“It is really important to have an organizational structure that will allow those companies to have the ultimate confidence.” – Susan Estrada
Visual elements such as lines, shapes, colors, tints, and objects allow artists to compose and create works of art like paintings and illustrations. These elements remain instrumental in helping assemble the outlines of an artistic vision and endow paintings with meaning, mood, and intensity. In a similar vein, we could view the modern organization as a creation of human thought processes and a product of applied intelligence. Such a creature exists in the domain of the purely abstract, and yet thrives in its native ecosystems and helps generate different expressions of value. The issue of organizational charts emerges in this context; we could regard these as stylized illustrations that bring a semblance of structure to the modern organization. A survey of these charts enables viewers to gain an appreciation of the moving parts of an organization, as also familiarity with the many modes through which an organization operates. The modern flowchart helps designers plot the shape and texture of organizational charts, thereby creating unique imagery that promotes analyses and creation.
Hierarchies convey levels of meaning when sketched inside the expanse of organizational charts. The typical hierarchy depicts a vertical structure populated by designations, job functions, reporting relationships, etc. Such rationale enables designers to describe multiple hierarchies inside flowcharts as part of efforts to describe, for instance, the corporate structure of trans-national organizations. When undertaken digitally, such an initiative empowers designers to encode significant volumes of information inside flowcharts; digital also allows creators to revise and refine hierarchies in tune with inputs from the leadership of an organization. In addition, such initiatives help sketch the expansion of manpower when organizations hire talent and create new positions inside existing hierarchies. In effect, the flowchart serves as an enabler that resonates with the idea of creating and developing hierarchies in the modern world.
New business operators can design and scale flowcharts in tune with growth and expansion in commercial ventures. Pursuant to this, operators may fashion organizational charts that bear empty spaces designed to accommodate incremental expansion of the work force, as also certain elements of evolving business strategy. In this context, operators could ideate on the best options to create and develop positions inside flowcharts, and connect these to the mission and vision of a new business. In doing so, they rely on the flowchart as a planning document, one that acts as a lodestone that guides the enterprise toward future expansion. In addition, the utility of organizational charts is reinforced when business founders use the document to plan organizational capacities in various contexts. Further, human resources professionals could help develop such flowcharts as a means to gain a perspective on the strengths of the sponsor organization.
Special projects (or high-value contractual undertakings) could merit the creation of custom organizational charts inside a business enterprise. This idea stems from the fact such projects mandate the development of a temporary matrix embedded with appropriate talent inside an organization. Flowcharts can help managers and supervisors plan special editions of charts in the service of executing special projects. The output could include plans that depict groups of teams helmed by experienced and mature resources and populated with selections of associates. We could state such editions of organizational charts function as independent units inside a parent organization, and help raise its estimation in the eyes of clients. In time, these microcosms could develop into special groups that bear potential to expand the organizational tree beyond its original structure.
Complex versions of organizational charts emerge when geography ( an implication of physical distance) plays a central role in the composition of human talent positioned inside an organization. Such charts indicate a fluid organizational structure in which work teams could be dispersed across regions and continents. The diffused leadership that guides such teams is an additional component that generates visually complex mechanisms sketched inside a succession of flowchart-based illustrations. However, designers could label each flowchart with a specific geography, thereby conferring a certain level of discipline and organization inside such illustrations. Such a stance allows reviewers to connect with layers of meaning and implications built into the flowcharts. At the same time, such flowcharts enable the leadership of an organization to assess the performance of various units and issue guidelines that promote an organization’s ability to execute projects in tune with clients’ demands and expectations.
The modern organization must devote certain sections of organizational charts to development objectives envisaged over the long-term. For instance, activities pertaining to product and service branding, development of corporate strategy, research and development, the cultivation of human resources, etc. must find a constant representation inside such illustrations. Flowcharts, when deployed for said purpose, can assist in the mission by depicting custom planks that spur development objectives. The mechanics of such actions, when described inside flowcharts, could depict the flow of qualified resources into said sections, thereby ensuring an uninterrupted pursuit of the long-term objectives of an organization. Intelligent designers may work to ideate multiple tiers into such sections, each focused on individual objectives. In addition, such organizational charts inspire employees and associates to invest their best energies in developing the sinews of the parent organization.
Matrix-based organizational charts represent a premier model for conglomerates that operate reporting structures both horizontally and vertically. Flowcharts can be deployed to design individual sectors of such illustrations; the benefits of such a stance extend to high levels of clarity and minimal role confusion in the minds of organizational members. In addition, the matrix model remains uniquely suited to scenarios wherein, organizations must allocate resources to multiple projects undertaken on a simultaneous basis. Inter-linked lines of reporting and collaboration find clear expression inside the flowchart. This stance promotes efficiency in operations, encourages an adherence to timelines, and galvanizes the organization to act in concert. Further, different editions of such flowcharts allow designers to develop custom illustrations that promote a firm-wide espousal of best practices inside sponsor organizations.
These lines of exploration help us to appreciate the possibilities inherent in flowcharts in scenarios wherein, designers embark on fashioning a variety of modern organizational structures. An intelligent designer or architect could elect to sketch sections of an organization in multiple flowcharts and fuse these into a singular master illustration. This allows designers to preserve detail, elevate the quality of representation, and ensure an effective transmission of fact-based information. In addition, the power of colors can help elevate the visual quality of information positioned inside a flowchart. Colors ensure a clear visual demarcation in densely packed on-screen information, thereby allowing viewers and readers to decode layers of meaning.
In addition, automated software packages can assist design efforts that seek to create organizational flowcharts. The use of software reduces the scope of human error and imparts speed to the design process. Software packages also inject high levels of certainty when revisions find implementation inside flowchart illustrations. They enable reviewers to quickly author and position comments, thereby speeding up acts of revising an organization’s structure. Further, software packages can assist in tasks related to restructuring an organization by assigning sets of values to each layer described inside flowcharts. Similarly, the use of automation helps designers re-align a structure in line with changes in the areas of thrust associated with any organization.
