in the organization without fear of discrimination (Lumen, n.d.). Additionally, having a defined culture can be beneficial since it can help prospective employees to determine whether they can easily fit in the organization and filter off those who may not be willing to conform to the corporate culture.
Retention of Hired Employees
According to the video, it is stated that the company started with only three employees, and presently, it has over three thousand employees. Considering that the company was founded in 2007, having a 1000% increase in the number of employees within 13 years is an indication that the company has an insignificant turnover (“This is Zendesk,” 2012). That could be explained by the positive culture of the organization that attracts a high number of employees, and subsequently increases their desire to continue working with the organization. With the current dynamics in the work environment, most valuable employees are opting out of a toxic work environment, characterized by stiff competition, which culminates in resentment amongst employees. Instead, they prefer a work environment where there is a balanced work-life balance, and where they are treated with respect regardless of their responsibilities in the organization.
Promotion of Innovation
The company culture believes in the diversity of employees (“This is Zendesk,” 2012). An advantage of having a diverse workforce is that it brings ideas and perspectives from different parts of the world and lifestyles, which can then be used to improve the existing products or provide new insights to existing products. It is also worth noting that having a diverse workforce improves market outreach since the products can be tailored to meet the needs of new markets.
Zendesk Organizational Structure
Zendesk organization is based on a functional structure. A functional structure groups employees into functional areas based on their roles in the organizations (Lumen, n.d.). Apart from that, the employees are structured in such a manner that is representative of the value chain in the organization and includes support departments such as human resources, finance and accounting.
According to the video, the functional groups in the organization are the engineering team, support crew, IT, creative department, Sales, Services, Documentation, finance, Human Resources and finance (“This is Zendesk,” 2012).
In view of the above, an illustration of the organization structure is as detailed overleaf:
CEO
Support Services (Documentation, Creative Team)
Technical Team (Engineering & IT)
Finance
Human Resources
Sales and Marketing
Analysis of the Structure
The structure best suits an organization whose sales are steadily increasing, increasing the number of employees. Considering that the employees have increased from only three in 2007 to over 3000 employees currently, this structure is the most efficient.
One notable advantage of the structure is that it allows for more profound domain expertise since the sub-categorization allows for division of labor, which in the long increases the productivity of the organization (Lumen, n.d.). Additionally, considering that the company focuses on customer service, this is a preferable structure since the support being offered can be categorized into groups or tiers, depending on the simplicity of their complexity. For instance, Zendesk (n.d.) contended that simple issues are solved by tier 1 team members (product support). If the issue is not resolved satisfactorily, it can be escalated to tier 2 or tier 3, which consists of the technical support team.
Conclusion
Given the above, it is noteworthy that the success of Zendesk is primarily attributed to its corporate culture and organizational structure. The corporate culture is people-oriented and team-oriented. That, together with the fact that the company embraces cultural diversity in hiring employees, boosts innovation and creates a brand name for the organization. In terms of the organizational structure, the company has adopted a functional structure for the effective management of teams having different roles in the organization. Considering that it is a customer support company, this is the best structure for effective management and operation.
References
Lumen. (n.d). Why it matters: Organizational structures. Principles of management . [online] Courses.lumenlearning.com. Available at: <https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/why-it-matters-organizational-structures/> [Accessed 13 September 2020].
Lumen. (n.d). Why it matters: Culture and diversity. Principles of management . [online] Courses.lumenlearning.com. Available at: <https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/why-it-matters-culture-and-diversity/> [Accessed 13 September 2020].
Zeca, E. D. (2019). Skills–one of the most important assets in the future global business. In Business Risk in Changing Dynamics of Global Village 2, 2019 (pp. 271-276). Publishing House of University of Applied Sciences in Nysa.
Zendesk. (Producer). (2012, May 17). This is Zendesk [Video file]. Retrieved September 13, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0uaSU6IVN4
Zendesk. (n.d.). Structuring your customer support organization. Retrieved September 13, 2020, from https://d26a57ydsghvgx.cloudfront.net/content/resources/How to structure your customer support org.pdf.
