Tag Archives: service getting

Cross Functional Working Relationship – Coordinating

Coordinating

“And what’s this between marketing and operations?” Catherine asked.

“The timing is tricky,” Javier explained. “We need to close a gate and shut down operations, but we also need to maintain confidence from our customer base. We need to communicate that we know what we are doing, and that we stand behind our commitments. At the end of the day, each ticket we issue is a contract for carriage, and we have to make that commitment good. Flight operations can decide what to do, but we have to coordinate with marketing to make sure we explain things accurately and timely to the public.” Javier stopped to make sure his explanation was understood.

“So, I got my flight operations manager and my marketing manager together to explain their accountability,” Javier nodded. “Funny, they both complained that they could not be accountable because they had to depend on the other manager to execute. I agreed that, yes, they had to depend on each other to effectively execute. If either called a coordinating meeting, the other person was required to attend and actively participate. Neither was each other’s manager, but, both required to be responsive to each other.”

Cross Functional Working Relationships

Excerpt from Outbound Air, Levels of Work in Organizational Structure, soon to be released in softcover and for Kindle.

Cross Functional Working Relationship – Monitor

Monitor

“And for some cases, I don’t think we need a full blown auditor,” Javier explained, “but we may need someone to monitor the way we do something. The monitor and the auditor are looking for the same things, but the monitor does not have the authority to delay or stop the activity, only the accountability to report to someone who does have that authority. With this distinction, I can specifically assign the authority that is appropriate. Everyone understands, so no one gets bent out of shape.”

Cross Functional Working Relationships

Excerpt from Outbound Air, Levels of Work in Organizational Structure, soon to be released in softcover and for Kindle.

Authority Inside a Project Team

Service Getting (Giving)

“How did you explain it to the team?” Catherine asked.

“As I approached each department manager, I told them I was working on a project, Project X, where I needed specialized resources from other departments. I explained what I needed, how much I needed and asked for their recommendation.

“For the project accounting, I asked our CFO for a controller level person with ten hours a week to track the direct and indirect costs for the project. The CFO suggested this would be a subsidiary ledger inside our accounting system anyway, and she assigned someone to the project.

“That’s the way it went with the other five departments working on the project.” Javier stopped because he knew that Catherine would have a question.