Managing in an Organized Anarchy: An Autoethnography about the Struggle to Deliver in a Young Technology Company

Abstract: An organized anarchy is governed by vague ideals, and all employees help to define the strategy. Solutions are created without knowledge of the problems and many of the solutions get rejected at an early stage and end up in the “garbage can.” The garbage can is revisited when new problems surface, as the contents might contain a solution to one of them. Such a structure often works well for organizations like universities. But it should be noted that while the organization is good at discovering new possibilities, the problem-solving speed is lagging behind. This thesis describes and analyzes an organized anarchy from the inside, through the eyes of a middle manager. The organization in the study was under pressure to deliver a product, but was better at coming up with creative ideas. As the pressure increased, the lack of accountability made the teams search for people holding the sole responsibility for the setbacks. The dominance of short-term goals limited the focus on sustainability and a healthy work environment. As a root cause, the author identifies the organized anarchy - further reinforced by the results of scapegoating and negative leadership - and not the individuals themselves. While individuals are certainly responsible for their own actions, their range of options is limited by what the organization permits and encourages.The thesis suggests that certain organizations are worse at delivering value than others, despite the competence of their employees, simply because of their structure. The topic is important, as huge amounts of resources are wasted while the organization is suffering an internal crisis. The use of autoethnography as a method helps employees and middle managers to identify with the author and classify the organization they’re working in, and it helps business leaders to understand how their choices affect the working environment for their employees. Also, the thesis can help in diagnosing an organization that has problems delivering.