Introduction
Morgan’s images of organization (1998) are popular diagnostic tools in the field of management as they allow for an organization to be viewed from different perspectives. In turn, this allows for a more holistic view of the organization and a better understanding of the situation being diagnosed.
This paper uses Morgan’s metaphors of organization in diagnosing an employee motivation problem at Accenture. This paper also presents a critical evaluation of the diagnostic reading, as well as recommendations with regards to the possible alternatives and solutions.
Company Overview
Accenture is “a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company” (Accenture, 2013). Accenture is the new name for Andersen Consulting after it severed its ties from Arthur Andersen in 2000 due to a long-standing feud (CUPE, 2003). It employs about 259,000 people who provide services to clients in over 120 countries (Accenture, 2013). The company provides technology and management consulting services where some of these services include network management and creation as well as computer systems design. It develops solutions and provides its clients with the expertise, knowledge, and technologies to help them deliver their products more efficiently and effectively; improve their operational performance; increase their revenues in existing markets; and enter new markets. Its clients include 75% of the Fortune Global companies and eighty-nine of the Fortune 100 Global companies (Accenture, 2013).
The Problem
Accenture is a great company that prides itself with working with some of the biggest companies and having the most talented employees. On the positive side, employees enjoy great compensation and benefits packages, challenging projects, and many training opportunities.
The problem is that when employees apply for a job in the company, they are often not given any specific details about the job. In particular, applicants are often told that they wouldn’t know which office they will be deployed in and what shift they will have to work in. Essentially, once the employee accepts the job, the employee no longer has any say on where he or she is deployed or what shift he or she has to work in. Although the employees are given a signing bonus and a great compensation package, they are basically at the company’s mercy, that is, they have no choice with regards to the projects they will be assigned to or with the tasks they will work on. Once the employees accept the job, they are obliged to unquestioningly do as they’re told.
In addition, although the company offers many training opportunities, each training opportunity comes with a bond. Some projects require employees to undergo numerous trainings, which means that their bond gets longer and longer until they become stuck in the company. They are unable to leave due to the obligations indicated by their bond, and failure to complete these obligations will require the employee to pay the equivalent amount, which is often very high. With most of Accenture’s projects being long-term, employees can get stuck doing the same thing for many years. The work can also become so taxing that the employees become overworked and are no longer able to have a work/life balance. Although not all projects are this taxing, if an employee gets assigned to a project of this nature then they are bound to endure this kind of work environment and lifestyle for a long time.
This leads to the other problem, which is an inconsistent organizational culture (“Accenture Employer Reviews,” 2013). Since Accenture mostly outsources its requirements, various companies work on behalf of Accenture, whether they are direct subsidiaries of Accenture or are third-party companies. Because of the seemingly fragmented setup where management of the various Accenture offices is highly decentralized, there is also no single organizational culture. While employees in some offices enjoy a work/life balance, employees in other offices are overworked. Still, other employees enjoy a good career path while others do not experience advancement in their careers. In addition, some managers are competent while others are not.
Diagnostic Reading
As asserted by Morgan (1998), there is no single metaphor or theory that provides a complete view of an organization. He suggested that different perspectives and metaphors should be used in analyzing an organizational problem. In this regard, a diagnostic reading of the problem at Accenture will be conducted using the machine, organism, brain, culture, political system, psychic prison, flux and transformation, and domination metaphors (Morgan, 1998).
Machine Metaphor
In addition, the structure of the company is decentralized. In particular, Accenture has a matrix structure where, just like in a machine, every part of the organization or every project is responsible for a certain function. Again, this type of structure enables the company to operate efficiently. As asserted by Kuprenas (2003), a matrix structure leads to improved marketing, decreased unbillable time, and more entrepreneurial stability, increased efficiency in multiple projects, and increased flexibility and communication. A matrix structure also facilitates the decision-making process as every functional unit is responsible and accountable for its decisions.
Organism Metaphor
Brain Metaphor
Culture Metaphor
Political System Metaphor
Psychic Prison Metaphor
In this regard, some defense mechanisms are also evident. In particular, fixation can be seen from the way that Accenture insists on its old way of doing things, that is, prioritizing the clients’ needs over the employees’ needs. As well, rationalization can be seen from the way that Accenture provides great compensation packages in exchange for the employees’ commitment. For example, they give new employees a signing bonus in exchange for the employee not resisting the work conditions given to them in terms of work schedules or work locations. In addition, Accenture can rationalize the rigid bonds they impose on employees by saying that they, after all, provide their employees with great learning opportunities and that they just want to ensure that the company also benefits from the employees’ increased learning.
Also, because of this, the company may feel immortal or more powerful than they really are. Because of the perks that they provide their employees, they believe that these would be enough to retain their employees. They also believe that even if their employees do leave, they still won’t have any difficulty hiring new employees as they will be attracted to the compensation package.
Flux and Transformation Metaphor
Domination Metaphor
Accenture uses the rational-legal type of domination. Although Accenture is not a bureaucratic organization, Max Weber asserts that the ideal types of authority (i.e. charismatic, traditional, and rational-legal) are rarely found in their pure forms (Tian, 2003). As Weber indicated,
the basis of every authority, and correspondingly of every kind of willingness to obey, is a belief, a belief by virtue of which persons exercising authority are lent prestige. The composition of this belief is seldom altogether simple. In the case of ‘legal authority,’ it is never purely legal. The belief in legality comes to be established and habitual, and this means it is partly traditional. (as cited in Tian, 2003, p. 30)
In Accenture, the company dominates over the employees in that the company believes that it is entitled to control the employees’ work conditions because of the perks and the trainings that it gives the employees. Although these agreements are legally binding as they are included in the contract signed by both the employees and the company, they still tend to be manipulative and coercive as they force the employees to work under conditions that may or may not be amenable with them.
Critical Evaluation
The Accenture storyline should integrate the following:
- Decentralization of the organization
- Rapid growth of the organization
- The organization’s learning initiatives
- The existence of multiple cultures within the organization
- The various Accenture offices imposing different policies and regulations
- The organization being stuck in its ways of being client-focused
- The changes that the organization must constantly deal with
- The coercive employee contracts that the employees are made to enter.
In assessing these different perspectives, it can be seen that the rapid growth of the
organization and the constant changes they deal with has led to the organization being structured the way it is and imposing the policies that it does. Because of the many clients that they have to service, a matrix structure was adapted. However, a matrix structure in itself is not problematic as many companies, such as IBM, Oracle, and SAP successfully implement this structure. In particular, the matrix structure, if properly implemented, “enables companies to use human resources flexibly, produce innovative solutions to complex problems in unstable environments, increase information flow through the use of lateral communication channels, and leverage economies of scale while remaining small and task oriented” (Sy & Cote, 2004, p. 437). Similarly, the learning opportunities that Accenture provides its employees are not problematic in themselves as they promote organizational learning from the approach of individual learning in the organizational context (Cook & Yanow, 1993). With knowledge being a key strategic resource in organizations, Accenture’s training initiatives ensures that knowledge is continuously created and shared within the organization.
On the other hand, the main problem may lie in the organizational culture as each Accenture office or subsidiary has a different culture, which then leads to the differences in the policies, regulations, and work conditions imposed in these offices. Similarly, the company’s fixation on it client-focused strategy may be leading to the neglect of its employees’ well-being, which in turn results in the unpleasant working conditions.
Alternatives and Solutions
Considering that the main problems that have been identified are management’s client-focused strategy and its culture, a solution would be for the company to incorporate a single culture throughout the organization. As Morgan (1989) indicates, organizational culture integrates and binds everything together. With a single culture being cultivated throughout the organization, which means that the same values and beliefs are being advocated, it becomes easier to create policies that will be consistently implemented throughout the organization.
In these policies, the company should also consider how they can motivate their employees. Although they are able to retain their employees because of the contracts that the employees enter into and although the employees are provided with perks and great compensation packages, the lack of a work./life balance and the lack of growth can lead to job dissatisfaction, which in turn can lead to decreased productivity and a reduced quality of work. This would be in accordance to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, which states that the needs of people consist of physiological needs; safety and security; belongingness; esteem; and self-actualization (Kroth, 2007). While Accenture successfully addresses the employees’ physiological needs, as well as their needs for safety, security, and belongingness, the company has to do a better job of addressing the employees’ needs for esteem and self-actualization through career advancement and through task variation. This would also be in accordance to Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory, which states that factors such as growth, advancement, recognition, and achievement lead to job satisfaction while factors such as work condition, company policy, and supervision lead to job dissatisfaction (Sachau, 2007).
Conclusions
This paper diagnosed the problem with employee motivation and job satisfaction at Accenture by using Morgan’s organizational metaphors. While the company’s rapid growth and the many changes it has to deal with play a major part in the problems being encountered, the main problems that were identified included the lack of a single organizational culture and the company’s strategy of being too client-focused that it neglects to pay more attention to the needs of its employees.
Although the matrix structure of the organization does not necessarily contribute to the problems, it’s possible that the company is not implementing their matrix structure in an effective manner. For instance, Sy & Cote (2004) assert that employees in a matrix organization should have emotional intelligence and that the alignment of goals; the clarification of roles and responsibilities, better decisions; and employee cooperation are needed. Likewise, Ford & Randolph (1992) suggest that the effectiveness of a matrix structure is dependent on factors such as project effectiveness, project leader characteristics, organizational characteristics, and environmental influences.
In this regard, it would be recommended that Accenture revaluates its management and business strategy so that it is able to satisfy both its employees and its clients, which in turn lead to increased productivity, increased employee satisfaction, and increased revenues.
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