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“Corporations and other businesses should try to eliminate the many ranks and salary grades that classify employees according to their
experience and expertise. A ‘flat’ organizational structure is more likely to encourage collegiality and cooperation among employees.”
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from
your own experience, observations, or reading.
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Many people fell that flat organizational structure is more likely to encourage collegiality and cooperation among employees. On the other hands, performance, experience and expertise of employees should be recognized and awarded by the company. In this discussion, I shall present arguments favoring the latter statement.
In merit based organizational structure, employees are evaluated and classified annually according to their performance, experience and expertise. The evaluation result is also used in salary adjustment. After the end of the year, employees get their evaluation result against the objectives set at the beginning of the previous year.
With this grading system, employees will understand their strengths and weaknesses and understand that their performance effects their salary increase. This will encourage them to improve their weakness and perform against their objective.
Moreover, as business week used to mentioned, People is the most valuable asset for a corporate and motivation of it's people indicates organization's healthiness. Recognition is one tool for employers to motivate their employees. For example, Employees who have experience and expertise that support company's business should be recognized and awards. Merit based organizational structure allow employers to recognize and award their employees.
Some people might argue that merit based organizational structure will create discrimination among employees. Employees might split into different groups -- "A" grade and the rests. And flat organizational structure can solve this problem. However, from my experience, it will not create any problem if merit system is implement correctly ; employees were informed about purposes of this system and were introduced to the system in a positive way, for example, as a tool to recognize and award instead of as a tool to grade and discipline.
Even though flat organizational structure might encourage collegiality and cooperation among employees, this structure might also demotivate employee because of lacking recognition and awarding. In conclusion, I believe that merit based organizational structure will benefits corporate in long term.
