dlehnersauder

I may be the only youth in the world who is more interested in Facebook as a business than Facebook as a service. Facebook’s success as a private company can be largely attributed to the freedom co-founder, President and CEO Mark Zuckerberg grants his employees.

The following video offers a little insight into Zuckerberg as a manager, and the Facebook work environment:

The organizational culture created by Zuckerberg is relaxed, unstructured and open. Employees can come and go as they please, with no standard work schedules, thus more employee freedom. The Facebook offices are open, with undivided desks scattered across large rooms. Zuckerberg himself works among the employees in the open workspace.

The openness, according to Zuckerberg, encourages collaboration, team-work and an informal atmosphere and communication. Moreover, if employees need to unwind on the job, they can play video or table-top (foosball/table tennis) games.

Employees working to their suitability permits employees to self-determine their job satisfaction in the Facebook organization. Job satisfaction is the primary factor in intrinsic motivation. Productivity is a direct result of intrinsic motivation. Therefore, due to the organizational culture established by Zuckerberg, Facebook employees are satisfied with their jobs and as a result do their jobs well.

The next challenge that will test Zuckerberg’s managerial abilities is the inevitable transition of Facebook from a private to a public company. Zuckerberg is worried that going public will reduce Facebook’s flexibility. If Facebook’s organizational culture can be maintained once the company is public, Facebook will most likely prove to be a very successful company for years to come.

Daniel Boissonneau-Lehner

http://www.fastcompany.com/mic/2010/profile/facebook