Entrepreneurial Marketing

CHAPTER 6Integrating Functions: Converging Departments Within an Organization

A company is organized in a way that is conducive to carrying out its required activities. We often encounter several functions within the company, known as divisions or departments. Each can carry out its activities independently or interdependently with other divisions.

Sometimes, a division does not want to communicate openly. This can hamper information dissemination between divisions.¹ Without communication and information exchange, it will not be easy to coordinate to achieve organizational goals.²

Silo mentality, as described previously, is counterproductive because it may originate from unhealthy competition from people who sit at the top levels in various divisions in a company. It can also happen between people at multiple levels who essentially have a hidden agenda for their interests.³ One of the characteristics of the silo is the unwillingness of everyone involved in an organization to share information that is very valuable or even necessary to other divisions or departments in a company.⁴

In the omnihouse model, we can observe four distinct functions: marketing, technology, humanity, and finance. (Don't worry, we will discuss about operations later on.) Notice that marketing and finance are in separate corners. The same is true with technology and humanity. These are placed accordingly to stress the fact that in companies, these functions are often siloed or separate. Contradictory ...