Jared and Kate, co-owners and the two most senior executives of Allwin Training had just sat down to a freshly brewed cup of coffee at their favorite small café located adjacent to their office building. This was a regular morning ritual that had been taking place on an almost daily basis for the past twenty years - ever since they had formed the company together. As a training company, Allwin Training had grown from just the two founders to an organization that had 36+ staff and was still growing. Although mainly involved with a variety of management training operations throughout New Zealand, it also has ambitions to deliver online training. This will be tailor-made for a variety of business organizations, both small and large.

Although the organization has experienced a variety of ‘ups & downs’ since it was established, today was a time for celebration. Their bankers had just informed Jared and Kate that a large loan had been approved to cover the costs of construction of a new office building on land that the company had purchased a few years previously.

Their discussions on the project had been many and varied, particularly around the design of the building and the brief they would be preparing for the appointed architects. In informal and preparatory discussions with design experts, they had been advised and had consequently decided to follow an ‘open-plan’ office approach for all office staff, themselves included, given the potential construction cost savings and optimal use of space that this approach promised.

A considerable amount of literature over the past decade had also led them to believe this was the ‘way of the future’. However, both Jared and Kate had misgivings about the approach and were feeling uncomfortable with what they were being told as it did not appear to relate to their own experiences in the workplace. It was as if a ‘little voice’ were telling them that, perhaps, despite the advice they were receiving, this was not the way to go. Rationally, however, they were concerned about the cost of the new project and were trying to convince themselves, and each other, that all would be fine and they should just ‘go with the flow’.

Added to the mix was the new trend of working from home which was gaining momentum ever since the pandemic. They discussed whether should they factor this into their new building design– and if so what would this really mean?

Before long they had ordered a second cup of coffee and were deep in a thought. “Perhaps the design and open-plan focus is something we should reconsider?” questioned Kate, “but what about the cost factor?” Jared responded.

After more discussion, they decided that the decision was too important to be taken hastily and that perhaps they should reconsider, particularly given the positive people-oriented culture of the organization that they had spent the past two decades cultivating. After some deliberation, they were of one mind in their decision: to commission a detailed research report on the optimal office space design for the new building before proceeding any further with the building project.

They decided it was too early to factor in working from home into their design options, and that Allwin Training would still operate ‘in-house’ and trainers and staff would still need to have their own desks and working space in the new building.

Allwin Training: Organization Structure

Please note that each ‘block’ (excluding “Jared & Kate”) has one supervisor included as part of the staff component.

Assignment Task

Write a report outlining the pros and cons of open-plan office designs. Make recommendations as to whether Allwin Training should use this format or not in their new office building design. Justify your decision with reference to supporting evidence. If there is a compromise design recommended, provide a detailed outline what that might be. Remember to review the evidence presented through the ‘lens’ of Organisational Behaviour, and not just use the cost factors to influence your decision. Topics to consider are group dynamics, health and safety, well-being, the Big Five personality types, privacy, innovation, productivity, motivation, etc.

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