A magnifying glass on business organization, from a design perspective, with Marzia Aricò

The masterclass was led by Marzia Aricò, a Design Leader with over 15+ years of experience in strategic design teams to serve business and organizational goals, was an open window into the world of organization within companies, especially the Big Corporate. It allowed the students to familiarize themselves with the internal structures that pull the strings of company boards. What was revolutionary was Marzia’s approach, which showed a critical perspective on business and organizational structures, influencing design work and its outcomes. Students achieved a high understanding of how organizations work and, therefore, how to ensure their work will contribute to organizational goals.

The business context embraces eight different silos: Marketing, Sales, Operations, IT, Product, Finance, and #HR, while at the top of these areas, there is the Csuite, with the chiefs i.e., the key heads of functions, and each area has its methods, approaches, and goals. In fact, these silos were critically analyzed from the designer’s perspective because they are important contexts for designers to understand and operate within. The organizational context involves not only people, processes, and systems but also hierarchies and internal politics; thus, a deeper understanding of this environment allows the designer to work effectively within it. With a practical and collaborative activity, students investigated each silo of a company.

Thanks to this stimulating meeting the key takeaways covered an understanding of the business and organizational context, the key objectives of business functions, and units of measurement. Furthermore, students have grasped the importance of creating stories and tangible evidence to demonstrate the value of their visions and to enable people within the company to understand and embrace change.