Have you worked in both? The studio set up, where a select pod of people work on one building and all its aspects while another group works on another, and the departmentalized set up, where design and production are separated by a glass curtain and sometimes even a glass ceiling? If so, what do you think? Which did you like better?
First, in some cases, departmentalized works a little better. Such a case would be where the work is repetitive, the work force is not as talented overall (sorry), and upper management tends to be more control freaks. However, if you are in a departmentalized set-up, you may still design ... in a way. When something a designer puts through is either not feasible, not constructable, or was actually less than stellar because they had been making a bevy of design decisions, they might lend you an ear, depending on your credibility, and you propose and execute the needed fix.
I much prefer the studio format - working with a smaller group of people on all aspects of a project, from the concept sketches, through design and documentation, and doing the construction administration. It's much more rewarding. Again, this works better when there is more of a "peer" attitude in the firm and/or when it is a smaller office.
Well, this is a question really of craft versus assembly. This conversation is pretty much the basis of human factors engineering. For simplicity sake, we'll call the studios "pods" and the departmentalized method "linear."
The pods method has one significant overall advantage— it can utilize lean project manager which means less money is spent on meetings about meetings about schedules regarding future meetings. Scheduling and project management are great tools but they're top heavy and expensive. The pod model only works if you have the availability of highly-skilled labor and a shortage of expertise within a "pod" can lead to imminent failures.
The linear model may lead to greater overall production but the planning considerations behind it mean that all available excess production is usually absorbed by managerial overhead. The linear model also relies on repetitive and sometimes mindless tasks that can lead to overall lower employee satisfaction. However, employees maybe rotated between tasks to improve job quality.
Apr 29, 13 11:34 pm ·
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A firm's organization: studio or departmentalized?
Have you worked in both? The studio set up, where a select pod of people work on one building and all its aspects while another group works on another, and the departmentalized set up, where design and production are separated by a glass curtain and sometimes even a glass ceiling? If so, what do you think? Which did you like better?
First, in some cases, departmentalized works a little better. Such a case would be where the work is repetitive, the work force is not as talented overall (sorry), and upper management tends to be more control freaks. However, if you are in a departmentalized set-up, you may still design ... in a way. When something a designer puts through is either not feasible, not constructable, or was actually less than stellar because they had been making a bevy of design decisions, they might lend you an ear, depending on your credibility, and you propose and execute the needed fix.
I much prefer the studio format - working with a smaller group of people on all aspects of a project, from the concept sketches, through design and documentation, and doing the construction administration. It's much more rewarding. Again, this works better when there is more of a "peer" attitude in the firm and/or when it is a smaller office.
Studio or departmentalized? Pros and cons?
Well, this is a question really of craft versus assembly. This conversation is pretty much the basis of human factors engineering. For simplicity sake, we'll call the studios "pods" and the departmentalized method "linear."
The pods method has one significant overall advantage— it can utilize lean project manager which means less money is spent on meetings about meetings about schedules regarding future meetings. Scheduling and project management are great tools but they're top heavy and expensive. The pod model only works if you have the availability of highly-skilled labor and a shortage of expertise within a "pod" can lead to imminent failures.
The linear model may lead to greater overall production but the planning considerations behind it mean that all available excess production is usually absorbed by managerial overhead. The linear model also relies on repetitive and sometimes mindless tasks that can lead to overall lower employee satisfaction. However, employees maybe rotated between tasks to improve job quality.
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