How My Current Organization Would Be Impacted if The Contemporary Organization Design Was Implemented-Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas

How My Current Organization Would Be Impacted if The Contemporary Organization Design Was Implemented-Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas

Blue Cross Blue Shield in Texas has been experiencing challenges maintaining gender diversity in top leadership positions. For example, since I joined the company as a Customer Advocate II, I have observed that the requirements for men and women seeking leadership positions differ. Women seeking leadership positions as Customer Advocate Manager, Quality Manager, Inventory Manager, and provider/member services manager should have over three years experience, training in different states, and specific education criteria. In contrast, men can hold leadership positions even though they do not have a degree. Therefore, the organization needs to change its organizational design to prevent discrimination. The contemporary organization design with a matrix structure would create equal opportunities for men and women at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, leading to a diverse workforce. According to Šerifi & Dašić (2012), organization design is characterized by respect for people, decentralization, a wide range of control, flexible structure, readiness for organizational change, and teamwork (p.334). Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas can use the contemporary organization design to promote respect for women, thus enabling them to seek leadership positions and gain their followers’ support.

The matrix structure is essential in creating equal opportunities for men and women in the organization. Matrix organization structures include various business areas that promote communication, lateral authority, and influence (Grubenmann, 2016, p.6). Therefore, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas can use the matrix structure to add business areas that create opportunities for women. The business areas may include assistant management positions and employee relations. The matric structure can also promote mentorship for women leaders because every department can have two managers, one female, and one male, to promote the exchange of different ideas and opinions. Mentorship is among the main interventions that can help women leaders become effective leaders and leverage various leadership positions (Mousa et al., 2023, p.2). Therefore, it is important for women leaders to get a mentor with leadership experience.

The matric structure can also help remove the glass ceiling for women seeking leadership positions at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. According to Galsanjigmed & Sekiguchi (2023), the glass ceiling limits women’s promotion to leadership positions and hinders them from getting higher leadership positions in the organization (p.370). Having two managers in the same department can also promote the exchange of indigenous knowledge. Maracle et al. (2020) argue that exchanging indigenous knowledge enables leaders to support their followers, thus creating a sense of positionality among the community members (p.6). Women leaders at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas can also encourage and support other women employees seeking leadership positions. Manzi & Heilman (2021) argue that women leaders play a significant role in helping other women become successful by managing the beliefs that people have about women’s and men’s characteristics. Women leaders at the organization can also use their positions to prove that women leaders bring value to an organization. According to Appelbaum et al. (2019), women play a major part in increasing the value of leadership. Therefore, women in leadership positions must lead effectively to create a positive perspective about women’s leadership.

References

Appelbaum, S. H., D’Antico, V. & Daoussis, C. (2019). Women as Leaders: The More Things Change, the More It’s the Same Thing. The International Journal of Management and Business, 10(1).

Galsanjigmed, E., & Sekiguchi, T. (2023). Challenges women experience in leadership careers: An integrative review. Merits, 3(2), 366–389. https://doi.org/10.3390/merits3020021

Grubenmann, S. (2016). Matrix organization. Journalism Practice, 11(4), 6. https://doi.org/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294120670_Matrix_Organisation

Manzi, F., & Heilman, M. E. (2021). Breaking the glass ceiling: For one and all? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 120(2), 257–277. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000260

Maracle, S., Bergier, A., Anderson, K., & Neepin, R. (2020). “The work of a leader is to carry the bones of the people”: Exploring female-led articulation of indigenous knowledge in an urban setting. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 16(4), 281–289. https://doi.org/10.1177/1177180120954441

Moss-Racusin, C. A., Dovidio, J. F., Brescoll, V. L., Graham, M. J., & Handelsman, J. (2012). Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 109(41), 16474-16479.

Šerifi, V., & Dašić, P. (2012).Characteristics of Traditional and Contemporary Models of Organizational Structures. Vrnjačka, Serbia; SaTCIP ltd.

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Prompt: Include the details of how your current organization would be impacted if the proposed design was implemented there.

You will incorporate information from the weekly journal reflection and analysis into this section.