Organization’s Background Information Ozmites Technology Ltd is a digital agency based in Lagos, Nigeria. The company was founded in 2015 by a team of passionate technology experts to create digital platforms that can drive business growth. The team comprises creative strategists from various disciplines, such as design, tech, marketing, and so on, who are passionate about creating engaging brands and innovative digital products that solve everyday problems. The company is a full-service digital agency with a core focus on brand strategy, user experience design, and web development. Their services also expand to digital marketing, search engine optimization, and content marketing. Building on over seven (7) years of experience in branding and design, Ozmites Technology has refined a service to strike the perfect balance between brand and strategic design. They simply exist to help businesses to use design to drive growth and build their brands. I joined the company in 2018 as a Senior Graphic Designer; then, I rose to become a Lead UX Designer in 2020, a capacity I occupied before I left in 2021 to pursue a degree in Business Management at Red River College. External Environmental Factors Here’s a PESTLE analysis that gives an overview of the external factors that potentially affect the organization. PESTLE stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors. Political Factors Political instability and Terrorism - The current political instability and terrorism in Nigeria is, in fact, a threat to businesses such as Ozmites Technology. Terrorist threats have brought a lot of disruption to the business environment and led to Ozmites Technology experiencing handling operations in difficult circumstances. Government Regulations - As the Nigerian governments want to boost the economy, the technology industry has a crucial role. Many successive governments have smooth transitions concerning the tech industry. They have regulations in place that supports tech business operation. Changing policies with the new government – Studying the current trends, it seems there can be a government transition in Nigeria in the next 2023 general election. Ozmites Technology has to prepare for this eventuality as it may lead to change in governance priorities of the Technology sector. Tax policies that are favorable to the organization’s growth Economic Inflation rate – The easy liquidity in the market post-Covid-19 lockdown that happened in 2020 through 2021 has led to increasing inflation and interest rates in the Nigerian economy and has negatively impacted many businesses to cut their digital marketing budgets and cost of production. Skill level of workforce in the Nigerian market – The skill level of human resources in Nigeria is moderate to high in the Technology sector. Ozmites Technology can leverage it to improve services in Nigeria and leverage the skilled workforce to create global opportunities. Unavailability of core infrastructure in Nigeria – Over the years, there has been a depletion in the core infrastructure to facilitate and improve the business environment in Nigeria. Ozmites Technology has to personally invest heavily in infrastructures like electric power and a stable internet connection to drive business growth. Exchange rate – The volatile exchange rate of Nigeria can impact Ozmites Technology investment plans not only in the short term but also in the long run. Social Factors Leisure interests – the customers in Nigeria are giving higher preferences to experiential products rather than traditional value propositions when engaging any brand. Ozmites Technology can leverage this trend to build products that provide an enhanced customer experience. Consumer Behaviours - Covid 19 Pandemic has drastically changed how businesses engage with their audiences, with most people becoming comfortable with interacting first with a business through online channels. Ozmites Technology seeks to work with many businesses to craft amazing digital platforms that deliver customer satisfaction. Population Growth Rate – The population of Nigeria is now at over 250 Million, and more growth is said to still be experienced in coming years. As a result, the traditional approach to business operation is no longer sufficient; more technology products are in constant demand to cater to this large populace. Ozmites Technology can leverage this to expand its presence in Nigeria. Media - Media outlets play a critical role in influencing public opinion. Both traditional media and social media are rapidly growing in Nigeria. Ozmites Technology can leverage this trend to better market and position its products and services. Technological factors Mobile Technology- Developments and dissemination of mobile technology have transformed customer expectations in the market. Ozmites Technology has to not only meet and manage these expectations but also have to innovate to stay ahead of the competition. 5G and its potential – Ozmites Technology has to keep a close eye on the development and enhancement of user experience with increasing speed and access. This can completely transform the customer user experience in the marketing industry. Technology transfer and licensing - Unlike other parts of the world, there is no strong culture of technology transfer in the Technology sector in Nigeria; companies often are reluctant to transfer or license technologies for fear of creating competitors out of collaborators. As a result, Ozmites Technology has to build a lot of its infrastructure from scratch, which takes time and resources. Environmental factors Environmental norms - Environmental norms are also altering the priorities of product innovation. In many cases, products are designed based on environmental standards and expectations rather than catering to traditional value propositions. Internet users’ activism – Greater awareness among internet users, has also put environmental factors at the center of Ozmites Technology's strategy. Users expect Ozmites Technology to adhere to legal standards and exceed them to become a responsible stakeholder in the community. Legal factors Intellectual property rights and patent protection – If Nigeria has higher safeguards for IPR and other intellectual property rights, more and more players are likely to invest in research in developing new technological products. Data protection laws – Over the last decade, data protection has emerged as a critical part of privacy issues and intellectual property rights. Ozmites Technology has to consider whether Nigeria has a robust mechanism to protect against data breaches or not. Internal Environmental Factors Growth Cycle Ozmites Technology is in its growth or survival phase; they are looking to solidify its roots, establish a framework, pursue growth and develop its capabilities. More recently, Ozmites Technology has broadened its product lines, well-tailored to suit new markets. Managers are also trying to identify subgroups of customers and make small modifications to products and services to serve them in a better way. A few challenges the company may face are difficulty in attracting good personnel and clients as some may view them as too aggressive and self-serving opportunists. Business Goals One of the major future objectives Ozmites Technology have is to develop a personal digital product for their company to generate extra income apart from consulting for businesses. To achieve this, the company will have to allocate some of its resources and they will need to also get additional resources by seeking funding from potential shareholders. Having financial stability will help Ozmites Technology to expand its organization and explore new markets. Job Characteristics Ozmites Technology is made up of a team of creative strategists that loves their job and are more satisfied with the company. The organization gives everyone the opportunity to express themselves and also provides everyone with growth opportunities. The company also organizes training often to help their employees complete their job functions. By hiring qualified candidates and continuing to support their education and training, Ozmites Technology has had a positive impact on their culture. Organizational Structure Design Based on the external and internal factors that could affect Ozmites Technology and the organization’s mission to create amazing digital experiences that drive business growth. I believe a Functional Organizational Structure will be suitable for Ozmites Technology, as it will help the company leverage its team of experts to deliver excellent customer service. This structure will allow employees to express themselves, be creative, and give them more autonomy. Procedures need to be formalized; some authority will be delegated to the middle managers. This structure will also allow customers to influence decisions, as the goal encompasses fulfilling the customer’s wishes to a higher degree. To start, we have the CEO overseeing four different groups of directors: the director of the product group, the director of the technology group, the director of the growth and marketing group, and the director of the operations group. I narrow the directors down to four so that the CEO will have fewer people to go after to give and receive information. The Director of the Product group will have one manager who oversees two project managers for the product group. The project managers each oversee a small team of several employees: UX designer, graphic designer, and UX researcher. This lightens and spreads the workload among employees and gives them room for growth and creativity without being competitive. There could be multiple projects at one time, but each team will work independently and will only collaborate with each other occasionally on a few projects. This is to ensure that each employee can express their uniqueness and creativity. The Director of the technology group has a manager known as the Chief Technology Officer. The technology group is a vital component of the organization, therefore, it will have three project managers working under the director. This department’s focus is to lighten the workload and give each project manager equal employees to look after. For this reason, managers and employees won’t feel so overwhelmed by a large workload that can be overbearing and stressful. The project managers will oversee the software developers, and each department has two or more software architects to manage the team’s software infrastructures. The Director of the Growth and Marketing group has a manager known as the Chief Growth Officer. The manager oversees two different managers and each of these managers oversees two different departments: Marketing and Business Development. The marketing department manager oversees a small team of several employees: Marketing coordinators, Account executives, Sales, and Researchers. While the business development manager oversees another team which consists of business analysts, quality assurance specialists, and data analysts. Lastly, the Director of Operations group contains two different managers that oversee two different departments: HR Manager, and Financial Controller. The HR manager looks over the Talent acquisition specialist and HR Admin. At the same time, the Financial controller oversees the Bookkeeper. I believe this organizational structure could improve the company’s effectiveness and have a lasting impact on the company now and in the future. Grouping teams into specialization will allow the employees to express themselves and show their talents. Additionally, if the workloads are spread more evenly, and the managers have fewer people to oversee, they are more likely to pay closer attention to the team they oversee. This will lead employees to work harder and enjoy their work more. References (2021, April 20). We Help Businesses Create Positive Impact - Design Company Based in Lagos. Ozmites Technology. https://ozmites.com/about-us/ Henry, Z. (2018, august 22). 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