Gore’s Flat Structure

GORE & ASSOCIATES ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 1

Gore’s Flat Structure

Department of Business and Entrepreneurship

BA130OL- Introduction to Business

Dr. Wilton Stewart

April 11, 2021

Grade Breakdown

>Communication: 17.00 points out of 20 points

>Analysis: 16.00 points out of 20 points

>Application: 16.50 points out of 20 points

>Effective Use: 14.00 points out of 20 possible points (error in APA format)

>Style: 16.75 points out of 20 possible points.

Remarks:

• Errors noted with Source entries in reference list. See professor’s comments.

• Errors noted in textual citations. See professor’s comments.

• Improper heading levels throughout document. See professor’s comments.

GORE & ASSOCIATE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 2

Wilbert Gore founded Gore's flat structure of running an organization. This structure is

informal, where there is no traditional chain of command. The leadership is in the form of

associates, and every member of the team freely gives his ideas and insights on how to run the

organization. The structure is built in the principle of freedom in decision-making, fairness and

inclusivity of all members, diversity of workers, and justice amongst all the associates, all of

which aim to foster the organization's organizational successes in the long run.

Gore's informal structure is perceived as a crucial form of running an organization

because it enhances teamwork among all team associates. As a team, the members freely share

their knowledge, skills, and expertise, which helps in the organization's fast problem solving and

productivity (Manz, C. C., Shipper, F., & Stewart, G. L. 2009) (Manz et al., 2009). The fact that

each member is involved in decision-making makes the associates feel included in running the

organization compared to the traditional administration where there was a chain of command.

Most workers' opinions were not listened to. This also aids in faster decision-making than the

formal structure, where a chain of power must be followed before a particular decision is made.

This teamwork ensures that all p0rohject deliverables are achieved within the stipulated timeline

because of the team's commitment. The associate's structure promotes trust among members and

signals a sense of responsibility among members.

Gore's informal structure has been shown to promote interaction amongst all associates.

This is aided by the communication lattice that helps all associates share their ideas and expertise

with no communication barriers that come with a formal administration. The development of

relationships helps in all individuals' growth without pleasing a particular boss in the workplace

as it happens with traditional formal structure. The interaction has been shown to enhance the

development of skills and knowledge among the young recruits in the company who freely

Commented [WS1]: Improper format for textual citation. Must be in accordancewith article 8.17 on page 266 of APA Manual 7th ed.

Commented [WS2]: This statement needs to be clarified because it is confusing. Who are we talking about? “Most workers’ opinions were not listened to” in what situation/form of organization?

Commented [WS3]: Grammatical error.

GORE & ASSOCIATE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 3

interact with other experienced workers in their expertise areas. By improving diversity and

inclusiveness, the informal structure respects the role played by every person despite their sex,

race, sexual orientation, religion, or political subscription (Cannon, P. et al., 2019). This

principle promotes equality, particularly to women who have been left out in most formal

structures. With over 10,000 workers, each member feels included in the success story of the

organization.

The organic structure of Gore’s organization

Gore’s organization has an organic structure of management. This is attributed to the

different structural characteristics, such as the short-chain of command made by associates.

Decision-making is decentralized, where the associates pass a particular decision without

consultation of a boss. With very few governance levels, the structure is generally referred to as a

flat one and is more informal because of the minimized chain of command. With 0ver 10,000

workers, the organization has no departments, and all workers interact freely in the lattice of

communication (Harder, J. W., & Townsend, D. R. 2017) (Harder & Townsend, 2017). The

process of decision-making is decentralized in that all associates can make a crucial decision

affecting the company, which is not the case in mechanical organizational structure. All these

properties conform with an organic organizational structure.

Gore’s flat organizational structure and innovation

The organic structure allows free interaction among members of the organization. As a

result, the associates share their perceptions, knowledge, and skills. This subsequently favors

innovation because new ideas on how to solve a particular problem are raised by the workers

freely. By introducing the young generation into the system who have a factual background and

Commented [WS4]: Author first and middle initials are not to be included in a textual citation. See chapter 8 of APA Manual.

Commented [WS5]: Incorrect format as a level II header. Further, there is no level I header in this document, making this format for a sub-header improper. See article 2.27 on page 47 of APA Manual 7th ed.

Commented [WS6]: Improper format. See earlier comment on textual citations.

Commented [WS7]: Incorrect format as a level II header. Further, there is no level I header in this document, making this format for a sub-header improper. See article 2.27 on page 47 of APA Manual 7th ed.

GORE & ASSOCIATE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 4

expertise in new technology, innovation is enhanced because the new workers will share insights

on how to perform some tasks using computers, such as efficient data storage and marketing.

This is a form of innovation in this system of organization.

My preference on working with Gore’s and Associates

Based on the various properties of the organization, such as inclusivity, fairness, and

workers' freedom in making decisions, I believe this is my working destination. I would be

delighted to work with workers who feel equal in their working place, where teamwork is the

only way to operate and where my opinions are taken with the utmost intensity they deserve. I

would also like Gore's organization because their focus is to grow one another in skills,

knowledge, and expertise, not impress the boss.

Commented [WS8]: Incorrect format as a level II header. Further, there is no level I header in this document, making this format for a sub-header improper. See article 2.27 on page 47 of APA Manual 7th ed.

GORE & ASSOCIATE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 5

References

Manz, C. C., Shipper, F., & Stewart, G. L. (2009). Everyone a Team Leader:: Shared Influence

at WL Gore & Associates. Organizational Dynamics, 38(3), 239-244.

Cannon, M., Thorpe, J., Emili, S., & Mader, P. (2019). WL Gore & Associates Inc.: Workplace

democracy in a transnational corporation.

Harder, J. W., & Townsend, D. R. (2017). WL Gore & Associates. Darden Business Publishing

Cases.

Commented [WS9]: Sources listed in reference list must be in alphabetical order in accordance with article 9.44 on page 303 of the APA Manual 7th ed.

Commented [WS10]: Incomplete entry. Missing. Improper capitalizations in title. Only lead words in title and subtitles are to be capitalized. Further, Source information missing.

Commented [WS11]: Missing information. What is DOI or URL?