It is not surprising that the way organisations go about their business continues to change as the wider environment they operate in evolves. After all, organisations will likely seek to respond to wider environmental changes and if they don’t, failure/loss of market share or influence will be likely consequences.
The slide show below describes as a continuum some of the emerging organisational trends – what did things look like, how were organisations structured, how did they operate in the recent past and what are the key features we are we seeing now? – The list is not comprehensive and of course it is open to debate.
A 21st Century Workplace collaboration
There will of course be organisations exhibiting more or less of the various features described in the slide show. So features that can be seen in one organisation may not be apparent in another.
There are clear and emerging differences between the organisations of the previous and those of the current century. Broadly organisations today are more likely to focus on organisational culture, collaboration, fluidity and their place in the world whereas the 20th century was much more about structure, authority, the local and a sharp focus on output.
So hierarchical structures have often been replaced by flatter ones together with a greater emphasis on leadership that has been distributed widely. Likewise team-based relationships have often replaced individualised manager – employee relationships. And informal changing networks and teams have become commonplace in place of formal, defined and permanent structures.
Have a look and perhaps consider how it relates to your organisation…
