Management And Organisational Behaviour Analysis Of Scanad
Background to Scanad
Scanad Uganda is a communications service agency that offers a comprehensive and integrated range of advertising and communication services in traditional advertising and integrated digital marketing. Established in 1982, Scanad has had a hand in transforming business for big brands in the telecom, banking, foods and beverage, airlines, and building materials industries. Because of the wide clientele that request personalized attention, Scanad employs over 40 men and women who in the advertising world, are paid to think of the next big creative idea for the their clients. As such, the working environment at Scanad is relaxed and yet formal to allow for thinking and ability to express creatively ones ideas.
The advertising world is a deadline driven world with clients sending “briefs” to be responded to by the agency in record time because they would like to remain competitive by responding promptly to their customers. The agency deals with needs of different clients with each demanding special attention, and rightfully so. On the other hand the agency works with a myriad of suppliers ranging from broadcast (Radio, TV, Print, Outdoor, and Digital), printers, photographers, model casting agencies, audio production, video production, and outsourced creative writers in the process of executing a client’s job. As such, there are systems that have been put in place to receive and process client requests, supplier interactions, interdepartmental interactions and generally how work gets done by the different individuals in the agency.
An Organization
An organization can be defined as the collection of people working together to achieve a common purpose It can also be defined as group of people who work interdependently toward some common purpose. Organizations may have formal structures with defined hierarchies (lines of command), but to varying degrees they can operate informally as well as formally by means of a network of roles and relationships that cut across formal organizational boundaries and lines of command. They also function through various other processes including group behavior, the exercise of power, influence and authority and the use of politics. By working collectively, the group of people will be able to perform tasks far beyond what an individual can achieve individually. Since every organization exists for a purpose and to achieve that purpose, organizations have to create products or services to satisfy the needs of the customers or clients-providing something useful to society.
A System
Systems are everywhere. They are found in the physical, biological, and social worlds. For example every human body lives on various systems of the body working well like the respiratory system, digestive system, nervous system etc. Socially we see systems in communities like schools, hospitals membership clubs like the local football club, rotary etc.
A system is a collection of parts (or subsystems) integrated to accomplish an overall goal (a system of people is an organization). Systems have input, processes, outputs and outcomes, with ongoing feedback among these various parts Katz and Kahn (1978), in their classic book The Social Psychology of Organizations, advocate for thinking about organizations as systems, social systems that are alive, organic, dynamic, and complex. An organization of even modest size is composed of many units or departments, such as personnel and payroll, customer service, or billing and shipping, and each of these units is a system. If one part of the system is changed, the overall system is likely to be influenced through the network of relationships between parts.
For example, at Scanad when a new employee is hired say in the creative department, his/her presence is likely to change the systems within the organization, especially within her own department. And if the Client Services department doesn’t respond to client requests promptly, it leads to client dissatisfaction which could endanger the reputation of Scanad and limit chances of getting more business in the future. Many factors affect the success of a company's advertising program, but one of the most important is the relationship between the advertiser (client) and its agency. In short, systems exist at many different levels in an organization, and the performance of one system influences the performance of the other systems.
Typically systems have inputs, processes and out of processed product. At Scanad there various systems for engaging with the client, suppliers, inter-departmental, human resource and operations and generally getting work done by the team.
An Organization as an Open System
The business organization is an open system. There is continual interaction with the broader external environment of which it is part. The systems approach views the organization within its total environment and emphasizes the importance of multiple channels of interaction. The systems school theory by Miller and Rice (1967) stated that organizations should be treated as open systems that are continually dependent upon and influenced by their environment. The basic characteristic of the enterprise as an open system is that it transforms inputs into outputs within its environment.
Mullins (2010) explains that organizations can be viewed as open systems which take inputs from the environment (outputs from other systems) and through a series of activities transform or convert these inputs into outputs (inputs to other systems) to achieve some objective. A highly effective organization is regularly exchanging feedback with its external environment – it is an open system. Healthy organizations regularly try to understand their environments through use of environmental scanning, market research and evaluations. These organizations often try to influence their external environment, as well, for example, through use of public relations, advertising and promotions, lobbying and advocacy, and educating industry and local leaders.
In the open systems model the organization, for example takes in resources such as people, finance, raw materials and information from its environment transforms or converts these and returns them to the environment in various forms of outputs such as goods produced, services provided, completed processes or procedures in order to achieve certain goals such as profit, market standing, levels of sales or consumer satisfaction.
In the advertising industry, it is a must know and understand the customer in order to develop the right communication and persuade them to take up the products, services or develop the attitudes being communicated. As such there is always an influence from the constantly changing environment of consumer behavior on the inputs, process and output of the development of communications for the purpose of advertising.
Scanad as an organization is an open system as will be illustrated in the figure below. Client business is influenced by the changes in consumer behavior, the actions of their competition, suppliers and distributors, governing bodies. This information comes to the agency in form of “briefs” that Scanad as a communication agency is supposed to respond to appropriately in order for the client’s business to thrive in the competitive environment.
Changes are often seen in the MACRO environment (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal) and MICRO environment (Customers, Distributors, Suppliers and Competitors). Constantly scanning the environment for these changes that could impact our clients’ businesses is important and is carried out by the “Strategist” and advice the client accordingly. On the client side, the research department also keeps a pulse on the changes in the environment that could impact on their business.
This information when put together in a brief is shared with the agency to advice the best approach in responding to the changes. Sometimes it necessitates quick action like in the example of simcard registration that was required by the government of all telecommunication company subscribers and also gave directives on simswaps and replacement of lost simcards. This impacted one of our clients, a leading telecommunication company and us as the Agency had to respond to this with communications informing the customers on the new directives and how the telecom had prepared for the required registrations.
The processes that turn these briefs into campaigns (Output) involve brainstorming sessions where the team (creative, media, strategy, client services) meet to digest the inform in the brief, make sense of it and come up with ideas and plans. Also part of the process of getting the job done is receiving quotations from suppliers the agency works with like media houses, photographers, printers, raising local purchase orders to them, receiving invoices from them and invoicing the client for work done.
In the media department, the function of monitoring works with independent research agencies that are hired to monitor if the booked adverts are running as planned. These research agencies also have information on consumer behavior in terms of media consumption. This is used to inform the media strategies, planning and buying hence being an external influence on the inputs of the media department to the process of developing campaigns. The media planner's work attests to an agency's strategic ability to understand the target market and the most optimal time and place to communicate with them.
In terms of output, a busy agency like Scanad is always launching a new campaign with one the clients, running market activation or managing a public relations crisis. The staff are motivated because they get to see their campaigns being appreciated by the client, media and industry associations like Uganda Marketers Society.
Advertising Agencies take part in a showcase of the best creative ideas which are awarded at Cannes Lions Awards. The Lions are the most established and coveted awards for the creative and marketing communications industry. Winning at the Festival puts one among the world’s elite in terms of creativity. The Creative teams are motivated to come up with award winning ideas so as to compete and win these prestigious awards. This awards is not just for the individual but for the agency, and facilitates in the organization achieving its goals which include growth of clientele base, increased profitability and of course expansion of the business.
Success of the process is measured by client recommendations when the agency is pitching for new business, new clients coming on board, renewal of contracts by existing clients, staff appraisals, winning industry awards.
In conclusion, Scanad is always interacting with the environment that affects its inputs, processes and outputs hence being an open system. Every organization needs to constantly scan its environment to keep tabs on the changes and be able to offer solutions that can position it to be competitive in the market place.
