Swift global Inc is a privately owned software consulting company in the United States of America founded by a group of IT professionals to revolutionize the information communication technology sector in the country and beyond its borders. Swift global is an incorporated limited company. The company is focused on developing software products over a broad range of customer bases. Swift global Inc also is a value-added reseller (VAR) of various software products of software giants such as Microsoft, Oracle, and Adobe Systems. Over the first five years, the company has witnessed enormous growth due to the increase in client base. The development of customized software products has opened new avenues for the company’s continued growth.
Requirements for the Overview of the organization
Swift global Inc is open to ideas and delivery of high-quality client-centric software and computer-based software applications and web solutions across a broad spectrum of domains. Established in 1990, Swift global Inc has successfully completed more than 200 projects in Kenya adopting a unique result-driven approach by analyzing the business needs with a clear focus on the client’s overall business objectives.
The company is comprised of a team of well-trained personnel in software and hardware to forge excellent technical and business partnerships with our clients. Swift global Inc is a young and vibrant organization, ready to understand the business needs of the customer and the world around you. The company is equipped with the latest cutting-edge technologies in both software and hardware applications. The latest of these technologies we are introducing in the market being the Printing and Imaging Group of solutions, and Enterprise Applications. A major concern to us is understanding the client and subjecting the needs to a rigorous project life cycle and management to ensure on-time delivery maximizing the clients’ return on investment.
What the organization does and organizational structure
The organization structure of Swift global Inc is greatly influenced by virtualization. According to Fink (2004) opportunities through virtualization come through reconfiguring activities in the knowledge areas and processes time and structure. At Swift Global in order to deal with the challenge of managing and measuring knowledge in an organization, its structure corresponds to the knowledge potential view. In this company experts are highly creative and individual employees who need a structure that enables the creation and innovation of new knowledge and also knowledge sharing with other knowledge workers (Fink, 2004). In order to further facilitate exchange and capabilities among employees within Swift Global Inc, the structure emphasizes on teamwork and networking.
The structure of Swift Global Inc is not only focused on the identification of knowledge, but it is also focused on the creation of future knowledge areas and processes. Fink (2004) says that in knowledge there should be a balance between the information about existing products and more importantly a vision and innovation of new products. This factor has been influential in the diversification of swift global products thus encouraging its growth Fink (2004). The company has all through realized that the present allocation of resources especially those residing in the minds of the knowledge workers must be leveraged to the future. This is because software development is one of the most dynamic careers. As a result it is important to note that the view of Swift Global Inc has always pointed to the future invention of new knowledge products and processes.
At Swift Global Inc the structural form of the new type of organization is characterized by interconnectivity and interrelationship among different kinds of organizations. Fink (2004) noted that “in this type of organization structure workers share their capabilities and expertise with other professionals to solve problems derived from customer demands” (p. 148). The company has been able to survive knowledge competition through managing to balance the issues of stability versus renewal and cooperation versus competition (Fink, 2004). Because the company operates in various parts of the world, it also employs a mechanistic structure.
According to Gitman & McDaniel (2008) since Swift Global Inc is also a mechanistic structure it is characterized by a relatively high degree of job specialization, rigid departmentalization, and many layers of management. Due to the complex, dynamic and unstable environments the company has seen the need to organize for flexibility and agility. For Swift Global Inc these forms of structures have helped the company to respond to rapid and unexpected changes in the business environment (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008).
The approach of operation adopted by Swift Global Inc is reflected in the name, is a modeling approach known as functional information and knowledge acquisition. This ideally enables the company to design a user-centric application by capturing knowledge about the end-user. Three concepts of operation are harnessed including: information processing goal, means, and requirements, to help our team of designers analyze, describe and represent knowledge types required by users to achieve task goals. This operation approach has enabled Swift Global Inc to work on classical concepts of means-end analysis resulting in three classes of means- selection of relevant information, analysis of relevant information, and evaluation of analyzed information.
How are tasks/work projects accomplished?
In Swift Global Inc research shows that every week employees are allocated a certain number of points and pledge those points to a project or projects that they feel will be the greatest benefit to the company. Gitman & McDaniel (2008) noted that employees can also give their points directly to the people they feel deserve the points. This mode of operation creates a high degree of transparency hence encouraging people to make their own decisions on what to work on. This results in the high level of productivity and a higher success rate. Gitman & McDaniel (2008) further says that the company’s highly collaborative and extremely flat structure allows the management of this company to respond quickly and successfully to changes in its environment.
Is the organization domestic or international? Locations?
Swift Global Inc is an international company. With its headquarters in the United States of America, the company has major offices in London, South Africa, Dubai, France, and the Netherlands. This growth has been attributed to product diversification. Innovation is seen as one of the key factors behind this growth. Swift Global Inc’s international presence facilitates the marketing capabilities and provision of support services of its software products. Offices operating outside the USA have channeled the needs of the customers, therefore, helping developers to create products that suit the needs of these clients (Bennet & David, 2004).
Domestically the company has come a long way to fit the presence of other software giants such as Microsoft, oracle Inc and Adobe Systems. Swift Global Inc is partnering with software industry leaders in bringing a fresh and innovative approach to consulting services around the globe. This is through acting as a liaison between the clients and the software provider. Our goal is to exceed the expectations of every one of our clients by offering outstanding customer service, increased flexibility, and greater value, thus optimizing systems functionality and improving operation efficiency (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008). Currently, with the proven proficiency in project management and solutions integration we are in the process of partnering with HP to offer a wide range of solutions including Imaging and Printing as well as integrating solutions that ensures secure printing using Safecom, VentiX is a renowned Electronic Document Management Solutions provider, Laserfiche.
Who are the competitors?
Around the world, the software industry is intensely competitive and is characterized by evolving technologies and industry standards, frequent new product introductions, and dynamic customer requirements. Swift Global Inc expects continued and increased competition from the current and future competitors, many of them have significantly greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources than the company. Such competitors include Sage Inc, Adobe Systems, Comp link, Microsoft, Oracle Inc, Linux, HP and Dell Inc. Due to lack of well structured regulatory practices, competition is generally driven by the market forces.
Competitors are favored by a number of industry standards that are very important for quality service delivery are not appropriately domesticated in many parts of Swift Global Inc operations or presence hence low quality of service delivery and support policies. To penetrate the market Fika is in the process of forming alliances with international partners, to resell their competitive quality solutions locally. This is giving the company a competitive advantage and ensuring that it delivers quality and satisfactory services to the clients (Bennet & David, 2004).
What are the factors that you believe are critical to success in this organization?
The future success of Swift Global Inc will depend in part upon the company’s ability to enhance its existing services and to develop, introduce and sell services that meet the changing customer requirements. The process of developing, introducing and selling the services we offer is extremely complex and is expecting to be increasingly more complex as well as expensive, in the future as new technologies are invented by our competitors.
The major critical success factors for swift global are the major characteristics and factors working at the tactical level of the organization enabling the forces of the organization to operate at the highest level of effectiveness (Bennet & David, 2004). These critical success factors include a team approach, a system approach, continuous learning, sharing, freedom and flexibility, creativity and innovation, and managing change.
What is the culture like?
In Swift Global Inc the culture is manifest in behavioral norms, hidden assumptions and human nature. Witte & Muijen (2000) says that this can be viewed from different levels, namely artifacts and creations, values and basic assumptions. Research shows that the company employs individualism collectivism culture and therefore transformational leadership emerges more easily and is more effective in both cultures (Witte & Muijen, 2000). Swift Global Incuses both individualistic and collectivistic culture which emphasize on assumptions of rationality rather than ascetics, religion or superstition. The company stresses follower responsibilities rather than rights coupled with motivation and assuming centrality of work and democratic value orientation (Witte & Muijen, 2000).
It has also been noted that at Swift Global Inc team members create excellence. This culture has spurred growth in this company. Since team members have unique skills they lead others along the pathway to excellence, carefully cultivating those who will later assume the controls (Parker, 2000). In order to groom future leaders successfully the company ensures that mentors pass both their gift for strategy and their flair for building a strong corporate culture. Parker (2000) established that “if workers at swift global engage in self surveillance then capitalists will not have to erect a costly bureaucracy to control their behavior” (p. 23).
How is information communicated?
Swift Global Inc organization chart shows information communication within the company. The lines of the organization chart represents channels of communication through which information flows but at the same time information communication may follow paths that cross traditional reporting lines (Griffin & Moorhead, 2009). In this company information moves not only from the top-down that is from CEO to group members but also upward from group members to the CEO. At Swift Global Inc downward communication provides directions whereas upward communication provides feedback to top management.
Besides that, the company uses communication that flows horizontally which is related to task performance. Griffin & Moorhead (2009) says that the easiest way employees often find that the easiest way to get their jobs done or to obtain the necessary information is to go directly to employees in another department rather than through the formal channels shown on the organizational chart. Guffey, Rogin & Rhodes (2009) on the other hand indicated that information within an organization flows through formal and informal communication channels. Guffey, Rogin & Rhodes (2009) further indicated that a free exchange of information helps organizations respond rapidly of changing markets, increase efficiency and productivity, build employee morale, serve the public.
Why would people want to work for this organization?
The management has a philosophy based on responsibility, integrity, and mutual respect. People who work at Swift Global Inc want to work at Swift Global Inc because we have an environment that encourages creativity and achievement. The company is led by a group of seasoned professionals possessing a combined over twenty years in the software development industry. The compensation rates at Swift Global Inc are considerable and above the market rates. Besides the above factors, Swift Global Inc is a company that encourages innovation employees are encouraged and motivated to work in an environment where they can express their ideas freely. In particular, the four founders have served for various companies for the past 5years and improved considerably the utilization of IT-enabled services.