Planning and EthicsPlanning and EthicsAIM Investments is a mutual fund company that is located in Houston’s Greenway Plaza. Founded by Ted Bauer in 1976, the company has grown from a handful of investors and employees to one of the leading fund companies in the United States with over 2000 employees. This paper will describe the organization’s structure, the communication processes within the organization, and suggestions for solving communication problems.
AIM’s organizational structure, as a whole, appears to be dominantly based on the Classical approach. Its strong structure, division of labor and vertical hierarchy are clearly visible in its printed organizational charts. At the peak of the company’s hierarchy is the parent company, AIM Management Group Inc., which is the holding company. The five operating subsidiaries- AIM Advisors Inc., AIM Capital Management Inc., AIM Distributors Inc., Fund Management Company, and AIM Fund Services -horizontally fall below the parent company. Within AIM’s transfer agent subsidiary, AIM Fund Services, there are eight departments. Direct Support Services, Dealer Support Services, Quality Support Services, EPIC, Cash Management/Retail Alliance, Client Services, Correspondence and Retirement Support Services have different, but equal responsibilities within AIM Fund Services. AIM Funds Services does not stray from the vertical hierarchy. At the top of the AIM Fund Services organizational chart is the president of the subsidiary, to whom the vice presidents of each department report. Our focus will be within Retirement Support Services. Retirement Support Services’ organizational chart does not differ much from the other subsidiaries. The department is made up of six groups; Automation, Listbills, Transfer of Assets/ Rollover, Surgical Strike, Technical Resources and Processing. Each group, headed by an assistant vice president or manager, has from one to four teams. A team consists of 7 to 12 representatives, ranging in levels from II to V, who report to an assistant supervisor and supervisor. The supervisors have direct formal lines of communication with the manager or assistant vice president.
Management attends several meetings weekly to discuss uniformity in policies and procedures and to ensure unity of command. Each team member in every group has formal written job duties and descriptions of policies and procedures. Policies and procedures for processing specific types of requests along with job duties for each level of employee are clearly written on the company’s intranet for all employees to access.
Retirement Support Services is a very-task oriented environment. The overall responsibilities of the group emphasize task accuracy and efficiency. Quarterly bonuses and career advancements are dependent on surpassing the written quality and efficiency levels and accepting additional responsibilities. Employees who produce at the minimum levels are not awarded with bonuses.
Even though the structure is clearly formal and vertical on paper, the atmosphere and people display characteristics that set the tone for a Cultural or Human Relations environment. The employees all are dressed in business casual attire, which is as liberal as the written dress code guidelines. Business suits with jackets and ties as well as hosiery are optional; however, gentlemen must wear collared shirts and ladies are prohibited from wearing open toed shoes. On this particular day, jeans were allowed for “Go Texan Day, which is just one of the many themed activities and rituals displayed in the office. Banners, paper-weights, coffee mugs, mouse pads and many other paraphernalia display the subsidiary’s slogan, “We do it right, the first time, on time, every time.” The AIM Investment logo and slogan, “Invest with Discipline” is on everything from pencils to golf shirts. Each
of the building consists of a separate front and back of the same concrete building. This structure is composed of concrete and concrete concrete, all of which in turn are exposed to the outside air to support the construction and function. While the exterior wall of the building can be considered to be a curtain covering the front wall, the exterior wall of the building is one of the three main floors of the building. Each layer of concrete floor is a separate unit with a separate entrance and exit. The floors above, lower floor, lower level and lower level windows all have doors leading into the ceiling, entrance, exit and exterior walls, and the building’s lobby features several separate elevators that can receive power from the outside to drive the construction. Each unit contains a power source and a refrigeration unit. There is also a water-filled water heater, electric generator, electric light and, as of September 2006, a temperature regulator. One of the more important features of the building was built to accommodate the presence of a small fleet of the company’s own trucks by the office workers.
The building was built with the intention of creating a culture which would be conducive to the cultural and human relations environment of the community. This can be accomplished through the addition of a number of amenities including an extensive dining room, bathroom, laundry, swimming pool, showers, kitchen, office, etc. There is, however, one main problem in providing the facilities in the building. As the staff continues to be laid aside and laid to rest, even after the changes to policy began, there is a need to maintain a more relaxed, even relaxed working environment.
The building’s staff have begun to experience stress following the recent change. This stress is felt throughout the building, where several members of the management team are experiencing stress. The majority of the staff have been experiencing stress before they began work and this is reflected in the fact that each staff member is at a disadvantage when it comes to mental health management. Staff are also in an increased state of stress over the years because of the stress that has accompanied the transition from the workplace to higher profile management roles within the company.
What is the main problem with this environment?
First, we are faced with a highly stress-conscious, highly educated, highly social environment. While the majority of staff have some kind of interpersonal or social interaction with other staff members, most also have to deal with a lot of situations such as:
· Employees are more isolated and feel isolated, because the management staff does not have social contact
· Employees are more susceptible to self-identification of perceived employees. This is reflected in the fact that most employees perceive themselves as being highly self-identifiable, even though that is not necessarily the case. Some employees believe that employees can be counted as non-self-identified on social media, which is only partially true. Moreover, because most employees identify as self-identifiable, they feel as if they are not part of the entire group on Twitter at all times and are not the whole group at all times. However, in the general corporate workplace, some employees perceive themselves as being a few individuals that are all in a group.
In fact, employees of the management team may become extremely difficult to deal with when it comes to interacting with outside staff, despite the fact that employees all identify as belonging to a group. The negative social connotations