Organizations

In designing the structure of his organization, Sun Hydraulics Inc., Bob Koski sought to eliminate what he considered flaws in “standard” organizations. According to Bob, one such flaw was evident in the existence of formally defined hierarchies which contributed to employees being defensive and unproductive. He argues further that, this leads to negative behavioral patterns, which do not allow organizations to take full advantage of changing business requirements

Bob also tries to eliminate what he calls “ossification” – a tendency to be overly focused on procedures which have been ingrained in the minds of employees which dampens innovation and prevents a broader look at situations external to the organization.

Sun Hydraulics Inc., thus adopts a horizontal management structure which avoids titles, formal job descriptions reporting relationships etc. which are existent in standard organizations with hierarchical management structures. By doing this, Bob hoped to create more of an adult-adult environment as compared to the parent-child relationships that existed in hierarchical and also foster an environment of mutual respect, trust, open communications across all departments, and an all-inclusive decision making process.

This structure works for Sun hydraulics because, it is built into all facets of the organization and determines the behavior of the organization and that of its employees too. Organizational behavior as defined by Bauer and Erdogan; is a systematic study and application of knowledge about how individuals and groups act within the organizations where they work. Thus, the adopted design and structure at Sun Hydraulics Inc. affects the way in which the organizations and the individuals employed act. This structure is further strengthened because it tends to attract and hire individual’s whose values and personalities compliment the horizontal structure adopted by the organization. It has the buy-in of its employees.

To sustain its growth Sun...